MBB Game Day: Dayton
12/18/2025 10:27:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty at Dayton (UD Arena | Dayton, Ohio)
- Tipoff: Saturday at 12:30 p.m. ET
- TV: USA Network
- Radio: LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- Liberty (7-3) will play its final non-conference game of the season on Saturday at Dayton (9-3).
- This is the first meeting between mid-major powers Liberty and Dayton. Dayton has had 84 consecutive sellouts at UD Arena. The Flames were picked to win Conference USA, while the Flyers were picked to finish third in the A-10. The two schools are separated by 419 miles.
- This will be the Flames' second true road game of year. After going 9-2 on the road last year, Liberty is 0-1 so far this season. The Flyers are 7-0 at home this season and have won 33 straight non-conference home games, including a 97-69 win over Florida State on Tuesday. Liberty improved to 6-0 with a 95-57 home win over Midway, Tuesday night.
- Liberty has 184 wins since the start of the 2018-19 season, tied for seventh most in the nation during that span.
- Saturday's game will be a battle of contrasting styles. The Flames are No. 7 nationally in fewest turnovers per game (9.1), while the Flyers are No. 9 in the country in turnovers forced per game (17.67).
- Brett Decker Jr. (18.1 ppg) leads the team in scoring and is the national leader in three-pointers per game (4.20). He has 42 threes and has connected on 55.3 percent of his shots from deep, the best percentage in the nation.
- The Flames have shot over 50 percent in seven of 10 games and are shooting 53.7 percent on the year, the second-best percentage nationally.
- Liberty is No. 2 in the country in effective field goal percentage (.641), No. 2 in assist/turnover ratio (2.04), No. 4 in three-point percentage (41.0) and No. 6 in threes per game (11.8).
- Liberty is looking for its second all-time win against an A-10 foe. The Flames are 1-13 all-time against A-10 teams but have not faced an A-10 squad since 2016. Liberty's lone win against a team from the conference came on Nov. 11, 1999, a 62-61 road win over Virginia Tech. The Flames' last game against an A-10 school was a 64-59 loss to VCU at the Vines Center on Nov. 15, 2016.
- In addition to what will be Dayton's 85th straight home sellout at UD Arena, the Flyers have won 33 straight non-conference home games.
- Liberty played at UD Arena on March 19, 2013 in the NCAA First Four against North Carolina A&T. The Aggies edged the Flames 73-72.
- Zach Cleveland is No. 3 in the country in assists per game (8.0).
- Kaden Metheny eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for his Liberty career with a 14-point effort on Tuesday against Midway. The guard reached the milestone with a three at the 15:27 mark of the first half and is the 32nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career points as a Flame. Metheny has 1,640 points in his six-year collegiate career.
- Metheny is No. 2 in the nation in assist/turnover ratio (5.33).
- Colin Porter (936 points) and Cleveland (910 points) are both less than 100 points from 1,000 in their respective careers.
- Cleveland ranks No. 6 in the country and first in CUSA in defensive rebounds per game (7.56). He is also first in the league and 46th nationally in rebounds per game (8.8) and tied for first in the conference in double-doubles (3).
- Decker Jr. is the only Flame to score in double figures in all 10 games this season. He has been Liberty's leading scorer (or tied) five times and has five 20-plus point games
- Liberty finished 66th in the nation in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings and No. 64 in the KenPom rankings last year. The Flames are currently No. 114 in the KenPom in the early going and No. 140 in the NET.
- This will be Liberty's 11th all-time game on this date. The Flames are 4-6 all-time in contests on Dec. 20. Liberty last played on this date two years ago in 2023, a 79-63 road win at Utah Valley to snap the Wolverines' 11-game home winning streak. The Liberty Flames shot 60.7 percent from the field for the game and a blistering 84 percent (21-of-25) from the floor in the first half, taking a 46-34 lead at the break on the way to the victory. Zach Cleveland finished the night with 19 points, eight assists and seven rebounds Kyle Rode filled the stat sheet as well with 15 points, seven boards, five assists, two blocks and a steal.
- The Flames are No. 32 in the nation and No. 3 in CUSA in scoring defense (65.7) through 10 games.
- Liberty is ranked No. 17 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25® (Dec. 15 poll). The Flames are the second-ranked team in Conference USA, one spot behind No. 16 Kennesaw State.
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's BasketballLiberty vs Midway Highlights
Wednesday, December 17
Coach McKay Talks About The Win Over Midway
Wednesday, December 17
Coach McKay Talks About The Win Over Coppin State
Saturday, December 06
Brett Decker Jr. & Josh Smith Talk About The Win Over Coppin State
Saturday, December 06