MBB Game Day: No. 5 Seed Oregon

Game Day Coverage

No. 12 seed Liberty vs. No. 5 seed Oregon (NCAA First Round at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash.)
Tipoff: Friday at 10:10 p.m. EST/7:10 p.m. PST
TV: truTV
Radio: LFSN Radio
Live Stats
NCAA Ticket Information
NCAA Bracket

Liberty Storylines

No. 12 seed Liberty (28-6, 13-5 CUSA) will head to Seattle to face No. 5 seed Oregon (24-9, 12-8 Big Ten) on Friday in what will be the final game in the NCAA Round of 64.
The Flames punched their ticket with a 79-67 victory over Jacksonville State this past Saturday night, earning their first CUSA title in their second year of league membership. The Ducks earned an at-large bid in their first season in the Big Ten. Liberty won both the CUSA regular season and tournament titles.
All-CUSA second team guard Kaden Metheny was named CUSA Championship MVP. Metheny averaged 20.3 ppg to lead the Flames in three games at the tournament and knocked down 16 threes.
This is Liberty's first trip back to the NCAA Tournament since 2021 when the Flames were a No. 13 seed and faced No. 4 seed Oklahoma State in the opening round.
The Flames qualified for the Big Dance in three straight seasons (2019-21). Liberty is in search of its second ever win in the NCAA Tournament. This is the Flames' second time as a No. 12 seed (tied for best mark in program history). In 2019 as a No. 12 seed, Liberty knocked off No. 5 seed Mississippi State 80-76 in the Round of 64 for the first win in the tournament in school history before falling to No. 4 seed Virginia Tech in the Round of 32.
Liberty has captured 10 total titles over the past seven seasons - four conference tournament titles and six regular season (or division) crowns.
Liberty and Oregon will be meeting for the first time. This will be the Flames' first matchup against a Big Ten foe in the NCAA Tournament. This is the first AP Top 25 team the Flames will face this year (Oregon is No. 25). Liberty last faced an AP Top 25 during the 2023-24 season, taking on No. 13 Florida Atlantic (2023 Final Four team). The Flames dropped that game 83-58. Liberty is 0-20 all-time against AP Top 25 teams.
Liberty is 0-7 all-time against the Big Ten. The Flames last faced a Big Ten foe in the 2023 NIT second round, a 75-71 setback at Wisconsin. Prior to that, Liberty faced Northwestern at the 2022 Cancun Challenge, a 66-52 setback.
Liberty all-time in NCAA Tournament
Overall ...............................................................1-5
Record as a #12 Seed ........................................1-1
Record as #13 Seed...........................................0-1
Record as a #16 Seed .......................................0-3
Record in the East Region .................................1-3
Record in the Midwest Region ..........................0-2
-No. 4 Oklahoma State 69, No. 13 Liberty 60 (3/19/21)
-No. 4 Virginia Tech 67, No. 12 Liberty 58 (3/24/19)
-No. 12 Liberty 80, No. 5 Mississippi State 76 (3/22/19)
-No. 16 North Carolina A&T 73, No. 16 Liberty 72 (3/19/13)
-No. 1 Saint Joseph's 82, No. 16 Liberty 63 (3/18/04)
-No. 1 North Carolina 71, No. 16 Liberty 51 (3/18/94)
In the NCAA Tournament, No. 12 seeds are 55-101 all-time versus No. 5 seeds. Liberty is 1-1 as a 12 seed, with both of those matchups occurring in 2019. The Flames bested No. 5 seed Missisippi State before falling to No. 4 seed Virginia Tech that year.
Counting Liberty qualifying for the 2020 NCAA Tournament (tournament cancelled), the Flames are making their seventh overall appearance in the Big Dance.
CUSA Sixth Player of the Year, All-CUSA third team and CUSA All-Tournament team: Taelon Peter
CUSA Championship MVP, CUSA All-Tournament team and All-CUSA second team: Kaden Metheny
All-CUSA third team: Zach Cleveland
All-CUSA Honorable Mention: Colin Porter
This will be Liberty's first-ever game on March 21. The Flames have played on March 22, which was the program's first-ever win in the NCAA Tournament in 2019. On March 22, 2019, Liberty, a 12 seed, knocked off No. 5 seed Mississippi State 80-76. Caleb Homesley scored 30 points in the victory, and Lovell Cabbil Jr. added 18. Myo Baxter-Bell chipped in 13 points off the bench. The Flames trailed 65-56 with 6:44 left before mounting the comeback.
Liberty has won 177 games over the last seven seasons (since start of 2018-19 season), which ranks sixth most nationally during that span.
Liberty is ranked No. 6 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25®. The highest the Flames reached this season was No. 3 in back-to-back weeks earlier in the year.
Including Liberty's trip out to Seattle (not the return) for the NCAA Tournament, the Flames will have traveled 20,903 miles this season. This is Liberty's second trip to Seattle this season after facing SeattleU on Nov. 9 (66-64 victory on game-winning Kaden Metheny three with 3.7 seconds left).
The Flames have already played in five different time zones: Atlantic, Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific.
Liberty has nine Power 4 wins over the last eight seasons and another high major victory (Villanova in 2023). Here is a full list of those wins:
-Liberty 67, Kansas State 65 (11/24/24)
-Liberty 62, Villanova 57 (3/14/23, NIT 1st Rd)
-Liberty 66, Missouri 45 (12/2/21)
-Liberty 78, South Carolina 62 (11/28/20)
-Liberty 84, Mississippi State 73 (11/26/20)
-Liberty 61, Vanderbilt 56 (12/14/19)
-Liberty 80, Mississippi State 76 (3/22/19, NCAA Rd. of 64)
-Liberty 73, UCLA 58 (12/29/18)
Colin Porter ranks 17th in the country and first in CUSA in assist/turnover ratio (2.92). The junior guard is eighth in program history for career assists (406). His nine assists against Jax State matched a CUSA title game record. The Flames are 16-1 when Porter has five or more assists.
Kaden Metheny leads the team in three-pointers made (99) and threes per game (3.00). He ranks 25th nationally in total threes and 34th in threes per game (No. 2 in CUSA in both).
Zach Cleveland rankd 51st nationally and No. 2 in CUSA in assists per game (5.1).
Taelon Peter is shooting 58.6 percent from the field and 46 percent from three on the season.
The Liberty men's and women's basketball teams both won the regular season and conference tournament titles in CUSA. Liberty is one of only three schools in the nation to sweep all four of those titles on both the men's and women's side. The other two are High Point and Norfolk State.
Liberty is one of 27 schools in the nation with both the men's and women's basketball teams in their respective NCAA Tournaments.
The Liberty and Oregon football teams squared off in the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl, a game won 45-6 by the Ducks. It was the Flames' first-ever appearance in a New Year's Six Bowl.

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Zach Cleveland

Kaden Metheny

Taelon Peter

Colin Porter

MBB Game Day: No. 5 Seed Oregon

Players Mentioned

Zach Cleveland

Kaden Metheny

Taelon Peter

Colin Porter

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