MBB Game Day: Middle Tennessee

Game Day Coverage

Liberty at Middle Tennessee (Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Tipoff: Thursday at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: LFSN Radio
Live Stats

Liberty Storylines

CUSA-leading Liberty (17-3, 9-0 CUSA) will play a road contest at Middle Tennessee (11-8, 5-3 CUSA), Thursday on national television (CBSSN).
Liberty's 9-0 league start is the best start to a conference season in program history.
The Flames are one of 11 teams in the nation currently unbeaten in conference play.
Liberty topped Delaware 67-51 on Saturday for its 11th straight win, led by Brett Decker Jr's 25-point effort. MTSU is looking to bounce back after a 75-58 road loss at Jax State. The Blue Raiders are 8-1 at home.
Liberty's 11-game winning streak is the seventh longest streak in the country at present. The streak is also tied for the third best in school history and longest since a 12-game winning streak from Jan. 16-March 7, 2021.
The Flames are 5-1 on the road, including a 4-0 CUSA mark. Liberty is shooting 50.2 percent from the field with 47 threes in those four league road games.
Liberty has 194 wins since the start of the 2018-19 season, fifth most in the country in that span. The Flames also have the fourth-best winning percentage (.761, 194-61) during that same period of time.
Liberty is No. 2 in the country in field goal percentage (52.1), No. 2 in effective field goal percentage (.619), No. 3 in fewest turnovers per game (8.7), No. 4 in assist/turnover ratio (2.02), No. 4 in three-point percentage (40.8) and No. 6 in fewest fouls per game (13.7) (leads CUSA in all of the above).
This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the two squads. Liberty is 2-0 all-time at home against Middle Tennessee, and the Flames are 1-1 at the Blue Raiders. All four previous meetings have come with both teams in CUSA. In the last meeting (March 6, 2025), Liberty earned its first win at the Murphy Center by a 86-81 score. Taelon Peter matched a career high with 33 points off the bench on 11-of-14 shooting and six rebounds and three steals in the winning effort. The Flames moved into a tie for first place in the CUSA standings with one regular season game remaining and eventually secured their first-ever outright CUSA regular season title.
The Flames are 9-0 in CUSA play for the first time.
Liberty has won 14 straight contests (including postseason play) against Conference USA opponents and is 20-1 in their its 21 games against conference foes dating back to last year.
Brett Decker Jr. ranks No. 2 nationally in three-point percentage (50.0), No. 3 in total three-pointers (73) and No. 5 in threes per game (3.65).
Zach Cleveland ranks No. 8 in the country in assists per game (6.9) and No. 7 in defensive rebounds per game (7.37). He is also second in the league and 69th nationally in rebounds per game (8.1) and leads the conference in double-doubles (6).
Liberty is the first team to start 9-0 or better in CUSA play since the 2022-23 Florida Atlantic team (11-0), who went on to make the Final Four. The Flames are the only team to start 9-0 since they joined the league prior to the start of the 2023-24 season.
Cleveland (1,033 points) became the 35th player in program history to eclipse the 1,000-point mark in his Liberty career with an 11-point effort against NM State (Jan. 15). The senior joined Colin Porter (Jan. 8 at LA Tech) and Kaden Metheny (Dec. 16 at Midway) as one of three active 1,000-point scorers for the Flames.
Liberty is one of only two schools in the nation to have three active players with 1,000-plus career points at their current institutions. The only other school is Purdue (Braden Smith, Fletcher Loyer and Trey Kaufman-Renn).
Liberty is 36-of-43 from the foul line (83.7 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in its nine CUSA games.
The Flames have led for 289:04 of a possible 365 minutes in conference play (79.2 percent).
Liberty is 17-0 when outshooting its opponent and has shot 50 percent or better 12 times.
Decker Jr. is the only Flame to score in double figures in all 20 games this season. He has been Liberty's leading scorer (or tied) 10 times and has eight 20-plus point games. He is averaging a team-best 18.2 ppg in nine CUSA games.
The Flames are currently No. 81 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 94 in KenPom. The Blue Raiders are No. 131 in the NET and No. 148 in KenPom.
Liberty is ranked No. 3 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25® for a second straight week, behind only No. 1 Gonzaga (21-1) and No. 2 Miami (Ohio) (20-0). The Flames are the only CUSA team in the Top 25.
The Flames are No. 3 in CUSA and 37th nationally in scoring defense.
Current 11-game winning streak highlights:
-6-0 home, 5-0 road, 9-0 CUSA, 2-0 non-conference
-78.6 points per game, 67.6 points per game allowed
-51.6% from the field, 40.8% from three (108 3s), 73.9% from FT line
-Leading scorer: Brett Decker Jr. 17.4 ppg
-Leading rebounder: Zach Cleveland 7.5 rpg
-Leader in assists: Zach Cleveland 6.0 apg (60 total/10 games)
-Biggest margin of victory vs. a DI team: 16 (two times)-at Louisiana Tech (Jan. 8) and vs. Delaware (Jan. 24)
-Closest win: 73-71 over New Mexico State (Jan. 15)
-Marquee non-conference win: 64-61 at Dayton (Dec. 20)
-Only 8.1 turnovers per game in the 11 wins, including seven games with seven or less
-All starters averaging in double figures in those 11 games (Decker Jr. 17.4 ppg/Metheny 13.5 ppg/Cleveland 12.3 ppg/Porter 11.7 ppg/Harper 10.0 ppg)
-17.1 assists per game, 7.3 steals per game
-Streak started on Dec. 16, last loss was Dec. 10 (will be a span of 50 days when Liberty plays at MTSU)
-Longest win streaks in program history: 14 games (2019-20), 12 games (2020-21), 11 games (2025-26), 11 games (1979-80)

Schedule

Players Mentioned

Zach Cleveland

Brett Decker Jr.

Kaden Metheny

Taelon Peter

Colin Porter

MBB Game Day: Middle Tennessee

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Players Mentioned

Zach Cleveland

Brett Decker Jr.

Kaden Metheny

Taelon Peter

Colin Porter

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