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MBB Game Day: Jacksonville State
2/27/2026 1:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty at Pete Mathews Coliseum (Pete Mathews Coliseum | Jacksonville, Ala.)
- Tipoff: Saturday at 6 p.m. ET/5 p.m. CT
- TV:Â ESPNU
- Radio:Â LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- CUSA-leading Liberty (23-5, 15-2 CUSA) will play its final road regular season game at Jacksonville State (14-14, 9-8 CUSA), Saturday night on ESPNU.
- The Flames clinched at least a share of the CUSA regular season crown for the second straight year with a 90-89 OT win over FIU, Feb. 19. Liberty can clinch the outright CUSA regular season and No. 1 seed for the CUSA Championship if it either defeats Jax State on Saturday or Sam Houston loses to Missouri State.
- Liberty is 9-2 on the road (8-1 CUSA) and had won nine straight away from home until the 74-65 setback to Kennesaw State, Thursday night. Jax State is 6-3 at home in league play, most recently besting Delaware 80-70 in OT.Â
- The Flames have claimed 11 total titles (seven regular season and/or division, four tournament titles) over the last eight seasons, tied for most in the country.
- Liberty is No. 2 in the nation in field goal percentage (51.9), Â No. 2 in effective field goal percentage (.615), No. 4 in three-point percentage (40.1), No. 5 in assist/turnover ratio (1.96), No. 5 in fewest fouls per game (13.9) and No. 6 in fewest turnovers per game (leads CUSA in all of the above).
- The Flames' Brett Decker Jr. ranks No. 2 nationally in three-point percentage (48.9). Zach Cleveland, a two-time CUSA Player of the Week this year, is ninth in the country in assists per game (6.9).Â
- Liberty holds a 5-4 edge on Jacksonville State in the all-time series. The Flames are 1-2 all-time against the Gamecocks at Pete Mathews Coliseum and 3-3 all-time against Jax State since both teams joined CUSA. Last year in Jacksonville (Feb. 1, 2025), the Gamecocks used a 16-2 second half spurt to pull away from the Flames for a 72-61 victory. In this season's first meeting at Liberty Arena, Liberty topped Jax State 78-69 on Jan. 4. Tied 27-all at the half, Liberty opened the second half with a 13-2 run and scored 51 second half points in the win while going 21-of-24 (87.5 percent) from the foul line over the final 20 minutes. Kaden Metheny led five Flames in double figures with 22 points. Brett Decker Jr. (16 points), Colin Porter (13 points), Josh Smith (12 points, eight rebounds) and Zach Cleveland (10 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists) each had strong showings as well.
- The Flames (15-2 CUSA) hold a three-game lead in Conference USA with three games left in the regular season.
- Prior to this year (15-0), Liberty's best start ever in league play was 7-0, set during the 2018-19 season.Â
- The Flames are one of 25 teams in the nation with 23 or more wins.
- Liberty is 6-1 this year (5-0 CUSA) in games decided by three points or less.
- The Flames are 9-2 on the road this season, including an 8-1 CUSA road record. Liberty had won nine straight games away from home prior to Thursday's loss at Kennesaw State.
- Liberty was the first team to start 15-0 or better in CUSA play since the 2012-13 Memphis team (16-0).
- The Flames are currently No. 94 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 112 in KenPom. The Gamecocks are No. 213 in the NET and No. 204 in KenPom.
- Liberty has won 20 of its last 22 contests (including postseason play) against Conference USA opponents and is 26-3 in its last 29 games against conference foes dating back to last year.
- Brett Decker Jr. ranks No. 2 nationally in three-point percentage (48.9), No. 15 in three-pointers per game (3.32) and No. 17 in total triples (93).
- Cleveland shares the conference lead in double-doubles (8).
- Cleveland notched his first career triple-double, the only player in CUSA this year to have a triple-double, against Missouri State (19 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) and earned his second CUSA Player of the Week honor, Feb. 9.
- Liberty is 67-of-82 from the foul line (81.7 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in its 17 CUSA games.
- The Flames have led for 465:34 of a possible 690 minutes in conference play (67.5 percent).
- Liberty is 22-1 when outshooting its opponent and has shot 50 percent or better 18 times (17-1 in those instances). The Flames lost for the first time this season when they shot over 50 percent last Saturday vs. WKU (shot 55.6 percent).
- Decker Jr. has scored in double figures in 25 games this season. He has been Liberty's leading scorer (or tied) 12 times and has nine 20-plus point games.Â
- All five starters are averaging 12.4 ppg or more in conference play (Decker Jr. 15.6 ppg/Metheny 12.7 ppg/Harper 12.6 ppg/Cleveland 12.6 ppg/Porter 12.4 ppg).
- This will be Liberty's 10th all-time game on Feb. 28. The Flames are 5-4 all-time on this date. Liberty last played on this date three years ago, 76-56 triumph over Bellarmine in the 2023 ASUN Championship quarterfinal round. Darius McGhee was 9-of-11 from the field, including 8-of-10 from three-point range, for 26 points in the opening 20 minutes. McGhee finished the night with 29 points, and Liberty shot 56 percent for the night.
- Liberty is ranked No. 5 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25®, behind only No. 1 Gonzaga (28-2), No. 2 Miami (Ohio) (28-0), No. 3 Saint Mary's (26-4) and No. 4 Belmont (26-4). The Flames are the only CUSA team in the Top 25 (Sam Houston & WKU receiving votes).
Players Mentioned
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