Liberty takes on Jacksonville State in CUSA Championship game

Jacksonville State Gamecocks (22-11, 14-6 CUSA) vs. Liberty Flames (27-6, 15-5 CUSA)

Huntsville, Alabama; Saturday, 8:30 p.m. EDT

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Flames -6.5; over/under is 130.5

BOTTOM LINE: Liberty takes on Jacksonville State in the CUSA Championship.

The Flames are 15-5 against CUSA opponents and 12-1 in non-conference play. Liberty leads the CUSA with 76.5 points and is shooting 49.1%.

The Gamecocks’ record in CUSA play is 14-6. Jacksonville State is 7-3 in games decided by at least 10 points.

Liberty makes 49.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.2 percentage points higher than Jacksonville State has allowed to its opponents (40.9%). Jacksonville State has shot at a 44.7% rate from the field this season, 4.7 percentage points higher than the 40.0% shooting opponents of Liberty have averaged.

The teams meet for the third time this season. Liberty won 59-55 in the last matchup on Feb. 28. Kaden Metheny led Liberty with 13 points, and Jao Ituka led Jacksonville State with 14 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Metheny is shooting 38.5% from beyond the arc with 2.9 made 3-pointers per game for the Flames, while averaging 13.2 points. Taelon Peter is averaging 15.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals over the past 10 games.

Jaron Pierre Jr. is averaging 21.6 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.7 assists for the Gamecocks. Quel’Ron House is averaging 9.4 points over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 9-1, averaging 73.9 points, 29.1 rebounds, 16.4 assists, 5.4 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 48.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 65.0 points per game.

Gamecocks: 6-4, averaging 68.5 points, 32.4 rebounds, 9.5 assists, 5.9 steals and 4.0 blocks per game while shooting 40.9% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 67.9 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

By The Associated Press