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Big South catches up with Liberty
by Jason McGill, jmcgill@citizen-times.com

ASHEVILLE — Liberty lost more Big South Conference games this year (four) than it did the previous five seasons, when the Flames dropped just three games.

But can a team that’s won the last 10 conference tournaments truly feel backed into a corner?

The Big South tournament starts Thursday at UNC Asheville’s Justice Center, and the Flames are a paltry — by their own standard — No. 3 seed. If this season has proved anything, it’s that four teams not named Liberty have legitimate shots at a berth in the NCAA tournament.

Liberty coach Carey Green said during a Big South teleconference on Monday his team will enter Thursday’s quarterfinal game against sixth-seeded Birmingham-Southern with more urgency, a feeling the Flames are not accustomed to.

“We need to face reality, that we didn’t go in and play in a dominating way,” Green said. “A lot of teams are playing very well against us. They’re bringing their A game, and sometimes we may not be respecting our opponent or taking them as serious as we should be. … We’ve got a hungry team, and we really want to finish strong. All teams in the conference realize the importance now.”

During Liberty’s decadelong run as champs, the Flames lost just 13 regular-season conference games and went 28-0 in Big South tournament games, with an average winning margin of 17.8 points per game. The span also includes a 5-0 mark against UNCA, which Liberty twice beat in the championship games in 1998 and 2005.
The Big South strikes back

This year, Liberty has a 2-4 record against the top three Big South teams: High Point, Radford and UNCA, including a sweep by regular-season champ High Point. The Flames haven’t been swept by a Big South foe since Elon, now a member of the Southern Conference, did it in the 1996-97 season.

UNCA snapped a 24-game losing streak to Liberty with a 54-51 road win on Feb. 24 — the Flames beat the Bulldogs by 18.4 points per game during the streak. The victory also snapped a 17-year losing streak at the Vines Center in Lynchburg, Va. The Bulldogs became just the second Big South team to win there since Green took over in 2000.

“This tournament is so wide open, maybe for first time since I’ve been here,” fifth-year UNCA coach Betsy Blose said. “We’ve got great balance among teams, lots of great coaching, and every game has been a battle.”

High Point earned the No. 1 seed with an 11-3 conference record, but only three victories were in double figures. Fifth-seeded Coastal Carolina (9-5) lost four league games by four points or fewer, including four- and two-point losses to Liberty.

No. 4 seed UNCA (9-5) had just one double-digit conference loss, when it fell 73-61 at home to Coastal on Jan. 20. The Bulldogs avenged that loss with their biggest conference road win in school history, 74-46 (28 points) at Coastal on Feb. 10. They’ll meet for the third time at 2 p.m. Thursday.

UNCA handed No. 2 seed Radford its worst conference loss, 84-70, on Feb. 28, but the Highlanders came back the next game to hand Liberty its worst Big South loss in 11 years, 77-54, Saturday.

“I played in the Big South in the early ’90s (with Liberty), and I had an opportunity to spend six years as an assistant on the Liberty bench. I know Big South basketball, and I’ve been very impressed with where our league is right now,” Radford coach Jeri Porter said. “The talent pool in this league is as good as it’s ever been.”

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