As we near the halfway point of the conference season the standings at the top continue to be crowded. Five teams are within one game of the conference lead; 80% of the teams still realistically have a shot at finishing first. This creates important games almost every week in CUSA play.This weekend’s matchup between Liberty and Jacksonville State will once again be important for the conference standings for both teams.
Liberty is considered the best team in CUSA according to the analytics; KenPom ranks them as the 70th best team in the country. They’re the only CUSA team currently ranked in the top 100. After completing the non-conference portion of their slate with only one loss in overtime the Flames stumbled a bit starting conference play; they went 2-3 to start before winning their last three. The Gamecocks meanwhile have won their last five games in a row and sit atop the conference standings at 6-2.
Here are three keys to this CUSA matchup:
Defend Jaron Pierre Jr.
Guard Jaron Pierre Jr. is the leading scorer in Conference USA and ranks sixth nationally. He’s averaging 21.2 points per game on 44% shooting. He’s also adept at hitting threes, hitting at a rate of 38.1% from distance. The former Shocker takes a whopping 17 shots per game for the Gamecocks, making him one of the top 50 players in the country in usage according to KenPom. He’s also able to distribute the ball, upping his assists per game from 1.2 last season to 4.3 this year.
Pierre is the cog in which much of Jacksonville State’s offense will flow through. Liberty has the best defense in CUSA, but it will be tested by Pierre Jr. If they can slow him down, they have a chance at pulling out the win in Jacksonville.
Liberty’s three -point shooting
Liberty gets a large chunk of their points from long distance. Part of this is volume (38.9% of their scoring comes from behind the arc) and part of this is efficiency (38.7% from three, good for 11th in the country). Nor is it just one or two players who do most of the damage; the Flames have six players that shoot over 40% from three. They’re the kind of team that will be a dangerous first round opponent if they make the NCAA tournament.
Jacksonville State’s three point defense is average, allowing opponents to average 33.6% from behind the arc against them. However, the Gamecocks allow opponents to take an unusually high amount of shots from behind the arc, ranking near the bottom of the country in three point shots taken against them. If Liberty is able to bomb away from three it will be a long day for Jacksonville State’s defense.
Free throw shooting
Jacksonville State will have a substantial advantage if there is a flurry of free throws at the end of the game. Five out of six of their primary contributors shoot over 78% from the line. And it’s not just the guards; forwards Marcellus Brigham and Koree Cotton both sink free throws at over 80%. As a team the Gamecocks shoot 75.7%, good for 52nd in the country.
Conversely, Liberty is a poor free throw shooting team. This year they’re shooting just 63.9%, ranking a lowly 361st in the country (out of 364 teams). Which seems odd in light of their three point shooting prowess. Of the seven players that average 10+ minutes a game, none of them shoot better than 78%; three of them are under 60% from the line. If the Liberty holds a small lead late and Jacksonville State is forced to foul the game could get dicey for the Flames.