Liberty @ Vanderbilt preview

Last Meeting ( Nov 19, 2018 ) Liberty 70, Vanderbilt 79

Liberty enters the weekend one of five remaining unbeaten teams in the country, a status it will try to maintain with a tough test at Vanderbilt on Saturday. The Flames utilized a 15-0 second-half run to pick up a 70-61 win over Grand Canyon in Phoenix on Sunday to extend the best start in program history.

"It's about having fun and building memories," senior guard Myo Baxter-Bell told reporters of the remarkable start. "We want to do something that's bigger than ourselves. That's what we pride ourselves on." Liberty will be facing a rested Commodores team that hasn't played since a 90-76 win over Buffalo on Dec. 3 and hasn't left its home gym since a Nov. 14 trip to Richmond. Vanderbilt entered Friday ranked 23rd in the country in scoring (82.4) and 28th in field-goal percentage (48.5) behind sophomore guard Aaron Nesmith, the top SEC scorer at 22.8 points per game. The Commodores rode a 33-point effort from Darius Garland, who now plays for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, to a 79-70 victory over Liberty at home last season.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, No TV

ABOUT LIBERTY (11-0): Senior guard Caleb Homesley, the Preseason Player of the Year in the Atlantic Sun, scored a team-high 17 points in the win over Grand Canyon in his second game since returning from a hamstring injury. His scoring average of 11.4 points leads a balanced attack that features senior forward Scottie James (10.5), sophomore guard Darius McGhee (10.1) and junior guard Elijah Cuffee (9.0), who is 11-for-15 from 3-point range over his last three games. Baxter-Bell scored 15 points against Grand Canyon, his best total in a span of 64 games dating to midway through his sophomore season.

ABOUT VANDERBILT (6-2): Junior guard Saben Lee scored 17 points in last season's win over Liberty and ranks second to Nesmith this season with 17.4 per game after producing a career-high 25 in the win over Buffalo. Freshman guard Scotty Pippen Jr. chips in 11 points per contest and senior forward Clevon Brown adds 9.5 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds while shooting 60.4 percent from the floor. Junior guard Maxwell Evans has at least 13 points in three of his last four games.

TIP-INS

1. McGhee scored 15 points while James added 12 and nine boards in last season's meeting.

2. Nesmith is making 51.5 percent of his 3-point attempts after shooting 33.7 percent as a freshman last season.

3. Liberty entered Friday tied for sixth nationally at 41.9 percent from beyond the arc.

PREDICTION: Vanderbilt 80, Liberty 75