Getty Myo Baxter-Bell of the Liberty Flames.
The top two squads in the Atlantic Sun conference will clash as Liberty puts its undefeated home record on the line against North Florida on Thursday at Vines Center.
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The game (7 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV anywhere, but anyone in the U.S can watch it live on ESPN+:
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Or, if you also want the new Disney+ streaming service and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to 25 percent savings.
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can then watch North Florida vs Liberty live on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other streaming device via the ESPN app.
North Florida vs Liberty Preview
Liberty’s one-point loss to North Florida last time they met up left a sour taste in the mouths of Flames fans. However, Liberty’s head coach Ritchie McKay is not looking to make Thursday’s rematch of the top two teams in the ASUN conference too much of a circus, even with the first place on the line and the conference tournament just around the corner.
“It’s easy for us to see as fans, coaches, players, this is a big game because we’re at the top of the standings,” McKay told the A Sea of Red website. “But it’s one game. The last two Atlantic Sun Conference Champions, the teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, were both road teams in the conference tournament finals. (Thursday’s game) ensures nothing, win or lose.
“The fact that there is hype around (this game) is a good thing,” said McKay. “It means we’re doing something right, that warrants some attention, yet in the big scheme of things I just want to get better. If we’re better in March, then we’ve got a chance to do some things that every program wants to do.”
In its first year playing in the ASUN conference last season, Liberty punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament, beating Lipscomb to win the conference. The Flames then won their first game in the tournament, upsetting Mississippi State before falling to Virginia Tech. Those experiences have made McKay’s “old” squad fit for a stretch run.
“Having an experienced group or ‘being old’ is really important to your cause in college basketball,” McKay said. “I think it has more to that than just seniors. There are other teams that have some similar experience that aren’t enjoying the same success. Both of these teams have really good players.”
Senior Myo Baxter-Bell echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“Having that experience from last year coming to this year, all of us got that experience. It’s big,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure we don’t let the game get bigger than what we do and make sure everybody stays in our lane and do what we do and not get outside of ourselves.”
North Florida’s last loss came to Lipscomb back on Jan. 25, six in a row since. The Ospreys last made the tournament during the 2014-15 season and have already assured that they’ll finish the year with a winning record for the first time since 2016. North Florida head coach Matthew Driscoll — who took over the program more than a decade ago — knows he has a special group on his hands.
“Hanging a banner is huge,” Driscoll told The Florida-Times Union. “Them dudes [in 2014-15 and ’15-16] did it. These dudes are close.”