Liberty and Villanova play in NIT matchup

Published Mar. 14, 2023 3:42 a.m. ET

Associated Press

Villanova Wildcats (17-16, 10-10 Big East) at Liberty Flames (26-8, 15-3 ASUN)

Lynchburg, Virginia; Tuesday, 8 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: The Liberty Flames square off against the Villanova Wildcats in the National Invitation Tournament.

The Flames have gone 15-3 against ASUN opponents, with an 11-5 record in non-conference play. Liberty ranks eighth in the ASUN in rebounding averaging 30.8 rebounds. Blake Preston paces the Flames with 5.2 boards.

The Wildcats are 10-10 against Big East teams. Villanova ranks ninth in the Big East with 29.0 rebounds per game led by Eric Dixon averaging 6.4.

TOP PERFORMERS: Preston is averaging 6.9 points and 5.2 rebounds for the Flames. Darius McGhee is averaging 26.3 points over the last 10 games for Liberty.

Dixon is averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 rebounds for the Wildcats. Justin Moore is averaging 2.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Villanova.

LAST 10 GAMES: Flames: 7-3, averaging 75.6 points, 31.4 rebounds, 13.2 assists, 6.6 steals and 2.5 blocks per game while shooting 47.4% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.1 points per game.

Wildcats: 7-3, averaging 70.5 points, 29.1 rebounds, 11.2 assists, 5.7 steals and 2.1 blocks per game while shooting 44.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 66.2 points.

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