Game #134 of 364 37% complete
Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell. Liberty is one of the world’s largest Christian universities as evidenced by the huge campus buildings I saw on the way to the arena. It is also one of the largest private non-profit universities in the United States by total student enrollment. Jerry Falwell Jr. took over after his father died in 2007 but disagreements over compensation and accusations of wrong doing forced Falwell out. The university has had its fair share of lawsuits with its adherence to a fundamentalist Christian approach to education that invoked challenges from the far left. No judgements here but the university is thriving along with its basketball team.
Liberty University is currently in first place in Conference USA with a 9-1 record. When the team’s starting lineup was introduced, I was shocked at how short the starting guards were. Colin Parker is 5’10” tall. Kaden Metheny is 5’11”. I was not surprised that both these individuals made up for their lack of height with quickness and outstanding shooting. They were very pesty on defense making the MSU guards work for every shot.
Mississippi Valley State is currently last in the Kenpom ratings meaning they are the worst D1 team out of 364 teams. I am sure they fund their athletic program by becoming fodder for P5 teams to fill their non- conference schedule. I guarantee that you will never see a P5 school play a game on MSU’s home court. I do remember visiting their school to see a game a few years ago. Their campus is buried deep in the Mississippi’s bayou and not in an an affluent area.
I vote Liberty University as the most friendly campus I have visited. I was greeted with hellos and Happy Holidays from every employee in the arena. Everyone had a smile on their face, even the concession crew. As you can see, I had first row seats behind the courtside seats. One of the benefits of going to a small arena with an unimportant game is the availability of good seats.
Check out the flames show during the pre-game introductions. This was very cool to see in the darkened arena.
Every game I have been to on this trip has been televised by ESPN+. Here is their reporter interviewing Liberty coach Ritchie McKay at half time. I actually saw myself on TV once viewing the game on my phone.
Liberty never was behind the whole game and was led by Metheny with 22 points. He will be a handful for teams to guard down the road. Liberty was upset by UTEP last year in the Conference USA tournament. I can see them being a Cinderella team this year in the March Madness tournament.
Finally, let me introduce you to the Appomattox Court House. This is a national park where General Lee surrendered to General Grant to end the civil war. Below is the house and the room where the surrender took place.
General Lee sat on the left and General Grant sat on the right.
On to Radford University tomorrow!
journey to 351 