Liberty will face North Alabama in the Atlantic Sun championship game on Sunday, but they already won a spot in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament before they even took the field.
The Flames defeated Stetson 77-64 in the semifinals on Friday in Jacksonville, Florida, and since North Alabama – a school in transition to Division I athletics – is ineligible for the NCAA tournament, Liberty won the spot automatic league.
Can we open our ticket early? 🔥
With UNA defeating FGCU, we won the ASUN automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament! pic.twitter.com/KoKRtUKnmv
– Men’s basketball Liberty (@LibertyMBB_) March 6, 2021
North Alabama joined Atlantic Sun and began moving from Division II to Division I in the 2018-19 season. According to NCAA rules, a Division II program that jumps to Division I cannot compete in the NCAA tournament until it has completed the four-year transition requirement.
The potential scenario that unfolded for Liberty was anticipated upon entering the tournament, but most assumed that the regular season champion of the conference would have to pass through a different ineligible team – Bellarmine, not North Alabama, who was 1-7 in their eight final games of the regular season before reaching the conference tournament title game, including a victory against the Florida Gulf Coast in the semifinals.
Bellarmine, who started his transition from Division II to Division I this season, finished second to Liberty in the race for the conference’s regular season title, before losing to Stetson in the first round.
In consecutive games against northern Alabama last month, Liberty won 74-54 in both fights.