Mark Bradley sez:
Kennesaw State beat Liberty 88-81 at the KSU Convocation Center on Thursday. The Owls are alone in first place in the ASUN with three regular-season games remaining. The ASUN tournament will be staged on ASUN campuses. Only the ASUN champ will make the NCAA tournament. The Owls' odds of being that team just improved exponentially.
As of this morning, ESPN's Joe Lunardi includes KSU in his field of 68 as a No. 15 seed. In their previous Division II life, the Owls were 2004 NCAA champs. This will be their first winning season since moving to D-I in 2005-06.
Liberty remains ranked ahead – way ahead – of KSU in the NCAA's NET ratings, but that no longer matters. The Owls hold a one-game lead plus the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the two meet again, it will be in Kennesaw. KSU is unbeaten at home.