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2020–21 Liberty Flames basketball team

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2020–21 Liberty Flames basketball
Atlantic Sun regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
ConferenceASUN Conference
Record23–6 (11–2 ASUN)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Brad Soucie (6th (8th) season)
  • Derek Johnston (3rd season)
  • Joe Pierre III (1st season)
Home arenaLiberty Arena
Seasons
2020–21 ASUN men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Liberty 11 2   .846 23 6   .793
Bellarmine * 10 3   .769 14 8   .636
Lipscomb 9 6   .600 15 12   .556
North Florida 6 6   .500 8 15   .348
North Alabama * 7 8   .467 13 11   .542
Florida Gulf Coast 4 5   .444 10 8   .556
Stetson 7 9   .438 12 15   .444
Jacksonville 5 9   .357 11 13   .458
Kennesaw State 2 13   .133 5 19   .208
* ineligible for the 2021 NCAA tournament due to transition period
Jacksonville suspended their season on February 26, 2021
2021 ASUN Tournament winner

The 2020–21 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team plays its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the inaugural season at Liberty Arena, with a capacity of 4,000. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in the sixth season of his current stint as head coach and eighth overall. Liberty was a third-year member of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season 23-6, 11-2 in ASUN Play to finish in ASUN regular season champions. They defeated Kennesaw State, Stetson, and North Alabama to be champions of the ASUN tournament. They received the ASUN’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.

Previous season

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The Flames finished the 2019–20 season 30–4, 13–3 in ASUN play to finish in first place in their third season in the ASUN. They defeated NJIT, Stetson, and Lipscomb in the championship game to win the ASUN tournament.

The team officially qualified for the NCAA tournament but it was cancelled as a result of the global pandemic.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Myo Baxter-Bell 0 Forward 6'5" 255 RS Senior Cincinnati Graduated
Caleb Homesley 1 Forward 6'6" 205 RS Senior Indian Trail, North Carolina Graduated
Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz 11 Guard 6'1" 170 Senior Ponce, Puerto Rico Graduated
Scottie James 31 Forward 6'8" 235 RS Senior Tarpon Springs, Florida Graduated
Brandon Newton 55 Center 7'2" 235 Sophomore Roanoke, Virginia Transferred to Trevecca Nazarene

2020-21 Newcomers

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Drake Dobbs
G
Eden Prairie, Minnesota Eden Prairie High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A Jan 3, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A
Isiah Warfield
G
Sewickley, Pennsylvania Sewickley Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) N/A Mar 28, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars
Jonathan Jackson
G
Overland Park, Kansas Blue Valley High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) N/A Nov 13, 2019 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Micaiah Abii
F
Frisco, Texas Liberty High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Chris Parker
G
Plano, Texas Henderson State 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

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2020–21 Liberty Flames men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Drake Dobbs 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Fr Eden Prairie HS Eden Prairie, MN
G 1 Chris Parker 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Sr Henderson State Plano, TX
G 2 Darius McGhee 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Jr Blue Ridge School Roxboro, NC
G 3 Isiah Warfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Fr Sewickley Academy Monaca, PA
G 4 Tytist Dean (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So North HS St. Paul, MN
G 5 Marten Maide 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
RS Fr Carmel Christian School Charlotte, NC
G/F 10 Elijah Cuffee 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Liberty Christian Academy Poca, WV
G 11 Jonathan Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Fr Blue Valley HS Overland Park, KS
G 15 Colton Reed (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
RS Jr Roanoke Wake Forest, NC
G/F 20 Keegan McDowell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
RS Jr Moeller HS Cincinnati, OH
G 21 Luke McKay (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Sr Liberty Christian Academy Lynchburg, VA
F 22 Kyle Rode 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So Lexington Christian Academy Lexington, KY
F 24 Micaiah Abii 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Fr Liberty HS Frisco, TX
G 25 Josh Price 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
RS So Carmel Christian School Charlotte, NC
F 32 Blake Preston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
RS So Charlotte Christian School Charlotte, NC
F 33 Shiloh Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So Kearney HS Kearney, NE
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

  • Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 25, 2020*
5:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Purdue
Space Coast Challenge
L 64–77  0–1
 21  McGhee   6  Tied   4  3 tied  Titan FieldHouse (0)
Melbourne, FL
Nov 26, 2020*
6:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. Mississippi State
Space Coast Challenge
W 84–73  1–1
 23  McGhee   5  Preston   10  Parker  Titan FieldHouse (0)
Melbourne, FL
Nov 28, 2020*
4:00 pm, ESPNews
vs. South Carolina
Hall of Fame Classic semifinals
W 78–62  2–1
 18  Rode   6  Tied   5  Parker  T-Mobile Center (0)
Kansas City, MO
Nov 29, 2020*
3:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. TCU
Hall of Fame Classic final
L 52–56  2–2
 15  McGhee   9  McGhee   2  Preston  T-Mobile Center (0)
Kansas City, MO
Dec 3, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Saint Francis (PA) W 78–62  3–2
 21  McDowell   7  Tied   6  Parker  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Dec 5, 2020*
2:00 pm, ESPN+
Bluefield W 86–64  4–2
 21  McGhee   6  Tied   7  McDowell  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Dec 9, 2020*
8:00 pm, SECN
at Missouri L 60–69  4–3
 12  Preston   5  Preston   5  Parker  Mizzou Arena 
Columbia, MO
Dec 12, 2020*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Columbia International W 73–26  5–3
 11  Preston   6  3 Tied   5  Dobbs  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Dec 15, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
South Carolina State W 82–52  6–3
 16  Tied   11  Preston   8  Parker  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Dec 16, 2020*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Carver College W 91–38  7–3
 17  Abii   7  Preston   5  Tied  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Dec 22, 2020*
1:00 pm
Alcorn State W 108–65  8–3
 20  McGhee   9  Rode   7  Preston  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Jan 1, 2021
3:00 pm, ESPN+
at Lipscomb L 70–77  8–4
(0–1)
 16  McGhee   11  Preston   4  McGhee  Allen Arena (820)
Nashville, TN
Jan 2, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Lipscomb W 66–50  9–4
(1–1)
 20  McGhee   9  Preston   5  Parker  Allen Arena (863)
Nashville, TN
Jan 8, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Kennesaw State W 69–63  10–4
(2–1)
 17  Preston   7  McGhee   3  Parker  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Jan 9, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
Kennesaw State W 76–47  11–4
(3–1)
 12  McGhee   6  McDowell   5  Rode  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Jan 8, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Florida Gulf Coast Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Liberty Arena 
Lynchburg, VA
Jan 9, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Florida Gulf Coast Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues Liberty Arena 
Lynchburg, VA
Jan 15, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Stetson L 59–65  11–5
(3–2)
 18  Parker   6  3 Tied   4  Cuffee  Edmunds Center (50)
Deland, FL
Jan 16, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
at Stetson W 68–58  12–5
(4–2)
 12  Parker   11  McGhee   4  Parker  Edmunds Center (50)
Deland, FL
Jan 29, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Jacksonville W 59–54  13–5
(5–2)
 18  Parker   8  Rode   3  Parker  Swisher Gymnasium (180)
Jacksonville, FL
Jan 30, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Jacksonville W 64–58  14–5
(6–2)
 25  McGhee   6  Rode   4  Rode  Swisher Gymnasium (180)
Jacksonville, FL
Feb 5, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
Lancaster Bible College W 90–49  15–5
 19  Cuffee   9  Preston   4  Tied  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Feb 12, 2021
6:00 pm, ESPN+
North Florida W 73–61  16–5
(7–2)
 14  Preston   10  Preston   8  Rode  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Feb 13, 2021
5:00 pm, ESPN+
North Florida W 80–60  17–5
(8–2)
 22  McGhee   8  Tied   5  Rode  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Feb 22, 2020
12:00 pm, ESPN+
North Alabama W 74–54  18–5
(9–2)
 29  McGhee   7  Rode   6  Parker  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Feb 23, 2020
12:00 pm, ESPN+
North Alabama W 74–54  19–5
(10–2)
 24  McGhee   6  Tied   3  Tied  Liberty Arena (250)
Lynchburg, VA
Feb 26, 2021
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bellarmine Cancelled Freedom Hall 
Louisville, KY
Feb 27, 2021
12:00 pm, ESPNU
at Bellarmine W 94–78  20–5
(11–2)
 34  McGhee   9  Robinson   9  Rode  Freedom Hall (2,737)
Louisville, KY
Atlantic Sun tournament
Mar 4, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN+
(1) vs. (8) Kennesaw State
Quarterfinals
W 69–59  21–5
 16  McGhee   6  McDowell   3  Tied  UNF Arena 
Jacksonville, FL
Mar 5, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN+
(1) vs. (7) Stetson
Semifinals
W 77–64  22–5
 16  Parker   10  Preston   9  McGhee  UNF Arena 
Jacksonville, FL
Mar 7, 2021
2:00 pm, ESPN
(1) vs. (5) North Alabama
Championship
W 79–75  23–5
 21  McGhee   8  McGhee   5  Rode  UNF Arena 
Jacksonville, FL
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021*
5:25 pm, TBS
(13 MW) vs. (4 MW) No. 11 Oklahoma State
First Round
L 60–69  23–6
 16  Cuffee   7  Preston   4  Cuffee  Indiana Farmers Coliseum 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time..

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References

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