The current string of success the Liberty men’s basketball program is on is unprecedented.
The Flames are currently 16-1 on the season and are 35-4 in its last 39 games dating back to December of 2018. Liberty is tied for 2nd most wins in college basketball during that time period, trailing only Gonzaga who has 37 wins. The Flames are tied at 35 wins with 2019 NCAA National Champion Virginia.
Don’t take this success for granted. Don’t snap off about the schedule or the ASUN.
This is Liberty basketball we’re talking about.
You know the program that had exactly four 20-win seasons before Ritchie McKay showed up. 20-loss seasons were far more prevalent than 20-win seasons. The Flames had never finished in the top 150 in the country before last season.
“You don’t get this every year,” McKay said. “I hope we can all appreciate what God’s done in our family and the way these guys represent and relish in that.”
Liberty is preparing for the stretch run of conference play, and unless something bizarre happens, the only prevailing question of the ASUN regular season is whether or not the Flames finish the conference’s regular season undefeated. North Florida could challenge for the regular season title, but most projections has Liberty winning it by 3 or more games.
“We have a tough team that’s mature,” McKay said this week when asked what he learned about his team during the long road trip. “We obviously know we have room for improvement. We don’t think we can just show up and win games. I think that is a product of their maturity. We’re not naive. The ASUN is a good league. We had better respect and appreciate the opportunity each night out, otherwise I think that’s when you get real disappointed quickly.”
With McKay at the helm, this run is likely to continue into the future, but he will have four seniors to replace next season. He’s hopeful the fanbase will rally behind them for the stretch run this season.
“Enjoy the success that we’re having on the floor and get behind us in a way that’s unconditional because they deserve a following.”
