At 23-5 overall and 12-1 in the ASUN, the 2018-19 Liberty men’s basketball team is staking its claim as the best team in school history. Is it the best ever and will it be remembered that way? That’s still up for debate and likely won’t be determined until the season is in the books.
With 23 wins, the Flames have already tied the program record for most wins in a season as a Division I member, tying the 1996-97 and 2008-09 teams. Those teams took 31 and 34 games, respectively, to reach the 23 win mark. That number of wins puts this year’s team in a tie for 2nd most wins in a season in school history, regardless of classification, as Liberty won 28 games in 1979-80 led by Karl Hess on a team that won the NCCAA National Championship.
This year, the Flames have reached 23 wins faster than any other team and are the only team to do so in the regular season. Coach McKay’s team still has 3 more games left in the regular season before the ASUN Tournament and postseason play, putting the program record of 28 wins well within striking distance.
In addition to the wins, the Flames will finish the season ranked in the top 100 of all national rankings for the first time in school history. The final ranking could be as high as top 50, as most rankings currently has Liberty in the 55-65 range.
“We’re putting ourselves in a position to have one of the best seasons Liberty basketball has ever had,” Coach McKay said prior to his team’s win at Lipscomb last week. “We’re on a growth track where this isn’t just a short-term quick-fix. It’s taken a long time to get here. It’s been a while since Liberty has been this competitive, and we’re pleased we’re pursuing that.”
The competition this team has for the title of best ever includes the 1980, 1997, and 2009 teams mentioned above. The 1980 team is the only Liberty team to win a national title and, as stated previously, owns the school record for most wins in a single season, but that team competed at a much lower level. The 1997 team finished the year at 23-9 and 11-3 in the Big South, but lost to Charleston Southern in the Big South Tournament Championship game, failing to reach the postseason. Similarly, the 2009 team, led by McKay and diaper-dandy Seth Curry, finished the season at 23-12 overall and 12-6 in the Big South, losing in the semifinals of the conference tournament to VMI before advancing to the program’s first ever CIT appearance.
Those teams had great seasons, but they failed to even threaten being a top 100 team and were unable to advance to either the NCAA Tournament or NIT.
Other teams that must be mentioned as the best ever are the 1982-83, 1993-94, and 2003-04 teams.
The 1983 team gets a mention as one of only 5 teams to have won 23 games or more, as they finished 23-9. Led by Coach Jeff Meyer, the Flames advanced to the Elite 8 of the NAIA Tournament before falling to Chaminade. Again a great season, but not at all comparable to what this year’s team has already accomplished.
The 1994 team broke through and won the program’s first ever Big South title, advancing to the school’s first ever NCAA Tournament. At 18-12, Liberty entered the Big Dance as a 16-seed and faced #1 overall seed North Carolina. The Flames gave the Tar Heels all the wanted, before falling by a final margin of 20.
In 2004, Liberty advanced to its 2nd ever NCAA Tournament appearance after winning the Big South regular season and tournament titles. The Flames finished the season 18-15 overall and 12-4 in Big South play. The team featured talented veterans Gabe Martin and Ryan Mantlo and explosive scoring freshmen in Larry Blair and David Dees. Liberty completely obliterated High Point in the Vines Center during the conference championship game, advancing as a 16-seed to face 1-seed St. Joseph’s. The Flames lost by 19. The Randy Dunton led 2004 team finished the season ranked 181 in KenPom, the highest final ranking the Flames have ever had.
“Our team this year has been the closest that we have been in the past,” Myo Baxter-Bell said of this year’s team success. “We took ownership of our roles, that took a lot of maturity. We’ve all been here for years, so I think we just matured as a group and understood that we’re trying to do something bigger than us.”
The 2018-19 team could certainly go down as the best team in Liberty history. If they win the ASUN championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament, the debate is over.
“It’s never a goal of mine, it’s just not,” Coach McKay said on winning 20 or more games for the third consecutive season. “I want to be in the conference championship race every year. I won’t even think about our record until the end of the season. I know where we are in the standings and I know what our record is, but that’s not an achievement I’m striving for, nor what I think our guys are striving for.”
Two years ago, Liberty was within striking distance of both Winthrop and UNC Asheville for a regular season title entering the season’s final week. Last year, after hitting a rough patch early in the conference race, the Flames rebounded and came within seconds of a Big South Tournament championship. This year, McKay has his team in a tie for first place, already clinching a top 2 finish, with just 3 games to play.
“For me, I’m measured on when are we going to be a conference champion and are we getting closer and closer as the days go on,” McKay said of his team’s success this year and in recent seasons. “Considering where we stand in the race, we have a chance to accomplish that. I’m proud to be a part of this.”
Based on this program’s history and where we were just a few short seasons ago, it’s truly remarkable for us to even be having this conversation. The basketball program has never had any sustained success, as evidenced by never winning 20 or more games in consecutive years until this current streak. And don’t forget where we were when McKay returned just 4 years ago. The program was in as bad of shape as it’s ever been, coming off 3 consecutive 20 loss seasons, losing 84 games in a span of 4 seasons, and being ranked among the worst Division I programs in the country.
The Flames lost 13 straight Division I games to open McKay’s 2nd stint here. It wasn’t until John Dawson scored 13 points in the final 9 minutes, including the game winning 3 pointer in the closing seconds, at Coastal Carolina in January 2016 that Liberty sniffed victory in McKay’s first season back. Since then, Liberty is 76-40 overall and 45-19 in conference play.
“When we first took the job at Virginia, (Coach Bennett) redecorated his office,” McKay said. “He had a picture of (John Paul Jones Arena) and we had to Photoshop fans in the stands. On the scoreboard, there was a phrase – ‘build something special’ – and every recruit that went in there got a chance to hear his vision for that program. Similarly, I think we’re in that process of trying to build something. We think we have an opportunity to build something really special here.”
