Over the weekend, KenPom released its initial ratings entering the 2024-25 men’s basketball season. The Flames are listed at No. 106 overall and 1st in the CUSA.
KenPom has listed Liberty as the 115th adjusted offense at 103.0 while the adjusted defense comes in at 103rd and 97.2. Both of those numbers are based on points per 100 possessions.
This is one of the highest preseason rankings by KenPom for Liberty in school history, with all of the highest preseason rankings coming in recent years. Last year, the Flames were ranked at No. 76 in the preseason, the highest in school history.
Liberty has finished with its highest ever rankings in the final KenPom ratings each of the past six seasons, finishing No. 58 following the 2018-19 season, No. 79 following the 2019-20 campaign, No. 98 at the end of the 2020-21 season, and finished No. 124 following the 2021-22 season. Following the 2022-23 campaign, the Flames finished at No. 48, the highest end of year finish in program history. Last year, Liberty finished at No. 137.
The Flames’ next best finishes in the history of KenPom’s ratings came in 2003-04 when Randy Dunton’s team was ranked No. 181 and in 2017-18 when the Flames finished No. 184 under McKay.
Following Liberty in the CUSA is No. 107 Louisiana Tech. Behind the Bulldogs is No. 114 Sam Houston, followed by Western Kentucky (#132), New Mexico State (#158), UTEP (#171), Middle Tennessee (#185), Jacksonville State (#221), Kennesaw State (#223), and FIU (#276).
KenPom projects the Flames to finish the regular season with a 20-9 overall mark to go along with the 12-6 CUSA record projection. This does not include two games that the Flames will play in the Paradise Jam. The computer model has Liberty as underdog in three of the team’s first four Division I games.
Coming off an 18-14 campaign, the first for the program without winning at least 20 games since Ritchie McKay’s first year back at Liberty in 2015-16, the Flames have a new look roster that features seven new faces, including five transfers. Liberty was picked to finish fifth in the Conference USA preseason poll, as released by the conference last week. Zach Cleveland and Kaden Metheny were named to the league’s preseason all-conference team.
Liberty will open the season on Nov. 4 against Valparaiso in Xenia, Ohio before travelling to Washington state to take on Seattle University on Nov. 9. The Flames’ home opener is on Tuesday, Nov. 12 against Carolina University.
