Heading into his sixth straight season with Liberty, Ritchie McKay faces a rebuild situation as the Flames move on after the graduations of their star-studded senior class that led the program to 59 wins over the past two seasons and back-to-back ASUN Championships. With all the losses at Liberty, many are still projecting the Flames to compete for a conference title for a third straight season.
Include Ken Pomeroy on that list expecting the Flames to compete this coming season.
In his initial ratings for the beginning of the season, Pomeroy listed the Flames at No. 162 overall and 1st in the ASUN. KenPom listed Liberty as the 219th adjusted offense at 95.8 while the adjusted defense came in at 125th and 96.5. Both of those numbers are based on points per 100 possessions.
During the program’s first two seasons in the ASUN after making the move from the Big South, Liberty has won a share of the regular season title in both seasons before winning the ASUN Tournament Title and the league’s automatic bid both years. Liberty also finished with its highest ever rankings in the final KenPom ratings each of the past two seasons, finishing No. 58 following the 2018-19 season and No. 79 following the 2019-20 campaign. 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 ASUN, Lipscomb is right on the Flames’ heels with a 173 national ranking, according to KenPom. The Flames and Bisons are both projected to finish 11-5 in conference play, putting even more importance on the regular season meetings between the two squads who have both reached the ASUN Tournament Championship Game the past two seasons. Liberty and Lipscomb are currently scheduled to face each other to begin conference play in Nashville on Dec. 31 and Jan. 2 as the ASUN recently announced a revised conference schedule. Both of those games will be played on Lipscomb’s home court.
Behind the LUs, KenPom has Stetson at No. 222 nationally, followed by North Alabama (#243), FGCU (#254), North Florida (#282), Bellarmine (#291), Jacksonville (#311), and Kennesaw State (#345).
While Liberty has not released its non-conference schedule this season, the Flames are currently scheduled to open the season in the Cancun Challenge which is slated to be played in Melbourne, Florida at Eastern Florida State College. Liberty is expected to play Purdue on Nov. 25 in the team’s opener. The Boilermakers are rated No. 25 by KenPom’s initial rankings. Liberty will then play either Mississippi State or Clemson on Nov. 26 to complete the Cancun Challenge. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 78 by KenPom and the Tigers check in at No. 40.
