Liberty will play at Oral Roberts on Dec. 12, according to a release from ORU. This will be just the second ever meeting between the two programs. Oral Roberts defeated Liberty, 90-58, during the 2006-07 season, despite 26 points from Larry Blair in the only previous meeting.
The Golden Eagles have become one of the more respected mid-major programs in the country under sixth year head coach Paul Mills. Oral Roberts made national news during the 2021 NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16 as a 15-seed with wins over Ohio State and Florida. Last year, ORU finished 19-12 overall and 12-6 in the Summit League.
6’0″ guard Max Abmas has been an honorable mention all-American the past two years and was the leading scorer in the country during the 2021 season. He’s also been first-team all-conference the past two seasons and was named the conference player of the year and tournament MVP in 2021. He became the first player to score at least 25 points in each of the first rounds of an NCAA Tournament since Stephen Curry did so in 2008.
This game can be added to a growing number of non-conference games that have been reported for Liberty. The Flames will have three games as part of the Cancun Challenge, beginning with a home date at Liberty Arena against Southern Miss on Nov. 18 before heading to Mexico to take on Northwestern on Nov. 22 and either Bradley or Auburn on Nov. 23. Liberty will play Bryant in the 2022 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday, Dec. 17 in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The Flames will also play host to North Carolina Central and Maryland-Eastern Shore. The ASUN has also previously announced the conference schedule this season for all member schools.
Liberty is coming off a season that saw the program win 20 or more games for a sixth consecutive year. The Flames finished the season at 22-11 overall and 12-4 in ASUN play, finishing first in the ASUN’s East Division. Liberty saw its three straight ASUN championships come to an end when the Flames lost to Bellarmine, 53-50, on March 5 in the ASUN Tournament semifinals.
TBD – NC Central
Nov. 18 – vs Southern Miss
Nov. 22 – Northwestern (Cancun Challenge)
Nov. 23 – Bradley/Auburn (Cancun Challenge)
Dec. 02 – vs Maryland Eastern-Shore
Dec. 12 – @ Oral Roberts
Dec. 17 – Bryant (Hall of Fame Classic)
Dec. 29 – @ Bellarmine*
Jan. 02 – vs Lipscomb*
Jan. 05 – vs Jacksonville State*
Jan. 07 – @ Eastern Kentucky*
Jan. 12 – vs North Alabama*
Jan. 14 – vs Central Arkansas*
Jan. 19 – @ Jacksonville*
Jan. 21 – @ North Alabama*
Jan. 26 – vs Stetson*
Jan. 28 – vs FGCU*
Feb. 02 – @ Austin Peay*
Feb. 04 – @ Lipscomb*
Feb. 09 – vs Bellarmine*
Feb. 11 – vs Eastern Kentucky*
Feb. 16 – @ Kennesaw State*
Feb. 18 – @ Jacksonville State*
Feb. 22 – @ Queens*
Feb. 24 – vs Queens*
