Liberty is currently 23-6 overall and 11-5 in CUSA. This puts the Flames in 2nd place in the conference standings, tied with Middle Tennessee, and just half a game behind Jacksonville State for first place as we enter the final week of the regular season.

With a strong non-conference season, the Flames have put themselves in good position in terms of Bracketology and where Liberty could be seeded if they reach the Big Dance. Of course, CUSA is a one-bid league and the only team that will advance to the NCAA Tournament is whoever wins three (or four) games in Huntsville in March, but Liberty is certainly one of the teams in the mix to represent the conference on that stage.

We should also point out that the NIT has changed their selection process for the 2025 tournament. The new rules call for the top ranked team in the top 12 KenPom rated leagues get an auto bid to the NIT if that team doesn’t make the NCAA Tournament. These teams are also assured of a home game in the first round of the NIT. With CUSA being ranked as the 9th best team in KenPom currently and Liberty ranked higher than every other team in the league, this all but guarantees the Flames a spot in the NIT if the team doesn’t reach the Big Dance, which, of course, is the ultimate goal.

BracketMatrix does a great job of compiling everyone who makes bracket projections into one location. Currently, BracketMatrix has 118 bracket projections included in their listing. Liberty represents CUSA in 71 of those brackets, receiving either a 12 or 13-seed in all of those projections with the exception of two 14’s and an average seed of 12.42. The only other CUSA team included in these projections this week is Jacksonville State who is in 47 brackets with an average seed of 13.94.

Here’s a roundup of where the Flames are being projected to play in the NCAA Tournament by several outlets:

  • Jerry Palm and CBS Sports has Liberty as a 12-seed and taking on 5-seed Missouri.
  • Haslametrics has Liberty as a 12-seed in their projection.
  • Bart Torvik has Liberty as a 12-seed in its projection.
  • Rotowire currently has the Flames as a 12-seed playing 5-seed Missouri.
  • Team Rankings has Liberty with a 33% chance of making the tournament, the highest odds of any CUSA team and the Flames earning a 12-seed.

Here is what some of the other more popular bracketologists are projecting for Conference USA currently (note: many of these simply take whoever is in first place in the standings of the one-bid leagues and don’t make projections as to who they think will win the auto-bid):

  • ESPN’s Joe Lunardi has Jax State representing CUSA as a 14-seed against 3-seed Wisconsin.
  • Andy Katz has Jacksonville State as a 14-seed against 3-seed St. John’s.
  • Mike Decourcy of Fox Sports currently has Jax State in the bracket as a 14-seed.
  • Blogging the Bracket has Jax State in as a 14-seed against 3-seed Texas A&M.