2021–22 Liberty Flames basketball team

The 2021–22 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia at Liberty Arena. The team were led by Ritchie McKay, who was in the seventh season of his current stint as head coach and ninth overall. Liberty competed as a member of the East Division of the ASUN Conference.

2021–22 Liberty Flames basketball
Atlantic Sun East Division champions
ConferenceASUN Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record22–11 (12–4 ASUN)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Brad Soucie (7th (9th) season)
  • Derek Johnston (4th season)
  • Joe Pierre III (2nd season)
Home arenaLiberty Arena
Seasons
2021–22 ASUN men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Liberty 12 4   .750 22 11   .667
Jacksonville 11 5   .688 21 10   .677
Florida Gulf Coast 10 6   .625 22 12   .647
Kennesaw State 7 9   .438 13 18   .419
North Florida 7 9   .438 11 20   .355
Stetson 5 11   .313 11 19   .367
West
Jacksonville State^ 13 3   .813 21 11   .656
Bellarmine* † 11 5   .688 20 13   .606
Central Arkansas 7 9   .438 11 20   .355
Lipscomb 6 10   .375 14 19   .424
Eastern Kentucky 5 11   .313 13 18   .419
North Alabama* 2 14   .125 9 21   .300
*Ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
^Due to Bellarmine's ineligibility, the regular-season champions Jacksonville State took their NCAA tournament berth instead.
2022 ASUN tournament winner

Previous season

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In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Flames finished the 2020–21 season 23–6, 11–2 in ASUN play to finish in first place in the ASUN. They defeated Kennesaw State, Stetson, and North Alabama to win the ASUN tournament.[1] As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the Midwest region. They lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.[2]

Roster

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2021–22 Liberty Flames men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Brody Peebles 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Fr Hartselle HS Hartselle, AL
G 2 Darius McGhee 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Sr Blue Ridge School Roxboro, NC
G 3 Isiah Warfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So Central Valley HS Monaca, PA
G 4 Stephen Burggraf 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Liberty Christian Academy Lynchburg, VA
F 5 Bryson Spell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Fr Cape Henry Collegiate School Virginia Beach, VA
G 11 Jonathan Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
So Blue Valley HS Dallas, TX
G 13 DJ Moore 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Fr Worthington Christian HS Worthington, OH
G/F 20 Keegan McDowell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Moeller HS Cincinnati, OH
G 21 Gabriel McKay 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Jr Trevecca Nazarene Lynchburg, VA
F 22 Kyle Rode 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Jr Lexington Christian Academy Lexington, KY
G 23 Joseph Venzant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Fr Midland HS Midland, TX
F 24 Micaiah Abii 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So Liberty HS Frisco, TX
F 32 Blake Preston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
RS Jr Charlotte Christian School Charlotte, NC
F 33 Shiloh Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Jr Kearney HS Kearney, NE
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: January 15, 2022

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 11, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Regent W 85–24  1–0
Liberty Arena (4,034)
Lynchburg, VA
November 15, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at LSU L 58–74  1–1
Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,940)
Baton Rouge, LA
November 19, 2021*
5:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Iona
MAAC/ASUN Challenge
L 50–54  1–2
HP Field House (367)
Kissimmee, FL
November 20, 2021*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Manhattan
MAAC/ASUN Challenge
L 60–76  1–3
HP Field House (432)
Kissimmee, FL
November 23, 2021*
5:00 pm
at Bethune–Cookman W 59–51  2–3
Ocean Center (150)
Daytona Beach, FL
November 27, 2021*
5:00 pm
Maryland Eastern Shore W 73–61  3–3
Liberty Arena (3,000)
Lynchburg, VA
December 2, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Missouri W 66–45  4–3
Liberty Arena (4,005)
Lynchburg, VA
December 5, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Delaware State W 96–60  5–3
Liberty Arena (2,634)
Lynchburg, VA
December 11, 2021*
7:00 pm, FloSports
vs. Stephen F. Austin
Hall of Fame Classic
L 51–63  5–4
Dickies Arena (2,848)
Fort Worth, TX
December 13, 2021*
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Carver College W 95–36  6–4
Liberty Arena (2,188)
Lynchburg, VA
December 17, 2021*
1:30 pm, ESPN+
vs. East Carolina
Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout
W 74–64  7–4
Spectrum Center (0)
Charlotte, NC
December 22, 2021*
4:00 p.m., ESPNU
vs. Northern Iowa
Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals
W 76–74  8–4
Stan Sheriff Center (0)
Honolulu, HI
December 23, 2021*
4:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Stanford
Diamond Head Classic semifinals
L 76–79  8–5
Stan Sheriff Center (0)
Honolulu, HI
December 25, 2021*
6:30 p.m., ESPN2
vs. BYU
Diamond Head Classic
L 75–80  8–6
Stan Sheriff Center (4,425)
Honolulu, HI
December 31, 2021*
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Boyce College W 91–60  9–6
Liberty Arena (2,552)
Lynchburg, VA
ASUN Conference regular season
January 4, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Stetson W 75–59  10–6
(1–0)
Edmunds Center (483)
Deland, FL
January 11, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
North Florida W 71–56  11–6
(2–0)
Liberty Arena (3,315)
Lynchburg, VA
January 15, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Florida Gulf Coast W 78–75  12–6
(3–0)
Alico Arena (2,358)
Fort Myers, FL
January 18, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Jacksonville W 88–49  13–6
(4–0)
Liberty Arena (2,823)
Lynchburg, VA
January 27, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
North Alabama W 72–53  14–6
(5–0)
Liberty Arena (2,860)
Lynchburg, VA
January 29, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Jacksonville State L 67–77  14–7
(5–1)
Liberty Arena (3,272)
Lynchburg, VA
January 31, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Kennesaw State
Rescheduled from January 20
W 65–50  15–7
(6–1)
KSU Convocation Center (835)
Kennesaw, GA
February 3, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Bellarmine W 66–53  16–7
(7–1)
Freedom Hall (743)
Louisville, KY
February 5, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at Eastern Kentucky W 91–84  17–7
(8–1)
Alumni Coliseum (4,017)
Richmond, KY
February 8, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Lipscomb W 78–69  18–7
(9–1)
Liberty Arena (3,075)
Lynchburg, VA
February 12, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
at Jacksonville L 69–73  18–8
(9–2)
Swisher Gymnasium (1,121)
Jacksonville, FL
February 15, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
at North Florida L 69–72  18–9
(9–3)
UNF Arena (1,569)
Jacksonville, FL
February 19, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Stetson W 88–82  19–9
(10–3)
Liberty Arena (3,646)
Lynchburg, VA
February 21, 2022
8:00 pm, ESPN+
at Central Arkansas
Rescheduled from January 22
W 85–66  20–9
(11–3)
Farris Center (2,145)
Conway, AR
February 23, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
Florida Gulf Coast L 72–82 OT 20–10
(11–4)
Liberty Arena (3,583)
Lynchburg, VA
February 26, 2022
1:00 pm, ESPN+
Kennesaw State
Rescheduled from January 8
W 100–93 OT 21–10
(12–4)
Liberty Arena (3,112)
Lynchburg, VA
ASUN tournament
March 3, 2022
7:00 pm, ESPN+
(E1) (W4) Lipscomb
Quarterfinals
W 52–47  22–10
Liberty Arena (2,486)
Lynchburg, VA
March 5, 2022
6:00 pm, ESPN+
(E1) (W2) Bellarmine
Semifinals
L 50–53  22–11
Liberty Arena (3,515)
Lynchburg, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time..

Source[3][4][5]

References

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  1. ^ "North Alabama vs. Liberty – Game Summary – March 7, 2021 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  2. ^ "Liberty vs. Oklahoma State – Game Recap – March 19, 2021 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "2021–22 Season Men's Basketball Schedule | Liberty Flames". www.liberty.edu.
  4. ^ "2021–22 Liberty Flames Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "2021–22 Liberty Flames Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 21, 2021.