2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball team

2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball
Atlantic Sun regular season co-champions
NIT, Second Round
ConferenceASUN Conference
Record27–9 (15–3 ASUN)
Head coach
Associate head coachRob Jones
Assistant coaches
  • Derek Johnston
  • Joe Pierre III
Home arenaLiberty Arena
Seasons
2022–23 ASUN men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Kennesaw State † 15 – 3   .833 26 – 9   .743
Liberty 15 – 3   .833 27 – 9   .750
Eastern Kentucky 12 – 6   .667 23 – 14   .622
Stetson 12 – 6   .667 17 – 14   .548
Lipscomb 11 – 7   .611 20 – 13   .606
North Alabama 10 – 8   .556 18 – 15   .545
North Florida 9 – 9   .500 14 – 17   .452
Bellarmine* 9 – 9   .500 15 – 18   .455
Queens* 7 – 11   .389 18 – 15   .545
Florida Gulf Coast 7 – 11   .389 17 – 15   .531
Jacksonville 6 – 12   .333 13 – 16   .448
Jacksonville State 6 – 12   .333 13 – 18   .419
Central Arkansas 4 – 14   .222 9 – 22   .290
Austin Peay 3 – 15   .167 9 – 22   .290
* Ineligible for the 2023 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
† 2023 ASUN tournament winner

The 2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Flames were led by Ritchie McKay in the eighth season of his current stint as head coach (10th overall). They played their home games at Liberty Arena in Lynchburg, Virginia as members of the ASUN Conference.

They finished the season 24–7, 15–2 in 2022–23 ASUN Play to tie for first place in conference standings. They defeated Bellarmine and Eastern Kentucky before losing to Kennesaw State in the champion title match in the ASUN tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NIT tournament where they defeated Villanova in the first round before losing to Wisconsin in the second round.

Previous season

The Flames finished the 2021–22 season 22–11, 12–4 in ASUN play to finish in first place in the East Division. They defeated Lipscomb in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament,[1] before falling to Bellarmine in the semifinals.[2]

Roster

2022–23 Liberty Flames men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Colin Porter 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Fr Paul G. Blazer HS Ashland, Kentucky
G 1 Brody Peebles 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Hartselle HS Hartselle, Alabama
G 2 Darius McGhee 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Blue Ridge School Roxboro, North Carolina
G 3 Isiah Warfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Central Valley HS Monaca, Pennsylvania
G 4 Stephen Burggraf 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Sr Liberty Christian Academy Lynchburg, Virginia
F 5 Bryson Spell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Cape Henry Collegiate School Virginia Beach, Virginia
G 10 JC Shirer Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Grace Preparatory Academy Arlington, Texas
G 11 Jonathan Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Blue Valley HS Dallas, Texas
G 21 Gabriel McKay 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Jr Trevecca Nazarene Lynchburg, Virginia
F 22 Kyle Rode 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Lexington Christian Academy Lexington, Kentucky
G 23 Joseph Venzant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Midland Christian School Midland, Texas
F 25 Zach Cleveland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Normal Community HS Bloomington, Illinois
F 32 Blake Preston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Charlotte Christian School Charlotte, North Carolina
F 33 Shiloh Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Kearney HS Kearney, Nebraska
F 34 Ben Southerland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Sycamore HS Cincinnati, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 26, 2022

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Regent W 104–38  1–0
 Liberty Arena (3,885)
Lynchburg, VA
November 11, 2022*
8:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+ 		at No. 20 Alabama L 59–95  1–1
 Coleman Coliseum (10,270)
Tuscaloosa, AL
November 14, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		North Carolina Central W 79–63  2–1
 Liberty Arena (3,262)
Lynchburg, VA
November 18, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Southern Miss
Cancún Challenge campus-site game 		L 72–76  2–2
 Liberty Arena (3,576)
Lynchburg, VA
November 22, 2022*
8:30 pm, CBSSN 		vs. Northwestern
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division semifinals 		L 52–66  2–3
 Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (321)
Cancún, Mexico
November 23, 2022*
6:00 pm, CBSSN 		vs. Bradley
Cancún Challenge Riviera Division consolation 		W 55–44  3–3
 Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (271)
Cancún, Mexico
November 26, 2022*
5:00 pm 		Delaware State W 80–53  4–3
 Liberty Arena (3,081)
Lynchburg, VA
December 2, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Maryland Eastern Shore W 79–59  5–3
 Liberty Arena (3,213)
Lynchburg, VA
December 6, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Virginia University of Lynchburg W 101–49  6–3
 Liberty Arena (2,694)
Lynchburg, VA
December 12, 2022*
8:00 pm 		at Oral Roberts L 70–84  6–4
 Mabee Center (4,422)
Tulsa, OK
December 17, 2022*
12:30 pm, ESPN+ 		vs. Bryant
Hall of Fame Classic 		W 82–62  7–4
 MassMutual Center 
Springfield, MA
December 19, 2022*
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Grambling State W 75–56  8–4
 Liberty Arena (2,379)
Lynchburg, VA
December 21, 2022*
12:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Mid-Atlantic Christian W 88–50  9–4
 Liberty Arena (2,326)
Lynchburg, VA
ASUN Conference regular season
December 29, 2022
6:30 pm, ESPN+ 		at Bellarmine W 70–53  10–4
(1–0) 		Freedom Hall (2,805)
Louisville, KY
January 2, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Lipscomb W 77–48  11–4
(2–0) 		Liberty Arena (2,437)
Lynchburg, VA
January 5, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Jacksonville State W 75–41  12–4
(3–0) 		Liberty Arena (2,280)
Lynchburg, VA
January 8, 2023
1:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Eastern Kentucky L 59–62  12–5
(3–1) 		McBrayer Arena (3,216)
Richmond, KY
January 12, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		North Alabama W 72–54  13–5
(4–1) 		Liberty Arena (2,537)
Lynchburg, VA
January 14, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Central Arkansas W 82–62  14–5
(5–1) 		Liberty Arena (3,648)
Lynchburg, VA
January 19, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Jacksonville W 66–52  15–5
(6–1) 		Swisher Gymnasium (1,014)
Jacksonville, FL
January 21, 2023
2:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at North Florida W 73–62  16–5
(7–1) 		UNF Arena (1,559)
Jacksonville, FL
January 26, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Stetson W 74–45  17–5
(8–1) 		Liberty Arena (3,591)
Lynchburg, VA
January 28, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Florida Gulf Coast W 74–57  18–5
(9–1) 		Liberty Arena (4,007)
Lynchburg, VA
February 2, 2023
8:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Austin Peay W 82–70  19–5
(10–1) 		Dunn Center (1,452)
Clarksville, TN
February 4, 2023
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Lipscomb L 64–69  19–6
(10–2) 		Allen Arena (3,567)
Nashville, TN
February 9, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Bellarmine W 70–50  20–6
(11–2) 		Liberty Arena (3,149)
Lynchburg, VA
February 11, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Eastern Kentucky W 83–73  21–6
(12–2) 		Liberty Arena (3,961)
Lynchburg, VA
February 16, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Kennesaw State L 81–88  21–7
(12–3) 		KSU Convocation Center (3,059)
Kennesaw, GA
February 18, 2023
5:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Jacksonville State W 79–55  22–7
(13–3) 		Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,455)
Jacksonville, AL
February 22, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		at Queens W 85–77  23–7
(14–3) 		Curry Arena (762)
Charlotte, NC
February 24, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		Queens W 73–53  24–7
(15–3) 		Liberty Arena (4,041)
Lynchburg, VA
ASUN tournament
February 28, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(2) (8) Bellarmine
Quarterfinals 		W 76–56  25–7
 Liberty Arena (3,407)
Lynchburg, VA
March 2, 2023
7:00 pm, ESPN+ 		(2) (3) Eastern Kentucky
Semifinals 		W 79–73  26–7
 Liberty Arena (4,043)
Lynchburg, VA
March 5, 2023
3:00 pm, ESPN2 		(2) at (1) Kennesaw State
Championship 		L 66–67  26–8
 KSU Convocation Center (3,805)
Kennesaw, GA
NIT
March 14, 2023*
9:00 pm, ESPN2 		(3) Villanova
First Round – Oregon Bracket 		W 62–57  27–8
 Liberty Arena (3,252)
Lynchburg, VA
March 19, 2023*
12:00 pm, ESPN2/ESPN+ 		(3) at (2) Wisconsin
Second Round – Oregon Bracket 		L 71–75  27–9
 Kohl Center (10,436)
Madison, WI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources[3][4]

References

  1. ^ "Liberty Advances to ASUN Semifinals, Defeats Lipscomb". Liberty Flames. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "#2W Bellarmine Stuns Liberty To Play in Program's First #ASUNMadness Championship Final". ASUN Conference. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  3. ^ "Schedule". Liberty Flames. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  4. ^ "2022–23 Liberty Flames Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 26, 2022.