2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball team

2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball
2022–23 Liberty Flames basketball
Atlantic Sun regular season co-champions
NIT, Second Round
Conference	ASUN Conference
Record	27–9 (15–3 ASUN)
Head coach	Ritchie McKay (8th, 10th overall season);
Associate head coach	Rob Jones
Assistant coaches	Derek Johnston; Joe Pierre III;
Home arena	Liberty Arena
	Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 ⊟

2022–23 ASUN men's basketball standings
v t e	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

Ritchie McKay (Seattle Pacific)

Assistant coach(es)

Rob Jones (Toccoa Falls)
Derek Johnston (Alabama–Huntsville)
Joe Pierre III (Oklahoma State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

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

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

[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.

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[3]

[4]

v t e Liberty Flames basketball
Venues	Vines Center (1990–2020) Liberty Arena (2020–present)
Culture & lore	Boo Box Spirit of the Mountain
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25