MBB Game Day: NC State
12/9/2025 10:22:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty at NC State (Lenovo Center | Raleigh, N.C.)
- Tipoff: Wednesday at 7:01 p.m. ET
- TV: ACC Network
- Radio: LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- The Liberty Flames (6-2) will play their first true road game against NC State (6-3) on Wednesday night.
- Liberty earned a 92-50 home win over Coppin State in its most recent game this past Saturday. Brett Decker Jr. (20 points) led four Flames in double figures, while Josh Smith and JJ Harper put up 16 points and seven rebounds apiece. Zach Cleveland notched a career-best 13 assists.
- The Flames have three all-time wins over ACC foes (one vs. Wake Forest, two vs. Virginia), including two under Ritchie McKay. The most recent one was a 79-66 road win at Wake Forest on Nov. 14, 2017.
- Brett Decker Jr. (19.6 ppg) leads the team in scoring and is the national leader in three-pointers per game (4.63). He has 37 threes and has connected on 58.7 percent from deep (No. 2 in country).
- The Flames have shot over 50 percent in six of eight games and are shooting 54.7 percent on the year, the second-best percentage nationally.
- Liberty also leads the country in effective field goal percentage (.656) and assist/turnover ratio (2.21) and ranks No. 3 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (8.5), No. 4 in three-point percentage (43.1) and No. 5 in threes per game (12.5).
- Zach Cleveland is No. 3 in the country in assists per game (8.4).
- Liberty has won 183 games over the last seven-plus seasons (since start of 2018-19 season), which ranks tied for seventh most nationally during that span.
- The Flames are 0-2 all-time versus NC State, but the two squads have not met since Dec. 11, 2004, a 94-60 Wolfpack triumph on its home floor. Liberty had never faced NC State under head coach Ritchie McKay. However, the Flames have two wins over ACC foes in McKay's time at Liberty. The most recent one was a 79-66 road win at Wake Forest on Nov. 14, 2017. The Flames' other ACC triumph came against Virginia in McKay's first tenure with Liberty, an 86-82 road win on Nov. 25, 2008. Liberty has three wins all-time against ACC teams in 25 attempts.
- Liberty and head coach Ritchie McKay faced Will Wade and McNeese last year in the title game of the 2024 Paradise Jam. The Flames prevailed for the championship by a 62-58 score.
- The Flames' last game against an ACC team was in the 2019 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 against Virginia Tech. The Hokies edged the Flames 67-58 in San Jose, Calif. Libert bested Mississippi State 80-76 in the Round of 64 to reach the Round of 32.
- Kaden Metheny has 996 points in his time as a Flame (two-plus seasons) and needs four points to become the 32nd player in program history with 1,000 points in a Liberty jersey. The guard has 1,623 points in his six-year collegiate career.
- In addition to Metheny nearing 1,000 points in his time with Liberty, Colin Porter (921 points) and Cleveland (910 points) are both less than 100 points from 1,000 in their respective careers.
- Cleveland ranks seventh in the country and first in CUSA in defensive rebounds per game (7.63). He is also first in the league and 39th nationally in rebounds per game (9.0) and tied for first in the conference in double-doubles (3).
- Liberty finished 66th in the nation in the NCAA Men's Basketball NET Rankings and No. 64 in the KenPom rankings last year. The Flames are currently No. 96 in the KenPom in the early going and No. 104 in the NET.
- Liberty is 6-0 when outshooting its opponent.
- Last year (2024-25), the Flames sported an impressive 9-2 road mark after being 2-9 in road contests the year prior (2023-24).
- This will be Liberty's 14th all-time game on Dec. 10. The Flames are 7-6 all-time on this date but have not played on this date since the 2016-17 season. Liberty's last action on this date (Dec. 10, 2016) resulted in a 67-64 home loss to Princeton at the Vines Center. Ryan Kemrite paced the Flames with 16 points in that contest.
- Liberty is ranked No. 10 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25®, up two spots from last week. The top five includes Gonzaga (No. 1), Saint Mary's (No. 2), Yale (No. 3), Miami (Ohio) (No. 4) and Belmont (No. 5). The Flames are the top-ranked team in Conference USA.
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/ Men's BasketballCoach McKay Talks About The Win Over Coppin State
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