Photo by: Ryan Anderson
10/30/2026 3:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty vs. High Point (Rock Hill Sports & Event Center | Rock Hill, S.C.)
- Tipoff: Monday at 12 a.m. ET
- TV: Field of 68 YouTube
- Radio: LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- Two-time defending CUSA regular season champion Liberty (26-8, 17-3 CUSA last year) will get its season started at midnight on Monday versus High Point (31-5, 15-1 Big South last year) to tip off the Field of 68 Opening Day Marathon. This is the first college basketball game of the season in the United States.
- Liberty has 203 wins over the past eight seasons, tied for sixth most in the nation during that span.
- The Flames are 3-3 all-time in Field of 68 events. Liberty, Florida Atlantic and Charleston played in the Field of 68 Tip-Off event each of the last three years. The Flames went 2-0 last year against those squads at Liberty Arena.
- The Flames are 32-22 all-time in season openers, including a 11-2 record under Coach McKay.
- Liberty is one of three teams in the nation with 11 or more total titles in the last eight seasons (others: Gonzaga, Colgate). The Flames' 11 titles include one CUSA Tournament crown, two CUSA regular season titles, three ASUN Tournament crowns, four ASUN regular season titles and an ASUN Division title.
- Liberty returns six players and welcomes nine newcomers to the roster. The Flames graduated eight seniors.
- Liberty has been picked to finish third in the CUSA Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. This is the 10th time in the last 11 years that the Flames have been slotted for a top-three finish in a preseason league poll.
- This will be Liberty's first time playing on Nov. 2 and the earliest start to the season in program history. Last year, the Flames opened the year on Nov. 3, a 98-57 triumph over Kentucky Christian. Liberty has won five straight season openers. In last year's opening game, the Flames were led by Brett Decker Jr.'s 29 points in his first career start. Zach Cleveland (13 points, 10 rebounds) notched his first career double-double, and JJ Harper (11 points) and Ryan Jones Jr. (10 points) both reached double figures in their Liberty debuts. The Flames shot 61.3 percent from the floor.
- This will be the 42nd all-time meeting between the two teams but first since 2018 when both squads were in the Big South Conference. Liberty holds a 24-17 edge in the all-time series. Liberty Head Coach Ritchie McKay is 8-2 all-time against the Panthers. The two squads last met on Feb. 24, 2018, a 65-45 Liberty home victory at the Vines Center. Scottie James scored a game-high 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Freshman Elijah Cuffee filled the stat sheet with 11 points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals. The Flames' defense held the Panthers to 30.8 percent shooting for the game.
- High Point (41 meetings) is Liberty's sixth most common opponent all-time, behind only Radford (75 meetings), Charleston Southern (65 meetings), UNC Asheville (61 meetings), Winthrop (58 meetings) and Coastal Carolina (55 meetings).
- Liberty's 14-game non-conference schedule features the season opener against 2026 NCAA Tournament Round of 32 team High Point at the Field of 68 Showcase (Nov. 2) and a marquee home matchup with Dayton, Dec. 19. The Flames will face three strong opponents in Princeton (Nov. 25), St. Thomas (Nov. 27) and UNCW (Nov. 28) at the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic, hosted by UNCW in late November. Prior to that, Liberty will take on Rhode Island (Nov. 20) and Richmond (Nov. 22) at the Greenbrier Tip-Off in White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. Liberty's home opener will be versus Boyce on Nov. 7 at Liberty Arena. The Flames will also host NC Central (Nov. 13), Christendom (Dec. 5), Kentucky Christian (Dec. 11), Coppin State (Dec. 17) and Maryland Eastern Shore (Dec. 22). Additionally, Liberty will square off with Southern Illinois in a neutral-site game, Nov. 17 at Queens in Charlotte, N.C.
- Liberty features an influx of new talent paired with six returners. The Flames graduated eight seniors in the offseason and saw one player transfer. The Flames' nine newcomers include: Cooper Campbell (Troy transfer), Cobi Campbell (Troy transfer), Dillon Claussen (Washburn transfer), Eli Sancomb (Central Catholic HS), Eli Herbert (Grain Valley HS), Osmar Garcia-Araujo (Anderson (SC) transfer), Reece Davidsion (North Laurel HS), Matthew Shelton (Univ. of Charleston transfer) and Sean Register Jr. (Eastern Florida State transfer).
- The Flames are currently No. 139 in the preseason KenPom rankings. The Panthers are listed at No. 61.
- Liberty was one of 33 teams in the nation with 26 or more wins last season.
- The Flames started last year 15-0 in CUSA play and won a program-record 17 games in a row (Dec. 16-Feb. 19). Liberty went 73 days between losses.
- Prior to last year (15-0), Liberty's best start ever in league play was 7-0, set during the 2018-19 season.
- Liberty was the first team to start 15-0 or better in CUSA play since the 2012-13 Memphis team (16-0).
- Liberty will be featured on national television 10 times during CUSA play, most in the conference. Linear games will air on CBS Sports Network, ESPNU and ESPN2. During the regular season, the Flames will be featured on national television 12 times.
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