MBB Game Day: No. 9 Seed Missouri State
3/10/2026 11:06:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- No. 1 seed Liberty vs. No. 9 seed Missouri State (CUSA Quarterfinal - Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.)
- Tipoff: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. CST
- TV:Â ESPN+
- Radio:Â LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- Championship Central
- Championship Ticket Information
- No. 1 seed and CUSA outright regular season champion Liberty (25-6, 17-3 CUSA) will meet No. 9 seed Missouri State (15-17, 8-12 CUSA) in Wednesday's CUSA Championship quarterfinal round. The Bears got past No. 8 seed FIU 75-72 in Tuesday's first round matchup. The Flames last played on Saturday against Sam Houston, a 79-72 win on Senior Day.
- Liberty and Missouri State squared off once in the regular season, with the Flames prevailing 79-76 on Feb. 7. Zach Cleveland (19 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists) notched his first career triple-double.
- Liberty is the first team to repeat as CUSA regular season champion since Middle Tennessee did so during the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. .The Flames have claimed 11 total titles (seven regular season and/or division, four tournament titles) over the last eight seasons, tied for most in the country.
- This is the Flames' second straight year as the No. 1 seed at the CUSA Championship. Liberty is the No. 1 seed at a conference tournament for the fifth time ever. The Flames are 12-0 as the No. 1 seed all-time (2004, 2020, 2021, 2025 - all tournament titles, 1 Big South, 2 ASUN, 2 CUSA).
- Liberty is No. 1 in the nation in effective field goal percentage (.616), No. 3 in assist/turnover ratio (1.95), No. 3 in field goal percentage (51.7), No. 3 in three-point percentage (40.2), No. 4 in fewest turnovers per game (8.9) and No. 7 in fewest fouls per game (14.0) (leads CUSA in all of the above).
- This is Liberty's third appearance in the CUSA Championship. The Flames are 4-1 all-time at the tournament and have one title in two years.
- Last year, the Flames won three games in four days to claim their first CUSA crown. Liberty topped UTEP (quarterfinals, 81-60), Kennesaw State (semifinals, 81-79) and Jacksonville State (final, 79-67).Â
- The Flames are looking to be the first CUSA team to win back-to-back titles since Middle Tennessee did so in 2016 and 2017.Â
- Liberty is looking to win two straight titles for the first time since the Flames claimed three straight ASUN crowns from 2019-21.
- Liberty is 38-27 all-time in Division I conference tournament games.
- This is the Flames' second time as the No. 1 seed at the CUSA Championship. Liberty is the No. 1 seed at a conference tournament for the fifth time time ever (2026, 2025, 2021, 2020, 2004).
- The Flames are 12-0 as the No. 1 seed all-time (2004, 2020, 2021, 2025 – all tournament titles, 1 Big South, 2 ASUN, 1 CUSA).
- The Flames are 19-13 in conference tournament quarterfinal games. Liberty is 1-2 in conference first round games (2013-15).
- Liberty is 11-8 all-time in conference tournament semifinal games and 7-4 in title games.Â
- CUSA Player of the Year and All-CUSA first team: Zach ClevelandÂ
CUSA Gene Bartow Co-Coach of the Year: Ritchie McKay
All-CUSA first team: Brett Decker Jr.Â
All-CUSA third team: Kaden MethenyÂ
All-CUSA honorable mention: Colin PorterÂ
CUSA All-Defensive team: JJ HarperÂ
The Flames' three All-CUSA selections (between first, second and third team) are most in the league. Cleveland is the first CUSA Player of the Year in program history and earns his third straight All-CUSA nod (first time in first team). Metheny garners his third straight All-CUSA nod, with two of those being third team honors (this year and 2023-24) and one being a second team honor (2024-25). Porter has now garnered honorable mention distinction in back-to-back years. Decker Jr. receives his first career all-conference award. Harper, in his first and only year with the Flames, is one of five players in the league on the CUSA All-Defensive team. - Brett Decker Jr. ranks No. 2 nationally in three-point percentage (48.9), No. 8 in three-pointers per game (3.52) and No. 9 in total triples (109). Decker Jr. ranks third in program history for three-pointers in a single season.
- Zach Cleveland ranks No. 8 in the country in assists per game (6.9) and No. 14 in defensive rebounds per game (6.70). He also had the conference's only triple-double and is tied for second in the league in double-doubles (8).
- The Flames are currently No. 100 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 116 in KenPom. The Bears are No. 213 in the NET and No. 211 in KenPom
- Liberty has won 22 of its last 25 contests (including postseason play) against Conference USA opponents and is 28-4 in its last 32 games against conference foes.
- The Flames are one of 27 teams in the nation with 25 or more wins.
- Liberty is 7-1 this year (6-0 CUSA) in games decided by three points or less.
- Prior to this year (15-0), Liberty's best start ever in league play was 7-0, set during the 2018-19 season.
- Liberty is 77-of-92 from the foul line (83.7 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in its 20 CUSA games
- The Flames have received three CUSA Player of the Week awards this year, two from Zach Cleveland and one from Kaden Metheny.
- Liberty won 17 games in a row, the longest streak in school history (Dec. 16-Feb. 19). The Flames went 73 days between losses (Dec. 10-Feb. 21).
- Liberty is 24-1 when outshooting its opponent and has shot 50 percent or better 20 times (19-1 in those instances).Â
- Decker Jr. has scored in double figures in 28 games this season. He has been Liberty's leading scorer (or tied) 13 times and has 10 20-plus point games (one 30-point game).
- Liberty was the first team to start 15-0 or better in CUSA play since the 2012-13 Memphis team (16-0).
- All five starters averaged 11.8 ppg or more in conference play (Decker Jr. 16.4 ppg/Metheny 13.5 ppg/Cleveland 12.7 ppg/Porter 12.2 ppg/Harper 11.4 ppg).
- Liberty Men's Basketball Head Coach Ritchie McKay is a finalist for three major coaching awards: 2025-26 Jim Phelan Award (national coach of the year), 2025-26 Hugh Durham Award (top mid-major head coach) and 2025-26 Ben Jobe Award (top minority head coach). McKay is one of only 20 finalists for the Jim Phelan Award and one of only 25 finalists for both the Hugh Durham Award and Ben Jobe Award. In 2019, McKay was named Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.Â
- JJ Harper has been named a finalist for the 2025-26 Lefty Driesell Award. The award is presented annually to the top defensive player in Division I college basketball. Harper is one of only 25 finalists on the listing featuring the top defenders in the nation. Zach Cleveland has been tabbed a finalist for the 2025-26 Nolan Richardson Award. The award is presented annually to a Division I player who is the heart and soul of his team and a leader on and off the court. Cleveland is one of only 25 finalists on the listing.Â
- Liberty (25-6, 17-3 CUSA) clinched the CUSA outright regular season title for a second straight year with a road win at Jacksonville State, Feb. 28. The Flames topped second place Sam Houston 79-72 last Saturday afternoon to finish four games ahead of the Bearkats (21-10, 13-7 CUSA).
- Liberty is ranked No. 5 in the College Insider Men's Mid-Major Top 25®, behind No. 1 Miami (Ohio) (31-0),  No. 2 Gonzaga (29-3), No. 3 Saint Mary's (27-5) and No. 4 Akron (26-5). The Flames are the only CUSA team in the Top 25 (Sam Houston receiving votes).
- This will be Liberty's first-ever game on March 11. The Flames are 2-2 all-time on March 10 and 2-0 all-time on March 12. The Flames' CUSA Tournament opener last year came on March 12, an 81-60 triumph over UTEP in the quarterfinal round. Liberty's most notable win on March 10 was a 74-68 victory over Lipscomb in the 2019 ASUN title game.
- The Liberty men's and women's basketball teams are both defending CUSA champions heading into this week in Huntsville. The Flames (25-6, 17-3 CUSA) are the top seed and draw No. 9 seed Missouri State (15-17, 8-12 CUSA) in the quarterfinals. The Lady Flames (17-12, 11-7 CUSA) are the No. 5 seed this week and will face No. 4 Sam Houston (18-11, 11-7 CUSA) in the quarterfinals, Thursday at 12:30 p.m. Eastern at Propst Arena. The women's team topped Middle Tennessee 53-48 in the 2025 CUSA Championship title game.
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