MBB NIT Game Day: No. 2 Seed Nevada
3/20/2026 2:36:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty at No. 2 seed Nevada (NIT Second Round - Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev.)
- Tipoff: Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
- TV:Â ESPN+
- Radio:Â LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- NIT Information/Bracket
- NIT Ticket Information
- CUSA outright regular season champion Liberty (26-7, 17-3 CUSA) will play at Nevada (23-12, 10-8 Mountain West) in the NIT second round. The Flames topped George Mason 77-71 on Tuesday night in the first round. Liberty used a late 10-2 surge to prevail. The Wolf Pack knocked off Murray State 89-75.
- Liberty is 2-1 all-time in the NIT. This is the second time in the last four seasons the Flames have made the second round. In 2023, Liberty topped Villanova 62-57 at home in the opening round before falling 75-71 to Wisconsin in round two.
- Josh Smith had a stellar night in the win at George Mason, Tuesday. The redshirt senior scored a Liberty career-high 23 points, 19 in the second half, and was 7-of-9 from the field, 2-of-2 from three-point land and 7-of-8 from the foul line in the game. Smith added nine rebounds, tied for his most in a Flames uniform, in what was his first start since Dec. 16.
- Liberty has won 203 games over the last eight seasons, tied for fifth most in the nation in that span.Â
- 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.Â
- Liberty is No. 2 in the nation in effective field goal percentage (.610), No. 3 in assist/turnover ratio (1.96), No. 4 in field goal percentage (51.3), No. 3 in three-point percentage (39.7), No. 5 in fewest turnovers per game (8.8) and No. 9 in fewest fouls per game (14.2) (leads CUSA in all of the above).
- CUSA Player of the Year Zach Cleveland ranks ninth nationally in assists per game (6.8) and 14th in defensive rebounds per game (6.72).Flames leading scorer Brett Decker Jr. (16.8 ppg) is No. 2 in the country in three-point percentage (47.3).
- This will be Liberty's fifth all-time game against a Mountain West foe and first since 2007. The Flames (0-4) are searching for their first victory over a team from the conference.
Nov. 9, 2007 - Lost 62-50 to San Diego State (neutral site in Fresno, Calif. - World Vision Classic)
Dec. 28, 2006 - Lost 73-59 to BYU (road)
Dec. 22, 2001 - Lost 66-54 to Air Force (home)
Jan. 6, 2001 - Lost 82-57 at Air Force (road) - The Flames are currently No. 106 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 116 in KenPom. The Wolf Pack are No. 70 in the NET and No. 75 in KenPom.
- Liberty defeated then-head coach Steve Alford (current Nevada head coach) and UCLA Â 73-58 at Pauley Pavilion on Dec. 29, 2018.
- The Flames are one of 31 teams in the nation with 26 or more wins.
- Head coach Ritchie McKay (298-141 at Liberty) needs two more victories to reach 300 with the Flames.Â
- The 32-team NIT field features 25 teams with 20 or more victories and 18 different conferences.
Decker Jr. ranks No. 10 nationally in three-pointers per game (3.39) and No. 10 in total triples (112). Decker Jr. ranks third in program history for three-pointers in a single season. - Cleveland had the conference's only triple-double and is tied for first in the league in double-doubles (9).
- 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 was 79-of-94 from the foul line (84 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in its 21 CUSA games (including conference tournament). The Flames were 4-of-4 in the final two minutes at George Mason.
- The Flames received three CUSA Player of the Week awards, 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).
- Decker Jr. has scored in double figures in 30 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).
- Cleveland and Decker Jr. earned NABC All-District honors. Cleveland was an East District first team honoree, and Decker Jr. garnered East District second team recognition.
Players Mentioned
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