MBB Game Day: Sam Houston
3/6/2026 2:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Day Coverage
- Liberty vs. Sam Houston (Liberty Arena)
- Tipoff: Saturday at 2:02 p.m. ET
- TV:Â ESPN+
- Radio:Â LFSN Radio
- Live Stats
- Liberty (24-5, 16-2 CUSA), the CUSA outright regular season champion, will face second place Sam Houston (21-9, 13-6 CUSA) in the regular season finale, Saturday afternoon.
- Saturday is Senior Day for the program. Prior to the game, the Flames will honor 13 seniors (eight players, five managers/students) for their contributions to the program. The players that will be recognized include: JJ Harper, Isaiah Ihnen, Josh Smith, Zander Yates, JC Shirer Jr., Kaden Metheny, Zach Cleveland and Colin Porter. The managers include: Braden Chupp (analytics), Brandon McCall, Moses Batchelor, Ben Skammer and Will Geiger.
- 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.
- Liberty is No. 1 in the nation in effective field goal percentage (.615), No. 3 in assist/turnover ratio (1.93), No. 4 in field goal percentage (51.7), No. 4 in three-point percentage (40.3), No. 4 in fewest turnovers per game (8.9) and No. 6 in fewest fouls per game (13.9) (leads CUSA in all of the above).
- The Flames' Brett Decker Jr., who poured in a career-high 30 points vs. LA Tech, ranks No. 2 nationally in three-point percentage (49.8). Zach Cleveland is No. 10 in the country in assists per game (6.9).Â
- This week, it was announced that 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.
- Senior guard Colin Porter was named to the CUSA All-Academic team for a third straight year
- This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the squads and sixth with both teams in CUSA. Liberty holds a 5-2 edge in the all-time series, including a 4-1 CUSA mark.Â
Liberty bested Sam Houston 82-74 in the first meeting of the year, Jan. 10 in Hunstville, Texas. Liberty made shot 77.3 percent (17-of-22) in the final 20 minutes and sank 12 foul shots in scoring 48 points. The Flames were paced by a pair of 20-point efforts from Zach Cleveland (career-high-matching 23 points) and JJ Harper (season-high 20 points) along with 16 points from Brett Decker Jr. Â Cleveland added 10 assists to record a double-double and tallied seven boards, two blocks and two steals. Last year's meeting in Lynchburg (Feb. 8, 2025) resulted in a 64-61 Flames triumph. Kaden Metheny scored 26 points. - Liberty is 7-1 this year (6-0 CUSA) in games decided by three points or less.
- Decker Jr. ranks No. 8 nationally in three-pointers per game (3.50) and No. 10 in total triples (105). Decker Jr. ranks fourth in program history for three-pointers in a single season.
- Cleveland ranks No. 15 in defensive rebounds per game (6.69). He also shares the conference lead in double-doubles (8).
- The Flames are 13-2 at home this season, including a 7-2 CUSA record at Liberty Arena. Liberty has dropped two straight in its home building. The Flames have not lost three in a row at home since the 2017-18 season (Jan. 12, 21 and 23).
- The Flames are currently No. 103 in the NCAA NET Rankings and No. 119 in KenPom. The Bearkats are No. 105 in the NET and No. 105 in KenPom.
- Liberty has won 21 of its last 24 contests (including postseason play) against Conference USA opponents and is 27-4 in its last 31 games against conference foes dating back to last year.
- The Flames are one of 30 teams in the nation with 24 or more wins.
- Liberty is 71-of-86 from the foul line (82.6 percent) in the final two minutes of regulation and overtime in its 19Â 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 is 23-1 when outshooting its opponent and has shot 50 percent or better 19 times (18-1 in those instances).Â
- Decker Jr. has scored in double figures in 27 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 are averaging 11.8 ppg or more in conference play (Decker Jr. 16.4 ppg/Metheny 13.4 ppg/Cleveland 12.3 ppg/Porter 12.0 ppg/Harper 11.8 ppg).
- Liberty has secured the No. 1 seed for the 2026 CUSA Men's Basketball Championship. The Flames' first game at the CUSA Tournament will be at 6:30 p.m. on March 11 at Propst Arena in Huntsville, Ala.Â
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