Men’s basketball non-conference schedule has a few big names
The Liberty men’s basketball team released its non-conference schedule for the 2022-23 season, including a few big names on the list.
The Flames open their non-conference slate against Regent Nov. 7 before traveling to Tuscaloosa to take on the Alabama Crimson Tide Nov. 11. The Crimson Tide is coming off a strong season in which they made the NCAA Tournament’s round of 64.
The schedule also contains three neutral site games against high powered opponents, starting with Northwestern in the Cancun Challenge Nov. 22. The challenge will feature two more teams from last year’s NCAA Tournament in Auburn and Bradley, one of whom the Flames will play in their second game of the challenge.
The third neutral site matchup comes Dec. 17 against Bryant in the Hall of Fame classic in Springfield, Massachusetts.
“I feel like there’s a great balance, and our goal in the non-conference is always to challenge ourselves to a degree that would warrant an opportunity to contend for a conference championship,” Head Coach Ritchie McKay said in an Aug. 30 press conference.
A non-conference game that should bring the most exciting individual player matchup will come Dec. 12, when the Flames travel to Oral Roberts. The game features two of the most electrifying scorers in college basketball — Liberty’s Darius McGhee and Oral Robert’s Max Abmas.
McGhee led both the Flames and the NCAA in scoring during the 2021-22 season, averaging a whopping 24.6 PPG, while Abmas finished third in the NCAA at 22.8 PPG.
The Flames will look to improve from last season’s non-conference record, where they went 9-6 with just seven of those wins coming against Division I opponents.
While the non-conference currently features just two games against power conference opponents, McKay still believes in the quality of opponents the team will face.
“We have some other sneaky good games,” McKay said in an Aug. 30 press conference. “I think the Bryant game will be really good. I think the Max Abmas- Darius McGhee matchup will be good. We have some attractive games on our schedule.”
The Flames close out their non-conference slate with a home matchup Dec. 21 against Mid-Atlantic Christian before beginning conference play Dec. 29.
Expectations will be high for the Flames following a 2021-22 season that saw them miss the ASUN championship game for the first time since joining the conference.
The team returns many key contributors from a season ago, including the aforementioned McGhee, who should provide leadership going into his fifth collegiate season.
McCusker is the assistant sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow him on Twitter
