# 2016–17 Liberty Flames basketball team

The 2016–17 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the 27th consecutive season at Vines Center, with a capacity of 8,085. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in his fourth season, but second season since his return to the program. They were members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 21–14, 14–4 in Big South play to finish in a third place. They were upset in Quarterfinals of the Big South tournament by Radford. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Norfolk State in the first round to be champions of the Coach John McLendon Classic. In the Second Round they defeated Samford before losing in the quarterfinals to UMBC.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2015–16 season 13–19, 10–8 in Big South play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament to UNC Asheville.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Anthony Fields | 0 | Guard | 6'0" | 160 | Senior | Detroit, Michigan | Graduated |
| Hansel Atencia | 4 | Guard | 5'10" | 175 | Freshman | Bucaramanga, Colombia | Transferred to The Master's College |
| Theo Johnson | 14 | Guard/Forward | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | Sacramento, California | Transferred to Cal State Dominguez Hills Toros Suspended before the 2015–16 season. |
| Evan Maxwell | 15 | Center | 6'10" | 245 | Sophomore | Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Kansas |

## 2016–17 Newcomers

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Xzavier Barmore PG | Seneca, South Carolina | Seneca Senior High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 20, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz SG | Ponce, Puerto Rico | Deep Run High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Mar 10, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Brock Gardner SF | Chandler, Arizona | Tri-City Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Josiah Talbert PF | Olathe, Kansas | Olathe East High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jun 14, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Brody Hicks SG | Roanoke, Virginia | Cave Spring High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | Nov 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Scottie James F | Tarpon Springs, Florida | Tarpon Springs HS / Bradley | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Zach Farquhar G | Cincinnati, Ohio | Sycamore High School | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Ray Chen G | Miaoli, Taiwan | Gaston HS / Belmont Abbey | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Roster

* Roster is subject to change as/if players transfer or leave the program for other reasons.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 8:35 pm | | Cairn | W 81–53 | 1–0 | 15 – Dawson | 8 – Homesley | 5 – Cabbil | Vines Center (5,449) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 15, 2016* 8:00 pm | | VCU | L 59–64 | 1–1 | 14 – Dawson | 4 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Vines Center (3,289) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 19, 2016* 7:00 pm | | at No. 6 Indiana Indiana Classic | L 48–87 | 1–2 | 8 – Chen | 3 – Tied | 3 – Homesley | Assembly Hall (Bloomington) (12,537) Bloomington, IN |
| Nov 21, 2016* 6:00 pm | | UMass Lowell Indiana Classic | W 84–77 | 2–2 | 21 – Kemrite | 7 – Homesley | 5 – Homesley | Vines Center (1,050) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 23, 2016* 2:00 pm | | Mississippi Valley State Indiana Classic | W 70–55 | 3–1 | 22 – Homesley | 6 – Homesley | 4 – Tied | Vines Center (1,176) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 26, 2016* 4:00 pm | | at William & Mary | L 70–79 | 3–3 | 15 – Dawson | 4 – Tied | 7 – Dawson | William & Mary Hall (3,039) Williamsburg, VA |
| Nov 29, 2016* 7:00 pm, LFSN | | Central Penn Indiana Classic | W 62–48 | 4–3 | 15 – Homesley | 11 – Homesley | 3 – Dawson | Vines Center (1,395) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 3, 2016* 7:00 pm | | at UNC Greensboro | L 65–72 | 4–4 | 18 – Homesley | 10 – Homesley | 6 – Homesley | Greensboro Coliseum (1,552) Greensboro, NC |
| Dec 6, 2016* 7:00 pm | | Furman | L 58–61 | 4–5 | 18 – Kemrite | 5 – Kemrite | 2 – Dawson | Vines Center (1,541) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 10, 2016* 2:00 pm | | Princeton | L 64–67 | 4–6 | 16 – Kemrite | 8 – Homesley | 4 – Homesley | Vines Center (2,510) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 16, 2016* 7:00 pm | | Clarks Summit | W 81–33 | 5–6 | 18 – Gardner | 11 – Baxter-Bell | 5 – Baxter-Bell | Vines Center (1,236) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 19, 2016* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lamar | L 65–82 | 5–7 | 15 – Kemrite | 6 – Dawson | 4 – Dawson | Montagne Center (1,677) Beaumont, TX |
| Dec 21, 2016* 8:00 pm | | at Houston | L 54–77 | 5–8 | 15 – Kemrite | 7 – Cabbil | 4 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,540) Houston, TX |
| Big South regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2016 7:00 pm | | at Presbyterian | W 77–61 | 6–8 (1–0) | 16 – Kemrite | 4 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Templeton Physical Education Center (475) Clinton, SC |
| Dec 31, 2016 2:00 pm | | at Charleston Southern | W 81–70 | 7–8 (2–0) | 19 – Kemrite | 5 – Tied | 5 – Pacheco-Ortiz | CSU Field House (367) North Charleston, SC |
| Jan 3, 2017 7:00 pm | | UNC Asheville | L 57–70 | 7–9 (2–1) | 17 – Kemrite | 6 – Dawson | 2 – 3 tied | Vines Center (1,219) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 7, 2017 2:00 pm | | Campbell | W 61–54 | 8–9 (3–1) | 21 – Cabbil | 6 – Kemrite | 3 – Reid | Vines Center (775) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 11, 2017 7:00 pm | | at High Point | W 62–58 | 9–9 (4–1) | 11 – Tied | 7 – Dawson | 4 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Millis Athletic Convocation Center (904) High Point, NC |
| Jan 14, 2017 4:30 pm | | at Radford | W 71–64 $^{OT}$ | 10–9 (5–1) | 16 – Cabbil | 8 – Baxter-Bell | 2 – 4 tied | Dedmon Center (1,425) Radford, VA |
| Jan 19, 2017 7:00 pm | | Gardner–Webb | W 65–62 | 11–9 (6–1) | 20 – Tied | 6 – Gardner | 5 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Vines Center (1,974) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 21, 2017 7:00 pm | | Winthrop | L 48–61 | 11–10 (6–2) | 15 – Kemrite | 12 – Dawson | 3 – Cabbil | Vines Center (4,158) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 26, 2017 7:00 pm | | at Longwood | W 93–62 | 12–10 (7–2) | 22 – Kemrite | 6 – Gardner | 3 – 3 tied | Willett Hall (1,614) Farmville, VA |
| Jan 28, 2017 2:00 pm | | at Campbell | W 72–40 | 13–10 (8–2) | 16 – Cabbil | 6 – Cabbil | 6 – Dawson | John W. Pope Jr. Convocation Center (2,413) Buies Creek, NC |
| Jan 31, 2017 7:00 pm | | Presbyterian | W 71–51 | 14–10 (9–2) | 19 – Baxter-Bell | 3 – 3 tied | 6 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Vines Center (1,718) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 4, 2017 7:00 pm | | Radford | W 57–54 | 15–10 (10–2) | 15 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 3 – Tied | Vines Center (3,022) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 9, 2017 7:00 pm | | at Gardner–Webb | W 92–87 $^{2OT}$ | 16–10 (11–2) | 28 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – Kemrite | 5 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Paul Porter Arena (1,204) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Feb 11, 2017 2:00 pm | | Charleston Southern | W 76–69 | 17–10 (12–2) | 19 – Baxter-Bell | 10 – Dawson | 8 – Baxter-Bell | Vines Center (2,381) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 14, 2017 7:00 pm | | High Point | W 55–52 | 18–10 (13–2) | 21 – Kemrite | 6 – Cabbil | 5 – Reid | Vines Center (1,469) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 18, 2017 12:00 pm | | at Winthrop | L 67–84 | 18–11 (13–3) | 15 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 4 – Reid | Winthrop Coliseum (2,258) Rock Hill, SC |
| Feb 23, 2017 7:00 pm | | Longwood | W 61–45 | 19–11 (14–3) | 13 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – Cabbil | 2 – 5 tied | Vines Center (2,789) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 25, 2017 7:00 pm | | at UNC Asheville | L 45–63 | 19–12 (14–4) | 18 – Baxter-Bell | 6 – Baxter-Bell | 3 – Cabbil | Kimmel Arena (2,928) Asheville, NC |
| Big South tournament |||||||||
| Feb 28, 2017 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (6) Radford Quarterfinals | L 52–56 | 19–13 | 18 – Baxter-Bell | 5 – Tied | 3 – Cabbil | Winthrop Coliseum (729) Rock Hill, SC |
| CIT |||||||||
| Mar 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, Facebook Live | | Norfolk State First Round Coach John McLendon Classic | W 73–64 | 20–13 | 30 – Kemrite | 4 – Dawson | 8 – Dawson | Vines Center (574) Lynchburg, VA |
| Mar 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, Facebook Live | | Samford Second Round | W 66–58 | 21–13 | 15 – Dawson | 6 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Vines Center (1,388) Lynchburg, VA |
| Mar 26, 2017* 2:00 pm, Facebook Live | | at UMBC Quarterfinals | L 68–80 | 21–14 | 23 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 5 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 3 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Retriever Activities Center (869) Catonsville, MD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.. |||||||||