# 2019–20 Liberty Flames basketball team

The 2019–20 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the 30th consecutive and final season at Vines Center, with a capacity of 8,085. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who is in his seventh season, but fifth season since his return to the program. They are second-year members of the ASUN Conference.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2018–19 season 29–7, 14–2 in ASUN play to finish in second place in their second season in the ASUN. They defeated Jacksonville, North Florida, and Lipscomb in the championship game to win the ASUN tournament. As a result, the Flames received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in the East bracket, the school's fourth NCAA Tournament bid. They defeated No. 5-seed Mississippi State in the first round before losing to No. 4-seed Virginia Tech in the second round. This marked Liberty's highest seeding in the NCAA tournament and its first March Madness victory in school history.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Lovell Cabbil | 3 | Guard | 6'3" | 175 | Senior | Arlington, Texas | Graduated |
| Keenan Gumbs | 5 | Forward | 6'5" | 210 | Senior | Conroe, Texas | Graduated |
| Zach Farquhar | 15 | Guard | 5'9" | 160 | Senior | Cincinnati | Graduated |
| Keegan McDowell | 20 | Guard/forward | 6'6" | 180 | Sophomore | Cincinnati | Transferred |

## 2019-20 Newcomers

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Marten Maide G | Charlotte, North Carolina | Carmel Christian School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Jan 2, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Colton Reed G | Wake Forest, North Carolina | Roanoke College | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Shiloh Robinson F | Kearney, Nebraska | Kearney High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A | Sep 24, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Kyle Rode F | Lexington, Kentucky | Lexington Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A | Jun 26, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| 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: "2019 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 8, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Radford | W 66–60 | 1–0 | 18 – Homesley | 6 – Tied | 2 – 6 tied | Vines Center (7,872) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 10, 2019* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UMES | W 66–55 | 2–0 | 22 – James | 16 – James | 6 – Homesley | Vines Center (3,090) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Carolina State | W 65–39 | 3–0 | 12 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 12 – James | 4 – Tied | Vines Center (3,084) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 16, 2019* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at East Carolina The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase | W 77–57 | 4–0 | 25 – Homesley | 9 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (4,527) Greenville, NC |
| Nov 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Navy | W 55–48 | 5–0 | 13 – McGhee | 9 – James | 3 – James | Vines Center (4,010) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 22, 2019* 11:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. Morgan State The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase quarterfinal | W 89–48 | 6–0 | 17 – Rode | 5 – Rode | 4 – Baxter-Bell | Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium (300) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 23, 2019* 5:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Rice The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase semifinal | W 71–59 | 7–0 | 14 – Rode | 12 – James | 4 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium (300) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 24, 2019* 8:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Kansas City The Islands of the Bahamas Showcase Final | W 62–49 | 8–0 | 14 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – Tied | 3 – Cuffee | Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium (300) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 29, 2019* 2:00 pm | | Kentucky Christian | W 88–42 | 9–0 | 15 – James | 7 – James | 4 – McGhee | Vines Center (2,717) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 2, 2019* 10:00 pm | | Trinity Baptist | W 87–28 | 10–0 | 15 – Cuffee | 9 – Preston | 5 – Tied | Vines Center (3,164) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 8, 2019* 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Grand Canyon Jerry Colangelo Classic | W 70–61 | 11–0 | 17 – Homesley | 5 – 4 tied | 4 – Tied | Talking Stick Resort Arena (5,406) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 14, 2019* 8:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Vanderbilt | W 61–56 | 12–0 | 18 – Baxter-Bell | 11 – James | 5 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Memorial Gymnasium (9,045) Nashville, TN |
| Dec 20, 2019* 5:00 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Towson DC Holiday Hoops | W 66–54 | 13–0 | 16 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 6 – James | 4 – Cuffee | Entertainment and Sports Arena (707) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 21, 2019* 3:30 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Akron DC Holiday Hoops | W 80–67 | 14–0 | 16 – Homesley | 6 – Tied | 6 – Baxter-Bell | Entertainment and Sports Arena (942) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 29, 2019* 1:30 pm, SECN+ | | at LSU | L 57–74 | 14–1 | 12 – Tied | 4 – Cuffee | 6 – Homesley | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (9,193) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Atlantic Sun Conference regular season |||||||||
| Jan 2, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at FGCU | W 59–46 | 15–1 (1–0) | 24 – Homesley | 6 – Homesley | 4 – Baxter-Bell | Alico Arena (3,305) Fort Myers, FL |
| Jan 4, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at NJIT | W 65–38 | 16–1 (2–0) | 20 – Homesley | 10 – James | 4 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Wellness and Events Center (1,004) Newark, NJ |
| Jan 9, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Alabama | W 63–52 | 17–1 (3–0) | 16 – Baxter-Bell | 7 – James | 3 – 3 tied | Vines Center (2,592) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 11, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 54–37 | 18–1 (4–0) | 14 – McGhee | 9 – James | 2 – 4 tied | Vines Center (4,299) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 18, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lipscomb | W 67–60 | 19–1 (5–0) | 21 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 11 – James | 4 – Homesley | Vines Center (6,008) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 23, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Florida | L 70–71 | 19–2 (5–1) | 19 – McGhee | 6 – Homesley | 2 – 3 Tied | UNF Arena (2,371) Jacksonville, FL |
| Jan 25, 2020 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stetson | L 43–48 | 19–3 (5–2) | 12 – Tied | 10 – James | 7 – Cuffee | Edmunds Center (862) Deland, FL |
| Jan 30, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 83–45 | 20–3 (6–2) | 16 – James | 12 – James | 4 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Vines Center (3,988) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 1, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | FGCU | W 61–46 | 21–3 (7–2) | 16 – Pacheco-Ortiz | 8 – Homesley | 3 – Homesley | Vines Center (4,413) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville | W 71–62 | 22–3 (8–2) | 25 – Homesley | 8 – McGhee | 4 – Pacheco-Ortiz | Swisher Gymnasium (816) Jacksonville, FL |
| Feb 8, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Alabama | W 74–56 | 23–3 (9–2) | 30 – Homesley | 9 – Homesley | 3 – Homesley | Flowers Hall (957) Florence, AL |
| Feb 15, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | NJIT | W 62–49 | 24–3 (10–2) | 14 – 3 tied | 8 – Cuffee | 3 – Tied | Vines Center (4,745) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 20, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Florida | W 82–77 | 25–3 (11–2) | 28 – Homesley | 10 – James | 4 – McGhee | Vines Center (5,613) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 22, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Stetson | W 77–49 | 26–3 (12–2) | 22 – Homesley | 7 – Homesley | 5 – McGhee | Vines Center (6,762) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 27, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | W 76–52 | 27–3 (13–2) | 26 – Homesley | 8 – James | 4 – James | KSU Convocation Center (933) Kennesaw, GA |
| Feb 29, 2020 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb | L 71–77 | 27–4 (13–3) | 17 – McGhee | 10 – James | 6 – Homesley | Allen Arena (3,625) Nashville, TN |
| Atlantic Sun Conference tournament |||||||||
| March 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | (8) NJIT Quarterfinals | W 55–49 | 28–4 | 14 – Homesley | 10 – James | 4 – Cuffee | Vines Center (3,042) Lynchburg, VA |
| March 5, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | (4) Stetson Semifinals | W 66–62 | 29–4 | 26 – Homesley | 8 – Homesley | 3 – Tied | Vines Center (6,762) Lynchburg, VA |
| March 8, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN | (1) | (3) Lipscomb Championship | W 73–57 | 30–4 | 16 – Tied | 9 – Homesley | 4 – Baxter-Bell | Vines Center (7,728) Lynchburg, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.. |||||||||