# 2020–21 Liberty Flames basketball team

The 2020–21 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team plays its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia for the inaugural season at Liberty Arena, with a capacity of 4,000. The team was led by Ritchie McKay, who was in the sixth season of his current stint as head coach and eighth overall. Liberty was a third-year member of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season 23-6, 11-2 in ASUN Play to finish in ASUN regular season champions. They defeated Kennesaw State, Stetson, and North Alabama to be champions of the ASUN tournament. They received the ASUN’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.

## Previous season

The Flames finished the 2019–20 season 30–4, 13–3 in ASUN play to finish in first place in their third season in the ASUN. They defeated NJIT, Stetson, and Lipscomb in the championship game to win the ASUN tournament.
The team officially qualified for the NCAA tournament but it was cancelled as a result of the global pandemic.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Myo Baxter-Bell | 0 | Forward | 6'5" | 255 | RS Senior | Cincinnati | Graduated |
| Caleb Homesley | 1 | Forward | 6'6" | 205 | RS Senior | Indian Trail, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz | 11 | Guard | 6'1" | 170 | Senior | Ponce, Puerto Rico | Graduated |
| Scottie James | 31 | Forward | 6'8" | 235 | RS Senior | Tarpon Springs, Florida | Graduated |
| Brandon Newton | 55 | Center | 7'2" | 235 | Sophomore | Roanoke, Virginia | Transferred to Trevecca Nazarene |

## 2020-21 Newcomers

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Drake Dobbs G | Eden Prairie, Minnesota | Eden Prairie High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | Jan 3, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Isiah Warfield G | Sewickley, Pennsylvania | Sewickley Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Mar 28, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ||||||
| Jonathan Jackson G | Overland Park, Kansas | Blue Valley High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | N/A | Nov 13, 2019 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Micaiah Abii F | Frisco, Texas | Liberty High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Chris Parker G | Plano, Texas | Henderson State | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | |
| 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: "2020 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 25, 2020* 5:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Purdue Space Coast Challenge | L 64–77 | 0–1 | 21 – McGhee | 6 – Tied | 4 – 3 tied | Titan FieldHouse (0) Melbourne, FL |
| Nov 26, 2020* 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Mississippi State Space Coast Challenge | W 84–73 | 1–1 | 23 – McGhee | 5 – Preston | 10 – Parker | Titan FieldHouse (0) Melbourne, FL |
| Nov 28, 2020* 4:00 pm, ESPNews | | vs. South Carolina Hall of Fame Classic semifinals | W 78–62 | 2–1 | 18 – Rode | 6 – Tied | 5 – Parker | T-Mobile Center (0) Kansas City, MO |
| Nov 29, 2020* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. TCU Hall of Fame Classic final | L 52–56 | 2–2 | 15 – McGhee | 9 – McGhee | 2 – Preston | T-Mobile Center (0) Kansas City, MO |
| Dec 3, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 78–62 | 3–2 | 21 – McDowell | 7 – Tied | 6 – Parker | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 5, 2020* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bluefield | W 86–64 | 4–2 | 21 – McGhee | 6 – Tied | 7 – McDowell | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 9, 2020* 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | L 60–69 | 4–3 | 12 – Preston | 5 – Preston | 5 – Parker | Mizzou Arena Columbia, MO |
| Dec 12, 2020* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Columbia International | W 73–26 | 5–3 | 11 – Preston | 6 – 3 Tied | 5 – Dobbs | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 15, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Carolina State | W 82–52 | 6–3 | 16 – Tied | 11 – Preston | 8 – Parker | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 16, 2020* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Carver College | W 91–38 | 7–3 | 17 – Abii | 7 – Preston | 5 – Tied | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Dec 22, 2020* 1:00 pm | | Alcorn State | W 108–65 | 8–3 | 20 – McGhee | 9 – Rode | 7 – Preston | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 1, 2021 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb | L 70–77 | 8–4 (0–1) | 16 – McGhee | 11 – Preston | 4 – McGhee | Allen Arena (820) Nashville, TN |
| Jan 2, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb | W 66–50 | 9–4 (1–1) | 20 – McGhee | 9 – Preston | 5 – Parker | Allen Arena (863) Nashville, TN |
| Jan 8, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 69–63 | 10–4 (2–1) | 17 – Preston | 7 – McGhee | 3 – Parker | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 9, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 76–47 | 11–4 (3–1) | 12 – McGhee | 6 – McDowell | 5 – Rode | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 8, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida Gulf Coast | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 9, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Florida Gulf Coast | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Cancelled due to COVID-19 issues | Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 15, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stetson | L 59–65 | 11–5 (3–2) | 18 – Parker | 6 – 3 Tied | 4 – Cuffee | Edmunds Center (50) Deland, FL |
| Jan 16, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stetson | W 68–58 | 12–5 (4–2) | 12 – Parker | 11 – McGhee | 4 – Parker | Edmunds Center (50) Deland, FL |
| Jan 29, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville | W 59–54 | 13–5 (5–2) | 18 – Parker | 8 – Rode | 3 – Parker | Swisher Gymnasium (180) Jacksonville, FL |
| Jan 30, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville | W 64–58 | 14–5 (6–2) | 25 – McGhee | 6 – Rode | 4 – Rode | Swisher Gymnasium (180) Jacksonville, FL |
| Feb 5, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lancaster Bible College | W 90–49 | 15–5 | 19 – Cuffee | 9 – Preston | 4 – Tied | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 12, 2021 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Florida | W 73–61 | 16–5 (7–2) | 14 – Preston | 10 – Preston | 8 – Rode | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 13, 2021 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Florida | W 80–60 | 17–5 (8–2) | 22 – McGhee | 8 – Tied | 5 – Rode | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 22, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Alabama | W 74–54 | 18–5 (9–2) | 29 – McGhee | 7 – Rode | 6 – Parker | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 23, 2020 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Alabama | W 74–54 | 19–5 (10–2) | 24 – McGhee | 6 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Liberty Arena (250) Lynchburg, VA |
| Feb 26, 2021 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bellarmine | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Cancelled | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| Feb 27, 2021 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Bellarmine | W 94–78 | 20–5 (11–2) | 34 – McGhee | 9 – Robinson | 9 – Rode | Freedom Hall (2,737) Louisville, KY |
| Atlantic Sun tournament |||||||||
| Mar 4, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) Kennesaw State Quarterfinals | W 69–59 | 21–5 | 16 – McGhee | 6 – McDowell | 3 – Tied | UNF Arena Jacksonville, FL |
| Mar 5, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (7) Stetson Semifinals | W 77–64 | 22–5 | 16 – Parker | 10 – Preston | 9 – McGhee | UNF Arena Jacksonville, FL |
| Mar 7, 2021 2:00 pm, ESPN | (1) | vs. (5) North Alabama Championship | W 79–75 | 23–5 | 21 – McGhee | 8 – McGhee | 5 – Rode | UNF Arena Jacksonville, FL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 19, 2021* 5:25 pm, TBS | (13 MW) | vs. (4 MW) No. 11 Oklahoma State First Round | L 60–69 | 23–6 | 16 – Cuffee | 7 – Preston | 4 – Cuffee | Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.. |||||||||