2021–22 Liberty Flames basketball team

The 2021–22 Liberty Flames men's basketball team represented Liberty University in the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lynchburg, Virginia at Liberty Arena. The team were led by Ritchie McKay, who was in the seventh season of his current stint as head coach and ninth overall. Liberty competed as a member of the East Division of the ASUN Conference.

2021–22 Liberty Flames basketball
Atlantic Sun East Division champions
Conference	ASUN Conference
Division	East Division
Record	22–11 (12–4 ASUN)
Head coach	Ritchie McKay (7th (9th overall) season)
Assistant coaches	Brad Soucie (7th (9th) season) Derek Johnston (4th season) Joe Pierre III (2nd season)
Home arena	Liberty Arena

2021–22 ASUN men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Liberty	12	–	4		.750			22	–	11		.667
Jacksonville	11	–	5		.688			21	–	10		.677
Florida Gulf Coast	10	–	6		.625			22	–	12		.647
Kennesaw State	7	–	9		.438			13	–	18		.419
North Florida	7	–	9		.438			11	–	20		.355
Stetson	5	–	11		.313			11	–	19		.367
West
Jacksonville State^	13	–	3		.813			21	–	11		.656
Bellarmine* †	11	–	5		.688			20	–	13		.606
Central Arkansas	7	–	9		.438			11	–	20		.355
Lipscomb	6	–	10		.375			14	–	19		.424
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	11		.313			13	–	18		.419
North Alabama*	2	–	14		.125			9	–	21		.300
*Ineligible for the 2022 NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II ^Due to Bellarmine's ineligibility, the regular-season champions Jacksonville State took their NCAA tournament berth instead.
† 2022 ASUN tournament winner

Previous season

In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Flames finished the 2020–21 season 23–6, 11–2 in ASUN play to finish in first place in the ASUN. They defeated Kennesaw State, Stetson, and North Alabama to win the ASUN tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the Midwest region. They lost in the first round to Oklahoma State.

Roster

2021–22 Liberty Flames men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Brody Peebles 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr Hartselle HS Hartselle, AL G 2 Darius McGhee 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) — Sr Blue Ridge School Roxboro, NC G 3 Isiah Warfield 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So Central Valley HS Monaca, PA G 4 Stephen Burggraf 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Liberty Christian Academy Lynchburg, VA F 5 Bryson Spell 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Fr Cape Henry Collegiate School Virginia Beach, VA G 11 Jonathan Jackson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — So Blue Valley HS Dallas, TX G 13 DJ Moore 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Worthington Christian HS Worthington, OH G/F 20 Keegan McDowell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Moeller HS Cincinnati, OH G 21 Gabriel McKay 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr Trevecca Nazarene Lynchburg, VA F 22 Kyle Rode 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr Lexington Christian Academy Lexington, KY G 23 Joseph Venzant 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Midland HS Midland, TX F 24 Micaiah Abii 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — So Liberty HS Frisco, TX F 32 Blake Preston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — RS Jr Charlotte Christian School Charlotte, NC F 33 Shiloh Robinson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr Kearney HS Kearney, NE	Head coach Ritchie McKay (Seattle Pacific) Assistant coach(es) Brad Soucie (Christian Heritage) Derek Johnston (Alabama-Huntsville) Joe Pierre III (Oklahoma State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 15, 2022

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 11, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Regent	W 85–24	1–0	Liberty Arena (4,034) Lynchburg, VA
November 15, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at LSU	L 58–74	1–1	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,940) Baton Rouge, LA
November 19, 2021* 5:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. Iona MAAC/ASUN Challenge	L 50–54	1–2	HP Field House (367) Kissimmee, FL
November 20, 2021* 6:00 pm, ESPN3		vs. Manhattan MAAC/ASUN Challenge	L 60–76	1–3	HP Field House (432) Kissimmee, FL
November 23, 2021* 5:00 pm		at Bethune–Cookman	W 59–51	2–3	Ocean Center (150) Daytona Beach, FL
November 27, 2021* 5:00 pm		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 73–61	3–3	Liberty Arena (3,000) Lynchburg, VA
December 2, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri	W 66–45	4–3	Liberty Arena (4,005) Lynchburg, VA
December 5, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Delaware State	W 96–60	5–3	Liberty Arena (2,634) Lynchburg, VA
December 11, 2021* 7:00 pm, FloSports		vs. Stephen F. Austin Hall of Fame Classic	L 51–63	5–4	Dickies Arena (2,848) Fort Worth, TX
December 13, 2021* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Carver College	W 95–36	6–4	Liberty Arena (2,188) Lynchburg, VA
December 17, 2021* 1:30 pm, ESPN+		vs. East Carolina Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout	W 74–64	7–4	Spectrum Center (0) Charlotte, NC
December 22, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPNU		vs. Northern Iowa Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals	W 76–74	8–4	Stan Sheriff Center (0) Honolulu, HI
December 23, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. Stanford Diamond Head Classic semifinals	L 76–79	8–5	Stan Sheriff Center (0) Honolulu, HI
December 25, 2021* 6:30 p.m., ESPN2		vs. BYU Diamond Head Classic	L 75–80	8–6	Stan Sheriff Center (4,425) Honolulu, HI
December 31, 2021* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Boyce College	W 91–60	9–6	Liberty Arena (2,552) Lynchburg, VA
ASUN Conference regular season
January 4, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Stetson	W 75–59	10–6 (1–0)	Edmunds Center (483) Deland, FL
January 11, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		North Florida	W 71–56	11–6 (2–0)	Liberty Arena (3,315) Lynchburg, VA
January 15, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Florida Gulf Coast	W 78–75	12–6 (3–0)	Alico Arena (2,358) Fort Myers, FL
January 18, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Jacksonville	W 88–49	13–6 (4–0)	Liberty Arena (2,823) Lynchburg, VA
January 27, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		North Alabama	W 72–53	14–6 (5–0)	Liberty Arena (2,860) Lynchburg, VA
January 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville State	L 67–77	14–7 (5–1)	Liberty Arena (3,272) Lynchburg, VA
January 31, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Kennesaw State Rescheduled from January 20	W 65–50	15–7 (6–1)	KSU Convocation Center (835) Kennesaw, GA
February 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bellarmine	W 66–53	16–7 (7–1)	Freedom Hall (743) Louisville, KY
February 5, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Kentucky	W 91–84	17–7 (8–1)	Alumni Coliseum (4,017) Richmond, KY
February 8, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Lipscomb	W 78–69	18–7 (9–1)	Liberty Arena (3,075) Lynchburg, VA
February 12, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Jacksonville	L 69–73	18–8 (9–2)	Swisher Gymnasium (1,121) Jacksonville, FL
February 15, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at North Florida	L 69–72	18–9 (9–3)	UNF Arena (1,569) Jacksonville, FL
February 19, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Stetson	W 88–82	19–9 (10–3)	Liberty Arena (3,646) Lynchburg, VA
February 21, 2022 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Central Arkansas Rescheduled from January 22	W 85–66	20–9 (11–3)	Farris Center (2,145) Conway, AR
February 23, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Florida Gulf Coast	L 72–82 OT	20–10 (11–4)	Liberty Arena (3,583) Lynchburg, VA
February 26, 2022 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Kennesaw State Rescheduled from January 8	W 100–93 OT	21–10 (12–4)	Liberty Arena (3,112) Lynchburg, VA
ASUN tournament
March 3, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+	(E1)	(W4) Lipscomb Quarterfinals	W 52–47	22–10	Liberty Arena (2,486) Lynchburg, VA
March 5, 2022 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(E1)	(W2) Bellarmine Semifinals	L 50–53	22–11	Liberty Arena (3,515) Lynchburg, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time..

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