STILLWATER – When the name Liberty flashed on the NCAA Selection Show on CBS late Sunday afternoon the coaches and players from the Christian-based school in Lynchburg, Va. were already settled into quarantine in their hotel in Indianapolis, Ind. Oklahoma State after hearing their name boarded a flight to join Liberty and the other 66 teams that will quarantine and try to ward away any signs of the COVID-19 virus and deliver to America and plays for themselves March Madness. Weather delays in Kansas City will have the Cowboys arriving very late to Indianapolis.
Mike Boynton said he knows a little bit about his opponent and Liberty head coach Ritchie McKay, who after serving as a head coach at New Mexico, Oregon State, Colorado State, and Portland State took over the Liberty job for two seasons. Then he left and went to Virginia to serve six years as the associate head coach for defensive guru Tony Bennett at Virginia. McKay came back to Liberty and in six seasons has not missed an NCAA Tournament for anything other than a COVID pandemic.
“Coach McKay is a tremendous coach, and he will have his team ready and we will have to battle,” Boynton said in the Cowboys Kansas City hotel before rushing to the airport to head to Indianapolis.
Meanwhile Pokes Report tuned in quickly after the NCAA Selection Show on a Teams Call with the top players from Liberty. They’ve been in quarantine relaxing and eating good. Top scoring guard Darius McGhee said he had salmon and shrimp for dinner. That sounds really delicious. The quarantine is serious and Liberty players mentioned they never had a COVID-19 issue this season and don’t want to start now. They also have limited knowledge of the Cowboys as a team. Much more knowledge of Cade Cunningham as a star player and top NBA Draft prospect.
“They are very good and the (Big 12 teams) all had excellent years,” McGhee said admitting that he had not watched Big 12 or Oklahoma State much. “He is a great players and I haven’t had a chance to watch much of their games but I have seen some of his highlights on social media and he is a great player.”
“I don’t watch a lot of college basketball, so I will watch a few minutes and turn it off,” said defensive standout Elijah Cuffee. “I mainly play games and chill out. It is definitely exciting to play against somebody as good as Cade. It is extra motivation to go against somebody that well-known and it is great to test yourself against that kind of player. Motivation-wise we want to win the game.”
“I’ve seen them play some and Cade (Cunningham) is phenominal,” forward Kyle Rode said as the player talking more about Oklahoma State than any other. “He’s going to be the number one pick and they have a lot of other guys that can play and great coaches so.”
| Liberty Flames Starters | Scoring Avg. | Rebounding | Assists |
| 1- Chris Parker, 6-1, Sr., G | 10.3 | 2.1 | 3.5 |
| 2-Darius McGhee, 5-9, Jr., G | 15.6 | 4.4 | 2.1 |
| 10-Elijah Cuffee, 6-4, Sr., G | 9.6 | 3.4 | 1.7 |
| 22-Kyle Rode, 6-6, So., F | 7.6 | 4.2 | 2.5 |
| 32-Blake Preston, 6-9, So., P | 8.9 | 6.4 | 1.4 |
Liberty finished with a 23-5 record after beating North Alabama 79-75 in the A-Sun Conference Championship Game. In the non conference they played five Power Five Conference teams including one from the Big 12 that will get the Cowboys attention. The Flames lost at TCU 56-52. Oklahoma State lost to TCU at home 77-76 and at TCU 81-78. That may be all Mike Boynton has to throw up to get his player’s attention.
“We’re an unselfish group of guys that play collectively and take pride on both ends of the floor,” McGhee said of his team. “We take things one thing at a time and we value the little things and take the little things serious.”
| Liberty Power Five Games this Season | W/L | Score |
| Purdue at Spacecoast Challenge | L | 77-64 |
| Mississippi State at Spacecoast Challenge | W | 84-73 |
| South Carolina at Hall of Fame Classic | W | 78-62 |
| TCU at Hall of Fame Classic | L | 56-52 |
| at Missouri | L | 69-60 |
Liberty is a solid team offensively as you can see by the statistics and they are a defensive minded team overall.
| Statistical Category | Liberty | Opponent |
| Scoring | 74.9 | 59.6 |
| Shooting Overall | 49.1 | 40.9 |
| Three-Point Shooting | 39.1 | 31.1 |
| Free Throw Shooting | 77.7 | 69.0 |
| Rebounding | 35.4 | 29.6 |
| Assists | 15.9 | 9.3 |
| Turnovers | 9.7 | 11.7 |
Don’t expect any intimidation factor in this four-seed vs. 13-seed game. There won’t be as Liberty believes they have every right to advance.
“There are no limits to what we can do as a team and we definitely want to focus in on this upcoming game and take it one game at a time,” McGhee said. “I think guys are really excited to see how far we can go with this.”
