#1 Liberty (25-6, 17-3 CUSA) opens up CUSA Tournament play against #9 Missouri State (15-17, 8-12) on Wednesday evening in the CUSA Quarterfinals.

Here’s what you need to know about the game:

How to Watch

6:30 p.m. ET | Wednesday, March 11
Huntsville, AL | Propst Arena at the Von Braun Center
TV: ESPN+

Liberty vs Missouri State Odds (KenPom)

Spread: Liberty -5
Projected score: Liberty 76, Missouri State 71

Liberty Projected Starters

#0 Colin Porter

Senior Guard | 5’10”, 170
2025-26 stats: 11.7 ppg, 3.4 apg, 3.0 rpg

#3 Kaden Metheny

R-Senior Guard | 5’11”, 170
2025-26 stats: 13.4 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.1 apg

#4 Brett Decker

Sophomore Guard | 6’3″, 190
2025-26 stats: 16.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 48.9% 3-point field goals

#9 JJ Harper

R-Senior Guard | 6’5″, 200
2025-26 stats: 11.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 59.2% FG

#25 Zach Cleveland

Senior Forward | 6’7″, 220
2025-26 stats: 11.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 6.9 apg, 62.0% FG

Liberty vs Missouri State History

Series tied, 1-1. The first meeting came on Nov. 26, 2013 in Springfield, Missouri. The Bears won, 54-52. Davon Marshall led the Flames with 17 points on 4 of 9 shooting from three. Liberty won the first meeting between the two teams as CUSA members earlier this season, 79-76, in Lynchburg.

Liberty vs Missouri State Storylines

BEARS DEFEAT FIU TO ADVANCE

Playing in their first ever CUSA Tournament, Cuonzo Martin and the Missouri State Bears overcame a five-point halftime deficit to pick up the win in the first game of the 2026 CUSA Tournament. FIU utilized an 8-0 run late in the first half to grab control of the game going into the locker room. The Panthers would extend the lead to as many as 9 in the opening minutes of the second half before Missouri State utilized a 7-0 run to get back within striking distance. The Bears took a lead at 61-60 with just over 6 minutes remaining, their first advantage of the second half.

Four players scored in double figures for the Bears led by Kobi Williams with 15. Trey Williams, Jr., Keith Palek, and Michael Osei-Bonsu all scored 13. Missouri State was 11 of 26 from three and overcame being out rebounded 38-27 and a 16-7 setback in offensive rebounding.

REMATCH FROM CLOSE GAME AT LIBERTY ARENA

Liberty utilized a 16-0 second half run to break open a tied game and get past Missouri State, 79-76.  In the first half, the game was back and forth with neither team leading by more than six. There were five times and six lead changes with each team exchanging 8-0 runs. The Bears have a unique front line combo in seniors Keith Palek III and Michael Osei-Bonsu who provide matchup problems for much of Conference USA. Palek scored 11 points in the first half while Osei-Bonsu had 5 points but only played 10 minutes due to picking up two fouls. Zach Cleveland’s bucket at the horn gave the Flames a 42-38 halftime lead.

The nip and tuck affair continued early in the second half with the score tied at 42 in the opening minutes. That all changed shortly after Osei-Bonsu picked up his third foul and went to the bench. The Flames blitzed Missouri State with a 16-0 run as the team was 4 of 5 on three-point shots during the run to open up the score by the first media timeout of the second half. The run would extended to 22-2 as Liberty took a 20-point lead at 66-46 midway through the second half.

Despite shooting 65% from the field in the first half and finishing the game at 55.1%, the Liberty offense would go quiet from there, being held to 13 points over the final 12 minutes of game, only making one field goal over that time – an RJ Jones three-pointer at the 6:23 mark of the second half. The Flames still led by 17 at that point, but Missouri State would come storming back. The Bears scored 9 straight to cut the lead to single digits. After four Liberty free throws. Missouri State scored 7 straight, cutting their deficit to 75-73 with 20 seconds remaining. From there, Colin Porter made four free throws and got a pivotal steal with 7 seconds remaining to help the Flames escape.

After flirting with it all season, Cleveland recorded his first career triple-double as he finished the game with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and 11 assists. Brett Decker scored 20 points on 6 of 9 shooting, 3 of 5 from three, and a perfect 5 of 5 from the free throw line.  Josh Smith added 12 points. Colin Porter added 10 points with 6 assists, 3 rebounds, and 3 steals. He made 7 of 10 from the free throw line.

FLAMES AIMING TO STAY HOT IN CONFERENCE TOURNAMENTS

Liberty has had considerable success in conference tournaments over the past several years, particularly under head coach Ritchie McKay. All-time at the Division I level, the Flames are 19-13 in the Quarterfinal round, 11-8 in the Semis, and 7-4 in the conference championship game. Under McKay, Liberty gone 7-3 in the Quarters, 6-1 in the Semis, and 4-2 in championship games. The Flames have been even better in the past 8 years, going 7-1 in the Quarterfinals, doing all of this in three different leagues after moving from the Big South to the ASUN and now CUSA. Additionally, the Flames are 12-0 all-time as the conference tournament 1-seed and are 14-3 under McKay as the higher seeded team.