Liberty (5-0) will put its unbeaten record on the line as it heads to Nassau, Bahamas to take part in the third-annual Islands of the Bahamas Showcase which tips off at Baha Mar on Friday. It is an eight-team tournament which features several mid-major programs.

For the past two years, the tournament has housed its teams at the new $4.3 billion resort, the largest in the Caribbean, and played its games at Kendal Isaacs National Gymnasium. Given the damage that Hurricane Dorian created on Sept. 1 to the islands of Grand Bahama and Abaco in the northern Bahamas, the gym is still being utilized as a storm shelter for displaced residents. Baha Mar agreed to play the tournament in its New Providence ballroom. It will be an interesting venue for a basketball tournament.

All 12 games will be streamed live on FloHoops.com (with subscription).

The full schedule is below (KenPom rankings included):

Friday, Nov. 22

  • 11 a.m. – #87 Liberty (5-0) vs. #283 Morgan State (3-2)
  • 2 p.m. – #168 Rice (4-2) vs. #240 Milwaukee (4-1)
  • 5 p.m. – #250 Kansas City (2-3) vs. #247 George Washington (1-3)
  • 8 p.m. – #137 Evansville (3-1) vs. #256 East Carolina (1-3)

Saturday, Nov. 23

  • 11 a.m. – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser
  • 2 p.m. – Game 3 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser
  • 5 p.m. – Semifinal: Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner
  • 8 p.m. – Semifinal: Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner

Sunday, Nov. 24

  • 11 a.m. – Seventh Place Game
  • 2 p.m. – Fifth Place Game
  • 5 p.m. – Third Place Game
  • 8 p.m. – Championship Game

Liberty will open play in the first game of the tournament Friday morning at 11 a.m. against the Morgan State Bears from the MEAC. The Flames are already 2-0 this season against the MEAC, with wins against Maryland Eastern Shore and South Carolina State. Liberty is 1-3 all-time against the Bears, with the last meeting coming in 2014-15. The Flames have dropped three straight to Morgan State, with the team’s only win coming during the 1982-83 season.

Morgan State is 3-2 on the season with wins over non-Division I opponents Central Pennsylvania and Regent. They also knocked off George Washington on the road this past Saturday, 68-64. Their losses have come at Temple, 75-57, and at home against St. Francis PA, 71-65.

Kevin Broadus is in his first year as head coach of the Bears, after stints as an assistant at Georgetown and Maryland, as well as other stops. He was head coach at Binghamton for two seasons from 2007-09, leading the Bearcats to an America East Conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in his second season.

“Morgan State is a good team,” McKay said this week. “If you haven’t seen them, Coach Broadus has them playing really well. They beat George Washington at George Washington this weekend. Right now, we will focus on them, and then we will worry about who we play after that.”

After that, Liberty will play either Rice or Milwaukee. The Rice Owl’s losses this season have come against top 35 opponents Arkansas and Houston while their best win is over Penn, 80-61. The Milwaukee Panthers are 4-1 on the season with wins over UMKC, North Dakota, and two non-Division I teams. Their only loss was in triple overtime to Western Michigan.

On the other side of the bracket, of which Liberty will play one team on Sunday, Evansville is the team to keep an eye on. Located in southern Indiana and coached by former Kentucky Wildcat Walter McCarty, the Aces have perhaps the biggest upset of the season with a win over Kentucky two weeks ago. Evansville, now 3-1 on the season, will open the tournament Friday night at 8:00 p.m. against East Carolina.

UMKC (or Kansas City) and George Washington fill out the remainder of the bracket.

“I want to see improvement,” McKay said of his team’s goals this weekend. “I just want to get better. This is November. This is not the time that you talk about postseason play. This is the time that you keep improving. The challenge is three games in three nights, but everybody has that same challenge. We have a pretty experienced group. Our guys will respond. We have a mature group. I think they will be ready on Friday morning.”

LIBERTY’S ALL-TIME RECORD AGAINST EACH TEAM IN TOURNEY

  • 1-3 vs Morgan State
  • 0-0 vs Rice
  • 0-0 vs Milwaukee
  • 0-0 vs Kansas City
  • 0-0 vs George Washington
  • 0-0 vs Evansville
  • 3-5 vs East Carolina