Liberty basketball will spend Thanksgiving weekend 2026 in Wilmington, North Carolina competing in the 3rd annual Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic held at UNC Wilmington’s Trask Coliseum, according to a report from Field of 68’s Rocco Miller. A full three-game round-robin between Liberty, UNC Wilmington, Princeton, and St. Thomas will be played between Nov. 25th and 28th. The field includes three teams that competed in the NIT this past March.
UNC Wilmington is coming off a 27-7 campaign where they finished 15-3 in the CAA, winning the regular season title before being upset in the first round of the conference tournament. The Seahawks advanced to this past season’s NIT, alongside the Flames, where they defeated Yale on the road in the opening round before falling to Dayton, 80-61. Under 7th year head coach Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington has won at least 20 games each of the past five seasons with three of those being 27-win campaigns including two straight.
Princeton was 9-20 this past season and 5-9 in the Ivy League. Long time head coach Mitch Henderson has guided the Tigers to two NCAA Tournament appearances with the most recent being in 2023. The losing record this past year was the team’s first losing record since 2017-18.
St. Thomas posted a 24-10 record and 12-4 mark in the Summit League, reaching the NIT where they lost to Seattle, 67-52, in the first round. Johnny Tauer has guided the Tommies each of their first five seasons at the Division I level, including three straight 20-win seasons.
So far this season, we know that Liberty will open the year on Monday, November 2 at midnight ET against High Point in Rock Hill, South Carolina as well as concluding a home-and-home series with Dayton by hosting the Flyers in Lynchburg this coming season on December 19.
