We are just a few weeks away from the start of the 2026-27 men’s basketball season, and KenPom recently released its initial ratings of all 365 Division I teams. Liberty is listed at No. 139 overall and third in the CUSA behind Western Kentucky and New Mexico State.

KenPom has listed Liberty as the 129th adjusted offense at 107.7 while the adjusted defense comes in at 169th and 106.5. Both of those numbers are based on points per 100 possessions.

Last year, the Flames were ranked at No. 100 in the preseason.

Liberty has finished with its highest ever rankings in the final KenPom ratings each of the past seven seasons, finishing No. 58 following the 2018-19 season, No. 79 following the 2019-20 campaign, No. 98 at the end of the 2020-21 season, and finished No. 124 following the 2021-22 season. Following the 2022-23 campaign, the Flames finished at No. 48, the highest end of year finish in program history. In 2023-24, the program’s first in Conference USA, Liberty finished No. 137. In 2024-25, Liberty finished at No. 64 while last year the Flames finished at No. 116.

After these recent finishes, the Flames’ next best finishes in the history of KenPom’s ratings came in 2003-04 when Randy Dunton’s team was ranked No. 181 and in 2017-18 when the Flames finished No. 184 under McKay.

Leading Conference USA is Western Kentucky at No. 122 and then New Mexico State at No. 130. Following Liberty is No. 155 Kennesaw State. Behind the Owls is No. 164 Jacksonville State, followed by Middle Tennessee (#165), Sam Houston (#167), FIU (#192), Delaware (#249) and Missouri State (#250).

KenPom projects the Flames to finish the regular season with a 20-12 overall mark to go along with the 10-8 CUSA record projection.

Here’s where all of Liberty’s scheduled, Division I non-conference opponents are ranked by KenPom entering the season:

  • 61 High Point
  • 63 Dayton
  • 105 UNC Wilmington
  • 129 Richmond
  • 131 Rhode Island
  • 153 Princeton
  • 172 St. Thomas
  • 184 Southern Illinois
  • 356 North Carolina Central
  • 360 Coppin State
  • 362 Maryland Eastern Shore

And here is the win percentage KenPom gives the Flames to win each non-conference game entering the season:

  • 22% High Point
  • 30% UNC Wilmington
  • 31% Dayton
  • 46% Rhode Island
  • 46% Richmond
  • 54% Princeton
  • 59% St. Thomas
  • 61% Southern Illinois
  • 94% North Carolina Central
  • 95% Coppin State
  • 95% Maryland Eastern Shore

The Flames are also underdogs in several conference games entering the season, here’s a look at each of those:

  • 49% at Jacksonville State
  • 43% at Kennesaw State
  • 32% at Western Kentucky
  • 45% at Middle Tennessee
  • 34% at New Mexico State
  • 48% at Sam Houston

Liberty is coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which it captured its second consecutive outright CUSA regular-season championship. The Flames will look to extend that streak in a reconfigured 10-team league that no longer includes Louisiana Tech or UTEP.

Liberty will open its 2026-27 campaign on Nov. 2 against High Point at the Field of 68 Showcase in Rock Hill, South Carolina. The matchup is scheduled to tip off at midnight, making it the first college basketball game of the season in the United States.