For just the second time in school history, Liberty (25-7, 17-3 Conference USA) has received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. The Flames will play at George Mason (23-9, 11-7 Atlantic 10) in Fairfax, Virginia on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN 2.
The Flames have to go on the road and play at the 3-seed in the NIT as part of Auburn’s region where the Tigers are the 1-seed. The winner of Tuesday’s game between Liberty and George Mason will play the winner of 2-seed Nevada and Murray State. If the Flames advance, Liberty would play at Nevada, should the Wolf Pack win, since they are the higher seeded team.
George Mason finished fifth in the A-10 before losing to St. Bonaventure, 63-57, in their first game of the A-10 Tournament this past Thursday night. Under third year head coach Tony Skinn, the Patriots have won at least 20 games for the past four seasons and are in the NIT for a second straight year. Last year, George Mason defeated Samford in the first round of the NIT before losing at home to Bradley, 75-67, in the second round to finish the year at 27-9 overall.
The Patriots are currently ranked No. 92 in the NET and No. 96 in KenPom. George Mason is led by four players who average double figures including 6’2″ guard Kory Mincy who averages 14.3 points per game. 6’11” forward is averaging 13.7 points and 6.1 rebounds per game while 6’5″ guards Jahari Long (11.8 points) and Fatt Hill (10.3 points) are also in double figures.
Liberty enters the NIT with a 25-7 overall record and 17-3 mark in the Conference USA. The Flames won a second straight outright CUSA regular season title before faltering in the Quarterfinals of the CUSA Tournament in an upset to 9-seed Missouri State. The Flames are in the NIT for just the second time and first since 2023. That season, behind senior Darius McGhee, the Flames received an at-large bid into the NIT before knocking off Villanova at Liberty Arena and losing at Wisconsin in the second round.
Sam Houston also got into the NIT. They play No. 1 seed New Mexico in the Albuquerque Region on Wednesday night at 9 p.m. on ESPN+.
