[Kolzilla41]

If you would’ve told me the offense was operating this much higher with Myo vs Scottie, I wouldn’t have believed it.

[Sly Fox]

The fact we went cold while the board was down ... coincidence?

Let's finish strong!

[ElmersTwin]

Such a disjointed second half. No rhythm, and Caleb and gang have been absent.

[FLAMEfromBAMA]

This one really hurts, we were good enough to win it. Phenomenal season though!

[ALAFlamesFan]

Signature scoring slump showed up for the first time in a few games. Killer! Great season and great team!

Can't wait for next season!

[g-webb1994]

Man I thought y'all had them. Your powers that be have the coin, you need to lock up MacKay to a nice deal. For reference, it looks like Craft might be Appalachian State's top choice right now. Lock him up while you can

Maybe we can play you guys again in the near future. Heckuva year.

[ALAFlamesFan]

The bench really showed up big in these 2 games. Really impressed. I expect Scottie to get back in the gym and get better both physically and mentally. Myo was huge! Hopefully, one or more of our young bigs and develop into contributors and we can come back next year hungry and seasoned!

[thepostman]

Unfortunately not enough action towards to basket. Some of it was forced by Tech's defense but some of it was self inflicted.

I'm proud of this team and am excited for our future.

[ballcoach15]

Bad second half.

[ElmersTwin]

The bench really showed up big in these 2 games. Really impressed. I expect Scottie to get back in the gym and get better both physically and mentally. Myo was huge! Hopefully, one or more of our young bigs and develop into contributors and we can come back next year hungry and seasoned!

Myo, McGee, and Georgie absolutely kept us in the game. Without them that score would've been doubled.

[Sly Fox]

Man I thought y'all had them. Your powers that be have the coin, you need to lock up MacKay to a nice deal. For reference, it looks like Craft might be Appalachian State's top choice right now. Lock him up while you can

Maybe we can play you guys again in the near future. Heckuva year.

Very different circumstances. Coach McKay isn't going anywhere.

[ballah09]

What a great run and what an amazing year. We beat two P5 teams with no bigs. I feel for Scottie because we had no other big to help him. He’s not a true big. I think Ritchie will address this in the grad transfer market. We are going to be dangerous next year. It’s going to be exciting.

[JK37]

Never could figure out how to effectively defend the ball screen. Their guards hit some big shots, and their bigs got just enough second chances inside. They won the paint in the second half. That was the difference.

[jack_sparrow81]

Newton would’ve had to play a lot of minutes if we faced Duke

[A Sea of Red]

Liberty's season comes to a close, falling to Virginia Tech in 2nd round of NCAA Tournament

http://www.aseaofred.com/libertys-seaso ... ournament/

[Jonathan Carone]

We were good enough to win. We play those guys ten times we win 3 of them at least. Scottie got frustrated and let the inability to score take away from all the other really important things he does for us. If he didn't score but was able to grab some rebounds, space the floor, and set up our shooters then it's an entirely different ballgame. Would've loved to see Caleb drive the ball more too. He's got the talent and athletic ability to play at the rim.

There were a lot of more established and better known programs who had tournaments a lot worse than us. To finish in the top 50 for the year is pretty dang incredible.

[Jonathan Carone]

Cool little moment right as the postgame press conference was cutting off. You heard Ritchie ask if the guys being interviewed could take their name plates with them. He pays attention to the little things like a kid cherishing his name plate in an NCAA tournament interview. He wasn't too caught up in the moment to not appreciate it.

[olldflame]

What a great run and what an amazing year. We beat two P5 teams with no bigs. I feel for Scottie because we had no other big to help him. He’s not a true big. I think Ritchie will address this in the grad transfer market. We are going to be dangerous next year. It’s going to be exciting.

To bring in a grad transfer would necessitate someone transferring out, because we currently don't have a scholarship. That could change, and we've discussed the situation of one of our current players who may find it in his best interest to look for another opportunity where he can play more.

To some extent, we have addressed the issue already with Blake Preston. Don't be fooled by the fact he was redshirted this year. That was a "bite-the-bullet" strategic move by Ritchie. If he had played this year, he would have been in the rotation at the 4/5, behind Scottie and Myo, but ahead of Newton. If a scollie becomes available, it will be interesting to see which direction we go, and will reveal to some extent how high Ritchie is on Preston, Newton and incoming FR Shiloh Robinson.

By far our biggest loss is going to be Lovell, especially on the defensive end. I don't see Josh Price or Marten Maide filling that role. I wouldn't be at all surprised if we look at guards who would have similar defensive abilities to Lovell, whether they be grad transfers or HS recruits. Name to watch? Talton Jones, a 6'3" defensive bulldog with super long arms (sound familiar?) out of Trinity Christian in Fayetteville, NC. We offered him last summer, but ended up not having a scholarship after signing Maide, Rode and Robinson. He is still available, and per verbalcommits, his only D1 offer is High Point.

[LUDad]

Signature scoring slump showed up for the first time in a few games. Killer! Great season and great team!

Can't wait for next season!

I think the scoring downturn was more of a factor of law of averages. Eventually, you come back to your shooting averages, especially when a lot of those 3 point tries were from NBA range.

[Chris Lang]

This game scared the crap out of me as a Tech fan. I have a ton of respect for Ritchie and what he's done with the Liberty program. As others have said, I don't think this is a blip. I think it's a start of something big, though the conference affiliation will hold LU back because it's going to be hard for the Atlantic Sun to ever get two teams in the tournament. As good as Lipscomb was this year, it was only a five seed in the NIT, which shows the Bisons were never in the conversation for an at-large.

If LU wants to make a push to be an at-large candidate year after year, it will have to schedule way up and find willing mid-major partners to schedule home and homes with and find ways into solid exempt tournaments which allow opportunities to face top-level major conference teams. UNC Greensboro tried to play NC State this year, and Keatts said no thanks because there was too much risk of a loss. I can see Liberty running into that issue going forward. And of course, you have to catch some luck. It's not LU's fault UCLA stunk this year. That was still an impressive victory.

Anyway, I was a wreck throughout that game because I knew darn well Liberty was capable of winning. Great season for you guys. Much respect.

[Purple Haize]

James needs to learn from this and get his head on right. It was evident last night he’s not where he needs to be mentally. Had he channeled his frustration into rebounding and defense it might have made a difference. Absolutely LOVED the way RMK handled him and the situation last night. Which makes me think James will figure it out

[Jonathan Carone]

I think it's a start of something big, though the conference affiliation will hold LU back because it's going to be hard for the Atlantic Sun to ever get two teams in the tournament. As good as Lipscomb was this year, it was only a five seed in the NIT, which shows the Bisons were never in the conversation for an at-large.

Was watching the UNCG/Lipscomb game on Saturday. They mentioned that Lipscomb wasn't able to host the first round of the NIT and wondered if that led to their seeding. Just thought that was an interesting observation.

[thepostman]

James needs to learn from this and get his head on right. It was evident last night he’s not where he needs to be mentally. Had he channeled his frustration into rebounding and defense it might have made a difference. Absolutely LOVED the way RMK handled him and the situation last night. Which makes me think James will figure it out

It happened both games and it was crazy how quickly he got frustrated when things didn't go well offensively for him. It has happened to him in the past during the season and he responded well but contributing in other areas like he said. I think he probably put too much pressure on himself. It certainly will be a learning experience for him and, like you said, I am confident RMK and Jame will figure it out.

[ALAFlamesFan]

Just speculating but I wonder how much of the backlash from "the flop" was still in the back of his head and a contributing factor?

In any case, I have no doubt he will shake it off and use it as motivation in the off season. We are lucky to have him and his work ethic has certainly rubbed of on the rest of the team contributing to a great culture!

[JK37]

I think it's a start of something big, though the conference affiliation will hold LU back because it's going to be hard for the Atlantic Sun to ever get two teams in the tournament. As good as Lipscomb was this year, it was only a five seed in the NIT, which shows the Bisons were never in the conversation for an at-large.

Was watching the UNCG/Lipscomb game on Saturday. They mentioned that Lipscomb wasn't able to host the first round of the NIT and wondered if that led to their seeding. Just thought that was an interesting observation.

I was going to mention this as well. NIT seeding has as much to do with willingness/ability to host as anything else. I know Liberty had already had conversations and knew it would be hosting in the first round of the NIT, meaning it would’ve likely been a 3 or 4 seed. The goal of every secondary tourney, NIT/CIT/CBI, is to turn a profit. Seeding means little in terms of the perceived quality of one team versus another.