[LU Armchair coach]

Inside McKay Arena, the Liberty Flames men’s basketball handled business. 87–71. Covered the spread. Sent the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men’s basketball and Big Red rolling back to Bowling Green.

That’s 18 straight. 16–0 in conference. Let that sink in.

Sold out means sold out too. Even the folks who “never pay for tickets” were scrambling — resale on my ticket website was climbing north of $300 just to sniff the upper level. McKay was rocking.

Liberty defended, shared it, knocked down shots, and turned it into a second-half cruise.

And just a reminder — this is the team McKay built.
Protect the house. Cash the ticket. Move on.

[LU Armchair coach]

Didn’t get it done today. Simple as that. Shots didn’t fall, rotations were a half-step late, and somebody in the game thread was already planning the funeral at halftime. Deep breaths.

This isn’t the first time a good team has taken one on the chin. The difference? Good teams respond. And if you’ve been paying attention instead of coaching from your couch with a box score, you know how this group answers.

Circle next Thursday.

Kennesaw State Owls better enjoy the film session this week because an angry Flames squad is not the one you want to see walking into your gym. Streaks don’t just “happen.” They start with a chip on the shoulder and a week of hearing how the sky is falling.

So yeah, didn’t get it done today.

But look out — 11-game winning streak starts next Thursday. And the same armchair analysts will be right back on board like they never jumped off.

[Tothehoopyall1]

All good things come to an end , even a 17-game win streak. What a ride it was. For weeks, everything seemed to click: confidence high, shots falling, momentum building like something destined. But seasons aren’t defined by comfort. They’re defined by response.

Yesterday’s shellacking was sobering. The kind of loss that strips away the illusion of invincibility and forces a long look in the mirror. We’ve been here before. After the December setback against NC State Wolfpack men's basketball, this team answered. They tightened up, recommitted, and turned adversity into fuel. The question now isn’t whether we can play at a high level , we’ve proven that. The question is whether we can evolve again.

Right now, the rebounding numbers tell a hard truth. We’re getting beaten on the boards, and effort on the glass is about will as much as skill. When opponents control the rebounds, they control second chances, tempo, and often the outcome. That’s not a sustainable formula especially heading into March.

Who steps forward? Is it Xander Yates? Is it RJ Jones? Every meaningful season eventually comes down to someone choosing to own the moment to battle in the paint, to contest every drive, to make the gritty, thankless plays that don’t always fill the box score but win games.

Teams have been attacking the rim and finishing far too easily these past few outings. Yes, we escaped against FIU and gratitude is warranted.

If nothing changes, the margin narrows. And in the weeks ahead, margins are everything. March doesn’t reward potential; it rewards toughness, discipline, and teams that rebound like every possession is their last.

Adversity has a way of clarifying purpose. This moment can fracture confidence or forge resilience. The streak may be over, but the season’s defining chapter is still unwritten.

Now we find out who we really are and whether we’re built for March Madness.

[Humble_Opinion]

Being in person at the game was very frustrating from a fan perspective. One team was clearly more physical than the other and for a while the foul stat line showed it, as WKU racked them up. They're clearly deeper than we are though so the strategy itself was actually brilliant on the part of WKU. Holding Decker to only ONE FGA from behind the arc was quite the feat. What I didn't like was that the way WKU achieved it was to blatantly grab and hold him. At one point on an inbound right within view of the referee standing next to CP0 on the inbound, BD came around a screen and was cutting towards the basket and the WKU defender has ahold of his wrist and is pulling him back and there was no call. If that kind of thing is allowed moving forward, we're going to have a hard time getting BD free to shoot.

Metheny, who I think is one of the best off-ball moving guards in the conference also had a very difficult time getting free and for the same reasons. HCRM and staff have their work cut out for them to solve this equation.

Looking at the stats, these were the main issues:

1) Turnovers. 5 by Cleveland and 3 by CP0. In total we had 12 Assists and 12 Turnovers. TO's have become a thing the past few games, so I suspect there's going to be a heavy focus on taking care of the ball the next few practices.

2) Rebounds. We had 1 Offensive rebound to WKU's 10. Our offensive scheme of spreading out the defense seems to play against us on the offensive glass as there's often no one in position to go for them, so I don't think we'll ever be great at that. But to give up 10 offensive rebounds when we're on defense is a problem. This is an area where I think we really miss the presence of Aquino. He was just a bigger more physical body by virtue of his mass than Harper. That's not a knock against Harper. Asking a 6'5" 210lb Guard to defend and out-rebound against 6'9"+ 250lb individuals is unfair.

3) Free Throws. We shot 6 more FTs than WKU did, but they made 5 more than we did. WKU went 22-23 (96%) from the line, while we were 17-29 (59%). That's not going to cut it. JJ Harper has hit a little bit of a slump from the charity stripe the last few games. I suspect he's in his head a little bit about it now as he went 3-7 despite being nearly 80% on the year.