Liberty Men's Basketball Earns Spot in 2026 NIT

Flames travel to George Mason in First Round

From Liberty Athletics

LYNCHBURG, Va. – The Liberty men's basketball team has earned a spot in the field for the 2026 National Invitation Tournament (NIT). The Flames will take on George Mason in their first round game.

Liberty (25-7) and George Mason (23-9), the No. 3 seed in the Auburn Region, will meet on Tuesday evening at EagleBank Arena in Fairfax, Va. Tipoff is 6 p.m. on ESPN2.

Liberty finished 17-3 in Conference USA regular season action, earning the outright regular season title in the league for a second straight year. The Flames have claimed seven regular season and/or division titles in the last eight years. George Mason finished 11-7 in the A-10 for fifth place in the league.

The Flames and Patriots will be meeting for the 10th time ever but first since the 2010-11 season. Liberty fell 84-54 to George Mason at the Vines Center on Dec. 11, 2010 in the most recent meeting. Liberty is 3-6 all-time versus George Mason.

If the Flames are victorious in their first-round game against the Patriots, they would face either No. 2 seed Nevada (22-12) or Murray State (20-12) in the second round on Saturday.

This is the Flames' second NIT bid in program history, both of which have come in the last four years. Liberty played in the 2023 NIT, its first-ever NIT nod. The Flames topped Villanova 62-57 in the first round at Liberty Arena, followed by a 75-71 setback at Wisconsin in the second round.

NIT first-round games are held Tuesday and Wednesday at campus sites, with second-round games set for Saturday and Sunday at campus locations. The NIT quarterfinal games will be held March 24-25 at campus sites.

The 2026 National Invitation Tournament will mark the 88th edition of college basketball's oldest postseason event. For the first time in its history, the NIT will be along alongside the NCAA Division I Men's Final Four during the sport's biggest weekend. For the first time in NCAA history, all four men's basketball championships — Division I, II, III and the NIT — will be played during Final Four weekend at one site, uniting every level of the men's game on one stage in Indianapolis.

The NIT semifinals will tip off the Final Four weekend in Indianapolis on April 2 with contests at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Eastern at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse. The NIT championship will be played April 5 at approximately 8 p.m. at Gainbridge Fieldhouse following the conclusion of the Division II and Division III Men's Basketball National Championships. The semifinal contests will air on ESPN, and the championship will be televised nationally on ESPN2.

This year's bracket features 32 total teams, 25 or which have won 20 or more games. A total of 18 different conferences are represented in the 2026 NIT.

The tournament has been played every year (except for 2020) since 1938. Chattanooga won the 2025 NIT title with an 85-84 overtime victory over UC Irvine.

NIT Ticket Information
Tickets will be on sale to the public once George Mason provides the information. Please stay tuned for more updates on this on LibertyFlames.com/NIT. For any further questions or inquiries, please call the Liberty Ticket Office at (434) 582-7328.