# 2023–24 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by third-year head coach Justin Gray, played their home games at the Ramsey Center located in Cullowhee, North Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 22–10, 11–7 in SoCon play, to finish in fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Furman.
On March 11, 2024, Justin Gray was named the head coach for Coastal Carolina. Two days later, the school named Gardner–Webb coach Tim Craft the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2022–23 season 17–14, 10–8 in SoCon play, to finish in fourth place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated East Tennessee in the quarterfinals before narrowly losing in overtime to Furman in the semifinal round. The Catamounts were invited to the CBI tournament, where they were defeated by eventual champions Charlotte in the first round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Dalton State | W 106–65 | 1–0 | Ramsey Center (1,677) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 11, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ | | at Notre Dame | W 71–61 | 2–0 | Joyce Center (5,742) South Bend, IN |
| November 13, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | W 66–64 | 3–0 | Murphy Center (2,806) Murfreesboro, TN |
| November 18, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | McNeese | W 76–74 | 4–0 | Ramsey Center (1,916) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 26, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Alabama | W 81–63 | 5–0 | Ramsey Center (1,765) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 28, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 69–65 | 6–0 | Eblen Center (679) Cookeville, TN |
| December 2, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Gardner–Webb | L 77–82 | 6–1 | Paul Porter Arena (850) Boiling Springs, NC |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at High Point | L 71–97 | 6–2 | Qubein Center (2,476) High Point, NC |
| December 9, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Asheville | W 78–63 | 7–2 | Ramsey Center (2,904) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 16, 2023* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at USC Upstate | W 70–53 | 8–2 | G. B. Hodge Center (414) Spartanburg, SC |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN | | at Vanderbilt | W 63–62 | 9–2 | Memorial Gymnasium (5,146) Nashville, TN |
| December 21, 2023* 11:30 a.m., ESPN+ | | Brescia | W 85–47 | 10–2 | Ramsey Center (7,826) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 30, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | King | W 90–62 | 11–2 | Ramsey Center (1,792) Cullowhee, NC |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 80–71 | 12–2 (1–0) | McAlister Field House (1,233) Charleston, SC |
| January 6, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 70–66 | 13–2 (2–0) | Ramsey Center (2,008) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., Nexstar/ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | W 80–66 | 14–2 (3–0) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,423) Johnson City, TN |
| January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Mercer | W 64–52 | 15–2 (4–0) | Hawkins Arena (3,227) Macon, GA |
| January 16, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Samford | L 71–75 | 15–3 (4–1) | Ramsey Center (5,018) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 62–65 | 15–4 (4–2) | Timmons Arena (2,517) Greenville, SC |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 82–85 $^{OT}$ | 15–5 (4–3) | Ramsey Center (2,945) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 27, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | VMI | W 102–77 | 16–5 (5–3) | Ramsey Center (3,860) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | L 85–91 | 16–6 (5–4) | Ramsey Center (1,895) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 86–88 $^{OT}$ | 16–7 (5–5) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (2,051) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 71–64 | 17–7 (6–5) | Ramsey Center (1,849) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 10, 2024 4:00 p.m., Nexstar/ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 79–46 | 18–7 (7–5) | Ramsey Center (2,588) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 14, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPN2/ESPNU | | at Samford | L 62–88 | 18–8 (7–6) | Pete Hanna Center (1,321) Homewood, AL |
| February 17, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 70–65 | 19–8 (8–6) | Ramsey Center (3,231) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 21, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at UNC Greensboro | L 65–71 | 19–9 (8–7) | Greensboro Coliseum (1,730) Greensboro, NC |
| February 24, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VMI | W 84–51 | 20–9 (9–7) | Cameron Hall (3,287) Lexington, VA |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Furman | W 85–77 | 21–9 (10–7) | Ramsey Center (3,159) Cullowhee, NC |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | W 82–63 | 22–9 (11–7) | McKenzie Arena (3,874) Chattanooga, TN |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+/Nexstar | (4) | vs. (5) Furman Quarterfinals | L 76–79 $^{OT}$ | 22–10 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources: