# 2023–24 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by first-year head coach Chad Boudreau, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois as first-year members of the Ohio Valley Conference.

## Previous season

The Leathernecks finished the 2022–23 season 16–14, 9–9 in Summit League play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They were defeated by St. Thomas in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament. This was the Leathernecks' final season as a member of the Summit League, as they moved to the Ohio Valley Conference for the 2023–24 season.
On April 7, 2023, it was announced that head coach Rob Jeter would be leaving the school to take the head coaching position at Southern Utah. After being named interim head coach immediately following Jeter's departure, Chad Boudreau was named the team's permanent head coach on April 13.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UTSA | L 68–78 | 0–1 | Convocation Center (1,567) San Antonio, TX |
| November 8, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SMU | L 53–90 | 0–2 | Moody Coliseum (4,003) University Park, TX |
| November 12, 2023* 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | St. Ambrose | W 94–59 | 1–2 | Western Hall (609) Macomb, IL |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern | W 88–80 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | Western Hall (667) Macomb, IL |
| November 21, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | L 66–73 | 2–3 | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,257) Valparaiso, IN |
| November 24, 2023* 8:00 pm, B1G | | at Illinois | L 52–84 | 2–4 | State Farm Center (13,051) Champaign, IL |
| November 27, 2023* 6:00 pm, B1G | | at Wisconsin | L 49–71 | 2–5 | Kohl Center (14,092) Madison, WI |
| November 30, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hannibal–LaGrange | W 92–40 | 3–5 | Western Hall (597) Macomb, IL |
| December 3, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Dakota | L 68–70 | 3–6 | Western Hall (693) Macomb, IL |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Coe | W 80–58 | 4–6 | Western Hall (680) Macomb, IL |
| December 9, 2023* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Green Bay | W 68–59 | 5–6 | Resch Center (1,732) Ashwaubenon, WI |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eureka | W 92–56 | 6–6 | Western Hall (567) Macomb, IL |
| December 20, 2023* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Central Arkansas | W 65–54 | 7–6 | Farris Center (745) Conway, AR |
| Ohio Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| December 31, 2023 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 78–70 | 8–6 (1–0) | First Community Arena (1,409) Edwardsville, IL |
| January 4, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southeast Missouri State | W 68–61 | 9–6 (2–0) | Western Hall (629) Macomb, IL |
| January 6, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Lindenwood | W 68–57 | 10–6 (3–0) | Western Hall (601) Macomb, IL |
| January 11, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Martin | W 73–64 | 11–6 (4–0) | Skyhawk Arena (1,598) Martin, TN |
| January 13, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Illinois | W 63–60 | 12–6 (5–0) | Groniger Arena (1,338) Charleston, IL |
| January 20, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Tennessee State | L 57–58 | 12–7 (5–1) | Western Hall (1,046) Macomb, IL |
| January 25, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Indiana | W 73–68 | 13–7 (6–1) | Screaming Eagles Arena (2,726) Evansville, IN |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Morehead State | L 50–64 | 13–8 (6–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,988) Morehead, KY |
| February 1, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Lindenwood | W 79–71 | 14–8 (7–2) | Hyland Performance Arena (1,069) St. Charles, MO |
| February 3, 2024 3:45 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 76–55 | 15–8 (8–2) | Show Me Center (1,060) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| February 8, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Little Rock | L 60–63 | 15–9 (8–3) | Western Hall (1,076) Macomb, IL |
| February 10, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | UT Martin | L 59–62 | 15–10 (8–4) | Western Hall (1,448) Macomb, IL |
| February 15, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 62–55 | 16–10 (9–4) | Eblen Center (998) Cookeville, TN |
| February 17, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee State | W 68–61 | 17–10 (10–4) | Gentry Complex (1,479) Nashville, TN |
| February 22, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Morehead State | L 57–78 | 17–11 (10–5) | Western Hall (1,173) Macomb, IL |
| February 24, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Indiana | W 82–76 | 18–11 (11–5) | Western Hall (1,173) Macomb, IL |
| February 29, 2024 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Illinois | W 70–66 | 19–11 (12–5) | Western Hall (1,047) Macomb, IL |
| March 2, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | SIU Edwardsville | W 76–65 | 20–11 (13–5) | Western Hall (1,116) Macomb, IL |
| Ohio Valley tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Tennessee State Quarterfinals | W 61–59 | 21–11 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (4) | vs. (1) Little Rock Semifinals | L 57–82 | 21–12 | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: