# 2022–23 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball team represented Kennesaw State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by fourth-year head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim, played their home games at the KSU Convocation Center in Kennesaw, Georgia as members of the ASUN Conference. They finished the season with 26–9, 15–3 in ASUN play to earn a share of the regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the ASUN tournament, the Owls defeated Queens, Lipscomb, and Liberty to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's first-ever trip to the tournament. As the No. 14 seed in the Midwest region, they lost in the first round to Xavier.
On March 29, 2023, head coach Amir Abdur-Rahim left the school to take the head coaching position at South Florida. On April 7, the school named Alabama assistant coach Antoine Pettway the team's new head coach.

## Previous season

The Owls finished the 2021–22 season 13–18, 7–9 in ASUN play to finish in fourth place in the East Division. In the ASUN tournament, they defeated Eastern Kentucky in the first round, before falling to Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | LaGrange | W 99–56 | 1–0 | KSU Convocation Center (1,285) Kennesaw, GA |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Florida | L 78–88 | 1–1 | O'Connell Center (9,072) Gainesville, FL |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Brewton–Parker | W 95–36 | 2–1 | KSU Convocation Center (924) Kennesaw, GA |
| November 18, 2022* 4:00 pm | | vs. Southeastern Louisiana Appalachian State Tournament | W 72–68 | 3–1 | Holmes Center (109) Boone, NC |
| November 19, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State Appalachian State Tournament | W 71–67 | 4–1 | Holmes Center (2,603) Boone, NC |
| November 20, 2022* 12:00 pm | | vs. Campbell Appalachian State Tournament | L 61–85 | 4–2 | Holmes Center (158) Boone, NC |
| November 26, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at VCU | L 61–64 | 4–3 | Siegel Center (6,807) Richmond, VA |
| December 2, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Mercer | W 66–63 | 5–3 | Hawkins Arena (958) Macon, GA |
| December 5, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | W 76–65 | 6–3 | Buccaneer Field House (627) North Charleston, SC |
| December 12, 2022* 10:00 pm, MWN | | at San Diego State | L 54–88 | 6–4 | Viejas Arena (11,532) San Diego, CA |
| December 17, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia College | W 79–55 | 7–4 | KSU Convocation Center (657) Kennesaw, GA |
| December 20, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | W 65–56 | 8–4 | KSU Convocation Center (652) Kennesaw, GA |
| December 23, 2022* 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 18 Indiana | L 55–69 | 8–5 | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (12,978) Bloomington, IN |
| ASUN Conference regular season ||||||
| December 31, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Arkansas | W 82–66 | 9–5 (1–0) | KSU Convocation Center (688) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 2, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 79–75 | 10–5 (2–0) | KSU Convocation Center (810) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 5, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Florida | L 86–89 | 10–6 (2–1) | UNF Arena (1,042) Jacksonville, FL |
| January 7, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Queens | W 76–67 | 11–6 (3–1) | Curry Arena (416) Charlotte, NC |
| January 12, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 81–68 | 12–6 (4–1) | KSU Convocation Center (1,547) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 14, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | North Florida | W 86–72 | 13–6 (5–1) | KSU Convocation Center (764) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stetson | W 82–81 $^{OT}$ | 14–6 (6–1) | Edmunds Center (929) DeLand, FL |
| January 21, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 65–63 | 15–6 (7–1) | Alico Arena (2,171) Fort Myers, FL |
| January 26, 2023 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 84–57 | 16–6 (8–1) | KSU Convocation Center (1,945) Kennesaw, GA |
| January 28, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lipscomb | W 85-72 | 17-6 (9-1) | KSU Convocation Center (1,879) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 2, 2023 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Bellarmine | W 90-84 $^{OT}$ | 18-6 (10-1) | Freedom Hall (1,649) Louisville, KY |
| February 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 74–77 | 18–7 (10–2) | McBrayer Arena (3,761) Richmond, KY |
| February 9, 2023 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 54–52 | 19–7 (11–2) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,434) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 11, 2023 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 74–71 | 20–7 (12–2) | KSU Convocation Center (1,902) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Liberty | W 88–81 | 21–7 (13–2) | KSU Convocation Center (3,059) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 18, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Queens | L 76–83 | 21–8 (13–3) | KSU Convocation Center (1,514) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 22, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Alabama | W 79–66 | 22–8 (14–3) | Flowers Hall (1,735) Florence, AL |
| February 24, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Central Arkansas | W 72–56 | 23–8 (15–3) | Farris Center Conway, AR |
| ASUN tournament ||||||
| February 28, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | (9) Queens Quarterfinals | W 67–66 | 24–8 | KSU Convocation Center (2,322) Kennesaw, GA |
| March 2, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | (5) Lipscomb Semifinals | W 80–71 | 25–8 | KSU Convocation Center (3,137) Kennesaw, GA |
| March 5, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | (2) Liberty Championship | W 67–66 | 26–8 | KSU Convocation Center (3,805) Kennesaw, GA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 17, 2023* 12:40 pm, TruTV | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Xavier First Round | L 67–72 | 26–9 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources