# 2022–23 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Louisiana at Monroe in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Warhawks, led by 13th-year head coach Keith Richard, played their home games at Fant–Ewing Coliseum in Monroe, Louisiana as members of the Sun Belt Conference.

## Previous season

The Warhawks finished the 2021–22 season 13–18, 5–13 in Sun Belt play to finish in 11th place in the Sun Belt Conference. They lost to Arkansas State in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Trey Boston | 0 | G | 6'2' | 165 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Left Team for personal reasons |
| Andre Jones | 1 | G | 6'5" | 191 | GS Senior | Little Rock, AR | Graduated |
| Koreem Ozier | 2 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Junior | Racine, WI | Graduated |
| Elijah Gonzales | 3 | G | 5'11" | 170 | Junior | Clackamas, OR | Graduated |
| Reginald Gee | 5 | G | 6'2" | 230 | GS Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| D'Marcus Hall | 14 | G/F | 6'5" | 210 | Freshman | Haughton, LA | Transferred to Bossier Parish Community College |
| Luke Phillips | 21 | F | 6'10" | 220 | RS Sophomore | Adelaide, Australia | Signed to play semi-professionally in Australia with Cockburn Cougars |
| Russell Harrison | 24 | G/F | 6'4" | 200 | Senior | Lubbock, TX | Graduate transferred to Lubbock Christian University |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jamari Blackmon | 0 | G | 6'1" | 205 | Senior | Hoover, AL | North Alabama |
| Savion Gallion | 1 | G | 6'4" | 182 | Sophomore | Washington, D.C. | South Plains College |
| Devon Hancock | 2 | G | 6'3" | 190 | RS Sophomore | Dallas, TX | Milwaukee |
| Tyreke Locure | 11 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Junior | New Orleans, LA | UAB |
| Victor Bafutto | 14 | C | 6'10" | 230 | GS Senior | Brasília, Brazil | Mercer |
| AD Diedhiou | 34 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Junior | Dakar, Senegal | UAB |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jacob Wilson SG | Baton Rouge, LA | Liberty Magnet High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | Aug 2, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Jalen Bolden SG | Zachary, LA | Zachary High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 212 lb (96 kg) | Mar 14, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Louisiana–Monroe 2022-23 Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022. "2022-23 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022. ||||||

#### 2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kelton Williams PG | Midloathian, TX | Midloathian High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Oct 7, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Louisiana–Monroe 2023-24 Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022. "2023-24 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 27, 2022. |||||||

## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Warhawks were picked to finish in last place in the conference's preseason poll. Junior forward Nika Metskhavarishvili was named preseason All-SBC Third Team.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st place Votes) |
| 1 | Louisiana - 190 (10) |
| 2 | Texas State - 162 (1) |
| 3 | South Alabama - 150 (1) |
| 4 | James Madison - 149 (1) |
| 5 | Georgia State - 127 (1) |
| 6 | Marshall - 122 |
| 7 | App State - 120 |
| 8 | Coastal Carolina - 100 |
| 9 | Old Dominion - 93 |
| 10 | Troy - 76 |
| 11 | Georgia Southern - 69 |
| 12 | Arkansas State - 48 |
| 13 | Southern Miss - 34 |
| 14 | ULM - 30 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Texas A&M | L 54–87 | 0–1 | 10 – Tied | 9 – Metskhvarishvili | 2 – Locure | Reed Arena (6,262) College Station, TX |
| November 10, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Dallas Christian | W 111–59 | 1–1 | 14 – Howell | 10 – Metskhvarishvili | 9 – Blackmon | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (538) Monroe, LA |
| November 14, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Baptist | W 105–56 | 2–1 | 15 – Metskhvarishvili | 9 – Bafutto | 4 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (744) Monroe, LA |
| November 17, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 15 TCU Emerald Coast Classic campus-site game | L 60–95 | 2–2 | 14 – Locure | 6 – Howell | 1 – Tied | Schollmaier Arena (4,959) Fort Worth, TX |
| November 21, 2022* 6:00 pm, CUSA.tv | | at Louisiana Tech | L 58–79 | 2–3 | 18 – Locure | 7 – Howell | 6 – Blackmon | Thomas Assembly Center (2,214) Ruston, LA |
| November 25, 2022* 1:30 pm, FloHoops | | vs. Omaha Emerald Coast Classic semifinal | L 56–63 | 2–4 | 15 – Blackmon | 10 – Howell | 3 – Tied | The Arena at NFSC (160) Niceville, FL |
| November 26, 2022* 10:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. Loyola (MD) Emerald Coast Classic | L 64–65 | 2–5 | 20 – Bafutto | 8 – Bafutto | 5 – Blackmon | The Arena at NFSC (100) Niceville, FL |
| November 28, 2022* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tulane | L 60–75 | 2–6 | 14 – Locure | 11 – Howell | 8 – Blackmon | Devlin Fieldhouse New Orleans, LA |
| December 3, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Champion Christian | W 101–46 | 3–6 | 20 – Bafutto | 15 – Howell | 7 – Locure | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (887) Monroe, LA |
| December 10, 2022* 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northwestern State | L 73–91 | 3–7 | 16 – Howell | 10 – Bafutto | 2 – Tied | Prather Coliseum (1,627) Natchitoches, LA |
| December 14, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Sam Houston | L 53–79 | 3–8 | 14 – Locure | 4 – Tied | 3 – Locure | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (871) Monroe, LA |
| December 17, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Lamar | W 83–59 | 4–8 | 17 – Locure | 10 – Baffuto | 7 – Locure | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (978) Monroe, LA |
| December 20, 2022* 11:30 am, ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | L 55–66 | 4–9 | 12 – Howell | 5 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (828) Monroe, LA |
| Sun Belt regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Texas State | W 57–53 | 5–9 (1–0) | 12 – Locure | 13 – Howell | 4 – Locure | Strahan Arena (1,052) San Marcos, TX |
| December 31, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | W 84–72 | 6–9 (2–0) | 25 – Blackmon | 9 – Bafutto | 4 – Tied | First National Bank Arena (2,347) Jonesboro, AR |
| January 5, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 66–58 | 7–9 (3–0) | 25 – Locure | 8 – Howell | 4 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,208) Monroe, LA |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Miss | L 60–65 | 7–10 (3–1) | 21 – Locure | 10 – Howell | 5 – Blackmon | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,984) Monroe, LA |
| January 12, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Louisiana 2,000th Game in NLU/ULM Program History | L 73–86 | 7–11 (3–2) | 19 – Powell | 6 – Howell | 5 – Howell | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (3,568) Monroe, LA |
| January 14, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas State | W 61–58 | 8–11 (4–2) | 24 – Blackmon | 6 – Howell | 4 – Gallion | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (2,007) Monroe, LA |
| January 19, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern Keith Richard's 300th Career Victory | W 72–59 | 9–11 (5–2) | 19 – Locure | 15 – Bafutto | 6 – Locure | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,553) Statesboro, GA |
| January 21, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Troy | L 53–77 | 9–12 (5–3) | 14 – Howell | 8 – Bafutto | 3 – Tied | Trojan Arena (3,154) Troy, AL |
| January 26, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Marshall | W 86–82 $^{2OT}$ | 10–12 (6–3) | 35 – Blackmon | 15 – Howell | 4 – Powell | Cam Henderson Center (4,931) Huntington, WV |
| January 28, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at James Madison | L 45–58 | 10–13 (6–4) | 10 – Bafutto | 7 – Tied | 3 – Locure | Atlantic Union Bank Center (6,429) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 2, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 83–70 | 11–13 (7–4) | 35 – Blackmon | 8 – Tied | 7 – Blackmon | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (3,659) Monroe, LA |
| February 4, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | South Alabama | L 64–72 | 11–14 (7–5) | 23 – Blackmon | 7 – Howell | 4 – Blackmon | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (3,023) Monroe, LA |
| February 9, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Appalachian State | L 45–52 | 11–15 (7–6) | 13 – Locure | 16 – Howell | 3 – Locure | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (3,558) Monroe, LA |
| February 11, 2023 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss | L 67–76 | 11–16 (7–7) | 24 – Locure | 10 – Howell | 5 – Blackmon | Reed Green Coliseum (4,578) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | L 67–84 | 11–17 (7–8) | 16 – Howell | 6 – Tied | 4 – Blackmon | Cajundome (2,948) Lafayette, LA |
| February 18, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at South Alabama | L 45–81 | 11–18 (7–9) | 12 – Locure | 8 – Howell | 2 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,702) Mobile, AL |
| February 22, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Troy | L 78–82 $^{OT}$ | 11–19 (7–10) | 33 – Locure | 9 – Howell | 2 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (962) Monroe, LA |
| February 24, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | L 61–64 | 11–20 (7–11) | 24 – Locure | 11 – Howell | 5 – Howell | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (2,286) Monroe, LA |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| March 2, 2023 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (7) Georgia Southern Second Round | L 57–66 | 11–21 | 15 – Blackmon | 11 – Howell | 1 – Tied | Pensacola Bay Center (940) Pensacola, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Source