# 2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented University of Northern Colorado in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Steve Smiley and played their home games at the Bank of Colorado Arena as members of the Big Sky Conference.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the season 12–20, 6–12 in conference play to finish in eighth place. In the Big Sky tournament, the Bears defeated the Portland State in their first-round game, before losing against Montana State in the quarterfinals to end their season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Midland | W 99–65 | | 18 – Reaves | 10 – Thomas | 6 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (–) Greeley, CO |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Colorado College | W 87–58 | 1–0 | 13 – Wisne | 8 – Abercrombie | 2 – Tied | Bank of Colorado Arena (986) Greeley, CO |
| November 8, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern New Mexico | W 81–60 | 2–0 | 20 – Thomas | 12 – Thomas | 6 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (917) Greeley, CO |
| November 14, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Colorado State | L 64–83 | 2–1 | 20 – Reaves | 15 – Thomas | 3 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (2,181) Greeley, CO |
| November 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State Cancún Challenge campus game | L 71–76 | 2–2 | 16 – Reaves | 13 – Thomas | 3 – Thomas | Pan American Center (5,656) Las Cruces, NM |
| November 21, 2023* 1:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Chicago State Cancún Challenge Mayan Division semi-final | W 78–77 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | 24 – Reaves | 10 – Thomas | 4 – Reaves | Hard Rock Hotel (200) Riviera Maya, Mexico |
| November 22, 2023* 1:15 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Radford Cancún Challenge Mayan Division championship | L 68–79 | 3–3 | 19 – Thomas | 7 – Wisne | 5 – Rillie | Hard Rock Hotel (–) Riviera Maya, Mexico |
| November 29, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at San Diego | L 72–74 | 3–4 | 17 – Abercrombie | 8 – Tied | 6 – Thomas | Jenny Craig Pavilion (603) San Diego, California |
| December 2, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cal State Northridge | W 75–71 | 4–4 | 31 – Thomas | 9 – Wisne | 4 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (899) Greeley, CO |
| December 11, 2023* 10:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | at Texas A&M-Commerce | L 99–101 $^{2OT}$ | 4–5 | 30 – Reaves | 17 – Thomas | 8 – Rillie | The Field House (1,873) Commerce, TX |
| December 15, 2023* 6:00 p.m., P12N | | at Colorado | L 68–90 | 4–6 | 27 – Thomas | 9 – Thomas | 6 – Rillie | CU Events Center (7,177) Boulder, CO |
| December 21, 2023* 2:00 p.m., Mountain West Network | | at Air Force | W 83–79 | 5–6 | 24 – Thomas | 10 – Thomas | 6 – Rillie | Clune Arena (1,827) Colorado Springs, CO |
| December 30, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Arizona | W 92–77 | 6–6 (1–0) | 18 – Rillie | 5 – Tied | 5 – Reynolds | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,090) Greeley, CO |
| January 3, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Dakota Big Sky-Summit League Challenge | W 97–87 | 7–6 | 30 – Rillie | 12 – Thomas | 4 – Rillie | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,365) Grand Forks, ND |
| January 6, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Denver Big Sky-Summit League Challenge | W 86–82 | 8–6 | 23 – Thomas | 8 – Rillie | 10 – Rillie | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,403) Greeley, CO |
| January 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Montana | W 98–92 $^{OT}$ | 9–6 (2–0) | 37 – Thomas | 14 – Thomas | 5 – Rillie | Dahlberg Arena (2,362) Missoula, MT |
| January 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Montana State | L 81–90 | 9–7 (2–1) | 27 – Thomas | 8 – Thomas | 8 – Rillie | Worthington Arena (2,093) Bozeman, MT |
| January 18, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sacramento State | W 77–75 | 10–7 (3–1) | 20 – Thomas | 9 – Thomas | 6 – Rillie | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,004) Greeley, CO |
| January 20, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Portland State | W 90–61 | 11–7 (4–1) | 20 – Thomas | 13 – Thomas | 5 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,254) Greeley, CO |
| January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Washington | L 74–77 | 11–8 (4–2) | 26 – Rillie | 10 – Thomas | 4 – Rillie | Reese Court (1,519) Cheney, WA |
| January 27, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Idaho | W 89–68 | 12–8 (5–2) | 20 – Thomas | 13 – Thomas | 8 – Thomas | ICCU Arena (1,754) Moscow, ID |
| February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho State | W 91–86 $^{2OT}$ | 13–8 (6–2) | 18 – Thomas | 10 – Thomas | 6 – Rillie | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,209) Greeley, CO |
| February 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Weber State | L 63–82 | 13–9 (6–3) | 29 – Thomas | 10 – Thomas | 3 – Tied | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,507) Greeley, CO |
| February 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Montana State | W 73–70 | 14–9 (7–3) | 21 – Reaves | 8 – Hughes | 5 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,055) Greeley, CO |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Montana | W 87–71 | 15–9 (8–3) | 25 – Reaves | 12 – Thomas | 7 – Rillie | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,119) Greeley, CO |
| February 15, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Portland State | L 72–82 $^{OT}$ | 15–10 (8–4) | 27 – Reaves | 14 – Thomas | 7 – Rillie | Viking Pavilion (643) Portland, OR |
| February 17, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sacramento State | W 80–75 | 16–10 (9–4) | 24 – Reaves | 9 – Thomas | 5 – Thomas | Hornets Nest (651) Sacramento, CA |
| February 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Idaho | W 76–62 | 17–10 (10–4) | 20 – Thomas | 7 – Rillie | 8 – Thomas | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,253) Greeley, CO |
| February 24, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Washington | L 76–85 | 17–11 (10–5) | 21 – Reaves | 9 – Thomas | 4 – Rillie | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,893) Greeley, CO |
| February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Weber State | L 81–85 $^{OT}$ | 17–12 (10–6) | 23 – Rillie | 12 – Thomas | 7 – Thomas | Dee Events Center (6,018) Ogden, UT |
| March 2, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Idaho State | W 81–79 | 18–12 (11–6) | 28 – Thomas | 12 – Thomas | 8 – Thomas | Reed Gym (1,522) Pocatello, ID |
| March 4, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Arizona | W 82–74 | 19–12 (12–6) | 20 – Thomas | 10 – Thomas | 6 – Tied | Findlay Toyota Court (1,066) Flagstaff, AZ |
| Big Sky tournament |||||||||
| March 10, 2024 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (8) Idaho State Quarter-finals | L 76–83 | 19–13 | 19 – Reaves | 8 – Wisne | 9 – Thomas | Idaho Central Arena Boise, ID |
| CBI |||||||||
| March 24, 2024 9:00 am, FloHoops | (8) | vs. (9) Cleveland State First round | L 49–51 | 19–14 | 14 – Reynolds | 8 – Reynolds | 3 – Reynolds | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
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