# 2022–23 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2022–23 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by second-year head coach Pat Kelsey, played their home games at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Colonial Athletic Association.
On January 2, 2023, the Cougars were ranked in the AP poll for the first time in 20 years. They remained ranked for four weeks, the earliest in any season that the Cougars have been ranked for multiple consecutive weeks.
The team defeated Stony Brook, Towson, and UNC Wilmington to win the CAA tournament, claiming the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team won 31 games before qualifying for the NCAA tournament, a record for the school's Division I era.
This was the 6th NCAA tournament appearance in program history. As a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament's Southern region, they were defeated in the first round by No. 5 seed San Diego State, a team that went on to upset No. 1 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 and later played in the national championship game.

## Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2021–22 season 17–15, 8–10 in CAA play, to finish in sixth place. They defeated Hofstra in the quarterfinals of the CAA tournament before losing to UNC Wilmington in the semifinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

Charleston departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jordan Sechan | 1 | G | 6'1" | | GS | New Canaan, Connecticut | Graduated |
| Brendan Tucker | 5 | G | 6'3" | 180 | JR | Lawrenceville, Georgia | Transferred to Georgia State |
| Dimitrius Underwood | 11 | G/F | 6'4" | 215 | GS | Mesquite, Texas | Graduated |
| John Meeks | 12 | F | 6'6" | 224 | GS | Burlington, North Carolina | Graduated |
| Nick Farrar | 30 | F | 6'6" | 250 | SO | Apex, North Carolina | Transferred to UNC Wilmington |
| Osinachi Smart | 33 | F/C | 6'8" | 240 | GS | Umuahia, Nigeria | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Charleston incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school | Years remaining | Date eligible |
| Ante Brzovic | 10 | F | 6'10" | 230 | SO | Zagreb, Croatia | Southeastern Oklahoma State | 3 | October 1, 2022 |
| Ryan Larson | 11 | G | 6'1" | 180 | GS | Saint Paul, Minnesota | Wofford | 1 | October 1, 2022 |
| Pat Robinson III | 15 | G | 6'3" | 195 | GS | Chesterfield, New Jersey | West Liberty | 1 | October 1, 2022 |
| Jaylon Scott | 21 | G | 6'5" | 195 | GS | Allen, Texas | Bethel | 1 | October 1, 2022 |
Source

### 2022 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Crawford SG | Huntersville, NC | North Mecklenbeurg | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jul 1, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Khalil London CG | Oyster Bay, NY | Scotland Campus | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 12, 2022 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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: "2022 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Cougars were picked to finish in fourth place.
2022 All-CAA Rookie Team members Reyne Smith and Ben Burnham continued for a second year on the team, and Dalton Bolon returned after an injury early last season.

## 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* 7:30 pm, FloHoops | | Chattanooga | W 85–78 | 1–0 | 24 – Smith | 8 – Lampten | 4 – Larson | TD Arena (4,006) Charleston, SC |
| November 11, 2022* 7:00 pm, Bally Sports | | at No. 1 North Carolina | L 86–102 | 1–1 | 16 – Bolon | 8 – Faye | 7 – Scott | Dean Smith Center (17,892) Chapel Hill, NC |
| November 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Richmond | W 92–90 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | 29 – Smith | 10 – Faye | 7 – Scott | TD Arena (4,515) Charleston, SC |
| November 17, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Davidson Charleston Classic First Round | W 89–66 | 3–1 | 21 – Bolon | 7 – Bolon | 5 – Larson | TD Arena (5,017) Charleston, SC |
| November 18, 2022* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Colorado State Charleston Classic Semifinals | W 74–64 | 4–1 | 12 – Scott | 8 – Faye | 2 – Scott | TD Arena Charleston, SC |
| November 20, 2022* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | Virginia Tech Charleston Classic Championship | W 77–75 | 5–1 | 15 – Brzovic | 8 – Faye | 3 – Larson | TD Arena (5,405) Charleston, SC |
| November 23, 2022* 6:00 pm, FloHoops | | Kent State | W 74–72 | 6–1 | 16 – Larson | 8 – Faye | 5 – Larson | TD Arena (3,954) Charleston, SC |
| November 29, 2022* 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Old Dominion | W 75–60 | 7–1 | 17 – Larson | 4 – Smith | 7 – Larson | TD Arena (3,935) Charleston, SC |
| December 3, 2022* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 79–57 | 8–1 | 16 – Brzovic | 11 – Brzovic | 3 – Horton | McAlister Field House (4,630) Charleston, SC |
| December 6, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | W 67–62 | 9–1 | 15 – Horton | 7 – Scott | 2 – Horton | Templeton Physical Education Center (573) Clinton, SC |
| December 11, 2022* 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | North Greenville | W 96–67 | 10–1 | 22 – Bolon | 8 – Burnham | 8 – Larson | TD Arena (4,019) Charleston, SC |
| December 14, 2022* 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Stetson | W 65–60 | 11–1 | 16 – Bolon | 9 – Brzovic | 5 – Scott | TD Arena (3,632) Charleston, SC |
| December 19, 2022* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 83–69 | 12–1 | 23 – Smith | 9 – Scott | 7 – Larson | HTC Center (3,212) Conway, SC |
| CAA regular season |||||||||
| December 29, 2022 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Hampton | W 89–61 | 13–1 (1–0) | 19 – Robinson III | 7 – Scott | 5 – Scott | TD Arena (5,100) Charleston, SC |
| December 31, 2022 12:00 pm, NBCSWA | | at Towson | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 14–1 (2–0) | 22 – Brzovic | 12 – Brzovic | 5 – Larson | SECU Arena (2,472) Towson, MD |
| January 4, 2023 5:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 23 | at North Carolina A&T | W 92–79 | 15–1 (3–0) | 22 – Bolon | 10 – Bolon | 4 – Larson | Corbett Sports Center (2,655) Greensboro, NC |
| January 7, 2023 5:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 23 | Delaware | W 75–64 | 16–1 (4–0) | 13 – Bolon | 12 – Brzovic | 6 – Larson | TD Arena (5,162) Charleston, SC |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 pm, FloHoops | No. 22 | at UNC Wilmington | W 71–69 | 17–1 (5–0) | 16 – Bolon | 7 – Brzovic | 7 – Larson | Trask Coliseum (5,221) Wilmington, NC |
| January 14, 2023 4:00 pm, FloHoops | No. 22 | Elon Hall of Fame | W 78–60 | 18–1 (6–0) | 21 – Bolon | 11 – Scott | 7 – Scott | TD Arena (5,095) Charleston, SC |
| January 16, 2023 5:00 pm, FloHoops | No. 18 | William & Mary | W 82–54 | 19–1 (7–0) | 17 – Brzovic | 8 – Burnham | 5 – Larson | TD Arena (5,120) Charleston, SC |
| January 19, 2023 7:00 pm, FloHoops | No. 18 | at Monmouth | W 69–55 | 20–1 (8–0) | 27 – Smith | 6 – Brzovic | 5 – Larson | OceanFirst Bank Center (1,478) West Long Branch, NJ |
| January 21, 2023 12:00 pm, FloHoops | No. 18 | at Northeastern | W 87–61 | 21–1 (9–0) | 15 – Burnham | 8 – Faye | 4 – Larson | Matthews Arena (1,437) Boston, MA |
| January 28, 2023 4:00 pm, FloHoops | No. 18 | Hofstra | L 81–85 | 21–2 (9–1) | 18 – Brzovic | 9 – Bolon | 6 – Larson | TD Arena (5,109) Charleston, SC |
| February 2, 2023 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Drexel | L 69–70 | 21–3 (9–2) | 19 – Bolon | 8 – Scott | 3 – Smith | Daskalakis Athletic Center (2,009) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 4, 2023 2:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Delaware | W 84–67 | 22–3 (10–2) | 18 – Bolon | 9 – Brzovic | 5 – Larson | Bob Carpenter Center (2,875) Newark, DE |
| February 8, 2023 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | UNC Wilmington White Out | W 93–61 | 23–3 (11–2) | 23 – Brzovic | 7 – Brzovic | 3 – Larson | TD Arena (5,101) Charleston, SC |
| February 11, 2023 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Hampton | W 83–70 | 24–3 (12–2) | 30 – Robinson III | 7 – Brzovic | 6 – Larson | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, VA |
| February 13, 2023 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | Northeastern | W 99–63 | 25–3 (13–2) | 23 – Brzovic | 6 – Scott | 4 – Larson | TD Arena (4,564) Charleston, SC |
| February 16, 2023 7:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Elon | W 88–66 | 26–3 (14–2) | 15 – Smith | 11 – Brzovic | 7 – Scott | Schar Center (1,829) Elon, NC |
| February 23, 2023 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Towson Black Out | W 83–75 | 27–3 (15–2) | 13 – Smith | 8 – Scott | 4 – Larson | TD Arena (5,102) Charleston, SC |
| February 25, 2023 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Stony Brook Senior Day | W 92–52 | 28–3 (16–2) | 25 – Burnham | 7 – Burnham | 5 – Larson | TD Arena (5,116) Charleston, SC |
| CAA tournament |||||||||
| March 5, 2023 6:00 pm, FloHoops | (2) | vs. (10) Stony Brook Quarterfinals | W 74–52 | 29–3 | 15 – Brzovic | 8 – Bolon | 5 – Larson | Entertainment and Sports Arena Washington, D.C. |
| March 6, 2023 8:30 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) Towson Semifinals | W 77–72 | 30–3 | 20 – Smith | 9 – Brzovic | 2 – Smith | Entertainment and Sports Arena (2,002) Washington, D.C. |
| March 7, 2023 7:00 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (4) UNC Wilmington Championship | W 63–58 | 31–3 | 23 – Larson | 8 – Brzovic | 3 – Brzovic | Entertainment and Sports Arena (2,072) Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2023* 3:10 pm, TruTV | (12 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 18 San Diego State First Round | L 57–63 | 31–4 | 12 – Brzovic | 8 – Brzovic | 4 – Scott | Amway Center (15,650) Orlando, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

Invitational tournament honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Ref. |
| Charleston Classic Most Outstanding Player | Ryan Larson | Guard | |
Conference honors :
| Honors | Player | Position |
| CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player | Ryan Larson | G |
| CAA All-Tournament Team | Ryan Larson | G |
| CAA All-Tournament Team | Ante Brzovic | F |
| CAA Sixth Man of the Year | Pat Robinson III | G |
| All-CAA First Team | Dalton Bolon | G |
| All-CAA Third Team | Ryan Larson | G |
| All-CAA Third Team | Ante Brzovic | F |
| CAA All-Defensive Team | Jaylon Scott | G |
National honors :
| Honors | Player | Position | Ref. |
| Academic All-America First Team | Dalton Bolon | Guard | |
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 22 | 18 | 18 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 21 | 18 | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.