# 2023–24 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by second-year head coach Dwayne Stephens, played their home games at University Arena in Kalamazoo, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 12–20, 9–9 in MAC play, to finish in a tie for sixth place. They lost to Ohio in the first round of the MAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Broncos finished the 2022–23 season 8–23 with a 4–14 MAC record. They finished last in the MAC and failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Markeese Hastings | 0 | F | 6' 7" | 195 | RS-Junior | Grand Rapids, MI | Transferred to Robert Morris |
| Shemani Fuller | 1 | F | 6' 8" | 205 | RS-Freshman | The Bronx, NY | Transferred to Clark Atlanta |
| Tray Maddox Jr. | 2 | G | 6' 4" | 200 | RS-Senior | Novi, MI | Exhausted eligibility |
| Lamar Norman Jr. | 11 | G | 6' 1" | 175 | Senior | Grand Rapids, MI | Exhausted eligibility |
| Gus Etchison | 21 | F | 5' 11" | 145 | Sophomore | Arcadia, IN | Transferred to Marian University |
| Tafari Simms | 23 | F | 6' 6" | 212 | Senior | Hamilton, ON | Exhausted eligibility |
| Elisha Warren | 24 | G | 6' 2" | 175 | Freshman | Woodhaven, MI | Transferred to Ranger College |
Source:

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Anthony Crump | 0 | G | 5' 8" | 215 | RS-Senior | Inkster, MI | Northern Illinois |
| Markhi Strickland | 15 | G/F | 6' 6" | 210 | Junior | Miami, FL | Victoria College |
| Javonte Brown | 31 | C | 7' 0" | 255 | Junior | Toronto, ON | Texas A&M |
Source:

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Josh Thomas G/F | Lincolnshire, IL | Evanston Township | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Michael Sulaka F | Macomb, MI | De La Salle | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) |
| 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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Kalamazoo | W 94–63 | – | – | – | – | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Dakota State | L 76–80 $^{OT}$ | 0–1 | 20 – White | 11 – Wright | 4 – White | University Arena (1,364) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 11, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State MAC–SBC Challenge | L 70–77 | 0–2 | 12 – tied | 7 – Strickland | 2 – tied | University Arena (1,313) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 14, 2023* 8:00 p.m., BTN+ | | at Northwestern | L 59–63 | 0–3 | 17 – Hubbard | 9 – Crump | 10 – De La Cruz Monegro | Welsh–Ryan Arena (4,143) Evanston, IL |
| November 19, 2023* 4:00 p.m., BTN | | at Ohio State Emerald Coast Classic campus-site game | L 56–73 | 0–4 | 24 – Hubbard | 11 – Lobsinger | 3 – Muntu | Value City Arena (9,505) Columbus, OH |
| November 24, 2023* 2:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Southeastern Louisiana Emerald Coast Classic consolation game | W 68–67 | 1–4 | 18 – Hubbard | 8 – tied | 4 – Wright | The Arena at NFSC (450) Niceville, FL |
| November 25, 2023* 1:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Mercer Emerald Coast Classic 5th-place game | W 72–66 | 2–4 | 25 – Lobsinger | 8 – Lobsinger | 6 – De La Cruz Monegro | The Arena at NFSC (150) Niceville, FL |
| December 1, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Thomas | L 51–66 | 2–5 | 12 – Crump | 7 – Lobsinger | 2 – Hubbard | University Arena (1,411) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Notre Dame | L 65–86 | 2–6 | 14 – Wright | 6 – Wright | 4 – White | Joyce Center (4,883) South Bend, IN |
| December 9, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Youngstown State | L 68–72 | 2–7 | 18 – Hannah | 9 – Lobsinger | 6 – White | University Arena (1,598) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UIC | L 68–89 | 2–8 | 16 – Hubbard | 11 – Brown | 3 – Wright | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,329) Chicago, IL |
| December 21, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | L 77–90 | 2–9 | 23 – Hubbard | 11 – Lobsinger | 6 – De La Cruz Monegro | Wolstein Center (1,473) Cleveland, OH |
| December 29, 2023* 4:00 p.m. | | Aquinas | W 127–71 | 3–9 | 27 – Hubbard | 6 – White | 8 – White | University Arena (1,581) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 83–74 | 4–9 (1–0) | 17 – Hubbard | 9 – Crump | 5 – White | Millett Hall (1,005) Oxford, OH |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Buffalo | W 82–77 | 5–9 (2–0) | 19 – Hubbard | 10 – Crump | 6 – White | Alumni Arena (2,260) Buffalo, NY |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 95–90 $^{OT}$ | 6–9 (3–0) | 25 – White | 10 – Lobsinger | 3 – tied | University Arena (1,339) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 13, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 81–79 | 7–9 (4–0) | 15 – Hubbard | 9 – Crump | 5 – White | University Arena (1,650) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Akron | L 66–77 | 7–10 (4–1) | 17 – De La Cruz Monegro | 7 – Brown | 3 – De La Cruz Monegro | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,061) Akron, OH |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | L 79–84 | 7–11 (4–2) | 25 – Lobsinger | 7 – Lobsinger | 5 – White | Stroh Center (2,232) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 73–56 | 8–11 (5–2) | 15 – Hubbard | 11 – Lobsinger | 4 – De La Cruz Monegro | University Arena (2,208) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | L 55–62 | 8–12 (5–3) | 16 – Hubbard | 12 – Lobsinger | 9 – De La Cruz Monegro | University Arena (3,110) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 63–88 | 8–13 (5–4) | 12 – Wright | 8 – Crump | 6 – De La Cruz Monegro | Savage Arena (3,915) Toledo, OH |
| February 3, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Ball State | L 67–77 | 8–14 (5–5) | 21 – De La Cruz Monegro | 11 – Crump | 4 – De La Cruz Monegro | University Arena (1,729) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Kent State | L 61–63 | 8–15 (5–6) | 14 – Brown | 12 – Crump | 5 – De La Cruz Monegro | MAC Center (2,564) Kent, OH |
| February 10, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Miss MAC–SBC Challenge | L 54–86 | 8–16 | 17 – Hubbard | 8 – Crump | 5 – De La Cruz Monegro | Reed Green Coliseum (3,842) Hattiesburg, MS |
| February 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan | L 42–69 | 8–17 (5–7) | 12 – White | 10 – Lobsinger | 3 – Lobsinger | McGuirk Arena (5,032) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 77–58 | 9–17 (6–7) | 19 – Hubbard | 7 – tied | 5 – De La Cruz Monegro | University Arena (1,436) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 24, 2024 2:30 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 91–72 | 10–17 (7–7) | 18 – tied | 7 – tied | 8 – White | University Arena (1,928) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 67–70 | 10–18 (7–8) | 18 – Hannah | 8 – Hubbard | 5 – Hubbard | George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,612) Ypsilanti, MI |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 78–76 $^{OT}$ | 11–18 (8–8) | 17 – Hannah | 9 – Lobsinger | 4 – White | Worthen Arena (5,223) Muncie, IN |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | L 65–73 | 11–19 (8–9) | 12 – Hubbard | 10 – Crump | 3 – De La Cruz Monegro | University Arena (1,243) Kalamazoo, MI |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN3/ESPN+ | | Akron | W 90–84 | 12–19 (9–9) | 23 – White | 9 – Lobsinger | 4 – Hannah | University Arena (1,636) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (6) | vs. (3) Ohio Quarterfinals | L 55–82 | 12–20 | 12 – White | 8 – Lobsinger | 2 – tied | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,854) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources: