# 2023–24 Horizon League men's basketball season

The 2023–24 Horizon League men's basketball season began with practices in September 2023 and ended with the 2024 Horizon League men's basketball tournament in March 2024. This was the 44th season for Horizon League men's basketball.
This was the final season for Horizon League member IUPUI as an institution. The Indiana University and Purdue University systems dissolved IUPUI at the end of the 2023–24 school year, replacing it with separate IU- and Purdue-affiliated institutions. The IUPUI athletic program transferred to the new IU Indianapolis (branded athletically as IU Indy), maintaining its NCAA Division I and Horizon League memberships.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

* On January 31, 2023, Green Bay fired head coach Will Ryan after three seasons and a 2–19 start. Assistant coach Freddie Owens was named interim head coach. On March 14, the Phoenix hired Wyoming assistant coach Sundance Wicks as their new head coach.

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Season | Overall record | Horizon record | NCAA Tournaments |
| Cleveland State | Daniyal Robinson | Iowa State (asst.) | 2nd | 21–14 (.600) | 14–6 (.700) | 0 |
| Detroit Mercy | Mike Davis | Texas Southern | 6th | 59–88 (.401) | 43–46 (.483) | 0 |
| Green Bay | Sundance Wicks | Wyoming (asst.) | 1st | 0–0 (–) | 0–0 (–) | 0 |
| IUPUI | Matt Crenshaw | Ball State (asst.) | 3rd | 8–53 (.131) | 3–34 (.081) | 0 |
| Milwaukee | Bart Lundy | Queens | 2nd | 22–12 (.647) | 14–6 (.700) | 0 |
| Northern Kentucky | Darrin Horn | Texas (asst.) | 5th | 79–45 (.637) | 52–24 (.684) | 2 |
| Oakland | Greg Kampe | Toledo (asst.) | 40th | 670–514 (.566) | 102–67 (.604) | 0 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Jon Coffman | IPFW (asst.) | 10th | 155–128 (.548) | 81–75 (.519) | 0 |
| Robert Morris | Andrew Toole | Robert Morris (asst.) | 14th | 216–210 (.507) | 133–101 (.568) | 2 |
| Wright State | Scott Nagy | South Dakota State | 8th | 149–78 (.656) | 94–40 (.701) | 2 |
| Youngstown State | Jerrod Calhoun | Fairmont State | 7th | 95–95 (.500) | 60–55 (.522) | 0 |
Notes:
* Season number includes 2023–24 season.
* Records are prior to 2023–24 season.

## Preseason
### Preseason coaches poll

2023-24 Horizon League Preseason Coaches Poll :
| Rank | Team (First Place Votes) | Points |
| 1. | Northern Kentucky (18) | 435 |
| 2. | Milwaukee (10) | 397 |
| 3. | Wright State (12) | 392 |
| 4. | Cleveland State (1) | 362 |
| 5. | Youngstown State (3) | 342 |
| 6. | Oakland | 280 |
| 7. | Robert Morris | 186 |
| 8. | Purdue Fort Wayne | 166 |
| 9. | Detroit Mercy | 132 |
| 10. | IUPUI | 116 |
| 11. | Green Bay | 96 |

### Preseason All-Horizon League

| First team | Second team |
| Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State | Jlynn Counter, IUPUI |
| BJ Freeman, Milwaukee | Sam Vinson, Northern Kentucky |
| Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | Tanner Holden, Wright State |
| Trey Townsend, Oakland | Brandon Noel, Wright State |
| Trey Calvin, Wright State | Brandon Rush, Youngstown State |
| Preseason Player of the Year: Trey Calvin, Wright State ||

## Regular season
### Player of the Week awards

| Week | Player of the Week | Freshman of the Week |
| 1 | Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne | Corey Hadnot II, Purdue Fort Wayne |
| 2 | Quinton Morton-Robertson, Purdue Fort Wayne | Corey Hadnot II (2), Purdue Fort Wayne |
| 3 | Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State | Corey Hadnot II (3), Purdue Fort Wayne |
| 4 | Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | Drey Carter, Wright State |
| 5 | Ziggy Reid, Youngstown State | Gabe Dynes, Youngstown State |
| 6 | Drew Loder, Cleveland State | Jeramiah Israel, Northern Kentucky |
| 7 | Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland State | David Douglas Jr., Green Bay |
| 8 | Noah Reynolds, Green Bay | Corey Hadnot II (4), Purdue Fort Wayne |
| 9 | Trey Townsend, Oakland | Corey Hadnot II (5), Purdue Fort Wayne |
| 10 | Noah Reynolds (2), Green Bay | David Douglas Jr. (2), Grren Bay |
| 11 | Marques Warrick (2), Northern Kentucky | Marcus Hall, Green Bay |
| 12 | Trey Calvin, Wright State | David Douglas Jr. (3), Green Bay |
| 13 | BJ Freeman, Milwaukee | David Douglas Jr. (4), Green Bay |
| 13 | Blake Lampman, Oakland | David Douglas Jr. (4), Green Bay |
| 14 | Preston Ruedinger, Green Bay | Randall Pettus II, Northern Kentucky |
| 15 | Jack Gohlke, Oakland | Randall Pettus II (2), Northern Kentucky |
| 16 | BJ Freeman, Milwaukee (2) | Gabe Dynes (2), Youngstown State |
| 16 | Brandon Noel, Wright State | Gabe Dynes (2), Youngstown State |
| School | POTW | FOTW |
| Cleveland State | 3 | 0 |
| Detroit Mercy | 0 | 0 |
| Green Bay | 3 | 5 |
| IUPUI | 0 | 0 |
| Milwaukee | 2 | 0 |
| Northern Kentucky | 2 | 3 |
| Oakland | 3 | 0 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 2 | 5 |
| Robert Morris | 0 | 0 |
| Wright State | 2 | 1 |
| Youngstown State | 1 | 2 |

### Conference matrix

| | CSU | DET | GB | IUPUI | MKE | NKU | OAK | PFW | RMU | WSU | YSU |
| vs. Cleveland State | – | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Detroit Mercy | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Green Bay | 0–2 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 |
| vs. IUPUI | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Milwaukee | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 |
| vs. Northern Kentucky | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. Oakland | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Purdue Fort Wayne | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. Robert Morris | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 |
| vs. Wright State | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 2–0 |
| vs. Youngstown State | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | – |
| Total | 11–9 | 1–19 | 13–7 | 2–18 | 12–8 | 12–8 | 15–5 | 11–9 | 6–14 | 13–7 | 14–6 |

### Early season tournaments

The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early-season tournaments in which teams from the Horizon League will participate.
| Team | Tournament | Location | Dates | Finish |
| Cleveland State | Viking Invitational | Cleveland, OH | November 22–25 | 1st |
| Detroit Mercy | Cincinnati/Ole Miss MTE | Cincinnati, OH University, MS | November 10–14 | N/A |
| Green Bay | Montana State MTE | Bozeman, MT | November 20–22 | N/A |
| IUPUI | Rock Hill Classic | Rock Hill, SC | November 17–19 | N/A |
| Milwaukee | Sunshine Slam | Daytona Beach, FL | November 20–21 | 3rd |
| Northern Kentucky | NKU Thanksgiving Tournament | Highland Heights, KY | November 24–26 | 1st |
| Oakland | Cayman Islands Classic | George Town, Cayman Islands | November 19–21 | 5th |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | Arizona Tip-Off | Glendale, AZ | November 17–19 | 1st |
| Robert Morris | Urban-Bennett Memorial Classic | Moon Township, PA | November 24–26 | N/A |
| Wright State | Gulf Coast Showcase | Estero, FL | November 21–23 | 3rd |
| Youngstown State | Lake Erie Classic | Youngstown, OH Painsville, OH | November 17–19 | N/A |

## Postseason
### Horizon League tournament

The conference tournament will be played from March 5 to March 12, 2023. The first round and quarterfinals are hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals are held at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Teams are seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary. The top five teams receive a bye to the quarterfinals and the bracket is re-seeded after every round.
The Horizon League does not use a fixed bracket tournament system, and pairings are re-seeded after the first and second rounds.
| First round Tuesday, March 5 | First round Tuesday, March 5 | First round Tuesday, March 5 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 7 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 7 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 7 | Semifinals Monday, March 11 | Semifinals Monday, March 11 | Semifinals Monday, March 11 | Championship Tuesday, March 12 | Championship Tuesday, March 12 | Championship Tuesday, March 12 |
| | | | 1 | Oakland | 75 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 78 | 8 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 65 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Robert Morris | 63 | | | | 1 | Oakland | 74 | | | |
| | | | | | | 7 | Cleveland State | 71 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Wright State | 97 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Northern Kentucky | 99* | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | 1 | Oakland | 83 |
| | | | | | | | | | 6 | Milwaukee | 76 |
| | | | 2 | Youngstown State | 70 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Cleveland State | 85 | 7 | Cleveland State | 82 | | | | | | |
| 10 | IUPUI | 66 | | | | 5 | Northern Kentucky | 75 | | | |
| | | | | | | 6 | Milwaukee | 82 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Green Bay | 84 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Milwaukee | 83 | 6 | Milwaukee | 95 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Detroit Mercy | 79 | | | | | | | | | |
Source:

### NCAA Tournament

As the conference champion, Oakland received an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet Sixteen | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 14 | South | Oakland | ― | defeated (3) Kentucky 80–76 | lost to (11) NC State 73–79 (OT) | ― | ― | ― | ― |

### College Basketball Invitational

Cleveland State accepted a bid to the 2024 College Basketball Invitational after finishing as semifinalists in the conference tournament.
| Seed | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 9 | Cleveland State | defeated (8) Northern Colorado 51–49 | lost to (1) High Point 74–93 | − | − |

### CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

Purdue Fort Wayne accepted a bid to the 2024 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament after finishing as quarterfinalists in the conference tournament.
| Bracket | School | First round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| Jim Phelan Classic | Purdue Fort Wayne | − | defeated Bowling Green 77–75 | defeated Tarleton State 73–72 | lost to Norfolk State 67–75 |

## National awards
### Midseason watchlists

Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists.
| Player | Henson |
| Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort Wayne | Y |
| Trey Townsend, Oakland | Winner |
| Marques Warrick, Northern Kentucky | Y |

## Conference awards

2024 Horizon League Men's Basketball Individual Awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of the Year | Trey Townsend, Oakland |
| Coach of the Year | Sundance Wicks, Green Bay |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Trey Robinson, Northern Kentucky |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Jack Gohlke, Oakland |
| Freshman of the Year | David Douglas Jr., Green Bay |
| Newcomer of the Year | Noah Reynolds, Green Bay |
| Sportsmanship Award | Marques Warrick, Northern kentucky |
| Reference: ||||
2024 Horizon Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams :
| First Team | Second Team | Third Team | Defensive Team | Freshman Team |
| Tristan Enaruna, CSU Noah Reynolds, GB Marques Warrick, NKU Trey Townsend, OAK Trey Calvin, WSU | BJ Freeman, MKE Blake Lampman, OAK Brandon Noel, WSU DJ Burns, YSU Ziggy Reid, YSU | Rasheed Bello, PFW Jalen Jackson, PFW Markeese Hastings, RMU Tanner Holden, WSU Brett Thompson, YSU | Trey Robinson, NKU Rasheed Bello, PFW Anthony Roberts, PFW DJ Burns, YSU Gabe Dynes, YSU | David Douglas Jr., GB Marcus Hall, GB Randall Pettus II, NKU Corey Hadnot II, PFW Gabe Dynes, YSU |
* 2024 Horizon Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team
* Trey Townsend, OAK Jack Gohlke, OAK Faizon Fields, MKE BJ Freeman, MKE Trey Robinson, NKU
* Bold denotes MVP

## Attendance
### Average home attendances

Note: Figures include conference tournament
| # | Team | GP | Cumulative | High | Low | Avg. |
| 1 | Wright State | 16 | 65,069 | 5,860 | 3,138 | 4,067 |
| 2 | Northern Kentucky | 15 | 49,052 | 4,935 | 2,340 | 3,270 |
| 3 | Youngstown State | 17 | 43,183 | 6,001 | 1,430 | 2,540 |
| 4 | Oakland | 13 | 35,715 | 3,721 | 1,000 | 2,747 |
| 5 | Green Bay | 14 | 34,161 | 5,490 | 1,379 | 2,440 |
| 6 | Milwaukee | 16 | 32,554 | 4,037 | 1,297 | 2,035 |
| 7 | Cleveland State | 17 | 28,385 | 2,399 | 1,281 | 1,670 |
| 8 | Purdue Fort Wayne | 16 | 20,074 | 1,886 | 816 | 1,255 |
| 9 | Robert Morris | 16 | 14,791 | 1,555 | 625 | 924 |
| 10 | IUPUI | 14 | 14,675 | 4,867 | 548 | 1,048 |
| 11 | Detroit Mercy | 17 | 9,061 | 1,211 | 420 | 824 |
| Total | Total | 165 | 346,720 | 6,001 | 420 | 2,101 |