# 2023–24 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball team represented Central Michigan University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Chippewas, led by third-year head coach Tony Barbee, played their home games at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the regular season 18–13, 12–6 in MAC play, to finish in fourth place. They lost Bowling Green in the first round of the MAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Chippewas finished the 2022–23 season 10–21, 5–13 MAC play, to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kevin Miller | G | 6' 0" | 165 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Wake Forest |
| Amani Drummond | G | 6' 0" | 170 | Freshman | Houston, TX | Transferred to Incarnate Word |
| Jesse Zarzuela | G | 6' 3" | 180 | Junior | Houston, TX | Transferred to Oregon |
| Reggie Bass | G | 6' 4" | 185 | Freshman | Muncie, IN | Transferred to Kent State |
| Emil Skyttä | G | 6' 4" | 190 | Freshman | Helsinki, Finland | Transferred to Sacramento State |
| Nicolas Pavrette | C | 6' 11" | 210 | Freshman | Lyon, France | Transferred to George Mason |
| Caleb Hodgson | F | 6' 10" | 235 | Junior | Dansville, MI | Transferred to Taylor University |
| Miroslav Stafl | C | 6' 11" | 235 | Senior | Liberec, Czech Republic | Transferred to Coastal Carolina |
| Ola Ajiboye | F | 6' 8" | 220 | Freshman | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Valparaiso |
| Carrington McCaskill | F | 6' 8" | 210 | Junior | Detroit, MI | |
| Caleb Atewe | F | 6' 9" | 233 | Freshman | Brampton, ON | |
Sources:

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Paul McMillan IV | G | 6' 2" | 170 | Sophomore | Cincinnati, OH | NJIT |
| Anthony Pritchard | G | 6' 3" | 170 | Junior | Tulsa, OK | Tulsa |
| Aidan Rubio | G/F | 6' 6" | 190 | Sophomore | Flint, MI | Macomb Community College |
| Derrick Butler | G | 6' 2" | 185 | Junior | Charlotte, NC | Chipola College |
| Jemal Davis | F | 6' 8" | 190 | Junior | St. Thomas, USVI | Florida SouthWestern State College |
| KJ Oduor | C | 6' 9" | 215 | Sophomore | Kisumu, Kenya | College of Southern Idaho |
Source:

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Bryce Eaton G | Detroit, MI | Edison Public School Academy | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cayden Vasko G | Lowell, IN | Don Bosco Institute | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Shaedon Simpson G | Toronto, ON | Combine Academy (N.C.) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Hunter Harding C | Toronto, ON | Royal Crown Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Drew Barbee G | Mount Pleasant, MI | Mount Pleasant HS | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Noah Adamczyk G | Bloomfield Hills, Michigan | Bloomfield Hills HS | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| 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: "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 |||||||||
| October 22, 2023* 5:00 p.m. | | Northwood | W 81–55 | – | 16 – Taylor | 8 – Taylor | 3 – tied | McGuirk Arena (327) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| October 29, 2023* 4:00 p.m. | | Alma | W 92–37 | – | 18 – Butler | 12 – Oduor | 2 – tied | McGuirk Arena (411) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma | L 59–89 | 0–1 | 11 – Pritchard | 9 – Taylor | 2 – Butler | Lloyd Noble Center (6,025) Norman, OK |
| November 11, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe MAC–SBC Challenge | L 64–74 | 0–2 | 15 – Pritchard | 9 – Taylor | 5 – Pritchard | McGuirk Arena (1,160) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| November 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Florida State Sunshine Slam campus game | L 67–94 | 0–3 | 16 – Pritchard | 9 – Pritchard | 5 – Pritchard | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (4,953) Tallahassee, FL |
| November 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at South Florida | W 68–63 | 1–3 | 22 – Pritchard | 6 – tied | 5 – Pritchard | Yuengling Center (2,965) Tampa, FL |
| November 20, 2023* 11:30 a.m., FloSports | | vs. Siena Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket semifinals | W 70–56 | 2–3 | 21 – Taylor | 7 – Pritchard | 9 – Pritchard | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 21, 2023* 12:00 p.m., FloSports | | vs. Stetson Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket championship | L 61–71 | 2–4 | 21 – Taylor | 10 – Taylor | 7 – Pritchard | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., BTN | | at Ohio State | L 61–88 | 2–5 | 15 – Davis | 5 – Taylor | 4 – Pritchard | Value City Arena (8,223) Columbus, OH |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 71–67 | 3–5 | 24 – Butler | 7 – tied | 4 – Pritchard | McGuirk Arena (1,193) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., FS2 | | at No. 10 Creighton | L 64–109 | 3–6 | 28 – Butler | 7 – Butler | 4 – Pritchard | CHI Health Center Omaha (16,412) Omaha, NE |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Davenport | W 90–66 | 4–6 | 21 – Taylor | 10 – Taylor | 7 – Taylor | McGuirk Arena (1,011) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Detroit Mercy | W 75–63 | 5–6 | 19 – Taylor | 11 – Taylor | 7 – Pritchard | McGuirk Arena (1,178) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| December 30, 2023* 2:00 p.m., NBC Sports | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 35–73 | 5–7 | 8 – Pritchard | 9 – Taylor | 4 – Pritchard | Gentile Arena (2,377) Chicago, IL |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | L 64–76 | 5–8 (0–1) | 19 – Pritchard | 8 – tied | 3 – Vasko | McGuirk Arena (1,088) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 71–65 | 6–8 (1–1) | 18 – Rubio | 6 – tied | 6 – Pritchard | Worthen Arena (3,612) Muncie, IN |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | W 80–64 | 7–8 (2–1) | 17 – tied | 8 – Taylor | 3 – tied | Gervin GameAbove Center (1,639) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kent State | W 77–62 | 8–8 (3–1) | 19 – Butler | 9 – Harding | 6 – tied | McGuirk Arena (1,667) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 61–73 | 8–9 (3–2) | 15 – Pritchard | 9 – Taylor | 5 – Pritchard | Convocation Center (4,608) Athens, OH |
| January 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Toledo | W 65–62 | 9–9 (4–2) | 20 – Pritchard | 15 – Taylor | 5 – Harding | McGuirk Arena (2,254) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 71–55 | 10–9 (5–2) | 18 – Pritchard | 7 – tied | 8 – Pritchard | McGuirk Arena (1,466) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | W 62–55 | 11–9 (6–2) | 23 – Pritchard | 8 – Pritchard | 6 – Pritchard | University Arena (3,110) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 84–77 $^{2OT}$ | 12–9 (7–2) | 21 – McMillan IV | 12 – Taylor | 3 – Taylor | McGuirk Arena (1,520) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 3, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 77–76 $^{OT}$ | 13–9 (8–2) | 19 – McMillan IV | 14 – Oduor | 4 – McMillan IV | Stroh Center (2,230) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Akron | L 47–68 | 13–10 (8–3) | 12 – Rubio | 8 – Taylor | 3 – Vasko | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,268) Akron, OH |
| February 10, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Old Dominion MAC–SBC Challenge | W 58–57 | 14–10 | 19 – Davis | 9 – Butler | 3 – Pritchard | Chartway Arena (4,569) Norfolk, VA |
| February 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 69–42 | 15–10 (9–3) | 24 – Butler | 9 – Butler | 6 – Pritchard | McGuirk Arena (5,032) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | W 62–60 $^{OT}$ | 16–10 (10–3) | 15 – Pritchard | 15 – Taylor | 3 – Vasko | McGuirk Arena (1,525) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 24, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | L 60–88 | 16–11 (10–4) | 16 – Pritchard | 9 – Harding | 5 – Pritchard | Millett Hall (6,732) Oxford, OH |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ball State | L 71–79 | 16–12 (10–5) | 25 – McMillan IV | 7 – Butler | 4 – Harding | McGuirk Arena (1,472) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| March 2, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kent State | L 73–79 $^{OT}$ | 16–13 (10–6) | 16 – tied | 11 – Taylor | 5 – Pritchard | MAC Center (5,310) Kent, OH |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 69–63 | 17–13 (11–6) | 24 – Butler | 9 – Pritchard | 10 – Pritchard | Convocation Center (1,399) DeKalb, IL |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 65–62 $^{OT}$ | 18–13 (12–6) | 25 – McMillan IV | 22 – Taylor | 6 – McMillan IV | McGuirk Arena (2,005) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) Bowling Green Quarterfinals | L 56–66 | 18–14 | 14 – Butler | 10 – Taylor | 7 – Pritchard | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources: