# 2023–24 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by second-year head coach David Ragland, played their home games at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC).

## Previous season

The Purple Aces finished the 2022–23 season 5–27, 1–19 in MVC play, to finish in last place. They lost to Indiana State in the first round of the MVC tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 28, 2023* 1:00 p.m. | | Wabash | W 76–66 | – | Ford Center (3,027) Evansville, IN |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | W 72–64 | 1–0 | Ford Center (3,147) Evansville, IN |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UHSP | W 116–46 | 2–0 | Ford Center (2,817) Evansville, IN |
| November 15, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 76–57 | 3–0 | Show Me Center (1,023) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| November 18, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ball State | W 74–50 | 4–0 | Ford Center (5,172) Evansville, IN |
| November 24, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga Coke Zero Sugar Classic | W 85–77 $^{OT}$ | 5–0 | McKenzie Arena (3,148) Chattanooga, TN |
| November 25, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Southeast Missouri State Coke Zero Sugar Classic | W 93–74 | 6–0 | McKenzie Arena (2,163) Chattanooga, TN |
| November 29, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Missouri State | L 78–90 | 6–1 (0–1) | Great Southern Bank Arena (3,692) Springfield, MO |
| December 2, 2023 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 91–89 $^{OT}$ | 7–1 (1–1) | Ford Center (5,014) Evansville, IN |
| December 5, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 14 BYU | L 55–96 | 7–2 | Marriott Center (13,291) Provo, UT |
| December 16, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bellarmine | W 70–61 | 8–2 | Freedom Hall (2,438) Louisville, KY |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Martin | W 98–91 | 9–2 | Ford Center (4,112) Evansville, IN |
| December 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tennessee Tech | W 82–51 | 10–2 | Ford Center (4,715) Evansville, IN |
| December 29, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati | L 58–76 | 10–3 | Fifth Third Arena (10,977) Cincinnati, OH |
| January 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Indiana State | L 73–87 | 10–4 (1–2) | Hulman Center (4,457) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Murray State | L 59–81 | 10–5 (1–3) | Ford Center (7,928) Evansville, IN |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bradley | L 50–86 | 10–6 (1–4) | Carver Arena (4,093) Peoria, IL |
| January 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Missouri State | L 64–74 | 10–7 (1–5) | Ford Center (3,978) Evansville, IN |
| January 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Valparaiso | W 78–75 | 11–7 (2–5) | Ford Center (4,080) Evansville, IN |
| January 20, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 48–97 | 11–8 (2–6) | Knapp Center (3,717) Des Moines, IA |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | L 63–70 | 11–9 (2–7) | McLeod Center (3,257) Cedar Falls, IA |
| January 27, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Illinois State | W 58–54 | 12–9 (3–7) | Ford Center (4,010) Evansville, IN |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UIC | W 77–60 | 13–9 (4–7) | Ford Center (3,679) Evansville, IN |
| February 3, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 63–62 | 14–9 (5–7) | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,807) Valparaiso, IN |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bradley | W 73–70 | 15–9 (6–7) | Ford Center (3,542) Evansville, IN |
| February 10, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Murray State | L 70–73 | 15–10 (6–8) | CFSB Center (5,517) Murray, KY |
| February 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Drake | L 75–78 | 15–11 (6–9) | Ford Center (3,568) Evansville, IN |
| February 18, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Illinois State | L 79–86 | 15–12 (6–10) | CEFCU Arena (6,072) Normal, IL |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UIC | L 79–88 | 15–13 (6–11) | Credit Union 1 Arena (1,918) Chicago, IL |
| February 25, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Illinois | L 53–65 | 15–14 (6–12) | Ford Center (5,669) Evansville, IN |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Indiana State | L 67–85 | 15–15 (6–13) | Ford Center (6,419) Evansville, IN |
| March 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Belmont | L 66–83 | 15–16 (6–14) | Curb Event Center (2,437) Nashville, TN |
| MVC tournament ||||||
| March 7, 2024 6:00 p.m., MVC TV | (10) | vs. (7) Illinois State Opening round | W 59–53 | 16–16 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| March 8, 2024 6:00 p.m., MVC TV | (10) | vs. (2) Drake Quarterfinals | L 58–79 | 16–17 | Enterprise Center St. Louis, MO |
| CBI ||||||
| March 24, 2024 4:30 p.m., FloHoops | (11) | vs. (6) Quinnipiac First round | W 64–63 | 17–17 | Ocean Center (829) Daytona Beach, FL |
| March 25, 2024 5:30 p.m., FloHoops | (11) | vs. (3) Seattle Quarterfinals | L 57–71 | 17–18 | Ocean Center (724) Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: