# 2023–24 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball team represented Kent State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Flashes, led by 13th-year head coach Rob Senderoff, played their home games at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center, also known as the MAC Center, in Kent, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC). They finished the season 15–16, 8–10 in MAC play, to finish in 8th place. They defeated Toledo and Bowling Green in the MAC tournament, before falling to Akron in the championship game to conclude the season with a 17–17 overall record.

## Previous season

The Golden Flashes finished the 2022–23 season 28–7 overall, 15–3 in MAC play, to finish in second place in the conference. As the second seed they defeated Northern Illinois, Akron and top-seeded Toledo to win the MAC tournament. Kent State was placed as the 13th seed in the Midwest Regional where they lost to Indiana in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Malique Jacobs | G | 6' 3" | 194 | RS-Senior | Wilmington, NC | Exhausted eligibility |
| Sincere Carry | G | 6' 1" | 185 | RS-Senior | Solon, OH | Declared for NBA draft |
| Robert Carpenter | F | 6' 7" | 210 | RS-Junior | Detroit, MI | Transferred to New Mexico State |
| London Maiden | C | 6' 9" | 258 | Freshman | Cleveland, OH | Entered transfer portal |
| Miryne Thomas | F | 6' 8" | 215 | RS-Senior | Cleveland, OH | Exhausted eligibility |
| Akeem Odusipe | F | 6' 8" | 225 | RS-Sophomore | Lagos, Nigeria | |
Sources:

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Reggie Bass | G | 6' 3" | 185 | Sophomore | Muncie, IN | Central Michigan |
| Tyem Freeman | G | 6' 5" | 205 | Graduate student | Springfield, MO | UCF |
| Jake Snyder | G | 6' 1" | 175 | Graduate student | Stow, OH | Baldwin Wallace |
Sources:

### Recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | Height | Weight |
| LA Hayes G | Akron, OH | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 181 lb (82 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Donovan Hunter F | Cleveland, OH | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 197 lb (89 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 |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Malone | W 79–58 | 1–0 | 15 – Santiago | 6 – tied | 3 – Payton | MAC Center (2,954) Kent, OH |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | James Madison MAC–SBC Challenge | L 108–113 $^{2OT}$ | 1–1 | 30 – Sullinger | 17 – Payton | 11 – Santiago | MAC Center (3,126) Kent, OH |
| November 11, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Fresno State | W 79–69 | 2–1 | 17 – Sullinger | 7 – Payton | 6 – Santiago | MAC Center (2,655) Kent, OH |
| November 17, 2023* 7:45 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Hampton Paradise Jam quarterfinals | W 100–62 | 3–1 | 20 – Payton | 8 – Payton | 5 – Santiago | UVI Sports & Fitness Center St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |
| November 19, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Missouri State Paradise Jam semifinals | L 52–56 | 3–2 | 11 – Hornbeak | 8 – Davis | 3 – Santiago | UVI Sports & Fitness Center (924) St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |
| November 20, 2023* 5:45 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Fordham Paradise Jam 3rd-place game | W 79–72 | 4–2 | 23 – Payton | 9 – Payton | 4 – Bass | UVI Sports & Fitness Center St. Thomas, Virgin Islands |
| November 26, 2023* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Charleston | L 78–84 | 4–3 | 23 – Sullinger | 7 – Sullinger | 5 – Santiago | MAC Center (1,813) Kent, OH |
| November 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Shawnee State | W 103–61 | 5–3 | 19 – Moss | 7 – Hornbeak | 4 – Hayes | MAC Center (2,225) Kent, OH |
| December 5, 2023* 9:15 p.m. | | at South Dakota State | W 82–73 | 6–3 | 19 – Santiago | 11 – Payton | 4 – Santiago | Frost Arena (2,453) Brookings, SD |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cleveland State | W 83–77 | 7–3 | 18 – Payton | 20 – Payton | 3 – tied | MAC Center (3,124) Kent, OH |
| December 21, 2023* 9:00 p.m., Pac-12 Network | | at Oregon | L 70–84 | 7–4 | 16 – Freeman | 7 – tied | 5 – Sullinger | Matthew Knight Arena (5,056) Eugene, OR |
| December 29, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Saint Mary's | L 46–66 | 7–5 | 18 – Payton | 6 – Payton | 2 – Santiago | University Credit Union Pavilion (3,380) Moraga, CA |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ball State | W 82–69 | 8–5 (1–0) | 20 – Payton | 6 – tied | 5 – Santiago | MAC Center (1,796) Kent, OH |
| January 6, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 69–71 $^{OT}$ | 8–6 (1–1) | 15 – Payton | 8 – Payton | 8 – Santiago | George Gervin GameAbove Center (3,058) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Toledo | L 75–89 | 8–7 (1–2) | 21 – Sullinger | 6 – Payton | 5 – Santiago | MAC Center (1,786) Kent, OH |
| January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan | L 62–77 | 8–8 (1–3) | 20 – Davis | 7 – Payton | 5 – Sullinger | McGuirk Arena (1,667) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| January 16, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 83–76 | 9–8 (2–3) | 23 – tied | 5 – Payton | 3 – tied | Convocation Center (809) DeKalb, IL |
| January 19, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Akron | L 71–77 | 9–9 (2–4) | 16 – Santiago | 8 – Payton | 4 – Sullinger | MAC Center (6,330) Kent, OH |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bowling Green | W 90–84 $^{OT}$ | 10–9 (3–4) | 30 – Sullinger | 12 – Davis | 5 – Santiago | Stroh Center (2,099) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 26, 2024 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Ohio | L 64–71 | 10–10 (3–5) | 16 – Freeman | 9 – Freeman | 4 – tied | MAC Center (3,557) Kent, OH |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | L 67–71 | 10–11 (3–6) | 16 – Sullinger | 7 – Payton | 3 – tied | MAC Center (2,114) Kent, OH |
| February 3, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Buffalo | W 83–52 | 11–11 (4–6) | 17 – tied | 7 – tied | 10 – Santiago | Alumni Arena (2,042) Buffalo, NY |
| February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 63–61 | 12–11 (5–6) | 19 – Davis | 6 – Payton | 3 – Santiago | MAC Center (2,564) Kent, OH |
| February 10, 2024* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Troy MAC–SBC Challenge | L 68–78 | 12–12 | 21 – Bass | 7 – Payton | 6 – Bass | Trojan Arena (3,912) Troy, AL |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 85–47 | 13–12 (6–6) | 17 – tied | 8 – Hornbeak | 7 – Sullinger | MAC Center (2,894) Kent, OH |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 57–63 | 13–13 (6–7) | 14 – tied | 6 – Payton | 4 – Santiago | Convocation Center (4,132) Athens, OH |
| February 23, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Akron | L 70–83 | 13–14 (6–8) | 20 – Sullinger | 10 – Payton | 4 – tied | James A. Rhodes Arena (5,160) Akron, OH |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 76–64 | 14–14 (7–8) | 30 – Sullinger | 7 – Payton | 7 – Santiago | MAC Center (2,928) Kent, OH |
| March 2, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | W 79–73 $^{OT}$ | 15–14 (8–8) | 21 – Santiago | 9 – Hornbeak | 5 – Davis | MAC Center (5,310) Kent, OH |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | L 69–76 | 15–15 (8–9) | 17 – Bass | 7 – Hornbeak | 6 – Santiago | Worthen Arena (3,412) Muncie, IN |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 71–86 | 15–16 (8–10) | 20 – Davis | 9 – Hornbeak | 8 – Davis | Savage Arena (6,520) Toledo, OH |
| MAC tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (1) Toledo Quarterfinals | W 67–59 | 16–16 | 26 – Davis | 12 – Davis | 3 – Davis | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,854) Cleveland, OH |
| March 15, 2024 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | (8) | vs. (5) Bowling Green Semifinals | W 73–60 | 17–16 | 22 – Sullinger | 9 – Hornbeak | 6 – Santiago | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,802) Cleveland, OH |
| March 16, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (8) | vs. (2) Akron Championship | L 61–62 | 17–17 | 21 – Davis | 8 – Sullinger | 3 – Santiago | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (7,955) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Sources: