# 2023–24 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team

The 2023–24 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team represented La Salle University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Explorers, led by second-year head coach Fran Dunphy, played their home games at Tom Gola Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. This season was the final season the Explorers played at Tom Gola Arena.

## Previous season

The Explorers finished the 2022–23 season 15–19, 7–11 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for 11th place. As the No. 11 seed in the A-10 tournament, they defeated Rhode Island in the first round, Duquesne in the second round before losing to Fordham in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Hassan Drame | 4 | F | 6'7" | 200 | Senior | Bamako, Mali | Graduate transferred to Duquesne |
| Josh Nickelberry | 10 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Fayetteville, NC | Graduate transferred to Florida State |
| Fousseyni Drame | 11 | F | 6'7" | 200 | Senior | Bamako, Mali | Graduate transferred to Duquesne |
| Mamadou Doucoure | 14 | F | 6'9" | 250 | GS Senior | Bamako, Mali | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Milos Kovacevic | 31 | F | 6'9" | | Junior | Belgrade, Serbia | Highland CC |

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tunde Vahlberg Fasasi SF | Stockholm, Sweden | Hoosac School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | N/A | May 6, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Efe Tahmaz SF | Kadıköy, Turkey | Beşiktaş Basketbol | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A | Aug 22, 2023 |
| 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. Retrieved October 29, 2021. ||||||

## 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 7, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Drexel Big 5 Classic Pod 1 | W 67–61 | 1–0 | 18 – Brickus | 9 – Jocius | 4 – Gill | Tom Gola Arena (1,641) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 11, 2023* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Northeastern | W 79–74 | 2–0 | 22 – Brickus | 5 – Gill | 7 – Gill | Tom Gola Arena (2,871) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 14, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bucknell Blue Devil Challenge | W 69–57 | 3–0 | 22 – Shepherd | 9 – Shepherd | 6 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (1,612) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 18, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Indiana Blue Devil Challenge | W 79–78 | 4–0 | 30 – Brantley | 8 – Shepherd | 6 – Gill | Tom Gola Arena (1,254) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 9 Duke Blue Devil Challenge | L 66–95 | 4–1 | 17 – Gill | 9 – Jocius | 4 – Brickus | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| November 26, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coppin State | W 81–62 | 5–1 | 21 – Gill | 10 – Jocius | 6 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (1,473) Philadelphia, PA |
| November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Temple Big 5 Classic Pod 1 | L 99–106 $^{3OT}$ | 5–2 | 41 – Brickus | 14 – Brantley | 5 – Brantley | Liacouras Center (4,229) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 2, 2023* 4:45 p.m., NBCSP+/Peacock | | vs. Penn Big 5 Classic third place game | W 93–92 $^{OT}$ | 6–2 | 24 – Brantley | 8 – Shepherd | 7 – Gill | Wells Fargo Center Philadelphia, PA |
| December 6, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Loyola (MD) | W 62–61 | 7–2 | 18 – Marrero | 9 – Shepherd | 8 – Brickus | Tom Gola Arena (1,269) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 9, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Lafayette | W 67–51 | 8–2 | 20 – Marrero | 9 – Brantley | 8 – Brickus | Kirby Sports Center (1,009) Easton, PA |
| December 16, 2023* 12:00 p.m., The CW | | at No. 24 Miami (FL) | L 77–84 | 8–3 | 23 – Brantley | 8 – Shepherd | 8 – Brickus | Watsco Center (6,407) Coral Gables, FL |
| December 21, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Rosemont | W 107–41 | 9–3 | 19 – Zan | 7 – Zan | 12 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (1,045) Philadelphia, PA |
| December 30, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Howard | L 66–71 | 9–4 | 17 – Brantley | 13 – Shepherd | 3 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (1,732) Philadelphia, PA |
| Atlantic 10 regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | George Mason | L 62–77 | 9–5 (0–1) | 19 – Brickus | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Tom Gola Arena (1,243) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 6, 2024 12:00 p.m., USA | | at Fordham | W 81–76 | 10–5 (1–1) | 15 – Shepherd | 8 – Shepherd | 5 – Tied | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,246) Bronx, NY |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., NBC Sports App | | at UMass | L 65–81 | 10–6 (1–2) | 14 – Vahlberg Fasasi | 8 – Shepherd | 6 – Brickus | Mullins Center (2,227) Amherst, MA |
| January 13, 2024 12:30 p.m., USA | | VCU | L 65–71 | 10–7 (1–3) | 20 – Brickus | 9 – Zan | 3 – Marrero | Tom Gola Arena (1,647) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 15, 2024 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Saint Joseph's | L 62–82 | 10–8 (1–4) | 16 – Brantley | 5 – Marrero | 5 – Brantley | Hagan Arena (2,796) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 23, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 16 Dayton | L 54–66 | 10–9 (1–5) | 13 – Marrero | 7 – Tied | 6 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (1,571) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 27, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at George Washington | W 80–70 | 11–9 (2–5) | 20 – Brantley | 8 – Brantley | 8 – Brickus | Charles E. Smith Center (2,054) Washington, D.C. |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Rhode Island | L 69–71 | 11–10 (2–6) | 19 – Brantley | 13 – Jocius | 6 – Brickus | Ryan Center (4,033) Kingston, RI |
| February 3, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Saint Joseph's | L 82–88 | 11–11 (2–7) | 24 – Brickus | 8 – Brickus | 8 – Brickus | Tom Gola Arena (3,174) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 7, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | L 84–102 | 11–12 (2–8) | 24 – Gill | 10 – Brantley | 6 – Brickus | Tom Gola Arena (1,202) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 10, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Richmond | L 65–82 | 11–13 (2–9) | 22 – Brantley | 10 – Jocius | 4 – Brickus | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| February 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Davidson | L 56–71 | 11–14 (2–10) | 16 – Brantley | 7 – Shepherd | 3 – Brantley | John M. Belk Arena (2,268) Davidson, NC |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UMass | W 82–81 | 12–14 (3–10) | 19 – Tied | 10 – Brantley | 6 – Tied | Tom Gola Arena (1,636) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 21, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | St. Bonaventure | W 72–59 | 13–14 (4–10) | 23 – Shepherd | 7 – Tied | 7 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (1,439) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 25, 2024 12:00 p.m., USA | | Rhode Island | W 84–61 | 14–14 (5–10) | 22 – Brantley | 8 – Shepherd | 6 – Gill | Tom Gola Arena (1,642) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Duquesne | L 63–75 | 14–15 (5–11) | 17 – Shepherd | 7 – Tied | 7 – Brantley | UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse (2,233) Pittsburgh, PA |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | George Washington | W 72–66 | 15–15 (6–11) | 15 – Tied | 7 – Brantley | 6 – Brantley | Tom Gola Arena (2,278) Philadelphia, PA |
| March 9, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Loyola Chicago | L 54–64 | 15–16 (6–12) | 11 – Brickus | 6 – Tied | 4 – Brickus | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,557) Chicago, IL |
| Atlantic 10 tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (15) George Washington First round | W 61–60 | 16–16 | 21 – Brickus | 9 – Brantley | 3 – Brickus | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| March 13, 2024 5:00 p.m., USA | (10) | vs. (7) St. Bonaventure Second round | L 73–75 | 16–17 | 15 – Jocius | 7 – Jocius | 5 – Brickus | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source