# 2023–24 USM Alger basketball season

The 2023–24 season was USM Alger's 62nd in existence, their 5th consecutive season in the top flight of the Algerian basketball, USM Alger are participating in this season's editions of the Algerian Cup and the Arab Club Basketball Championship.

## Overview

USM Alger participated in the Arab Club Basketball Championship for the first time, where it fell into the Group B with Al Ittihad Alexandria, Al Ahli Doha of Qatar, Al-Seeb of Oman, and Dynamo Lebanon. On September 9, 2023, George Williams joined USM Alger and strengthened their roster to participate in this competition. USM Alger finished in second place with three victories and one defeat. USM Alger started the 35th edition of the Arab club championship very well by getting the best of Seib's (81-57), at the Al Gharafa hall in Doha, on the occasion of the first day of pool B. In the Round of 16 they met with Qatar Club and won after overtime, USMA started its match poorly, often finding itself trailing. The first half also ended with a ten-point lead in favor of the Qataris (35–25). Stopping the journey in the quarter-finals against Beirut Club. USM Alger benefited from the services of two players to participate in this tournament, namely Omar Belliche from NA Hussein Dey and Sidali Benzaime from Rouiba CB.
On October 18, 2023, The Ministry of Youth and Sports (MJS) announced that it was suspending all sport events “until further notice” in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The suspension was announced the day after a strike on a hospital in Gaza, which has been relentlessly shelling the Gaza Strip since the start of the war sparked on October 7 by the bloody attack. of the Palestinian Islamist movement on its soil. On November 10, 2023, The first match in the Super Division was the derby against MC Alger where they won by three points (71–68) and the match was held without an audience in sympathy with Gaza. In a late match in the first round against ASS Oum El Bouaghi due to participation in the Arab Club Basketball Championship, USMA achieved a new victory with a score of 90-63, this consecutive victory propels the USMA players to sixth place in the ranking now totaling 4 points. The Super Division summit between the defending champion USM Alger and its runner-up WO Boufarik, after it was postponed several times finally took place in the Hacène Harcha Arena where USM Alger lost (78-63) after being ahead in the first two quarters, USM Alger with 12 points is positioned third sharing this place with USM Blida.
On February 5, 2024, the official page of the Algerian Olympic and Sports Committee announced that USM Alger player Faredj Messaoudi had signed a professional contract in the Japanese 3x3 Basketball League, becoming the first Algerian to obtain a professional contract in this sport. On February 17, 2024, in the first match in the second leg, USMA achieved its heaviest result since the beginning of the season after winning away from home in Oum El Bouaghi against the local team with a score of (102–53), keeping the club in third place, one point behind runner-up NB Staoueli. On May 8, 2024, the draw for the quarter-finals of the Algerian Cup was held, with USM Alger facing CSC Gué de Constantine in a match that take place in La Coupole d'Alger Arena. USM Alger qualified for the semi-finals, the USMA basketball players took charge of the match well, taking a 20-point lead in the first quarter (29–09), then (42–28) at half-time. In the second half, the Usmists managed their lead on the scoreboard (57–37) in the third quarter, before ending the match with a 15-point lead (73–58).
The first day of the first play-off tournament of the Super Division played in Staouéli. In this first match USM Alger was defeated by WO Boufarik (85–78). In the second match against NB Staouéli, l'USMA was defeated for the second time in a row (75–67), to reduce his chances of qualifying for the final and defending his title. On June 14, USM Alger qualified for the Algerian Cup final after winning against NA Hussein Dey (59–41), which was the first time they reached the final since 1996. In the second stage of the Playoffs in Boufarik, USM Alger failed to qualify for the final and defend its title, settling for fifth place. On July 17, USM Alger won the 53rd edition of the Algerian Basketball Cup, beating WO Boufarik, two-time holder of the trophy, with a score of (71-69). The “Rouge et Noir” thus manage to win their first Algerian Basketball Cup in the history, after the failure of their first attempt which dates back to the 1989 edition, lost against MC Alger (66-77).

## Players
### Super Division roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Arab Club Championship roster

Note: Flags indicate national team eligibility at FIBA-sanctioned events. Players may hold other non-FIBA nationalities not displayed.

### Transactions
#### In

| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Moving from | Moving from | Type | Ends | Transfer fee | Date | Source |
| 2 | G | | George Williams | 34 | Marinos | | Transfer | October 2023 (ACC only) | Free | 9 September 2023 | |

#### Out

| No. | Pos. | Nat. | Name | Age | Moving to | Moving to | Type | Transfer fee | Date | Source |
| | G | | George Williams | 34 | Sagesse SC | | End of contract | Free | 19 October 2023 | |
| 10 | C | | Faredj Messaoudi | 22 | Shonan Sesaside | | Transfer | Free | 5 February 2024 | |

## Competitions
### Overview

| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Competition | First match | Last match | Starting round | Final position | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Win % |
| Super Division | 10 November 2023 | 14 May 2024 | Round 1 | 4th | 30 | 20 | | 10 | 2,205 | 1,982 | +223 | 066.67 |
| Super Division Playoffs | 31 May 2024 | 22 June 2024 | First playoff | 5th | 5 | 1 | | 4 | 370 | 396 | −26 | 020.00 |
| Algerian Cup | 5 April 2024 | 17 July 2024 | Round of 32 | Winners | 5 | 5 | | 0 | 368 | 284 | +84 | 100.00 |
| Arab Club Championship | 1 October 2023 | 9 October 2023 | Group stage | Quarter-finals | 6 | 4 | | 2 | 449 | 446 | +3 | 066.67 |
| Total | Total | Total | Total | Total | 46 | 30 | 0 | 16 | 3,392 | 3,108 | +284 | 065.22 |
Last updated: July 17, 2024 Source: Competitions

### Super Division
#### League table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 2 | NB Staouéli | 30 | 22 | 8 | 2202 | 1886 | +316 | 52 | Advance to playoffs |
| 3 | MC Alger | 30 | 24 | 6 | 2073 | 1752 | +321 | 52 | Advance to playoffs |
| 4 | USM Alger | 30 | 20 | 10 | 2205 | 1982 | +223 | 50 | Advance to playoffs |
| 5 | TRA Draria | 30 | 19 | 11 | 2070 | 2014 | +56 | 49 | Advance to playoffs |
| 6 | NA Hussein Dey | 30 | 18 | 12 | 2099 | 1990 | +109 | 48 | Advance to playoffs |
* ↑ MC Alger were deducted 2 points due to absence from the match against US Sétif and M Ouled Chebel.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
| Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | W | L | PF | PA | PD | W | L | PF | PA | PD |
| 30 | 20 | 10 | 2205 | 1982 | +223 | 11 | 4 | 1093 | 960 | +133 | 9 | 6 | 1112 | 1022 | +90 |
Last updated: May 14, 2024. Source: Competitive matches

#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
| Ground | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | W | L | W | W | W | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | W | L | L | W | W | W | W | W | W | W | W |
| Position | | | | | | | 4 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | | | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | | | 6 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |

#### Matches

All times are local, WAT (UTC+1).

#### Super Division Playoffs

Playoffs table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | |
| 2 | TRA Draria | 5 | 3 | 2 | 395 | 369 | +26 | 8 | Qualification to the Super Division final |
| 3 | MC Alger | 5 | 3 | 2 | 342 | 318 | +24 | 8 | |
| 4 | NB Staouéli | 5 | 3 | 2 | 382 | 351 | +31 | 8 | |
| 5 | USM Alger | 5 | 1 | 4 | 370 | 396 | −26 | 6 | |
| 6 | NA Hussein Dey | 5 | 0 | 5 | 348 | 439 | −91 | 5 | |

### Arab Club Championship
#### Group phase

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Al Ittihad Alexandria | 4 | 4 | 0 | 413 | 247 | +166 | 8 | Advance to knock-out phase |
| 2 | USM Alger | 4 | 3 | 1 | 294 | 267 | +27 | 7 | Advance to knock-out phase |
| 3 | Dynamo Lebanon | 4 | 2 | 2 | 344 | 304 | +40 | 6 | Advance to knock-out phase |
| 4 | Al-Seeb | 4 | 1 | 3 | 254 | 336 | −82 | 5 | Advance to knock-out phase |
| 5 | Al Ahli Doha | 4 | 0 | 4 | 227 | 378 | −151 | 4 | |

### Knock-out phase
## Statistics
### Super Division Playoffs

Source:
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | 2FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Nabil Saidi | 5 | 0 | 29.6 | 45.65% | 18.18% | 75% | 6.6 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.8 |
| Ramadane Belhadj | 5 | 0 | 19.4 | 44.44% | 26.66% | 68.75% | 2.6 | 2.2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 6.2 |
| Zakaria Khoudja | 2 | 0 | 4.6 | 40% | 0% | 0% | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Zakaria Guezout | 5 | 5 | 33.2 | 30.30% | 20.45% | 80.76% | 7.2 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 13.6 |
| Moussa Bougria | 5 | 5 | 27.2 | 46.42% | 14.28% | 50% | 4.8 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.6 |
| Bouhaous Messaoudi | 5 | 5 | 25.4 | 36.84% | 46.66% | 53.84% | 7.8 | 4.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.4 |
| Tarek Redouane | 5 | 1 | 10.6 | 57.14% | 50% | 33.33% | 3.0 | 2.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 2.4 |
| Lotfi Adrar | 4 | 4 | 24.1 | 52.17% | 23.52% | 66.66% | 5.0 | 3.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 9.2 |
| Bassem Medjoubi | 5 | 5 | 13.4 | 22.22% | 38.46% | 100% | 1.4 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 4.2 |
| Abdelmounaim Sadouki | 0 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Adlene Toufik Adberrahim | 2 | 0 | 1.0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0.6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 |
| Merouane Yahya | 5 | 0 | 15.5 | 53.33% | 55.55% | 72.72% | 3.8 | 1.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 7.8 |
| TOTAL | | | | 42.56% | 27.2% | 69.42% | 46.6 | 24.2 | 0 | 0 | 74 |

### Arab Club Basketball Championship

Source:
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | 2FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Nabil Saidi | 6 | 1 | 15:0 | 55.6% | 6.7% | 66.7% | 2.5 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 6.5 |
| Ramadan Belhadj | 4 | 0 | 8:5 | 100.0% | 30.0% | 0.0% | 0.5 | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0 | 3.3 |
| George Williams | 6 | 6 | 36:3 | 54.1% | 38.5% | 84.4% | 4.7 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0 | 20.5 |
| Zakaria Matoub | 4 | 0 | 6:5 | 33.3% | 0.0% | 66.7% | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Zakaria Guezout | 6 | 5 | 24:4 | 58.8% | 19.2% | 76.0% | 3.5 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 9.0 |
| Abdesslem Dekkiche | 6 | 4 | 24:3 | 51.9% | 22.2% | 50.0% | 4.2 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.2 | 7.7 |
| Mahdi Bermila | 5 | 3 | 19:8 | 42.9% | 13.6% | 100.0% | 2.4 | 1.2 | 0.8 | 0.2 | 3.4 |
| Tareq Redoune | 5 | 0 | 12:2 | 22.2% | 0.0% | 50.0% | 3.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Sidali Benzaime | 6 | 3 | 19:7 | 55.8% | 0.0% | 60.0% | 7.2 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 9.0 |
| Lotfi Adrar | 6 | 5 | 25:3 | 57.7% | 0.0% | 28.6% | 4.5 | 1.7 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 5.3 |
| Bassem Medjoubi | 5 | 0 | 8:8 | 85.7% | 26.7% | 75.0% | 1.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 5.4 |
| Faredj Messaoudi | 4 | 0 | 8:8 | 42.9% | 0.0% | 28.6% | 4.3 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 3.5 |
| Omar Belliche | 4 | 3 | 22:5 | 13.3% | 20.8% | 100.0% | 7.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.3 |
| TOTAL | | | | 51.6% | 20.2% | 66.1% | 40.3 | 13.5 | 9.8 | 2.5 | 74.8 |