# 2023–24 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Tarleton State Texans men's basketball team represented Tarleton State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by fourth-year head coach Billy Gillispie and played their games at the Wisdom Gym as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They finished the season 25–10, 16–4 in WAC play, to finish in second place. As the No. 2 seed in the WAC tournament, they lost to UT Arlington in the semifinals. They received an invitation to the CIT, where they defeated Texas Southern in the first round, and fellow WAC member Abilene Christian in the quarterfinals, before losing to Purdue Fort Wayne in the semifinals.
This season marked Tarleton State's final year of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Texans were not eligible to play in the NCAA tournament, but were eligible to play in the WAC tournament.
On November 14, just four games into the season, head coach Billy Gillispie took a medical leave of absence, leaving Joseph Jones as the acting head coach. Gillespie later signed a two-year contract extension on March 5, but announced he would remain in an advisory role for the remainder of the season in order to fully recover.

## Previous season

The Texans finished the season 17–17, 9–9 in conference play, to finish in seventh place. In the WAC tournament, the team defeated UT Rio Grande Valley in their first-round game before falling to Utah Valley in the quarterfinals. While not eligible to be invited to the NCAA tournament during their four-year transition from Division II to Division I, the Texans were invited to the College Basketball Invitational. They were defeated by the Radford in the first round to end their season.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 30, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Howard Payne | W 105–42 | | 30 – Smith | 15 – Gaddy | 4 – Miles | Wisdom Gym (720) Stephenville, TX |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:00 p.m. | | at Virginia | L 50–80 | 0–1 | 11 – Barnes | 5 – tied | 3 – Benjamin | John Paul Jones Arena (14,080) Charlottesville, VA |
| November 9, 2023* 6:00 p.m. | | at FIU C–USA/WAC Alliance | W 82–65 | 1–1 | 34 – Smith | 14 – Gaddy | 5 – tied | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,242) Miami, FL |
| November 11, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNT Dallas | W 93–52 | 2–1 | 20 – Gaddy | 13 – Innocenti | 5 – Barnes | Wisdom Gym (1,040) Stephenville, TX |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Bradley SoCal Challenge campus game | L 63–86 | 2–2 | 16 – tied | 6 – Williams | 1 – tied | Carver Arena (4,032) Peoria, IL |
| November 20, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Austin Peay SoCal Challenge Sand Division semifinal | W 66–59 | 3–2 | 28 – Smith | 7 – tied | 4 – tied | The Pavilion at JSerra (113) San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| November 22, 2023* 4:30 p.m., FloHoops | | vs. Cal State Bakersfield SoCal Challenge Sand Division championship | W 59–40 | 4–2 | 17 – Smith | 13 – Innocenti | 5 – Moussa | The Pavilion at JSerra (259) San Juan Capistrano, CA |
| November 29, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Stephen F. Austin | W 68–66 | 5–2 (1–0) | 18 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 3 – Lewis | William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,032) Nacogdoches, TX |
| December 2, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Rio Grande Valley | W 77–75 | 6–2 (2–0) | 18 – Gaddy | 10 – Gaddy | 5 – Barnes | Wisdom Gym (1,327) Stephenville, TX |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Hardin–Simmons | W 92–56 | 7–2 | 16 – Williams | 6 – Benjamin | 3 – Moussa | Wisdom Gym (1,210) Stephenville, TX |
| December 12, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sterling | W 85–47 | 8–2 | 17 – Smith | 12 – Gaddy | 4 – Smith | Wisdom Gym (605) Stephenville, TX |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State C-USA/WAC Alliance | L 62–65 | 8–3 | 20 – Barnes | 9 – Innocenti | 4 – tied | Wisdom Gym (1,754) Stephenville, TX |
| December 21, 2023* 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 8 Tennessee | L 46–65 | 8–4 | 12 – Barnes | 8 – Smith | 5 – Williams | Thompson-Boling Arena (17,609) Knoxville, TN |
| December 29, 2023* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Loyola Marymount | W 79–66 | 9–4 | 24 – Gaddy | 12 – Gaddy | 8 – Innocenti | Gersten Pavilion (818) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 4, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UT Arlington | W 78–76 | 10–4 (3–0) | 19 – Innocenti | 8 – Jackson | 5 – Barnes | Wisdom Gym (1,078) Stephenville, TX |
| January 11, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at California Baptist | L 63–77 | 10–5 (3–1) | 12 – Barnes | 5 – Innocenti | 2 – tied | Fowler Events Center (3,676) Riverside, CA |
| January 13, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Grand Canyon | L 48–74 | 10–6 (3–2) | 11 – Barnes | 5 – Gaddy | 2 – tied | GCU Arena (7,233) Phoenix, AZ |
| January 18, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Abilene Christian | W 79–71 | 11–6 (4–2) | 25 – Smith | 9 – Innocenti | 4 – tied | Wisdom Gym (2,104) Stephenville, TX |
| January 20, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UT Rio Grande Valley | W 77–73 | 12–6 (5–2) | 28 – Williams | 8 – Gaddy | 7 – Innocenti | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,514) Edinburg, TX |
| January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southern Utah | L 70–73 | 12–7 (5–3) | 22 – Barnes | 9 – Innocenti | 5 – Innocenti | Wisdom Gym (1,677) Stephenville, TX |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Utah Tech | W 86–68 | 13–7 (6–3) | 28 – Smith | 7 – Innocenti | 7 – Moussa | Wisdom Gym (2,110) Stephenville, TX |
| February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Abilene Christian | W 76–73 $^{OT}$ | 14–7 (7–3) | 25 – Williams | 12 – Gaddy | 3 – Smith | Moody Coliseum (1,652) Abilene, TX |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stephen F. Austin | W 75–64 | 15–7 (8–3) | 27 – Williams | 6 – Gaddy | 4 – tied | Wisdom Gym (2,140) Stephenville, TX |
| February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Utah Valley | W 72–61 | 16–7 (9–3) | 21 – Williams | 10 – Innocenti | 4 – tied | UCCU Center (1,985) Orem, UT |
| February 10, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Seattle | W 82–77 | 17–7 (10–3) | 26 – Smith | 7 – tied | 4 – Innocenti | Redhawk Center (966) Seattle, WA |
| February 15, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | W 80–78 | 18–7 (11–3) | 22 – Williams | 7 – Innocenti | 5 – tied | College Park Center (2,110) Arlington, TX |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Grand Canyon | W 77–74 | 19–7 (12–3) | 24 – Smith | 14 – Gaddy | 4 – Innocenti | Wisdom Gym (3,000) Stephenville, TX |
| February 24, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | California Baptist | W 82–65 | 20–7 (13–3) | 33 – Barnes | 5 – tied | 10 – Moussa | Wisdom Gym (2,276) Stephenville, TX |
| February 29, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Utah Tech | W 85–74 | 21–7 (14–3) | 24 – Smith | 8 – Williams | 5 – Smith | Burns Arena (1,440) St. George, UT |
| March 2, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Utah | W 88–83 | 22–7 (15–3) | 22 – Smith | 8 – Gaddy | 6 – Moussa | America First Event Center (1,119) Cedar City, UT |
| March 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Utah Valley | L 60–63 | 22–8 (15–4) | 18 – Barnes | 8 – Smith | 3 – Jackson | Wisdom Gym (N/A) Stephenville, TX |
| March 9, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Seattle | W 69–66 | 23–8 (16–4) | 21 – Gaddy | 10 – Innocenti | 5 – tied | Wisdom Gym (2,024) Stephenville, TX |
| WAC tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2024 10:30 p.m., ESPNU | (2) | vs. (3) UT Arlington Semifinals | L 84–87 | 23–9 | 24 – Barnes | 7 – Innocenti | 4 – tied | Orleans Arena (4,057) Paradise, NV |
| CIT |||||||||
| March 19, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas Southern First round – Lou Henson Classic | W 82–71 | 24–9 | 21 – Williams | 10 – Gaddy | 6 – Moussa | Wisdom Gym (1,426) Stephenville, TX |
| March 20, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Abilene Christian Quarterfinals – Lou Henson Classic | W 86–59 | 25–9 | 16 – Gaddy | 8 – Innocenti | 6 – Innocenti | Wisdom Gym (1,576) Stephenville, TX |
| March 25, 2024* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Purdue Fort Wayne Semifinals | L 72–73 | 25–10 | 16 – Moussa | 7 – Smith | 4 – Moussa | Wisdom Gym (1,686) Stephenville, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
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