# 2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Southern Utah Thunderbirds men's basketball team represented Southern Utah University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by first-year head coach Rob Jeter and played their games at America First Event Center as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They finished the season 10–21, 5–15 in WAC play, to finish in tenth place, and thus they did not qualify to play in the WAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Thunderbirds finished the 2022–23 season 24–13, 12–6 in WAC play, to finish in third place. In the WAC tournament, the team won their first two games against Utah Tech and Utah Valley before falling to Grand Canyon in the championship. The Thunderbirds were invited to appear in the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated North Alabama and Rice to advance to the semifinals. They were defeated by Eastern Kentucky to end their season.
On March 15, head coach Todd Simon accepted the same position at Bowling Green; assistant coach Flynn Clayman served as interim head coach during the College Basketball Invitational. On April 7, it was announced that Western Illinois head coach Rob Jeter would be named the school's next head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 23, 2023* 6:30 p.m. | Westminster | W 98–66 | – | – – | – – | – – | America First Event Center Cedar City, UT |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Cal State Bakersfield | L 72–73 | 0–1 | 22 – Housley | 8 – Johnson | 3 – tied | Icardo Center (1,067) Bakersfield, CA |
| November 9, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Life Pacific | W 108–73 | 1–1 | 22 – Johnson | 8 – Fallah | 4 – Fallah | America First Event Center (1,461) Cedar City, UT |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., MW Network | at Utah State | L 84–93 | 1–2 | 24 – Johnson | 5 – tied | 4 – Ford | Smith Spectrum (7,112) Logan, UT |
| November 21, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Louisiana Tech Louisiana Tech MTE & C-USA/WAC Alliance | L 53–67 | 1–3 | 19 – Young | 8 – Young | 4 – Ford | Thomas Assembly Center (2,013) Ruston, LA |
| November 22, 2023* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | vs. Texas State Louisiana Tech MTE | W 74–67 | 2–3 | 25 – Young | 7 – tied | 5 – Ford | Thomas Assembly Center (103) Ruston, LA |
| November 29, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | California Baptist | L 66–91 | 2–4 (0–1) | 16 – Ford | 7 – Fallah | 2 – Ford | America First Event Center (1,181) Cedar City, UT |
| December 2, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Seattle | L 63–73 | 2–5 (0–2) | 14 – Young | 5 – tied | 6 – Housley | Redhawk Center (943) Seattle, WA |
| December 5, 2023* 6:00 p.m., P12N | at Utah | L 86–88 | 2–6 | 23 – tied | 5 – Housley | 5 – tied | Jon M. Huntsman Center (7,161) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 9, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Idaho State | W 82–74 | 3–6 | 29 – Fallah | 7 – Fallah | 7 – Housley | America First Event Center (1,326) Cedar City, UT |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Northern Arizona | L 74–76 | 3–7 | 19 – Ford | 12 – Fallah | 5 – Ford | Rolle Activity Center Flagstaff, AZ |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Montana State | L 88–89 $^{OT}$ | 3–8 | 25 – Ford | 10 – Fallah | 3 – tied | Worthington Arena (2,229) Bozeman, MT |
| December 22, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Middle Tennessee C-USA/WAC Alliance | W 69–63 | 4–8 | 20 – Fallah | 9 – Fallah | 3 – tied | America First Event Center (1,335) Cedar City, UT |
| December 30, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Antelope Valley | W 95–78 | 5–8 | 22 – Housley | 13 – Johnson | 6 – Housley | America First Event Center (886) Cedar City, UT |
| January 4, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Grand Canyon | L 75–96 | 5–9 (0–3) | 24 – Fallah | 8 – Housley | 5 – Johnson | America First Event Center (1,007) Cedar City, UT |
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Utah Valley | L 62–80 | 5–10 (0–4) | 17 – Young | 7 – Felder | 4 – Housley | UCCU Center (2,163) Orem, UT |
| January 13, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Stephen F. Austin | L 82–84 | 5–11 (0–5) | 20 – Ford | 6 – Sibley | 7 – Housley | America First Event Center (1,809) Cedar City, UT |
| January 18, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Utah Tech | W 75–65 | 6–11 (1–5) | 23 – tied | 15 – Fallah | 3 – Johnson | America First Event Center (3,563) Cedar City, UT |
| January 20, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at California Baptist | L 76–83 | 6–12 (1–6) | 28 – Ford | 9 – Hutchison | 4 – Housley | Fowler Events Center (3,197) Riverside, CA |
| January 25, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Tarleton State | W 73–70 | 7–12 (2–6) | 23 – Ford | 6 – Young | 5 – Housley | Wisdom Gymnasium (1,677) Stephenville, TX |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Abilene Christian | W 82–67 | 8–12 (3–6) | 23 – Ford | 7 – Sibley | 3 – tied | Moody Coliseum (1,712) Abilene, TX |
| February 1, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | UT Arlington | L 68–76 | 8–13 (3–7) | 16 – tied | 7 – Young | 4 – Housley | America First Event Center (1,422) Cedar City, UT |
| February 3, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | UT Rio Grande Valley | W 79–59 | 9–13 (4–7) | 20 – Young | 8 – tied | 6 – Johnson | America First Event Center (1,352) Cedar City, UT |
| February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Utah Tech | L 68–70 | 9–14 (4–8) | 17 – Young | 7 – Housley | 2 – tied | Burns Arena (2,648) St. George, UT |
| February 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Grand Canyon | L 65–94 | 9–15 (4–9) | 23 – Ford | 6 – Hutchison | 1 – tied | GCU Arena (7,124) Phoenix, AZ |
| February 15, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Seattle | L 68–78 | 9–16 (4–10) | 17 – Sibley | 7 – Sibley | 5 – Ford | America First Event Center (1,175) Cedar City, UT |
| February 17, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Utah Valley | L 75–78 | 9–17 (4–11) | 19 – Fallah | 10 – Sibley | 8 – Housley | America First Event Center (1,613) Cedar City, UT |
| February 22, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at UT Arlington | L 85–90 | 9–18 (4–12) | 24 – Ford | 7 – Sibley | 4 – Young | College Park Center (1,622) Arlington, TX |
| February 29, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Abilene Christian | L 68–77 | 9–19 (4–13) | 19 – Young | 5 – Johnson | 4 – Fallah | America First Event Center (828) Cedar City, UT |
| March 2, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Tarleton State | L 83–88 | 9–20 (4–14) | 29 – Young | 9 – Hutchison | 4 – Jeter IV | America First Event Center (1,119) Cedar City, UT |
| March 7, 2024 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at Stephen F. Austin | L 60–87 | 9–21 (4–15) | 14 – Sibley | 9 – Sibley | 5 – Housley | William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,507) Nacogdoches, TX |
| March 9, 2024 5:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at UT Rio Grande Valley | W 68–59 | 10–21 (5–15) | 15 – tied | 7 – Felder | 8 – Housley | UTRGV Fieldhouse (652) Edinburg, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain. |||||||||
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