# 2023–24 Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Grambling State Tigers men's basketball team represented Grambling State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by seventh-year head coach Donte Jackson, played their home games at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center in Grambling, Louisiana as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). They finished the season 21–15, 14–4 in SWAC play, to win the regular-season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the SWAC tournament, they defeated Alabama State, Bethune–Cookman and Texas Southern to win the SWAC tournament championship; as a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. As a No. 16 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated Montana State in the First Four, before losing to Purdue in the first round.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2022–23 season 24–9, 15–3 in SWAC play, to finish regular-season co-champions with Alcorn State. In the SWAC tournament, they defeated No. 7 Bethune–Cookman in the quarterfinals, and No. 3 Jackson State in the semifinals, before losing to No. 8 Texas Southern in the SWAC championship.

## 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. | | UNT Dallas | W 82–67 | 1–0 | 18 – Johnson | 10 – Johnson | 4 – Moton | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,461) Grambling, LA |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., P12N | | at Colorado Pac-12/SWAC Legacy Series | L 63–95 | 1–1 | 26 – Moton | 4 – 3 tied | 5 – Moton | CU Events Center (6,541) Boulder, CO |
| November 14, 2023* 6:00 p.m. | | Champion Christian | W 113–73 | 2–1 | 23 – Johnson | 10 – Smith | 7 – Stevenson | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (552) Grambling, LA |
| November 17, 2023* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Delaware State HBCU All-Star Classic | L 63–71 | 2–2 | 24 – Dozier | 13 – Aku | 3 – 2 tied | Forbes Arena Atlanta, GA |
| November 19, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Iowa State | L 37–92 | 2–3 | 14 – Dozier | 3 – 3 tied | 2 – Stevenson | Hilton Coliseum (12,975) Ames, IA |
| November 22, 2023* 1:30 p.m. | | vs. Sam Houston Trojan Classic | L 68–86 | 2–4 | 19 – Stevenson | 7 – Aku | 4 – 2 tied | Trojan Arena (132) Troy, AL |
| November 24, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Troy Trojan Classic | L 67–80 | 2–5 | 11 – Lewis | 6 – Lewis | 2 – 4 tied | Trojan Arena (1,843) Troy, AL |
| December 2, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Dayton | L 46–76 | 2–6 | 10 – Stevenson | 8 – Aku | 3 – 2 tied | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| December 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., P12N | | at Washington State | L 65–83 | 2–7 | 34 – Dozier | 4 – 2 tied | 1 – 4 tied | Beasley Coliseum (2,158) Pullman, WA |
| December 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 56–68 | 2–8 | 16 – Dozier | 10 – Johnson | 4 – Stevenson | Knapp Center (2,864) Des Moines, IA |
| December 20, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 47–48 | 2–9 | 19 – Dozier | 6 – Burnett | 2 – 2 tied | Pride Roofing University Center (443) Hammond, LA |
| December 22, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+/SECN+ | | at Florida | L 57–96 | 2–10 | 14 – Burnett | 7 – Aku | 2 – Johnson | O'Connell Center (8,023) Gainesville, FL |
| January 2, 2024* 4:00 p.m. | | Biblical Studies | W 84–72 | 3–10 | 16 – Lewis | 9 – Burnett | 3 – 4 tied | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (178) Grambling, LA |
| SWAC regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 4:00 p.m. | | Prairie View A&M | W 69–63 | 4–10 (1–0) | 20 – Johnson | 8 – 2 tied | 6 – Stevenson | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,273) Grambling, LA |
| January 8, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | Texas Southern | L 52–54 | 4–11 (1–1) | 11 – Moton | 7 – Smith | 4 – Burnett | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,318) Grambling, LA |
| January 13, 2024 3:00 p.m. | | at Bethune–Cookman | W 79–69 | 5–11 (2–1) | 25 – Dozier | 6 – Aku | 4 – 2 tied | Moore Gymnasium (882) Daytona Beach, FL |
| January 15, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | at Florida A&M | W 65–52 | 6–11 (3–1) | 23 – Dozier | 10 – Aku | 4 – Stevenson | Al Lawson Center (897) Tallahassee, FL |
| January 20, 2024 2:30 p.m. | | Southern | W 79–62 | 7–11 (4–1) | 27 – Dozier | 7 – Cofer | 3 – Cofer | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (2,807) Grambling, LA |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m. | | Mississippi Valley State | W 54–46 | 8–11 (5–1) | 14 – Burnett | 12 – Burnett | 2 – Stevenson | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,296) Grambling, LA |
| January 29, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | L 70–86 | 8–12 (5–2) | 26 – Moton | 5 – 2 tied | 4 – Moton | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,482) Grambling, LA |
| February 3, 2024 5:30 p.m. | | at Jackson State | W 70–62 | 9–12 (6–2) | 19 – Moton | 8 – Aku | 3 – Stevenson | Williams Assembly Center Jackson, MS |
| February 5, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | at Alcorn State | W 78–67 | 10–12 (7–2) | 19 – Smith | 12 – Smith | 4 – Moton | Davey Whitney Complex (1,252) Lorman, MS |
| February 10, 2024 4:00 p.m. | | Alabama State | W 74–68 | 11–12 (8–2) | 21 – Dozier | 7 – 2 tied | 3 – Stevenson | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (781) Grambling, LA |
| February 12, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | Alabama A&M | L 50–60 | 11–13 (8–3) | 11 – Dozier | 8 – Smith | 2 – Smith | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (723) Grambling, LA |
| February 17, 2024 5:30 p.m. | | at Texas Southern | W 66–63 | 12–13 (9–3) | 20 – Dozier | 6 – 2 tied | 4 – Moton | H&PE Arena (1,800) Houston, TX |
| February 19, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | at Prairie View A&M | W 83–74 | 13–13 (10–3) | 20 – Moton | 8 – 2 tied | 5 – Stevenson | William J. Nicks Building Prairie View, TX |
| February 24, 2024 4:30 p.m. | | at Southern | W 63–57 | 14–13 (11–3) | 16 – Lewis | 7 – Aku | 5 – 2 tied | F. G. Clark Center (7,189) Baton Rouge, LA |
| March 2, 2024 4:00 p.m. | | Florida A&M | W 75–68 | 15–13 (12–3) | 18 – 2 tied | 10 – Burnett | 5 – Burnett | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,533) Grambling, LA |
| March 4, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | Bethune–Cookman | W 69–60 | 16–13 (13–3) | 17 – Smith | 13 – Burnett | 2 – 2 tied | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,401) Grambling, LA |
| March 7, 2024 7:30 p.m. | | at Alabama A&M | W 74–73 | 17–13 (14–3) | 17 – Moton | 6 – Burnett | 2 – 2 tied | Alabama A&M Events Center (3,213) Huntsville, AL |
| March 9, 2024 5:30 p.m. | | at Alabama State | L 84–87 $^{2OT}$ | 17–14 (14–4) | 18 – Smith | 11 – Smith | 4 – Smith | Dunn–Oliver Acadome (2,578) Montgomery, AL |
| SWAC tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) Alabama State Quarterfinals | W 56–50 | 18–14 | 18 – Dozier | 8 – 2 tied | 2 – 3 tied | Bartow Arena (2,176) Birmingham, AL |
| March 15, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (5) Bethune-Cookman Semifinals | W 65–53 | 19–14 | 26 – Moton | 6 – Moton | 4 – Dozier | Bartow Arena (528) Birmingham, AL |
| March 16, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPNU | (1) | vs. (3) Texas Southern Championship | W 75–66 | 20–14 | 20 – Smith | 6 – Aku | 7 – Moton | Bartow Arena (2,108) Birmingham, AL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 20, 2024 5:40 p.m., TruTV | (16 MW) | vs. (16 MW) Montana State First Four | W 88–81 $^{OT}$ | 21–14 | 19 – Cofer | 9 – Smith | 6 – Moton | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| March 22, 2024 6:25 p.m., TBS | (16 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Purdue First round | L 50–78 | 21–15 | 21 – Moton | 4 – 4 tied | 2 – 3 tied | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources: