# 2023–24 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Samford Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Samford University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fourth-year head coach Bucky McMillan, played their home games at the Pete Hanna Center in Homewood, Alabama as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 29–6, 15–3 in SoCon play, to win the regular-season championship. As No. 1 seed in the SoCon tournament, they defeated Mercer, Furman and East Tennessee State to win the conference championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the third time in school history and first since 2000. As the No. 13 seed in the Midwest region, they lost to Kansas in the first round.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2022–23 season 21–11, 15–3 in SoCon play, to finish in as the regular-season conference champions. They lost to Chattanooga in the quarterfinals of the Southern Conference tournament.

## 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* 6:30 p.m., BTN | | at No. 3 Purdue | L 45–98 | 0–1 | 11 – Campbell | 7 – Achor | 2 – tied | Mackey Arena (14,876) West Lafayette, IN |
| November 10, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VCU | L 65–75 | 0–2 | 20 – Marshall | 10 – Marshall | 4 – Holloway | Siegel Center (7,114) Richmond, VA |
| November 14, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mississippi College | W 96–52 | 1–2 | 17 – Achor | 7 – tied | 3 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (1,732) Homewood, AL |
| November 17, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Carolina State | W 89–72 | 2–2 | 20 – Marshall | 14 – Achor | 5 – Holloway | Pete Hanna Center (1,023) Homewood, AL |
| November 22, 2023* 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Alabama State Samford MTE | W 99–67 | 3–2 | 17 – Campbell | 7 – Staton-McCray | 6 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (866) Homewood, AL |
| November 24, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Merrimack Samford MTE | W 79–71 | 4–2 | 19 – Campbell | 8 – Achor | 4 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (818) Homewood, AL |
| November 25, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Carolina A&T Samford MTE | W 101–83 | 5–2 | 26 – Achor | 7 – Loveday | 6 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (411) Homewood, AL |
| November 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana | W 88–65 | 6–2 | 25 – Achor | 8 – Achor | 9 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (1,471) Homewood, AL |
| December 3, 2023* 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | LaGrange | W 128–82 | 7–2 | 21 – Leopard | 8 – Achor | 7 – Holloway | Pete Hanna Center (879) Homewood, AL |
| December 11, 2023* 6:30pm, ESPN+ | | Alabama A&M | W 118–91 | 8–2 | 18 – Staton-McCray | 6 – Staton-McCray | 5 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (1,763) Homewood, AL |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Belmont | W 99–93 | 9–2 | 19 – Staton-McCray | 12 – Marshall | 7 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (2,196) Homewood, AL |
| December 19, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | W 79–61 | 10–2 | 15 – Hicks | 6 – Staton-McCray | 7 – Jones | Athletics–Recreation Center (1,100) Valparaiso, IN |
| December 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., YouTube | | at Texas Southern | W 87–65 | 11–2 | 16 – Staton-McCray | 8 – Marshall | 6 – Jones | Health and Physical Education Arena (754) Houston, TX |
| SoCon regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | W 89–74 | 12–2 (1–0) | 29 – Staton-McCray | 5 – Staton-McCray | 6 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (1,083) Homewood, AL |
| January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 80–64 | 13–2 (2–0) | 19 – Achor | 8 – Allenspach | 8 – Jones | McAlister Field House (1,647) Charleston, SC |
| January 11, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | W 79–70 | 14–2 (3–0) | 22 – Achor | 9 – Jones | 8 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (2,317) Homewood, AL |
| January 13, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | VMI | W 134–96 | 15–2 (4–0) | 18 – tied | 9 – Allenspach | 6 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (3,714) Homewood, AL |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Western Carolina | W 75–71 | 16–2 (5–0) | 35 – Achor | 10 – Achor | 6 – Jones | Ramsey Center (5,018) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 20, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 87–80 | 17–2 (6–0) | 20 – tied | 5 – tied | 4 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (2,516) Homewood, AL |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 68–78 | 17–3 (6–1) | 19 – Achor | 6 – Achor | 8 – Jones | Timmons Arena (2,207) Greenville, SC |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | W 75–72 | 18–3 (7–1) | 18 – Johnson | 7 – Campbell | 5 – Jones | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,043) Johnson City, TN |
| January 31, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 81–79 | 19–3 (8–1) | 18 – Campbell | 8 – Achor | 8 – Achor | Pete Hanna Center (2,431) Homewood, AL |
| February 3, 2024 4:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | W 78–56 | 20–3 (9–1) | 16 – Campbell | 10 – Staton-McCray | 3 – Jones | McKenzie Arena (4,000) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at UNC Greensboro | W 78–69 | 21–3 (10–1) | 17 – Campbell | 7 – Achor | 7 – Jones | Greensboro Coliseum (2,023) Greensboro, NC |
| February 10, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VMI | W 102–63 | 22–3 (11–1) | 16 – tied | 4 – tied | 5 – tied | Cameron Hall (3,267) Lexington, VA |
| February 14, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN2/U | | Western Carolina | W 88–62 | 23–3 (12–1) | 18 – Achor | 6 – Staton-McCray | 5 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (1,321) Homewood, AL |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Mercer | L 84–88 | 23–4 (12–2) | 20 – Achor | 9 – Achor | 2 – tied | Hawkins Arena (2,901) Macon, GA |
| February 21, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Furman | W 74–72 | 24–4 (13–2) | 17 – Jones | 8 – Marshall | 4 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (2,531) Homewood, AL |
| February 24, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 87–71 | 25–4 (14–2) | 28 – Campbell | 5 – tied | 5 – Jones | Pete Hanna Center (4,523) Homewood, AL |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 69–91 | 25–5 (14–3) | 12 – Allenspach | 5 – tied | 5 – Holloway | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,674) Spartanburg, SC |
| March 2, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 92–80 | 26–5 (15–3) | 21 – Achor | 7 – Marshall | 4 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (−) Homewood, AL |
| SoCon tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (8) Mercer Quarterfinals | W 70–57 | 27–5 | 15 – tied | 8 – Marshall | 2 – tied | Harrah's Cherokee Center (−) Asheville, NC |
| March 10, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPNU | (1) | vs. (5) Furman Semifinals | W 84–77 | 28–5 | 28 – Achor | 14 – Achor | 6 – Jones | Harrah's Cherokee Center (−) Asheville, NC |
| March 11, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN | (1) | vs. (7) East Tennessee State Championship | W 76–69 | 29–5 | 25 – Achor | 9 – Achor | 4 – Jones | Harrah's Cherokee Center (−) Asheville, NC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2024 8:55 p.m., TBS | (13 MW) | vs. (4 MW) No. 17 Kansas First round | L 89–93 | 29–6 | 23 – Achor | 8 – Achor | 9 – Jones | Delta Center (17,404) Salt Lake City, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest region. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources: