# 2023–24 BYU Cougars men's basketball team

The 2023–24 BYU Cougars men's basketball team represented Brigham Young University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars were led by fifth-year head coach Mark Pope and played their home games at Marriott Center in Provo, Utah as first-year members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 23–11, 10–8 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the Big 12 tournament, they defeated UCF in the second round before losing to Texas Tech. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the East region. The Cougars lost in the first round to Duquesne.
On April 12, 2024, head coach Mark Pope left the school to take the head coaching position at Kentucky.
The season marked the first for BYU as members of the Big 12, having left the West Coast conference to join the Big 12 on July 1, 2023.
The BYU Cougars men's basketball team drew an average home attendance of 15,689 in 18 games in 2023-24.

## Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2022–23 season 19–15, 7–9 in WCC play to finish in a 3-way tie for fifth place. Due to a tiebreaker, as the No. 5 seed in the WCC tournament, they defeated Portland in the second round, Loyola Marymount in the quarterfinals before losing to Saint Mary's in the semifinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Rudi Williams | 3 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Senior | Hamilton, ON | Graduated |
| Gideon George | 5 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Minna, Nigeria | Graduated |
| Tanner Toolson | 13 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Freshman | Vancouver, WA | Transferred to Utah Valley |
| Nate Webb | 33 | F | 6'6" | 210 | Sophomore | Rexburg, ID | Walk-on; TBD |
| Hao Dong | 55 | F | 6'5" | 210 | Freshman | Beijing, China | Walk-on; transferred |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Dawson Baker | 24 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Junior | Coto de Caza, CA | UC Irvine |
| Aly Khalifa | 50 | F/C | 6'11" | 230 | RS Junior | Alexandria, Egypt | Charlotte |

### Recruiting classes
#### 2023 recruiting class

There were no incoming recruits for the class of 2023.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 4, 2023* 7:00 p.m., BYUtv/ESPN+ | | Life Pacific | W 83–55 | n/a | 20 – Robinson | 8 – Waterman | 5 – Johnson | Marriott Center (13,733) Provo, UT |
| Non-conference Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Houston Christian | W 110–63 | 1–0 | 20 – Johnson | 9 – Traore | 7 – Johnson | Marriott Center (13,103) Provo, UT |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 17 San Diego State | W 74–65 | 2–0 | 18 – Hall | 8 – Traore | 4 – Traore | Marriott Center (15,689) Provo, UT |
| November 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 105–48 | 3–0 | 18 – Tied | 8 – Ally Atiki | 6 – Tied | Marriott Center (13,116) Provo, UT |
| November 18, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Morgan State | W 93–50 | 4–0 | 19 – Robinson | 6 – Robinson | 8 – Johnson | Marriott Center (13,736) Provo, UT |
| November 23, 2023 10:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. Arizona State Vegas Showdown semifinals | W 77–49 | 5–0 | 24 – Waterman | 9 – Tied | 5 – Traore | Michelob Ultra Arena (2,223) Paradise, NV |
| November 24, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. NC State Vegas Showdown championship | W 95–86 | 6–0 | 23 – Robinson | 9 – Khalifa | 5 – Khalifa | Michelob Ultra Arena (2,647) Paradise, NV |
| December 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 19 | vs. Fresno State | W 85–56 | 7–0 | 24 – Robinson | 6 – Knell | 5 – Tied | Delta Center (11,360) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 5, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 14 | Evansville | W 96–55 | 8–0 | 19 – Robinson | 8 – Waterman | 7 – Hall | Marriott Center (13,291) Provo, UT |
| December 9, 2023 5:00 p.m., P12N | No. 14 | at Utah | L 69-73 | 8–1 | 17 – Robinson | 11 – Johnson | 6 – Khalifa | Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,648) Salt Lake City, UT |
| December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | Denver | W 90–74 | 9–1 | 28 – Robinson | 14 – Waterman | 6 – Johnson | Marriott Center (13,349) Provo, UT |
| December 16, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | Georgia State | W 86–54 | 10–1 | 20 – Saunders | 7 – Ally Atiki | 7 – Johnson | Marriott Center (13,819) Provo, UT |
| December 22, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 17 | Bellarmine | W 101–59 | 11–1 | 14 – Tied | 8 – Johnson | 7 – Johnson | Marriott Center (14,429) Provo, UT |
| December 30, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 14 | Wyoming | W 94–68 | 12–1 | 17 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 8 – Khalifa | Marriott Center (17,978) Provo, UT |
| Big 12 regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 12 | Cincinnati | L 60–71 | 12–2 (0–1) | 27 – Knell | 8 – Waterman | 6 – Khalifa | Marriott Center (16,879) Provo, UT |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | at No. 14 Baylor | L 72–81 | 12–3 (0–2) | 15 – Tied | 6 – Waterman | 6 – Khalifa | Foster Pavilion (7,500) Waco, TX |
| January 13, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | at UCF | W 63–58 | 13–3 (1–2) | 17 – Khalifa | 7 – Waterman | 6 – Hall | Addition Financial Arena (9,137) Orlando, FL |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 20 | No. 24 Iowa State | W 87–72 | 14–3 (2–2) | 28 – Johnson | 9 – Johnson | 8 – Hall | Marriott Center (15,491) Provo, UT |
| January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 20 | at No. 25 Texas Tech | L 78–85 | 14–4 (2–3) | 21 – Khalifa | 8 – Traore | 6 – Hall | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 21 | No. 4 Houston | L 68–75 | 14–5 (2–4) | 17 – Waterman | 6 – Tied | 5 – Hall | Marriott Center (16,553) Provo, UT |
| January 27, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 21 | Texas | W 84–72 | 15–5 (3–4) | 17 – Tied | 8 – Johnson | 8 – Khalifa | Marriott Center (17,978) Provo, UT |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 22 | at West Virginia | W 86–73 | 16–5 (4–4) | 24 – Traore | 9 – Traore | 12 – Hall | WVU Coliseum (11,753) Morgantown, WV |
| February 6, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 21 | at Oklahoma | L 66–82 | 16–6 (4–5) | 21 – Traore | 8 – Waterman | 4 – Johnson | Lloyd Noble Center (6,834) Norman, OK |
| February 10, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 21 | Kansas State | W 72–66 | 17–6 (5–5) | 14 – Traore | 8 – Traore | 6 – Khalifa | Marriott Center (17,446) Provo, UT |
| February 13, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 19 | UCF | W 90–88 | 18–6 (6–5) | 21 – Robinson | 9 – Waterman | 5 – Hall | Marriott Center (15,590) Provo, UT |
| February 17, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Oklahoma State | L 83–93 | 18–7 (6–6) | 17 – Traore | 6 – Hall | 4 – Hall | Gallagher-Iba Arena (7,360) Stillwater, OK |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 25 | No. 11 Baylor | W 78–71 | 19–7 (7–6) | 14 – Khalifa | 9 – Johnson | 7 – Khalifa | Marriott Center (17,978) Provo, UT |
| February 24, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 25 | at Kansas State | L 74–84 | 19–8 (7–7) | 15 – Robinson | 7 – Waterman | 8 – Hall | Bramlage Coliseum (9,117) Manhattan, KS |
| February 27, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 7 Kansas | W 76–68 | 20–8 (8–7) | 18 – Tied | 7 – Traore | 5 – Traore | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | TCU | W 87–75 | 21–8 (9–7) | 21 – Traore | 7 – Tied | 7 – Hall | Marriott Center (17,978) Provo, UT |
| March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | No. 20 | at No. 6 Iowa State | L 63–68 | 21–9 (9–8) | 20 – Saunders | 11 – Tied | 6 – Khalifa | Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA |
| March 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 20 | Oklahoma State | W 85–71 | 22–9 (10–8) | 19 – Traore | 10 – Johnson | 6 – Hall | Marriott Center (17,978) Provo, UT |
| Big 12 tournament |||||||||
| March 13, 2024 10:30 a.m., ESPN2 | (5) No. 20 | vs. (12) UCF Second Round | W 87–73 | 23–9 | 14 – Traore | 10 – Traore | 7 – Johnson | T-Mobile Center (16,044) Kansas City, MO |
| March 14, 2024 10:30 a.m., ESPN2 | (5) No. 20 | vs. (4) No. 25 Texas Tech Quarterfinals | L 67–81 | 23–10 | 18 – Robinson | 7 – Johnson | 7 – Hall | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 21, 2024* 10:40 a.m., TruTV | (6 E) No. 21 | vs. (11 E) Duquesne First Round | L 67–71 | 23–11 | 25 – Robinson | 16 – Johnson | 6 – Hall | CHI Health Center Omaha, NE |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
Source

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | RV | RV | 19 | 14 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 12 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 25 | RV | 20 | 20 | 21 | RV |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | 19 | 13т | 17 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 17 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 19 | 17 | 21 | RV | 23 | 21 | 21 | RV |