# 2023–24 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team

The 2023–24 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team represented James Madison University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dukes were led by fourth-year head coach Mark Byington and played their home games at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia as members of the Sun Belt Conference.
James Madison began the season by beating No. 4-ranked Michigan State, earning their first victory over a ranked opponent since defeating California on December 29, 1992. They followed this up with wins over Kent State and Howard giving them three consecutive wins over 2023 NCAA tournament participants and earning them their first appearance in the AP poll in school history. The Dukes then went on to have their best record to start a season in program history, going 14–0 before they were handed their first loss against Southern Miss. As a result, James Madison left the AP poll after being ranked for eight weeks.
The Dukes finished the regular season with a record of 32–4, 15–3 in Sun Belt play, to finish in second place. They defeated Marshall, Texas State and Arkansas State in the Sun Belt tournament to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in South region marking the team's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2013. They upset No. 5-seeded Wisconsin in the first round to advance on to the second round for the first time since 1983. There they lost to Duke in the second round.
On March 25, 2024, head coach Mark Byington left the school to become the head coach at Vanderbilt.

## Previous season

The Dukes finished the 2022–23 season 22–11, 12–6 in Sun Belt play, to finish fourth in the conference. They defeated Troy in the first round before losing to South Alabama in the second round of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Offseason
### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Raekwon Horton | 2 | F | 6' 9" | 220 | Graduate | Santee, SC | College of Charleston |
| T. J. Bickerstaff | 3 | F | 6' 9" | 220 | Graduate | Atlanta, GA | Boston College |
| Bryant Randleman | 4 | G | 6' 4" | 190 | Graduate | Durham, NC | High Point |
| Quincy Allen | 10 | G/F | 6' 8" | 190 | RS Sophomore | Silver Spring, MD | Colorado |
| Michael Green III | 13 | G | 6' 0" | 155 | Graduate | The Bronx, NY | Robert Morris |

### Recruiting
#### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tyshawn Archie CG | Houston, TX | C.E. King High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Oct 7, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 26, 2022. ||||||

#### 2024 recruiting class
## Preseason
### Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Dukes were picked to finish in first place in the Sun Belt Conference's (SBC) preseason poll. Redshirt junior guard Terrence Edwards Jr. was named to the preseason All-SBC First Team.
Coaches poll :
| Predicted finish | Team (1st-place votes) |
| 1 | James Madison – 176 (7) |
| 2 | App State – 159 (2) |
| 3 | Old Dominion – 154 (1) |
| 4 | Southern Miss – 148 |
| 5 | Louisiana – 136 (2) |
| 6 | South Alabama – 129 (2) |
| 7 | Marshall – 119 |
| 8 | Troy – 91 |
| 9 | Arkansas State – 84 |
| 10 | Texas State – 72 |
| 11 | Georgia State – 69 |
| 12 | Coastal Carolina – 59 |
| 13 | Georgia Southern – 42 |
| 14 | ULM – 32 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 8:30 p.m., BTN | | at No. 4 Michigan State | W 79–76 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | 24 – Edwards | 14 – Bickerstaff | 3 – tied | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kent State MAC–SBC Challenge | W 113–108 $^{2OT}$ | 2–0 | 25 – Edwards | 10 – Edwards | 6 – Edwards | MAC Center (3,126) Kent, OH |
| November 12, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Howard | W 107–86 | 3–0 | 22 – Wooden | 8 – Horton | 8 – Green III | Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,443) Harrisonburg, VA |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 24 | Radford Cancún Challenge campus-site game | W 76–73 | 4–0 | 21 – Edwards | 8 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Green III | Atlantic Union Bank Center (8,014) Harrisonburg, VA |
| November 21, 2023* 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | No. 22 | vs. Southern Illinois Cancún Challenge Riviera Division semifinals | W 82–76 | 5–0 | 24 – Edwards | 7 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Edwards | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (417) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 22, 2023* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | No. 22 | vs. Fresno State Cancún Challenge Riviera Division championship | W 95–64 | 6–0 | 26 – Freidel | 5 – Bickerstaff | 4 – Wooden | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (683) Cancún, Mexico |
| November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 22 | Buffalo | W 81–66 | 7–0 | 18 – Bickerstaff | 7 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Green III | Atlantic Union Bank Center (5,106) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 3, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 22 | Keystone | W 130–59 | 8–0 | 21 – Green III | 13 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Bickerstaff | Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,272) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 9, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 18 | at Old Dominion Royal Rivalry | W 84–69 | 9–0 | 21 – Bickerstaff | 12 – Bickerstaff | 9 – Green III | Chartway Arena (8,504) Norfolk, VA |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., FloHoops | No. 20 | at Hampton | W 88–71 | 10–0 | 17 – Brown | 10 – Carey | 8 – Green III | Hampton Convocation Center (2,068) Hampton, VA |
| December 19, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 20 | Coppin State | W 87–48 | 11–0 | 18 – Bickerstaff | 7 – Bickerstaff | 4 – Green III | Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,214) Harrisonburg, VA |
| December 22, 2023* 1:00 p.m., − | No. 20 | at Morgan State | W 89–75 | 12–0 | 29 – Edwards | 9 – Edwards | 5 – Brown | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (878) Baltimore, MD |
| December 30, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 20 | Texas State | W 82–65 | 13–0 (1–0) | 21 – Bickerstaff | 10 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Bickerstaff | Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,617) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 4, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Louisiana | W 68–61 | 14–0 (2–0) | 19 – Edwards Jr. | 11 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Edwards Jr. | Cajundome (2,349) Lafayette, LA |
| January 6, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 19 | at Southern Miss | L 71–81 | 14–1 (2–1) | 15 – Edwards Jr. | 16 – Bickerstaff | 3 – tied | Reed Green Coliseum (4,107) Hattiesburg, MS |
| January 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | South Alabama | W 89–55 | 15–1 (3–1) | 26 – Freidel | 10 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Randleman | Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,147) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Appalachian State | L 55–59 | 15–2 (3–2) | 19 – Edwards | 7 – Bickerstaff | 4 – Edwards | Atlantic Union Bank Center (7,761) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 18, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 89–70 | 16–2 (4–2) | 31 – Wooden | 8 – Carey | 6 – Edwards Jr. | Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,033) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 20, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Marshall | W 67–52 | 17–2 (5–2) | 20 – Edwards Jr. | 11 – Bickerstaff | 5 – tied | Atlantic Union Bank Center (6,061) Harrisonburg, VA |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Old Dominion Royal Rivalry | W 78–62 | 18–2 (6–2) | 23 – Wooden | 12 – Bickerstaff | 5 – tied | Chartway Arena (6,701) Norfolk, VA |
| January 27, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Appalachian State | L 76–82 | 18–3 (6–3) | 25 – Edwards, Jr. | 12 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Green | Holmes Center (8,052) Boone, NC |
| February 1, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | W 105–67 | 19–3 (7–3) | 19 – Bickerstaff | 7 – tied | 7 – Brown | Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,490) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Old Dominion Royal Rivalry | W 78–63 | 20–3 (8–3) | 18 – Friedel | 10 – Horton | 3 – tied | Atlantic Union Bank Center (7,633) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 7, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | W 77–73 | 21–3 (9–3) | 19 – Friedel | 10 – Friedel | 5 – Brown | First National Bank Arena (3,824) Jonesboro, AR |
| February 10, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Akron MAC–SBC Challenge | W 73–59 | 22–3 | 17 – Green III | 9 – Horton | 4 – Green III | Atlantic Union Bank Center (6,454) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 15, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia State | W 83–63 | 23–3 (10–3) | 28 – Edwards | 9 – tied | 3 – Edwards | Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,162) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 17, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | W 87–80 | 24–3 (11–3) | 19 – Edwards Jr. | 5 – tied | 3 – tied | Atlantic Union Bank Center (6,796) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Marshall | W 84–58 | 25–3 (12–3) | 19 – Freidel | 9 – Freidel | 6 – Green III | Cam Henderson Center (4,595) Huntington, WV |
| February 24, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | W 80–74 | 26–3 (13–3) | 20 – Edwards | 10 – Bickerstaff | 6 – Edwards | Hanner Fieldhouse (2,342) Statesboro, GA |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | W 84–78 | 27–3 (14–3) | 30 – Edwards | 13 – Bickerstaff | 5 – Edwards | GSU Convocation Center (1,988) Atlanta, GA |
| March 1, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 86–76 | 28–3 (15–3) | 18 – Edwards Jr. | 8 – Freidel | 6 – Edwards Jr. | HTC Center (1,513) Conway, SC |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (10) Marshall Quarterfinals | W 81–64 | 29–3 | 18 – Edwards | 11 – Bickerstaff | 6 – Edwards | Pensacola Bay Center (2,501) Pensacola, FL |
| March 10, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (11) Texas State Semifinals | W 73–68 | 30–3 | 28 – Freidel | 11 – Bickerstaff | 6 – Edwards | Pensacola Bay Center (−) Pensacola, FL |
| March 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (2) | vs. (4) Arkansas State Championship | W 91–71 | 31–3 | 21 – Brown | 10 – Brown | 3 – tied | Pensacola Bay Center (2,548) Pensacola, FL |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2024 9:40 p.m., CBS | (12 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 23 Wisconsin First Round | W 72–61 | 32–3 | 14 – Edwards | 9 – Bickerstaff | 3 – tied | Barclays Center (17,487) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 24, 2024 5:15 p.m., CBS | (12 S) | vs. (4 S) No. 13 Duke Second Round | L 55–93 | 32–4 | 13 – Edwards | 5 – tied | 2 – tied | Barclays Center (17,505) Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | — | 24 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | 23 | 24 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV |