# 2022–23 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by second-year head coach Justin Gray, played their home games at the Ramsey Center in Cullowhee, North Carolina, as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 17–14, 10–8 in SoCon play to finish in fourth place. In the SoCon tournament, they defeated East Tennessee in the quarterfinals before narrowly losing in overtime to Furman in the semifinal round. The Catamounts were invited to the CBI tournament, where they were defeated by eventual champions Charlotte in the first round.

## Previous season

The Catamounts finished the 2021–22 season 11–21, 5–13 in SoCon play to finish in last place. In the SoCon tournament, they were defeated by Mercer in the first round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 8:00 pm, SECN+/ESPN+ | | at Georgia | L 55–68 | 0–1 | Stegeman Coliseum (7,757) Athens, GA |
| November 10, 2022* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Maryland | L 51–71 | 0–2 | Xfinity Center (10,528) College Park, MD |
| November 13, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Brescia | W 112–45 | 1–2 | Ramsey Center (1,377) Cullowhee, NC |
| November 18, 2022* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at McNeese State McNeese State MTE | W 88–69 | 2–2 | The Legacy Center (1,497) Lake Charles, LA |
| November 19, 2022* 12:00 pm | | vs. Lamar McNeese State MTE | W 98–91 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | The Legacy Center (221) Lake Charles, LA |
| November 20, 2022* 12:00 pm | | vs. Lindenwood McNeese State MTE | W 90–88 $^{OT}$ | 4–2 | The Legacy Center (169) Lake Charles, LA |
| November 26, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Asheville | L 61–73 | 4–3 | Kimmel Arena (1,522) Asheville, NC |
| November 30, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Gardner–Webb | L 55–71 | 4–4 | Ramsey Center (2,125) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 3, 2022* 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | L 64–79 | 4–5 | Ramsey Center (1,313) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Davidson | L 64–72 | 4–6 | John M. Belk Arena (2,869) Davidson, NC |
| December 10, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Brevard | W 99–55 | 5–6 | Ramsey Center (1,387) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 17, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Tennessee Tech | W 75–65 | 6–6 | Eblen Center (557) Cookeville, TN |
| December 20, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Toccoa Falls | W 117–50 | 7–6 | Ramsey Center (688) Cullowhee, NC |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| December 29, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | L 47–72 | 7–7 (0–1) | Ramsey Center (1,130) Cullowhee, NC |
| December 31, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Furman | W 79–67 | 8–7 (1–1) | Ramsey Center (1,060) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | W 71–60 | 9–7 (2–1) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,104) Johnson City, TN |
| January 7, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 73–45 | 10–7 (3–1) | Ramsey Center (1,137) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 11, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | L 76–95 | 10–8 (3–2) | McKenzie Arena (3,009) Chattanooga, TN |
| January 14, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | L 61–65 | 10–9 (3–3) | McAlister Field House (1,467) Charleston, SC |
| January 18, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 76–71 | 11–9 (4–3) | Ramsey Center (2,75) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 21, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Samford | L 65–74 | 11–10 (4–4) | Pete Hanna Center (3,513) Homewood, AL |
| January 25, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | The Citadel | L 70–81 | 11–11 (4–5) | Ramsey Center (2,021) Cullowhee, NC |
| January 28, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at VMI | W 71–65 | 12–11 (5–5) | Cameron Hall (3,265) Lexington, VA |
| February 1, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Samford | L 77–85 | 12–12 (5–6) | Ramsey Center (1,787) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 4, 2023 2:00 pm, Nexstar/ESPN+ | | Chattanooga | W 83–68 | 13–12 (6–6) | Ramsey Center (3,157) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 8, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Wofford | W 95–91 $^{2OT}$ | 14–12 (7–6) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,194) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 11, 2023 2:00 pm, Nexstar/ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 59–93 | 14–13 (7–7) | Timmons Arena (2,577) Greenville, SC |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | East Tennessee State | W 68–66 | 15–13 (8–7) | Ramsey Center (1,634) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 18, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Mercer | W 71–68 | 16–13 (9–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,164) Macon, GA |
| February 22, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 52–71 | 16–14 (9–8) | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| February 25, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | VMI | W 85–66 | 17–14 (10–8) | Ramsey Center (3,586) Cullowhee, NC |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 4, 2023 2:30 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | vs. (5) East Tennessee State Quarterfinals | W 69-57 | 18–14 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (4,851) Asheville, NC |
| March 5, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPNU | (4) | vs. (1) Furman Semifinals | L 80–83 $^{OT}$ | 18–15 | Harrah's Cherokee Center Asheville, NC |
| College Basketball Invitational ||||||
| March 18, 2023 7:30 p.m., FloHoops | (14) | vs. (3) Charlotte First round | L 56–65 | 18–16 | Ocean Center (876) Daytona Beach, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Sources