# 2023–24 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 2023–24 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team represented East Tennessee State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by first-year head coach Brooks Savage, played their home games at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City, Tennessee, as members of the Southern Conference (SoCon). They finished the season 19–16, 8–10 in SoCon play, to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated VMI, UNC Greensboro and Chattanooga to advance to the championship game of the SoCon tournament where they lost to Samford.

## Previous season

The Buccaneers finished the 2022–23 season 12–20, 8–10 in SoCon play, to finish tied for fifth place. They lost to Western Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament.
Following the end of the season, head coach Desmond Oliver was fired. He had a record of 27–37 after two seasons. On March 20, 2023, Brooks Savage was hired as his replacement.

## Offseason
### Departing players

Departing players :
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jeremy Gregory | 0 | F | 6' 6" | 230 | Freshman | Charlotte, NC | Transferred to Chipola College |
| Jamarius Hairston | 1 | G | 6' 3" | 193 | Graduate student | Salisbury, NC | Completed college eligibility |
| Jordan King | 2 | G | 6' 0" | 175 | Junior | Albany, NY | Transferred to Richmond |
| Deanthony Tipler | 3 | G | 5' 10" | 170 | Senior | Ashland, MS | Graduated, transferred to UT Rio Grande Valley |
| Kristian Shaw | 4 | G | 6' 5" | 205 | Freshman | Hendersonville, TN | Transferred to Volunteer State CC |
| Josh Taylor | 10 | F | 6' 8" | 205 | Junior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to St. Thomas |
| Jalen Haynes | 11 | F | 6' 8" | 255 | Sophomore | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Transferred to George Mason |
| Brock Jancek | 13 | F | 6' 8" | 225 | Graduate student | Knoxville, TN | Completed college eligibility |
| Cameron George | 15 | G | 6' 3" | 185 | Sophomore | Knoxville, TN | Walk-on, transferred to King University |
| Kordell Charles | 20 | F | 6' 8" | 205 | Sophomore | Ontario, Canada | Transferred to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Number | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Karon Boyd | 0 | G | 6' 5" | 220 | Sophomore | Concord, NC | USC Aiken |
| Quimari Peterson | 1 | G | 6' 1" | 185 | Junior | Gary, IN | John A. Logan College |
| Tyler Rice | 3 | G | 6' 1" | 180 | Junior | Columbia, SC | William & Mary |
| DJ Hughes | 10 | F | 6' 6" | 230 | Junior | Indianapolis, IN | Butler |
| Ebby Asamoah | 14 | G | 6' 4" | 200 | Graduate student | Rockville, MD | Delaware |
| Jadyn Parker | 24 | F | 6' 10" | 200 | RS Junior | Shallotte, NC | North Florida |

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Maki Johnson SG | Huntington, WV | Huntington Prep School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Mar 31, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Gabe Sisk SG | Louisville, KY | Ballard High School (KY) | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | May 30, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| David Meriweather C | Indianapolis, IN | Lawrence North High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Sep 14, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: 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 September 29, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | Virginia–Wise | W 105–55 | – | Freedom Hall Civic Center (1,967) Johnson City, TN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | King | W 73–56 | 1–0 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,736) Johnson City, TN |
| November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., FloHoops | | at Elon | L 76–79 | 1–1 | Schar Center (1,514) Elon, NC |
| November 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Butler | L 47–81 | 1–2 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,511) Indianapolis, IN |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Davidson | W 70–68 | 2–2 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,479) Johnson City, TN |
| November 22, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State Viking Invitational | L 70–72 | 2–3 | Woodling Gym (1,412) Cleveland, OH |
| November 24, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Alabama A&M Viking Invitational | W 81–72 | 3–3 | Woodling Gym (597) Cleveland, OH |
| November 29, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | L 61–72 | 3–4 | Holmes Center (1,813) Boone, NC |
| December 3, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 61–59 | 4–4 | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,203) Jacksonville, AL |
| December 10, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tennessee Tech | W 73–72 | 5–4 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,121) Johnson City, TN |
| December 15, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Tusculum | W 105–43 | 6–4 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (2,379) Johnson City, TN |
| December 20, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas City | W 70–57 | 7–4 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,281) Johnson City, TN |
| December 22, 2023* 9:00 p.m. | | at Utah State | L 65–80 | 7–5 | Smith Spectrum (6,804) Logan, UT |
| December 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | W 86–70 | 8–5 | Williams Arena (4,259) Greenville, NC |
| SoCon Regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Mercer | W 80–69 | 9–5 (1–0) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,529) Johnson City, TN |
| January 6, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Greensboro | L 54–70 | 9–6 (1–1) | Greensboro Coliseum (1,182) Greensboro, NC |
| January 10, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Carolina | L 66–80 | 9–7 (1–2) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,423) Johnson City, TN |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 73–82 | 9–8 (1–3) | Timmons Arena (2,279) Greenville, SC |
| January 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wofford | L 73–75 | 9–9 (1–4) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,182) Spartanburg, SC |
| January 21, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Chattanooga | L 74–81 | 9–10 (1–5) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,869) Johnson City, TN |
| January 24, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VMI | W 74–73 | 10–10 (2–5) | Cameron Hall (882) Lexington, VA |
| January 27, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Samford | L 72–75 | 10–11 (2–6) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,043) Johnson City, TN |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Mercer | W 54–49 | 11–11 (3–6) | Hawkins Arena (2,163) Macon, GA |
| February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | The Citadel | W 62–60 | 12–11 (4–6) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,615) Johnson City, TN |
| February 7, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Wofford | W 57–50 | 13–11 (5–6) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,421) Johnson City, TN |
| February 10, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Furman | L 63–65 | 13–12 (5–7) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,566) Johnson City, TN |
| February 14, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Chattanooga | L 71–84 | 13–13 (5–8) | McKenzie Arena (3,025) Chattanooga, TN |
| February 17, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Carolina | L 65–70 | 13–14 (5–9) | Ramsey Center (3,231) Cullowhee, NC |
| February 21, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | VMI | W 82–69 | 14–14 (6–9) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,325) Johnson City, TN |
| February 24, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Samford | L 71–87 | 14–15 (6–10) | Pete Hanna Center (4,523) Homewood, AL |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at The Citadel | W 81–63 | 15–15 (7–10) | McAlister Field House (1,973) Charleston, SC |
| March 2, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UNC Greensboro | W 66–65 | 16–15 (8–10) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,451) Johnson City, TN |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (10) VMI First round | W 98–66 | 17–15 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (2,484) Asheville, NC |
| March 9, 2024 2:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (7) | vs. (2) UNC Greensboro Quarterfinals | W 73–62 | 18–15 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (4,194) Asheville, NC |
| March 10, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPNU | (7) | vs. (3) Chattanooga Semifinals | W 85–84 $^{OT}$ | 19–15 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (3,992) Asheville, NC |
| March 11, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN | (7) | vs. (1) Samford Championship | L 69–76 | 19–16 | Harrah's Cherokee Center (5,112) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source: