# 2023–24 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2023–24 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers were coached by interim head coach Josh Eilert, and played their home games at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia as members of the Big 12 Conference. Following the dismissal of longtime head coach Bob Huggins in the offseason, the Mountaineers finished the season with a 9–23 record (4–14 in Big 12 play), their worst record since the 2001–02 season.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2022–23 season 19–15, 7–11 in Big 12 Play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to Kansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the South region, where they were defeated by Maryland in the First Round.

## Offseason
### Coaching change

On June 16, 2023, head coach Bob Huggins was arrested in Pittsburgh and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol. Police officers reported that they found him in an SUV that was blocking traffic, with the driver's door ajar and with a "flat and shredded tire". Bags of empty beer containers were found in the vehicle. A breath test determined his blood alcohol content to be 0.21%, more than two times the legal limit of 0.08%. Officers asked Huggins what city he was in, and did not get a clear response, with Huggins making mention of Columbus, Ohio a few times. The next day, Huggins released a statement announcing his resignation from West Virginia. In the statement, he also announced his retirement.
On June 24, 2023, assistant coach Josh Eilert was promoted to interim head coach after Huggins resigned.

### Departures

| Name | Pos. | Number | Height | Weight | Previous School | Hometown | Reason for Leaving |
| Kedrian Johnson | 0 | G | 6'3" | 185 | GS Senior | Dallas, TX | Graduated |
| Emmitt Matthews Jr. | 1 | F | 6'7" | 215 | GS Senior | Tacoma, WA | Graduated |
| Tre Mitchell | 3 | C | 6'9" | 225 | Senior | Pittsburgh, PA | Graduate transferred to Kentucky |
| Jamel King | 4 | F | 6'7" | 190 | Sophomore | Uniontown, AL | Transferred to Kennesaw State |
| Joe Toussaint | 5 | G | 6'0" | 190 | Senior | Bronx, NY | Graduate transferred to Texas Tech |
| Erik Stevenson | 10 | G | 6'4" | 205 | GS Senior | Lacey, WA | Graduated |
| Mohamed Wague | 11 | F | 6'10" | 225 | Sophomore | Bronx, NY | Transferred to Alabama |
| Josiah Davis | 12 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Freshman | Kitchener, ON | Transferred to Tennessee Tech |
| Jimmy Bell Jr. | 15 | F | 6'10" | 295 | Senior | Saginaw, MI | Graduate transferred to Mississippi State |
| James Oknokwo | 32 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Sophomore | Maidenhead, England | Transferred to North Carolina |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Noah Farrakhan | 1 | G | 6'2" | 162 | Junior | Hillside, NJ | Eastern Michigan |
| Kerr Kriisa | 3 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Tartu, Estonia | Arizona |
| Jeremiah Bembry | 5 | F | 6'6" | 185 | RS Freshman | Brooklyn, NY | Florida State |
| Jesse Edwards | 7 | C | 6'11" | 230 | GS Senior | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Syracuse |
| Quinn Slazinski | 11 | F | 6'9" | 215 | GS Senior | Houston, TX | Iona |
| Akok Akok | 13 | F | 6'9" | 205 | GS Senior | Manchester, NH | Georgetown |
| RaeQuan Battle | 21 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Senior | Tulalip, WA | Montana State |

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

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ofri Naveh PF | Israel | N/A | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 28, 2023 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| October 27, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | George Mason Charity Exhibition | W 85–78 | – | 21 – Tied | 9 – Harris | 3 – Tied | WVU Coliseum (9,437) Morgantown, WV |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 67–59 | 1–0 | 18 – Slazinski | 13 – Edwards | 4 – Johnson | WVU Coliseum (9,691) Morgantown, WV |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Monmouth | L 65–73 | 1–1 | 16 – Edwards | 13 – Edwards | 4 – Slazinski | WVU Coliseum (10,473) Morgantown, WV |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | W 70–57 | 2–1 | 19 – Tied | 7 – Slazinski | 5 – Johnson | WVU Coliseum (9,218) Morgantown, WV |
| November 20, 2023* 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | vs. SMU Fort Myers Tip-Off semifinals | L 58–70 | 2–2 | 18 – Edwards | 9 – Edwards | 4 – Wilson | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 22, 2023* 6:00 p.m., FS1 | | vs. No. 24 Virginia Fort Myers Tip-Off consolation | L 54–56 | 2–3 | 17 – Tied | 9 – Edwards | 6 – Johnson | Suncoast Credit Union Arena (3,500) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 26, 2023* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bellarmine | W 62–58 | 3–3 | 17 – Edwards | 14 – Edwards | 3 – Slazinski | WVU Coliseum (9,181) Morgantown, WV |
| December 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | St. John's Big East–Big 12 Battle | L 73–79 | 3–4 | 19 – Slazinski | 8 – Harris | 3 – Naveh | WVU Coliseum (10,781) Morgantown, WV |
| December 6, 2023* 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Pittsburgh Backyard Brawl | L 63–80 | 3–5 | 22 – Slazinski | 9 – Edwards | 4 – Johnson | WVU Coliseum (12,301) Morgantown, WV |
| December 9, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Drexel | W 66–60 | 4–5 | 16 – Edwards | 6 – Slazinski | 6 – Johnson | WVU Coliseum (9,414) Morgantown, WV |
| December 16, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPNU | | vs. UMass Basketball Hall of Fame Classic | L 79–87 | 4–6 | 20 – Tied | 6 – Harris | 7 – Kriisa | MassMutual Center (4,264) Springfield, MA |
| December 20, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Radford | L 65–66 | 4–7 | 29 – Battle | 7 – Tied | 6 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (9,019) Morgantown, WV |
| December 23, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 91–81 | 5–7 | 29 – Battle | 12 – Akok | 10 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (10,693) Morgantown, WV |
| December 30, 2023* 7:00 p.m., FOX | | vs. Ohio State Legends of Basketball Showcase | L 75–78 $^{OT}$ | 5–8 | 24 – Battle | 10 – Battle | 4 – Kriisa | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (12,211) Cleveland, OH |
| Big 12 regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 3 Houston | L 55–89 | 5–9 (0–1) | 12 – Suemnick | 6 – Harris | 3 – Harris | Fertitta Center (7,387) Houston, TX |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas State | L 67–81 | 5–10 (0–2) | 21 – Battle | 4 – Suemnick | 5 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (10,063) Morgantown, WV |
| January 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 25 Texas | W 76–73 | 6–10 (1–2) | 16 – Suemnick | 7 – Farrakhan | 3 – Johnson | WVU Coliseum (11,565) Morgantown, WV |
| January 17, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at No. 15 Oklahoma | L 63–77 | 6–11 (1–3) | 14 – Farrakhan | 7 – Suemnick | 4 – Kriisa | Lloyd Noble Center (6,835) Norman, OK |
| January 20, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 3 Kansas | W 91–85 | 7–11 (2–3) | 23 – Battle | 9 – Battle | 6 – Farrakhan | WVU Coliseum (11,565) Morgantown, WV |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UCF | L 59–72 | 7–12 (2–4) | 15 – Harris | 8 – Harris | 5 – Kriisa | Addition Financial Arena (8,882) Orlando, FL |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oklahoma State | L 66–70 | 7–13 (2–5) | 21 – Kriisa | 7 – Farrakhan | 5 – Johnson | Gallagher-Iba Arena (6,889) Stillwater, OK |
| January 31, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Cincinnati rivalry | W 69–65 | 8–13 (3–5) | 25 – Edwards | 10 – Edwards | 7 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (10,349) Morgantown, WV |
| February 3, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | No. 22 BYU | L 73–86 | 8–14 (3–6) | 23 – Kriisa | 7 – Edwards | 4 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (11,753) Morgantown, WV |
| February 10, 2024 3:00 p.m., LHN | | at Texas | L 58–94 | 8–15 (3–7) | 17 – Edwards | 9 – Edwards | 4 – Kriisa | Moody Center (10,073) Austin, TX |
| February 12, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at TCU | L 65–81 | 8–16 (3–8) | 21 – Battle | 5 – Tied | 5 – Slazinski | Schollmaier Arena (5,694) Fort Worth, TX |
| February 17, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | No. 12 Baylor | L 81–94 | 8–17 (3–9) | 25 – Battle | 9 – Edwards | 6 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (12,558) Morgantown, WV |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | UCF | W 77–67 | 9–17 (4–9) | 24 – Battle | 10 – Edwards | 7 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (9,569) Morgantown, WV |
| February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 6 Iowa State | L 64–71 | 9–18 (4–10) | 12 – Tied | 8 – Edwards | 3 – Tied | Hilton Coliseum (14,267) Ames, IA |
| February 26, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Kansas State | L 90–94 $^{OT}$ | 9–19 (4–11) | 28 – Battle | 7 – Edwards | 6 – Kriisa | Bramlage Coliseum (8,813) Manhattan, KS |
| March 2, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Texas Tech | L 70–81 | 9–20 (4–12) | 18 – Edwards | 8 – Edwards | 4 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (11,313) Morgantown, WV |
| March 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | TCU | L 81–93 | 9–21 (4–13) | 36 – Edwards | 13 – Edwards | 9 – Kriisa | WVU Coliseum (9,674) Morgantown, WV |
| March 9, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cincinnati rivalry | L 56–92 | 9–22 (4–14) | 12 – Farrakhan | 4 – Battle | 4 – Slazinski | Fifth Third Arena (11,914) Cincinnati, OH |
| Big 12 tournament |||||||||
| March 12, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (14) | vs. (11) Cincinnati First Round/rivalry | L 85–90 | 9–23 | 14 – Battle | 7 – Slazinski | 4 – Slazinski | T-Mobile Center (9,404) Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source