# 2023–24 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2023–24 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers, led by first year head coach Steve Lutz, played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky as tenth-year members of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the 2022–23 season 17–16, 8–12 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the C-USA tournament, they defeated UTEP in the first round before losing to Florida Atlantic in the quarterfinals.
On March 11, 2023, the school announced that head coach Rick Stansbury had decided to resign. On March 18, the school named Texas A&M–Corpus Christi head coach Steve Lutz the team's new head coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Darrius Miles | 0 | C | 6'10" | 250 | Junior | Oak Cliff, TX | Transferred to UT Arlington |
| Jordan Rawls | 2 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Senior | Chattanooga, TN | Graduated |
| Jarius Hamilton | 3 | F | 6'8" | 230 | RS Senior | Charlotte, NC | Graduated |
| Noah Stansbeury | 5 | G | 6'0" | 170 | RS Sophomore | Bowling Green, KY | Walk-on; transferred to Memphis |
| Elijah Hughey | 10 | G | 6'4" | 200 | RS Freshman | Dallas, TX | Transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma State |
| Emmanuel Akot | 13 | G | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | Winnipeg, MB | Graduated/signed to play professionally in Netherlands with Heroes Den Bosch |
| Luke Frampton | 14 | G | 6'5" | 205 | RS Senior | Poca, WV | Graduated |
| Dayvion McKnight | 20 | G | 6'1" | 195 | Junior | Shelbyville, KY | Transferred to Xavier |
| Jamarion Sharp | 33 | C | 7'5" | 235 | Senior | Hopkinsville, KY | Graduate transferred to Ole Miss |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Rodney Howard | 0 | C | 6'10" | 250 | GS Senior | Ypsilanti, MI | Georgia Tech |
| Don McHenry | 2 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Junior | Milwaukee, WI | Indian Hills CC |
| Jalen Jackson | 3 | G | 5'11" | 180 | GS Senior | San Antonio, TX | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi |
| Babacar Faye | 5 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Junior | Saly, Senegal | Charleston |
| Brandon Newman | 10 | G | 6'5" | 200 | RS Senior | Valparaiso, IN | Purdue |
| Terrion Murdix | 12 | G | 6'1" | 170 | GS Senior | Springfield, IL | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi |
| BJ Marable | 13 | F/C | 6'9" | | Junior | Knoxville, TN | Triton College |
| Enoch Kalambay | 23 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Junior | Gatineau, QC | Indian Hills CC |

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

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Teagan Moore SG | Owenton, KY | Owen County High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jul 13, 2022 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: 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. Retrieved October 18, 2023. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 90–64 | 1–0 | 14 – Newman | 10 – Faye | 4 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,890) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 9, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wichita State | L 61–71 | 1–1 | 12 – McHenry | 8 – Marshall | 1 – Tied | Charles Koch Arena (6,351) Wichita, KS |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Murray State | W 86–81 | 2–1 | 22 – McHenry | 7 – Newman | 2 – Tied | CFSB Center (5,677) Murray, KY |
| November 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kentucky State | W 95–75 | 3–1 | 17 – Newman | 10 – Newman | 6 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,411) Bowling Green, KY |
| November 24, 2023* 6:00 p.m., − | | vs. Bowling Green Northern Classic | W 72–65 | 4–1 | 17 – McHenry | 8 – Newman | 3 – McHenry | Place Bell (−) Laval, QC |
| November 25, 2023* 1:00 p.m., − | | vs. Canisius Northern Classic | L 77–85 | 4–2 | 16 – McHenry | 10 – Faye | 3 – Allen | Place Bell (−) Laval, QC |
| November 26, 2023* 10:00 a.m., − | | vs. UNC Asheville Northern Classic | L 67–77 | 4–3 | 14 – Jackson | 7 – Faye | 2 – Tied | Place Bell (−) Laval, QC |
| November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Campbellsville | W 101–77 | 5–3 | 22 – Lander | 9 – Faye | 6 – Jackson | E. A. Diddle Arena (2,702) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 3, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Kentucky | W 79–69 | 6–3 | 19 – Newman | 9 – Tied | 5 – Newman | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,511) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 9, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Buffalo | W 82–65 | 7–3 | 16 – McHenry | 8 – Newman | 5 – Lander | Alumni Arena (2,186) Amherst, NY |
| December 12, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Wright State | W 91–84 | 8–3 | 30 – McHenry | 7 – Marshall | 4 – Howard | Nutter Center (3,138) Fairborn, OH |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Austin Peay | W 65–64 | 9–3 | 16 – McHenry | 6 – Tied | 3 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,109) Bowling Green, KY |
| December 19, 2023* 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at California Baptist C-USA/WAC Alliance | W 73–70 | 10–3 | 17 – Allen | 12 – Newman | 4 – McHenry | CBU Events Center (2,522) Riverside, CA |
| December 30, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Abilene Christian C-USA/WAC Alliance | W 86–84 | 11–3 | 20 – Marshall Jr. | 8 – McHenry | 3 – Lander | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,011) Bowling Green, KY |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| January 6, 2024 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Liberty | W 70–68 | 12–3 (1–0) | 18 – McHenry | 9 – Howard | 5 – Lander | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,057) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 10, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sam Houston | L 74–78 | 12–4 (1–1) | 15 – McHenry | 6 – Tied | 6 – Lander | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (714) Huntsville, TX |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Jacksonville State | W 80–69 | 13–4 (2–1) | 25 – Newman | 8 – Kalambay | 4 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,580) Bowling Green, KY |
| January 18, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | L 70–72 | 13–5 (2–2) | 19 – Lander | 8 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Pan American Center (5,243) Las Cruces, NM |
| January 20, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | L 87–93 | 13–6 (2–3) | 18 – McHenry | 9 – Kalambay | 5 – McHenry | Don Haskins Center (4,151) El Paso, TX |
| January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | FIU | W 105–91 | 14–6 (3–3) | 30 – Allen | 8 – Tied | 6 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,144) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 1, 2024 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Sam Houston | L 77–79 | 14–7 (3–4) | 21 – McHenry | 10 – Allen | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,757) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 3, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Middle Tennessee | W 88–65 | 15–7 (4–4) | 22 – McHenry | 7 – Kalambay | 3 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,527) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 7, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana Tech | W 81–76 | 16–7 (5–4) | 20 – McHenry | 8 – Faye | 3 – McHenry | Thomas Assembly Center (2,221) Ruston, LA |
| February 10, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | W 70–59 | 17–7 (6–4) | 24 – McHenry | 11 – Faye | 5 – Newman | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,433) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 15, 2024 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | | UTEP | W 90–80 | 18–7 (7–4) | 25 – McHenry | 10 – Faye | 5 – McHenry | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,305) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 17, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | W 72–58 | 19–7 (8–4) | 12 – Moore | 5 – Tied | 5 – Marshall | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,102) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 24, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 72–74 | 19–8 (8–5) | 14 – Newman | 7 – Howard | 3 – Tied | Murphy Center (5,038) Murfreesboro, TN |
| February 28, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | L 84–90 | 19–9 (8–6) | 22 – Moore | 6 – Faye | 3 – Marshall Jr. | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,658) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 2, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at FIU | L 83–85 | 19–10 (8–7) | 14 – Faye | 10 – Marshall Jr. | 4 – Edelen | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (990) Miami, FL |
| March 9, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Liberty | L 79–82 | 19–11 (8–8) | 16 – Moore | 6 – Kalambay | 3 – Lander | Liberty Arena (3,023) Lynchburg, VA |
| Conference USA Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (3) | vs. (6) New Mexico State Quarterfinals | W 89–69 | 20–11 | 20 – Howard | 8 – Kalambay | 4 – Edelen | Von Braun Center (2,333) Huntsville, AL |
| March 15, 2024 2:00 p.m., CBSSN | (3) | vs. (7) Middle Tennessee Semifinals | W 85–54 | 21–11 | 18 – McHenry | 10 – Moore | 2 – Tied | Von Braun Center (3,272) Huntsville, AL |
| March 16, 2024 7:30 p.m., CBSSN | (3) | vs. (5) UTEP Championship | W 78–71 | 22–11 | 25 – McHenry | 10 – Faye | 3 – Marshall Jr. | Von Braun Center (4,541) Huntsville, AL |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| March 22, 2024* 1:00 p.m., TBS | (15 S) | vs. (2 S) No. 8 Marquette First Round | L 69–87 | 22–12 | 21 – Marshall | 8 – McHenry | 5 – Marshall | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source