# 2023–24 Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Bowling Green Falcons men's basketball team represented Bowling Green State University in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Falcons, led by Todd Simon in his first year as head coach, played their home games at the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the regular season 19–12, 10–8 in MAC play to finish in 5th place. They defeated Central Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing to Kent State in the second round. The Falcons received an invitation to play in the CIT where they were defeated by Purdue Fort Wayne in the opening round, bringing their final record to 20–14.

## Previous season

The Falcons finished the season 11–20, 5–13 in MAC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament. On March 5, 2023, the school fired head coach Michael Huger. On March 15, the school hired Southern Utah Todd Simon the team's new coach.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ubong Abasi Etim | F | 6'9" | 210 | RS-Freshman | Richmond, California | Transferred to Central Arkansas |
| Brenton Mills | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Allen, Texas | Transferred to Vermont |
| Leon Ayers | G | 6'5" | 185 | Senior | Troy, Michigan | Exhausted Eligibility |
| Kaden Metheny | G | 5'11" | 180 | Sophomore | Morgantown, West Virginia | Transferred to Liberty |
| Willie Lightfoot | G | 6'0" | 170 | Freshman | Niagara Falls, New York | Transferred to Odessa College |
| Isaac Elsasser | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Bowling Green, Ohio | |
| Chandler Turner | G/F | 6'7" | 210 | Senior | Detroit, Michigan | Transferred to Radford |
| Samari Curtis | G | 6'4" | 190 | Senior | Xenia, Ohio | |
| Madini Diarra | F | 6'11" | 260 | Senior | Bamako, Mali | |
| Gabe O'Neal | F | 6'7" | 240 | Senior | Cincinnati, Ohio | |
| Jackson Watson | G | 6'1" | 180 | Sophomore | Libertyville, Illinois | Entered Transfer Portal |

### Incoming transfers

Transfers :
| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Marcus Hill | G | 6'4" | 185 | Junior | Rockford, Illinois | Southern Union State Community College |
| Trey Thomas | G | 6'0" | 160 | Senior | Durham, Ontario | Vanderbilt |
| DJ Smith | G | 6'0" | 160 | Junior | North Little Rock, Arkansas | Little Rock |
| DaJion Humphrey | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Detroit, Michigan | Garden City Community College |
| PJ Edwards | G | 6'4" | 200 | Sophomore | Springfield, Illinois | UCF |
| Da'Shawn Phillip | G | 6'6" | 180 | Senior | Baltimore, Maryland | Maryland Eastern Shore |
| Jason Spurgin | C | 6'11" | 250 | Senior | Toowoomba, Australia | Southern Utah |
| Greg Spurgin | F | 6'7" | 210 | Sophomore | Toowoomba, Australia | Westminster |
| JZ Zaher | G | 6'0" | 170 | Sophomore | Fenton, Michigan | Eastern Michigan |

### Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| EJay Greer G | Lansdowne, Pennsylvania | Rocktop Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 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 |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Chicago State | W 70–41 | 1–0 | 18 – Hill | 4 – Edwards | 10 – Phillip | Stroh Center (1,776) Bowling Green, OH |
| November 11, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Arkansas State MAC-SBC Challenge | W 81–75 | 2–0 | 26 – Hill | 7 – Towns | 4 – Hill | Stroh Center (1,513) Bowling Green, OH |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Oakland | L 62–81 | 2–1 | 17 – J. Spurgin | 10 – J. Spurgin | 3 – Hill | Athletics Center O'rena (2,384) Rochester, MI |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Bellarmine | L 67–85 | 2–2 | 15 – McComb | 6 – Tied | 4 – J. Spurgin | Stroh Center (1,775) Bowling Green, OH |
| November 24, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | vs. Western Kentucky Northern Classic | L 65–72 | 2–3 | 29 – Hill | 9 – Phillip | 2 – Phillip | Place Bell Laval, QC |
| November 25, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | | vs. Lipscomb Northern Classic | W 82–61 | 3–3 | 33 – Hill | 9 – Agee | 5 – Hill | Place Bell Montreal, QC |
| November 26, 2023* 4:00 p.m. | | vs. Canisius Northern Classic | W 77–73 | 4–3 | 26 – Hill | 8 – Agee | 4 – Hill | Place Bell Montreal, QC |
| December 2, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Indiana | W 54–52 | 5–3 | 15 – Hill | 11 – Towns | 3 – Thomas | Screaming Eagles Arena (1,539) Evansville, IN |
| December 10, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ohio Dominican | W 97–49 | 6–3 | 17 – Agee | 12 – Edwards | 3 – Tied | Stroh Center (1,338) Bowling Green, OH |
| December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kansas City | W 79–69 | 7–3 | 29 – Hill | 12 – Agee | 4 – Thomas | Stroh Center (1,561) Bowling Green, OH |
| December 19, 2023* 11:00 a.m., ESPN+ | | Hampton | W 75–65 | 8–3 | 25 – Thomas | 12 – Agee | 3 – Tied | Stroh Center (2,995) Bowling Green, OH |
| December 22, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Siena Heights | W 79–58 | 9–3 | 19 – Thomas | 9 – Agee | 3 – Tied | Stroh Center (1,117) Bowling Green, OH |
| MAC regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan | W 92–90 $^{OT}$ | 10–3 (1–0) | 35 – Hill | 11 – Agee | 6 – Thomas | Stroh Center (2,439) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 5, 2024 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Akron | L 67–83 | 10–4 (1–1) | 19 – Hill | 6 – Agee | 4 – Spurgin | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,394) Akron, OH |
| January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ohio | W 83–78 | 11–4 (2–1) | 20 – Thomas | 15 – Agee | 6 – Agee | Stroh Center (1,982) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | W 83–72 | 12–4 (3–1) | 24 – Agee | 10 – Spurgin | 4 – Agee | Convocation Center (1,041) DeKalb, IL |
| January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Miami (OH) | W 78–73 | 13–4 (4–1) | 23 – Hill | 12 – Agee | 3 – Tied | Millett Hall (813) Oxford, OH |
| January 20, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Michigan | W 84–79 | 14–4 (5–1) | 28 – Hill | 14 – Agee | 3 – Thomas | Stroh Center (2,232) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kent State | L 84–90 $^{OT}$ | 14–5 (5–2) | 21 – Hill | 10 – Agee | 3 – Hill | Stroh Center (2,099) Bowling Green, OH |
| January 27, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 72–88 | 14–6 (5–3) | 25 – Hill | 6 – Phillip | 3 – Hill | Savage Arena (7,318) Toledo, OH |
| January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ball State | W 81–72 | 15–6 (6–3) | 28 – Hill | 10 – Agee | 4 – Thomas | Worthen Arena (3,488) Muncie, IN |
| February 3, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Central Michigan | L 76–77 $^{2OT}$ | 15–7 (6–4) | 22 – Hill | 14 – Agee | 7 – Hill | Stroh Center (2,230) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Buffalo | W 87–73 | 16–7 (7–4) | 27 – Hill | 10 – Agee | 6 – Thomas | Stroh Center (1,704) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 11, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana MAC-SBC Challenge | L 60–86 | 16–8 | 22 – Hill | 7 – Agee | 2 – Tied | Cajundome (914) Lafayette, LA |
| February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan | L 60–69 | 16–9 (7–5) | 19 – Hill | 13 – Agee | 3 – Tied | George Gervin GameAbove Center (3,304) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan | L 60–62 $^{OT}$ | 16–10 (7–6) | 18 – Agee | 11 – Tied | 2 – Hill | McGuirk Arena (1,525) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Toledo | W 76–68 | 17–10 (8–6) | 31 – Hill | 11 – Agee | 2 – Phillip | Stroh Center (4,032) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Miami (OH) | L 58–66 | 17–11 (8–7) | 20 – Agee | 14 – Agee | 3 – Tied | Stroh Center (1,825) Bowling Green, OH |
| March 2, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 59–66 | 17–12 (8–8) | 17 – Agee | 11 – Agee | 3 – Spurgin | Convocation Center (6,134) Athens, OH |
| March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Michigan | W 73–65 | 18–12 (9–8) | 17 – Agee | 15 – Agee | 5 – Hill | University Arena (1,243) Kalamazoo, MI |
| March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Ball State | W 80–70 | 19–12 (10–8) | 24 – Hill | 7 – Towns | 5 – Hill | Stroh Center (1,926) Bowling Green, OH |
| MAC Tournament |||||||||
| March 14, 2024 1:30 p.m., ESPN+ | (5) | vs. (4) Central Michigan Quarterfinals | W 66–56 | 20–12 | 20 – Thomas | 17 – Agee | 3 – Hill | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| March 15, 2024 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | (5) | vs. (8) Kent State Semifinals | L 60–73 | 20–13 | 22 – Hill | 7 – Agee | 2 – Tied | Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse Cleveland, OH |
| CIT |||||||||
| March 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Purdue Fort Wayne Quarterfinals - Jim Phelan Classic | L 75–77 | 20–14 | 26 – Hill | 8 – Spurgin | 5 – Spurgin | Stroh Center (1,219) Bowling Green, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||
Source