# 2022–23 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2022–23 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Asheville in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, who were led by fifth-year head coach Mike Morrell, played their home games at Kimmel Arena in Asheville, North Carolina, as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 27-7, 16–2 in Big South play to finish in first place, and defeated Charleston Southern, USC Upstate, and Campbell to claim the Big South tournament title. As tournament champions, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where they were eliminated in the first round by UCLA.

## Previous season

With the reintroduction of divisions for the first time since the 2013–14 season, the Bulldogs played in the South division. They finished the regular season 16–13, 8–8 in Big South play which resulted in a fourth place in the South division. As the No. 5 seed in the Big South tournament, they lost to Charleston Southern in the first round.
The Bulldogs participated in the College Basketball Invitational as a No. 13 seed, where they defeated No. 4 Stephen F. Austin in the first round before losing to No. 12 Northern Colorado in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 1, 2022* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | Milligan | W 101–47 | – | Kimmel Arena (513) Asheville, NC |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 7, 2022* 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UCF | W 98–95 $^{2OT}$ | 1–0 | Addition Financial Arena (4,603) Orlando, FL |
| November 12, 2022* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Brevard | W 94–46 | 2–0 | Kimmel Arena (815) Asheville, NC |
| November 18, 2022* 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | | vs. Texas A&M–Commerce Capitol Classic | W 72–64 | 3–0 | GSU Convocation Center (630) Atlanta, GA |
| November 19, 2022* 5:30 pm | | vs. Eastern Kentucky Capitol Classic | L 75–77 | 3–1 | GSU Convocation Center (593) Atlanta, GA |
| November 20, 2022* 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia State Capitol Classic | L 68–74 | 3–2 | GSU Convocation Center (1,331) Atlanta, GA |
| November 26, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+/CW62 | | Western Carolina | W 73–61 | 4–2 | Kimmel Arena (1,522) Asheville, NC |
| November 29, 2022* 4:30 pm, NCCUSN | | at North Carolina Central | L 66–79 | 4–3 | McDougald–McLendon Arena (1,663) Durham, NC |
| December 3, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+/CW62 | | UT Martin | W 90–83 | 5–3 | Kimmel Arena (908) Asheville, NC |
| December 7, 2022* 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Warren Wilson | W 122–70 | 6–3 | Kimmel Arena (925) Asheville, NC |
| December 10, 2022* 2:00 pm, USA | | at Dayton | L 56–79 | 6–4 | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| December 13, 2022* 7:00 pm | | at South Carolina State | W 94–84 | 7–4 | SHM Memorial Center (505) Orangeburg, SC |
| December 17, 2022* 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at East Tennessee State | W 74–73 | 8–4 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (1,041) Johnson City, TN |
| December 21, 2022* 9:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 10 Arkansas | L 51–85 | 8–5 | Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR |
| Big South regular season ||||||
| December 29, 2022 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Radford | W 62–58 | 9–5 (1–0) | Kimmel Arena (1,147) Asheville, NC |
| December 31, 2022 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Winthrop | L 60–62 | 9–6 (1–1) | Winthrop Coliseum (1,134) Rock Hill, SC |
| January 4, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at High Point | W 76–72 | 10–6 (2–1) | Qubein Center (2,021) High Point, NC |
| January 7, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 58–55 | 11–6 (3–1) | Kimmel Arena (1,238) Asheville, NC |
| January 11, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | Longwood | W 54–46 | 12–6 (4–1) | Kimmel Arena (1,164) Asheville, NC |
| January 14, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Gardner–Webb | W 72–67 $^{OT}$ | 13–6 (5–1) | Paul Porter Arena (777) Boiling Springs, NC |
| January 18, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | W 73–63 | 14–6 (6–1) | Buccaneer Field House (797) North Charleston, SC |
| January 21, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | W 64–58 | 15–6 (7–1) | Kimmel Arena (1,789) Asheville, NC |
| January 25, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Presbyterian | W 88–80 $^{OT}$ | 16–6 (8–1) | Kimmel Arena (1,025) Asheville, NC |
| January 28, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Campbell | W 78–65 | 17–6 (9–1) | Gore Arena (1,603) Buies Creek, NC |
| February 2, 2023 7:00pm, ESPNU | | High Point | W 89–63 | 18–6 (10–1) | Kimmel Arena (2,288) Asheville, NC |
| February 4, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at USC Upstate | L 70–76 | 18–7 (10–2) | G. B. Hodge Center (612) Spartanburg, SC |
| February 8, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Winthrop | W 86–79 | 19–7 (11–2) | Kimmel Arena (2,016) Asheville, NC |
| February 11, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | W 76–72 | 20–7 (12–2) | Templeton Physical Education Center (359) Clinton, SC |
| February 15, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Radford | W 63–54 | 21–7 (13–2) | Dedmon Center (1,891) Radford, VA |
| February 18, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+/CW62 | | Gardner–Webb | W 75–63 | 22–7 (14–2) | Kimmel Arena (2,957) Asheville, NC |
| February 22, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Charleston Southern | W 80–62 | 23–7 (15–2) | Kimmel Arena (1,362) Asheville, NC |
| February 25, 2023 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Longwood | W 76–66 | 24–7 (16–2) | Willett Hall (1,900) Farmville, VA |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| March 3, 2023 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (9) Charleston Southern Quarterfinals | W 75–66 | 25–7 | Bojangles Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| March 4, 2023 12:00 pm, ESPN+ | (1) | vs. (4) USC Upstate Semifinals | W 66–62 | 26–7 | Bojangles Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| March 5, 2023 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (7) Campbell Championship | W 77–73 | 27–7 | Bojangles Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 16, 2023 10:05 p.m., truTV | (15 S) | vs. (2 S) No. 7 UCLA First Round | L 53–86 | 27–8 | Golden 1 Center (14,527) Sacramento, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source