# 2023–24 UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team

The 2023–24 UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team represented the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by third-year head coach Matt Figger and played home games at UTRGV Fieldhouse as members of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). They finished the season 6–25, 2–18 in WAC play to finish in eleventh place, and thus did not qualify to play in the WAC Tournament.
This was UTRGV's last season in the WAC, and also Figger's last as head coach. UTRGV announced on March 19, 2024 that it had fired Figger, who left with a 29–65 record after three seasons. Less than a week later, UTRGV announced that it would join the Southland Conference effective that July.

## Previous season

The Vaqueros finished the season 15–16, 6–12 in conference play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They were defeated by Tarleton State in the first round of the WAC tournament to end their season.

## Schedule and Results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Southwestern Adventist | W 110–59 | 1–0 | 20 – Williams | 11 – Abdul-Hakim | 7 – Tied | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,622) Edinburg, TX |
| November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | vs. South Dakota | L 79–100 | 1–1 | 30 – Elliott | 11 – Freeman | 7 – Abdul-Hakim | Sanford Pentagon (1,884) Sioux Falls, SD |
| November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., Big 12 Now | at TCU | L 55–88 | 1–2 | 19 – Elliott | 5 – Freeman | 8 – Abdul-Hakim | Schollmaier Arena (5,438) Fort Worth, TX |
| November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., Big 12 Now | at Oklahoma | L 66–90 | 1–3 | 15 – Elliott | 10 – Williams | 3 – Abdul-Hakim | Lloyd Noble Center (4,686) Norman, OK |
| November 20, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | North American | W 92–73 | 2–3 | 20 – Brashear | 12 – Williams | 8 – Abdul-Hakim | UTRGV Fieldhouse (644) Edinburg, TX |
| November 24, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | vs. Hawai'i Acrisure Invitational semifinals | L 57–76 | 2–4 | 18 – Elliott | 13 – Freeman | 2 – Elliott | Acrisure Arena (735) Thousand Palms, CA |
| November 25, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | vs. Arkansas State Acrisure Invitational 3rd place game | L 58–75 | 2–5 | 16 – Howard | 6 – Williams | 3 – Booker | Acrisure Arena (893) Thousand Palms, CA |
| November 29, 2023 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Grand Canyon | L 69–79 | 2–6 (0–1) | 21 – Abdul-Hakim | 8 – Abdul-Hakim | 3 – Tied | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1944) Edinburg, TX |
| December 2, 2023 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Tarleton State | L 75–77 | 2–7 (0–2) | 23 – Abdul-Hakim | 7 – Abdul-Hakim | 4 – Elliott | Wisdom Gymnasium Stephenville, TX |
| December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi South Texas Showdown | W 76–74 | 3–7 | 23 – Freeman | 7 – Freeman | 5 – Elliott | American Bank Center (2,296) Corpus Christi, TX |
| December 15, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi South Texas Showdown | L 76–86 | 3–8 | 23 – Abdul-Hakim | 7 – Freeman | 6 – Booker | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,012) Edinburg, TX |
| December 18, 2023* 7:00 p.m. | at Chicago State | L 68–78 | 3–9 | 17 – Elliott | 7 – Williams | 3 – Booker | Jones Convocation Center (72) Chicago, IL |
| December 30, 2023* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Incarnate Word | W 77–74 | 4–9 | 21 – Elliott | 14 – Williams | 4 – Abdul-Hakim | UTRGV Fieldhouse (718) Edinbrug, TX |
| January 4, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Stephen F. Austin | L 78–85 | 4–10 (0–3) | 26 – Freeman | 11 – Freeman | 7 – Abdul-Hakim | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,031) Edinburg, TX |
| January 6, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Abilene Christian | L 89–91 $^{OT}$ | 4–11 (0–4) | 26 – Abdul-Hakim | 9 – Williams | 8 – Elliott | Moody Coliseum (1,521) Abilene, TX |
| January 11, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Seattle | W 81–80 $^{OT}$ | 5–11 (1–4) | 22 – Freeman | 10 – Freeman | 4 – Abdul-Hakim | UTRGV Fieldhouse (591) Edinburg, TX |
| January 13, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Utah Valley | W 76–68 | 6–11 (2–4) | 14 – Tied | 6 – Williams | 5 – Elliott | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,015) Edinburg, TX |
| January 18, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at UT Arlington | L 73–91 | 6–12 (2–5) | 22 – Elliott | 7 – Elliott | 4 – Elliott | College Park Center (1,824) Arlington, TX |
| January 20, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Tarleton State | L 73–77 | 6–13 (2–6) | 23 – Elliott | 8 – Williams | 7 – Freeman | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,514) Edinburg, TX |
| January 25, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | California Baptist | L 54–63 | 6–14 (2–7) | 18 – Howard | 7 – Seye | 2 – Tied | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,932) Edinburg, TX |
| February 1, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Utah Tech | L 64–81 | 6–15 (2–8) | 19 – Howard | 4 – Horiuk | 2 – Howard | Burns Arena (1,455) St. George, UT |
| February 3, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | at Southern Utah | L 59–79 | 6–16 (2–9) | 18 – Elliott | 7 – Tied | 2 – Jones III | America First Event Center (1,352) Cedar City, UT |
| February 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Stephen F. Austin | L 84–92 | 6–17 (2–10) | 40 – Elliott | 10 – Williams | 4 – Williams | William R. Johnson Coliseum (2,120) Nacogdoches, TX |
| February 15, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Abilene Christian | L 79–87 | 6–18 (2–11) | 24 – Williams | 7 – Abdul-Hakim | 6 – Elliott | UTRGV Fieldhouse (2,041) Edinburg, TX |
| February 17, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | UT Arlington | L 70–89 | 6–19 (2–12) | 15 – Brashear | 6 – Williams | 4 – Williams | UTRGV Fieldhouse (2,766) Edinberg, TX |
| February 22, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Utah Valley | L 59–70 | 6–20 (2–13) | 17 – Williams | 11 – Williams | 5 – Tied | UCCU Center (2,601) Orem, UT |
| February 24, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Seattle | L 56–84 | 6–21 (2–14) | 23 – Elliott | 12 – Williams | 3 – Williams | Redhawk Center (926) Seattle, WA |
| February 29, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at Grand Canyon | L 43–72 | 6–22 (2–15) | 12 – Elliott | 8 – Elliott | 2 – Tied | GCU Arena (7,192) Phoenix, AZ |
| March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | at California Baptist | L 52–88 | 6–23 (2–16) | 21 – Williams | 9 – Williams | 3 – Seye | Fowler Events Center (2,550) Riverside, CA |
| March 7, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Utah Tech | L 74–79 | 6–24 (2–17) | 26 – Elliott | 13 – Williams | 6 – Elliott | UTRGV Fieldhouse (857) Edinburg, TX |
| March 9, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | Southern Utah | L 59–68 | 6–25 (2–18) | 24 – Elliott | 11 – Williams | 4 – Tied | UTRGV Fieldhouse (652) Edinburg, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
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