2023–24 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record6–10 (1–2 Big 12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWVU Coliseum
2023–24 Big 12 men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 14 Baylor30 1.000142  .875
Texas Tech30 1.000142  .875
No. 3 Kansas21 .667142  .875
Iowa State21 .667133  .813
TCU21 .667133  .813
Kansas State21 .667124  .750
No. 2 Houston12 .333142  .875
No. 9 Oklahoma12 .333133  .813
Cincinnati12 .333124  .750
No. 25 Texas12 .333124  .750
UCF12 .333105  .667
No. 18 BYU12 .333133  .813
West Virginia12 .333610  .375
Oklahoma State03 .00088  .500
† 2024 Big 12 tournament winner
As of January 13, 2024
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represents West Virginia University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers are coached by interim head coach Josh Eilert, and play their home games at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia as members of the Big 12 Conference.

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.[1] 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.[2] The next day, Huggins released a statement announcing his resignation from West Virginia. In the statement, he also announced his retirement.[3]

On June 24, 2023, assistant coach Josh Eilert was promoted to interim head coach after Huggins resigned.[4][5][6]

Departures

Name Pos. Number Height Weight Previous School Hometown Reason for Leaving
Kedrian Johnson0G6'3"185GS SeniorDallas, TXGraduated
Emmitt Matthews Jr.1F6'7"215GS SeniorTacoma, WAGraduated
Tre Mitchell3C6'9"225SeniorPittsburgh, PAGraduate transferred to Kentucky
Jamel King4F6'7"190SophomoreUniontown, ALTransferred to Kennesaw State
Joe Toussaint5G6'0"190SeniorBronx, NYGraduate transferred to Texas Tech
Erik Stevenson10G6'4"205GS SeniorLacey, WAGraduated
Mohamed Wague11F6'10"225SophomoreBronx, NYTransferred to Alabama
Josiah Davis12G6'3"190FreshmanKitchener, ONTransferred to Tennessee Tech
Jimmy Bell Jr.15F6'10"295SeniorSaginaw, MIGraduate transferred to Mississippi State
James Oknokwo32F6'8"230SophomoreMaidenhead, EnglandTransferred to North Carolina

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Noah Farrakhan1G6'2"162JuniorHillside, NJEastern Michigan
Kerr Kriisa3G6'3"190SeniorTartu, EstoniaArizona
Jeremiah Bembry5F6'6"185RS FreshmanBrooklyn, NYFlorida State
Jesse Edwards7C6'11"230GS SeniorAmsterdam, NetherlandsSyracuse
Quinn Slazinski11F6'9"215GS SeniorHouston, TXIona
Akok Akok13F6'9"205GS SeniorManchester, NHGeorgetown
RaeQuan Battle21G6'5"190SeniorTulalip, WAMontana State

Recruiting classes

2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ofri Naveh
PF
Isreal N/A 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jul 28, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   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.

Roster

2023–24 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 1 Noah Farrakhan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrEastern Michigan Hillside, NJ
G 2 Kobe Johnson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrCanton HS Canton, OH
G 3 Kerr Kriisa 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrArizona Tartu, Estonia
F 5 Jeremiah Bembry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS FrFlorida State Brooklyn, NY
C 7 Jesse Edwards 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)230 lb (104 kg) GSSyracuse Amsterdam, Netherlands
F 9 Ofri Naveh 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)190 lb (86 kg) Fr  Neot Golan, Israel
F 11 Quinn Slazinski 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) GSIona Houston, TX
F 13 Akok Akok 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) GSGeorgetown Manchester, NH
G 14 Seth Wilson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)215 lb (98 kg) JrLorain HS Lorain, OH
G 21 RaeQuan Battle 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) SrMontana State Tulalip, WA
F 22 Josiah Harris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoRichmond Heights HS Canton, OH
F 24 Patrick Suemnick 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrTriton College Green Bay, WI
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

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 Oklahoma     Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
January 20, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+
Kansas     WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
January 23, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
at UCF     Addition Financial Arena 
Orlando, FL
January 27, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Oklahoma State     Gallagher-Iba Arena 
Stillwater, OK
January 31, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
Cincinnati
rivalry
    WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
February 3, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN+
BYU     WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
February 10, 2024
3:00 p.m., LHN
at Texas     Moody Center 
Austin, TX
February 12, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN+
at TCU     Schollmaier Arena 
Fort Worth, TX
February 17, 2024
6:00 p.m., ESPN2
Baylor     WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
February 20, 2024
7:00 p.m., TBD
UCF     WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., TBD
at Iowa State     Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, IA
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPNU
at Kansas State     Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, KS
March 2, 2024
6:00 p.m., TBD
Texas Tech     WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
March 6, 2024
9:00 p.m., TBD
TCU     WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
March 9, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+
at Cincinnati
rivalry
    Fifth Third Arena 
Cincinnati, OH
Big 12 tournament
March 12–16, 2024
TBA
vs. TBA     T-Mobile Center 
Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[7]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: — = Not ranked
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
APNot released
Coaches

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.

References

  1. Jenkins, Jeff (2023-06-17). "Huggins arrested in Pittsburgh on DUI charge; University reviewing incident". WV MetroNews. Retrieved 2023-06-17.
  2. Borzello, Jeff; Thamel, Pete (17 June 2023). "West Virginia's Huggins arrested on DUI charge". ESPN.com.
  3. Thamel, Pete (18 June 2023). "Huggins resigns as WVU coach in wake of arrest". ESPN.com.
  4. Henderson, Cydney. "West Virginia names Josh Eilert interim men's basketball coach after Bob Huggins resigns". USA Today. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  5. "REPORT: Josh Eilert to be Named Interim Head Coach". Sports Illustrated. 24 June 2023. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  6. Norlander, Matt. "West Virginia names assistant Josh Eilert interim head coach for 2023-24 after Bob Huggins' resignation". CBS Sports. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
  7. "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". wvusports.com. Retrieved August 28, 2023.
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