The 2023–24 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represented the University of Michigan during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The season marked the program's 108th season and its 107th consecutive year as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The Wolverines were led by fifth-year head coach Juwan Howard and played their home games for the 57th consecutive year at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team drew an average home attendance of 11,496 in 2023-24, the 29th highest in college basketball.
The Wolverines finished the season with an 8–24 record, the most losses in program history. They also finished with the second-worst winning percentage in school history, behind the 1959–60 team's 4–20 season. Juwan Howard was fired following the conclusion of the season.
Previous season The Wolverines finished the 2022–23 season 18–16, 11–9 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost to Rutgers in the second round. The Wolverines received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament as the No. 3 seed where they defeated Toledo in the first round before losing to Vanderbilt in the second round.
Offseason Departures On March 23, 2023, freshman forward Jett Howard announced he would forgo his remaining eligibility and declared for the 2023 NBA draft. On March 31, junior big man Hunter Dickinson announced he was entering the transfer portal, he later announced he would transfer to Kansas. On April 2, sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin declared for the NBA draft. On April 6, sophomore guard Isaiah Barnes announced he was transferring to Tulsa. On April 11, graduate student Joey Baker announced he would sign with an agent and pursue a professional career. On May 2, freshman forward Gregg Glenn announced he was transferring to Tulane.
Michigan Departures 11 G 6'7" 200 Chicago, IL Transferred to Tulsa 34 F 6'8" 225 New Canaan, CT Graduated 13 F 6'8" 215 Chicago, IL Declared for NBA draft 1 C 7'1" 260 Alexandria, VA Transferred to Kansas 2 G 6'4" 195 Grand Rapids, MI Declared for NBA draft 15 F 6'7" 205 Fayetteville, NC Graduated 23 F 6'7" 230 Fort Lauderdale, FL Transferred to Tulane
Acquisitions
Incoming transfers After much speculation, point guard Caleb Love originally committed to play his senior season at Michigan. However, just over a month later after committing to Michigan, Love decommitted from the Wolverines and headed back into transfer portal, reportedly due to an issue with transfer credits. Michigan incoming transfers Nimari Burnett 4 SG 6'3" 190 GS Chicago, Illinois Alabama Tray Jackson 2 PF 6'10" 210 GS Detroit, Michigan Seton Hall Olivier Nkamhoua 13 SF 6'8" 205 GS Helsinki, Finland Tennessee
Recruiting classes On October 20, 2022, Michigan received its first class of 2023 commitment from four-star center Papa Kante. On November 1, 2022, Michigan received its second commitment of the 2023 class, four-star shooting guard George Washington III. On April 18, 2023, Kante announced that he requested a release from his National Letter of Intent (NLI) so he could re-open his recruitment.
2023 recruiting class
2024 recruiting class
Roster
Regular season November Michigan began the season on November 7 with a 99–74 victory over UNC Asheville. Michigan was led by Olivier Nkamhoua with a game-high 25 points and seven rebounds, while Dug McDaniel added a career-high 22 points, Terrance Williams II added 15 points and Nimari Burnett added 13 points. Michigan's defense caused 13 turnovers and scored 18 points off of them. On November 10, Michigan defeated Youngstown State 92–62. Michigan was led by Will Tschetter with a career-high 20 points, while Nkamhoua added 17 points and 10 rebounds, for a double-double, McDaniel added 16 points and Williams II added 13 points. George Washington III scored his first career points in the first half of the game. Both Nkamhoua (7-for-7) and Tschetter (8-for-8) went perfect from the field. On November 13, Michigan defeated St. John's 89–73 in the Gavitt Tipoff Games. Michigan was led by McDaniel with a career-high 26 points, six rebounds and seven assists, while Burnett added a career-high 21 points, Williams II added 12 points, Tschetter added 10 points, Nkamhoua added nine points, seven rebounds and four assists, and Tarris Reed added five points, a career-high 11 rebounds and three blocks. Burnett scored all of his 21 points in the first half, shooting eight-for-eight from the field and four-for-four from three-point range. On November 17, Michigan lost to Long Beach State 94–86. Michigan was led by Nkamhoua with 22 points and 11 rebounds, for a double-double, while McDaniel added 20 points, Jackson added 17 points, and Williams II added 10 points. Michigan jumped out to an early 23–7 lead and held Long Beach State to a three-minute scoring drought in the first half. The Beach took their first lead of the game early in the second half, in a game that featured 13 lead changes. Michigan led for 26:45, while LBSU led for only 11:16. On November 22, Michigan lost to Memphis 71–67 in the quarterfinals of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Michigan was led by Nkamhoua with a game-high 18 points, while Burnett added 16 points, McDaniel added 13 points, and Reed added eight points and 12 rebounds. Michigan trailed 37–25 at halftime, and pulled within one point of Memphis with just over four minutes remaining in the game, however, a Tigers three-pointer sealed the game. Michigan outrebounded Memphis 50–28, including 19 offensive rebounds, and scored 15 second-chance points. The next day Michigan defeated Stanford 83–78 in the consolation round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. All five of Michigan's starters finished in double-figures. Michigan was led by McDaniel with 20 points and eight assists, while Williams II added 17 points, Nkamhoua added 16 points, Reed added 11 points, and Burnett added 10 points. Stanford opened the game on a 12–2 run in the first six minutes of play, before Michigan used a 9–0 run to trim the deficit to three points with 7:33 left in the first half. Michigan led 45–44 at halftime. After being down seven early in the half, the Wolverines went on a 22–2 run to take the lead over Stanford, 67–54 heading into the media timeout. After Michigan took a double-digit lead, they went on a three-minute scoring drought and did not make a field goal for eight minutes. The next day Michigan lost to Texas Tech 73–57 in the fifth-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis. Michigan was led by Nkamhoua with 16 points, while McDaniel added 12 points and Williams II added 10 points. For a stretch of over nine minutes early in the first half, the Wolverines shot just one-for-10 from the field, falling behind 24–9.
December On December 2, Michigan lost to Oregon 86–83 in overtime. Michigan was led by McDaniel with a career-high 32 points, while Burnett added 13 points and Nkamhoua added 12 points. Jaelin Llewellyn returned to the lineup for the first time since suffering a season-ending ACL tear against Kentucky on December 4, 2022, and posted two points in 10 minutes. With the game tied at 83, Oregon's Jackson Shelstad made a deep three-pointer with 1.4 seconds remaining. McDaniel's last-second half-court heave short missed, and the Ducks won the game. Michigan recorded a season-best 13 three-pointers during the game. On December 5, Michigan lost to Indiana 78–75 in its Big Ten Conference season opener. Michigan was led by Nkamhoua with a game-high 18 points, while Tschetter added 17 points, McDaniel added 13 points and Williams II added 10 points. The game featured 18 ties, with the teams being tied for a total of 9:53. On December 10, Michigan defeated Iowa 90–80. All five of Michigan's starters finished in double-figures. Michigan was led by Reed with a career-high 19 points and six rebounds, while Burnett added 14 points, Williams II added 13 points, Nkamhoua added 12 points and ten rebounds, for his third double-double of the season, McDaniel added 11 points and Tschetter added ten points. Michigan trailed 35–37 early in the second half, before they responded with an 11–0 run to put the Wolverines ahead, a lead they never relinquished. Michigan tied its season-high with six blocks, while Reed led Michigan with three blocks, his fifth multi-block game of the season. This game marked Tray Jackson's 100th collegiate game. On December 16, Michigan defeated Eastern Michigan 83–66. Michigan was led by Nkamhoua with 17 points, and nine rebounds, while Burnett added 14 points, Williams II added 13 points, Reed Jr. added 13 points off the bench and McDaniel added 11 points. With his nine rebounds in the game, Nkamhoua surpassed 500 career rebounds. On December 19, Michigan lost to Florida 106–101 in double overtime in the Jumpman Invitational. Michigan was led by McDaniel with a career-high tying 33 points, while Nkamhoua added 24 points and 11 rebounds, for his fourth double-double of the season, Williams II added 17 points, Reed added 14 points and Burnett added 10 points. Despite not making a field goal throughout the entire first overtime period, Michigan took a three-point lead in the final minute behind eight free throws. Florida drilled a three-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to tie the game at 89. Florida held Michigan scoreless for more than three minutes during the second overtime while going on a 12–0 run to take a 102–93 lead. The Wolverines pulled within four in the final minute but were unable to overcome the deficit. On December 29, Michigan lost to McNeese 87–76 in their final non-conference regular season game of the season. Michigan was led by Williams II with 20 points, while McDaniel and Nkamhoua added 17 points each, and Tschetter added 11 points.
January