2023–24 Horizon League men's basketball season

The 2023–24 Horizon League men's basketball season began with practices in September 2023 and ended with the 2024 Horizon League men's basketball tournament in March 2024. This was the 44th season for Horizon League men's basketball.

This was the final season for Horizon League member IUPUI as an institution. The Indiana University and Purdue University systems dissolved IUPUI at the end of the 2023–24 school year, replacing it with separate IU- and Purdue-affiliated institutions. The IUPUI athletic program transferred to the new IU Indianapolis (branded athletically as IU Indy), maintaining its NCAA Division I and Horizon League memberships.

Head coaches Coaching changes On January 31, 2023, Green Bay fired head coach Will Ryan after three seasons and a 2–19 start. Assistant coach Freddie Owens was named interim head coach. On March 14, the Phoenix hired Wyoming assistant coach Sundance Wicks as their new head coach.

Coaches TeamHead coachPrevious jobSeasonOverallrecordHorizonrecordNCAATournaments Cleveland StateDaniyal RobinsonIowa State (asst.)2nd 0 Detroit MercyMike DavisTexas Southern6th0 Green BaySundance WicksWyoming (asst.)1st0 IUPUIMatt CrenshawBall State (asst.)3rd0 MilwaukeeBart LundyQueens2nd 0 Northern KentuckyDarrin HornTexas (asst.)5th2 OaklandGreg KampeToledo (asst.)40th0 Purdue Fort WayneJon CoffmanIPFW (asst.)10th0 Robert MorrisAndrew TooleRobert Morris (asst.)14th2 Wright StateScott NagySouth Dakota State8th2 Youngstown StateJerrod CalhounFairmont State7th0 Notes:

Season number includes 2023–24 season. Records are prior to 2023–24 season.

Preseason Preseason coaches poll 2023-24 Horizon League Preseason Coaches PollRankTeam (First Place Votes)Points1.Northern Kentucky (18)4352.Milwaukee (10)3973.Wright State (12)3924.Cleveland State (1)3625.Youngstown State (3)3426.Oakland2807.Robert Morris1868.Purdue Fort Wayne1669.Detroit Mercy13210.IUPUI11611.Green Bay96

Preseason All-Horizon League First teamSecond teamTristan Enaruna, Cleveland StateJlynn Counter, IUPUIBJ Freeman, MilwaukeeSam Vinson, Northern KentuckyMarques Warrick, Northern KentuckyTanner Holden, Wright StateTrey Townsend, OaklandBrandon Noel, Wright StateTrey Calvin, Wright StateBrandon Rush, Youngstown StatePreseason Player of the Year: Trey Calvin, Wright State

Regular season Player of the Week awards

Week Player of the Week Freshman of the Week1Rasheed Bello, Purdue Fort WayneCorey Hadnot II, Purdue Fort Wayne2Quinton Morton-Robertson, Purdue Fort WayneCorey Hadnot II (2), Purdue Fort Wayne3Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland StateCorey Hadnot II (3), Purdue Fort Wayne4Marques Warrick, Northern KentuckyDrey Carter, Wright State5Ziggy Reid, Youngstown StateGabe Dynes, Youngstown State6Drew Loder, Cleveland StateJeramiah Israel, Northern Kentucky7Tristan Enaruna, Cleveland StateDavid Douglas Jr., Green Bay8Noah Reynolds, Green BayCorey Hadnot II (4), Purdue Fort Wayne9Trey Townsend, OaklandCorey Hadnot II (5), Purdue Fort Wayne10Noah Reynolds (2), Green BayDavid Douglas Jr. (2), Grren Bay11Marques Warrick (2), Northern KentuckyMarcus Hall, Green Bay12Trey Calvin, Wright StateDavid Douglas Jr. (3), Green Bay13BJ Freeman, MilwaukeeDavid Douglas Jr. (4), Green BayBlake Lampman, Oakland14Preston Ruedinger, Green BayRandall Pettus II, Northern Kentucky15Jack Gohlke, OaklandRandall Pettus II (2), Northern Kentucky16https://horizonleague.org/news/2024/2/26/mens-basketball-under-armour-hlmbb-players-of-the-week-february-26.aspxBJ Freeman, Milwaukee (2)Gabe Dynes (2), Youngstown StateBrandon Noel, Wright State

School Cleveland State30 Detroit Mercy00 Green Bay35IUPUI00Milwaukee2023Oakland30 25Robert Morris00Wright State21Youngstown State12

Conference matrix CSU DET GB IUPUI MKE NKU OAK PFW RMU WSU YSUvs. Cleveland State–0–22–00–22–01–11–10–20–22–01–1vs. Detroit Mercy2–0–2–01–12–02–02–02–02–02–02–0vs. Green Bay0–20–2–0–21–12–01–12–00–20–21–1vs. IUPUI2–01–12–0–2–02–02–01–12–02–02–0vs. Milwaukee0–20–21–10–2–1–12–00–21–11–12–0vs. Northern Kentucky1–10–20–20–21–1–1–12–00–22–01–1vs. Oakland1–10–21–10–20–21–1–1–10–21–10–2vs. Purdue Fort Wayne2–00–20–21–12–00–21–1–1–11–11–1vs. Robert Morris2–00–22–00–21–12–02–01–1–2–02–0vs. Wright State0–20–22–00–21–10–21–11–10–2–2–0vs. Youngstown State1–10–21–10–20–21–12–01–10–20–2–Total11–91–1913–72–1812–812–815–511–96–1413–714–6

Early season tournaments The following table summarizes the multiple-team events (MTE) or early-season tournaments in which teams from the Horizon League will participate. +TeamTournamentLocationDatesFinishCleveland StateViking InvitationalCleveland, OHNovember 22–251stDetroit MercyCincinnati/Ole Miss MTECincinnati, OHUniversity, MSNovember 10–14N/AGreen BayMontana State MTEBozeman, MTNovember 20–22N/AIUPUIRock Hill ClassicRock Hill, SCNovember 17–19N/AMilwaukeeSunshine SlamDaytona Beach, FLNovember 20–213rdNorthern KentuckyNKU Thanksgiving TournamentHighland Heights, KYNovember 24–261stOaklandCayman Islands ClassicGeorge Town, Cayman IslandsNovember 19–215thPurdue Fort WayneArizona Tip-OffGlendale, AZNovember 17–191stRobert MorrisUrban-Bennett Memorial ClassicMoon Township, PANovember 24–26N/AWright StateGulf Coast ShowcaseEstero, FLNovember 21–233rdYoungstown StateLake Erie ClassicYoungstown, OHPainsville, OHNovember 17–19N/A

Postseason Horizon League tournament

The conference tournament will be played from March 5 to March 12, 2023. The first round and quarterfinals are hosted at campus sites, while the semifinals and finals are held at Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Indiana. Teams are seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary. The top five teams receive a bye to the quarterfinals and the bracket is re-seeded after every round.

NCAA Tournament As the conference champion, Oakland received an automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight Final Four Championship14SouthOakland― defeated (3) Kentucky 80–76lost to (11) NC State 73–79 (OT)――――

College Basketball Invitational Cleveland State accepted a bid to the 2024 College Basketball Invitational after finishing as semifinalists in the conference tournament. Seed School First round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals9Cleveland State defeated (8) Northern Colorado 51–49 lost to (1) High Point 74–93 − −

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament Purdue Fort Wayne accepted a bid to the 2024 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament after finishing as quarterfinalists in the conference tournament. Bracket School First round Quarterfinals Semifinals FinalsJim Phelan ClassicPurdue Fort Wayne − defeated Bowling Green 77–75 defeated Tarleton State 73–72 lost to Norfolk State 67–75

National awards Midseason watchlists Below is a table of notable midseason watch lists. PlayerHensonRasheed Bello, Purdue Fort WayneTrey Townsend, OaklandWinnerMarques Warrick, Northern Kentucky

Conference awards 2024 Horizon League Men's Basketball Individual Awards Award Recipient(s)Player of the YearTrey Townsend, OaklandCoach of the YearSundance Wicks, Green BayDefensive Player of the YearTrey Robinson, Northern KentuckySixth Man of the YearJack Gohlke, OaklandFreshman of the YearDavid Douglas Jr., Green BayNewcomer of the YearNoah Reynolds, Green BaySportsmanship AwardMarques Warrick, Northern kentuckyReference:

2024 Horizon Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams First Team Second Team Third Team Defensive Team Freshman TeamTristan Enaruna, CSUNoah Reynolds, GBMarques Warrick, NKUTrey Townsend, OAKTrey Calvin, WSUBJ Freeman, MKEBlake Lampman, OAKBrandon Noel, WSUDJ Burns, YSUZiggy Reid, YSURasheed Bello, PFWJalen Jackson, PFWMarkeese Hastings, RMUTanner Holden, WSUBrett Thompson, YSUTrey Robinson, NKURasheed Bello, PFWAnthony Roberts, PFWDJ Burns, YSUGabe Dynes, YSUDavid Douglas Jr., GBMarcus Hall, GBRandall Pettus II, NKUCorey Hadnot II, PFWGabe Dynes, YSU

2024 Horizon Men's BasketballAll-Tournament TeamTrey Townsend, OAKJack Gohlke, OAKFaizon Fields, MKEBJ Freeman, MKETrey Robinson, NKU Bold denotes MVP

Attendance Average home attendances Note: Figures include conference tournament #TeamCumulativeHighLowAvg.1Wright State1665,0695,8603,1384,0672Northern Kentucky1549,0524,9352,3403,2703Youngstown State1743,1836,0011,4302,5404Oakland1335,7153,7211,0002,7475Green Bay1434,1615,4901,3792,4406Milwaukee1632,5544,0371,2972,0357Cleveland State1728,3852,3991,2811,6708Purdue Fort Wayne1620,0741,8868161,2559Robert Morris1614,7911,55562592410IUPUI1414,6754,8675481,04811Detroit Mercy179,0611,211420824Total165346,7206,0014202,101

References