The 2023–24 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers were coached by interim head coach Josh Eilert, and played their home games at the WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia as members of the Big 12 Conference. Following the dismissal of longtime head coach Bob Huggins in the offseason, the Mountaineers finished the season with a 9–23 record (4–14 in Big 12 play), their worst record since the 2001–02 season.
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. 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. The next day, Huggins released a statement announcing his resignation from West Virginia. In the statement, he also announced his retirement.
On June 24, 2023, assistant coach Josh Eilert was promoted to interim head coach after Huggins resigned.
Departures +NamePos.NumberHeightWeightPrevious schoolHometownReason for leaving Kedrian Johnson 0 G 6'3" 185 GS senior Dallas, TX Graduated Emmitt Matthews Jr. 1 F 6'7" 215 GS senior Tacoma, WA Graduated Tre Mitchell 3 C 6'9" 225 Senior Pittsburgh, PA Graduate transferred to Kentucky Jamel King 4 F 6'7" 190 Sophomore Uniontown, AL Transferred to Kennesaw State Joe Toussaint 5 G 6'0" 190 Senior Bronx, NY Graduate transferred to Texas Tech Erik Stevenson 10 G 6'4" 205 GS senior Lacey, WA Graduated Mohamed Wague 11 F 6'10" 225 Sophomore Bronx, NY Transferred to Alabama Josiah Davis 12 G 6'3" 190 Freshman Kitchener, ON Transferred to Tennessee Tech Jimmy Bell Jr. 15 F 6'10" 295 Senior Saginaw, MI Graduate transferred to Mississippi State James Oknokwo 32 F 6'8" 230 Sophomore Maidenhead, England Transferred to North Carolina
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Noah Farrakhan 1 G 6'2" 162 Junior Hillside, NJ Eastern Michigan Kerr Kriisa 3 G 6'3" 190 Senior Tartu, Estonia Arizona Jeremiah Bembry 5 F 6'6" 185 RS freshman Brooklyn, NY Florida State Jesse Edwards 7 C 6'11" 230 GS senior Amsterdam, Netherlands Syracuse Quinn Slazinski 11 F 6'9" 215 GS senior Houston, TX Iona Akok Akok 13 F 6'9" 205 GS senior Manchester, NH Georgetown RaeQuan Battle 21 G 6'5" 190 Senior Tulalip, WA Montana State
Recruiting classes 2023 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Big 12 regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Big 12 tournament
Source
References