2023–24 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team

2023–24 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball
2023–24 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball
Conference	Horizon League
Record	20–15 (12–8 Horizon)
Head coach	Bart Lundy (2nd season);
Assistant coaches	Jake Williams; Ben Walker; Jose Winston;
Home arena	UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena; Klotsche Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by second-year head coach Bart Lundy, played their home games at the UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and select games at the on-campus Klotsche Center as members of the Horizon League.

2023–24 Horizon League men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Oakland †	15	–	5	.750	24	–	12	.667
Youngstown State	14	–	6	.700	22	–	10	.688
Green Bay	13	–	7	.650	18	–	14	.563
Wright State	13	–	7	.650	18	–	14	.563
Northern Kentucky	12	–	8	.600	18	–	15	.545
Milwaukee	12	–	8	.600	20	–	15	.571
Cleveland State	11	–	9	.550	21	–	15	.583
Purdue Fort Wayne	11	–	9	.550	23	–	13	.639
Robert Morris	6	–	14	.300	10	–	22	.313
IUPUI	2	–	18	.100	6	–	26	.188
Detroit Mercy	1	–	19	.050	1	–	31	.031

† 2024 Horizon League tournament winner

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2022–23 season in second place in the Horizon League with a record of 22–12, including 14–6 in conference play. They received a first-round bye in the Horizon League tournament, defeating seventh-seeded Wright State in the quarterfinals at the Klotsche Center before losing to third-seeded Cleveland State in Indianapolis in the semifinals. The Panthers were invited to the 2023 College Basketball Invitational as the eleventh-seeded team. They upset sixth-seeded Stetson in overtime in the first round before losing to eventual champions Charlotte in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures

Milwaukee departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Keon Edwards	35	G	6'8"	210	Sophomore	Houston, TX	Transferred to Northeastern State
Jalen Johnson	24	F	6'7"	230	RS Junior	Indianapolis, IN	Transferred to Grambling State
Vincent Miszkiewicz	20	F	6'7"	220	Sophomore	Elgin, IL	Transferred to Keiser
Justin Thomas	25	G	6'7"	179	Sophomore	Baton Rouge, LA	Dismissed from team^[1] Transferred to UTSA
Brian Taylor II	0	G	6'4"	184	Freshman	St. Louis, MO	Transferred to SIU Edwardsville
Jordan Ratliffe	4	G	5'10"	189	RS Sr	Gibson, NC	Graduated
Vin Baker Jr.	11	G/F	6'9"	190	RS Sr	Old Saybrook, CT	Graduated Played for the Milwaukee Bucks' 2023 NBA Summer League team^[2]
Ahmad Rand	23	F	6'8"	195	RS Sr	Lincolnton, GA	Graduated
Moses Bol	33	C	7'1"	225	RS Sr	Wau, South Sudan	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Milwaukee incoming transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Learic Davis	11	G	6'7"	190	RS Freshman	Milwaukee, WI	Tennessee State
Darius Duffy	34	F	6'8"	225	Junior	Murray, KY	Ranger College
Faizon Fields	22	F	6'10"	220	Junior	Memphis, TN	Old Dominion
Aaron Franklin	25	G	6'5"	210	RS Sophomore	Raytown, MO	Hutchinson CC
Erik Pratt	8	G	6'5"	185	RS Junior	Lake Worth, FL	Texas A&M
Pierce Spencer	0	G	6'3"	175	RS Junior	Montgomery, TX	Nicholls
Langston Wilson	13	F	6'9"	215	Graduate	Upper Darby, PA	Washington

2023 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Maurice Thomas G	Chicago, IL	DePaul College Prep	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jun 12, 2023
Maurice Thomas G	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
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. Retrieved May 8, 2023.

Preseason

The Panthers were picked to finish in second place in the Horizon League preseason coaches poll, only behind Northern Kentucky, receiving a total of 397 points and 10 first-place votes. Guard BJ Freeman was selected to the Preseason First-Team All-Horizon League.^[3]

Roster

2023–24 Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Pierce Spencer	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Jr	Nicholls	Porter, TX
G	2	Elijah Jamison	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	So	Liberty Heights HS	Louisburg, NC
G	3	Zach Howell	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	So	Springfield Catholic	Springfield, MO
F	4	Kentrell Pullian	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Eastern New Mexico	Benton Harbor, MI
G	5	Angelo Stuart	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Sr	Hutchinson CC	Queens, NY
G	8	Erik Pratt	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	RS Jr	Texas A&M	Lake Worth, FL
G/F	10	BJ Freeman	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Dodge City CC	Selma, NC
G	11	Learic Davis	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	RS Fr	Tennessee State	Milwaukee, WI
G	13	Langston Wilson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	GS	Washington	Upper Darby Township, PA
F	15	Simeon Murchison (W)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Milwaukee Hamilton HS	Milwaukee, WI
G	17	Makuei Riek (W)	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Mayo HS	Rochester, MN
G	20	Maurice Thomas	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	DePaul College Prep	Chicago, IL
F	21	Vinko Polovic (W)	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS Fr	Bosco Institute	Milwaukee, WI
F	22	Faizon Fields	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Old Dominion	Memphis, TN
G	25	Aaron Franklin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS So	Hutchinson CC	Kansas City, MO
G	27	Dominic Ham (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	Georgia Highlands	Atlanta, GA
F	34	Darius Duffy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Ranger	Murray, KY

Head coach

Bart Lundy (Lenoir–Rhyne)

Assistant coach(es)

Jake Williams (Middle Tennessee)
Ben Walker (Creighton)
Jose Winston (Milwaukee)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 18, 2024

Mid-season changes

On December 18, 2023, the team dismissed junior guard Markeith Browning II, who appeared in 54 games for the Panthers, including all 11 this season.^[4]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		UW-Stout	W 91–73	1–0	18 – Stuart	12 – Pullian	7 – Browning	Klotsche Center (1,297) Milwaukee, WI
November 11, 2023* 5:00 p.m., FS2		at Providence	L 69–79	1–1	31 – Freeman	10 – Freeman	3 – Pullian	Amica Mutual Pavilion (12,090) Providence, RI
November 14, 2023* 8:00 p.m., P12N		at No. 25 Colorado Sunshine Slam campus-site game	L 79–106	1–2	15 – Howell	6 – Pullian	5 – Freeman	CU Events Center (6,181) Boulder, CO
November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Luther	W 85–56	2–2	23 – Freeman	6 – tied	5 – Pullian	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,373) Milwaukee, WI
November 20, 2023* 12:30 p.m., FloSports		vs. Stetson Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket semifinals	L 67–85	2–3	20 – Freeman	5 – tied	3 – Freeman	Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
November 21, 2023* 7:30 p.m., FloSports		vs. Siena Sunshine Slam Ocean Bracket consolation game	W 61–59	3–3	18 – Freeman	7 – Fields	4 – Freeman	Ocean Center (1,502) Daytona Beach, FL
November 25, 2023* 1:30 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Miss	L 86–90	3–4	21 – Pullian	9 – Fields	6 – Browning II	Klotsche Center (1,605) Milwaukee, WI
December 2, 2023 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Green Bay	L 58–70	3–5 (0–1)	25 – Browning II	11 – Franklin	1 – tied	Resch Center (2,320) Ashwaubenon, WI
December 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SLN		at St. Thomas	L 71–75	3–6 (0–1)	17 – Pratt	6 – Pullian	6 – Pullian	Schoenecker Arena (1,316) St. Paul, MN
December 9, 2023* 4:00 p.m.		at UC Davis	W 81–79	4–6 (0–1)	18 – Pratt	6 – Franklin	4 – Pratt	University Credit Union Center (1,143) Davis, CA
December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Longwood	L 67–80	4–7	12 – Pratt	6 – Franklin	2 – tied	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,551) Milwaukee, WI
December 22, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		Chattanooga	W 85–83 ^OT	5–7	29 – Pratt	10 – Duffy	8 – Jamison	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,501) Milwaukee, WI
December 29, 2023 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Robert Morris	W 78–75	6–7 (1–1)	28 – Pullian	9 – Duffy	3 – Pratt	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,722) Milwaukee, WI
December 31, 2023 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Wright State	W 91–83	7–7 (2–1)	23 – Freeman	6 – tied	6 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,794) Milwaukee, WI
January 4, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Oakland	L 95–100	7–8 (2–2)	21 – Pullian	12 – Fields	7 – Jamison	Athletics Center O'rena (2,248) Rochester, MI
January 6, 2024 12:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Detroit Mercy	W 84–61	8–8 (3–2)	20 – Pratt	9 – Freeman	4 – Freeman	Calihan Hall (889) Detroit, MI
January 12, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Cleveland State	W 88–80	9–8 (4–2)	21 – Pratt	14 – Wilson	5 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,431) Milwaukee, WI
January 18, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Northern Kentucky	L 72–90	9–9 (4–3)	22 – Jamison	7 – Pullian	7 – Freeman	Truist Arena (3,405) Highland Heights, KY
January 20, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Wright State	L 81–95	9–10 (4–4)	17 – Freeman	9 – Pratt	3 – tied	Nutter Center (5,398) Dayton, OH
January 25, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Detroit Mercy	W 87–71	10–10 (5–4)	22 – Freeman	11 – Freeman	5 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,341) Milwaukee, WI
January 27, 2024 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		Oakland	L 87–91 ^2OT	10–11 (5–5)	27 – Pullian	16 – Fields	9 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,729) Milwaukee, WI
February 1, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Purdue Fort Wayne	W 68–65	11–11 (6–5)	26 – Freeman	12 – Fields	4 – Freeman	Hilliard Gates Sports Center (903) Fort Wayne, IN
February 4, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		IUPUI	W 87–67	12–11 (7–5)	16 – tied	12 – Fields	6 – Freeman	Klotsche Center (1,616) Milwaukee, WI
February 8, 2024 5:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Youngstown State	L 85–97 ^OT	12–12 (7–6)	24 – Freeman	16 – Fields	5 – tied	Beeghly Center (3,046) Youngstown, OH
February 10, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Robert Morris	L 60–71	12–13 (7–7)	23 – Freeman	7 – tied	2 – tied	UPMC Events Center (1,084) Moon Township, PA
February 14, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cleveland State	W 71–68	13–13 (8–7)	17 – Fields	12 – Pullian	3 – tied	Wolstein Center (1,281) Cleveland, OH
February 17, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Northern Kentucky	W 73–72	14–13 (9–7)	26 – Freeman	11 – tied	5 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,509) Milwaukee, WI
February 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Youngstown State	L 80–84 ^OT	14–14 (9–8)	22 – Freeman	10 – Fields	8 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,296) Milwaukee, WI
February 25, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Purdue Fort Wayne	W 96–88	15–14 (10–8)	38 – Freeman	6 – tied	4 – tied	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (2,194) Milwaukee, WI
February 28, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at IUPUI	W 75–70	16–14 (11–8)	22 – Freeman	10 – Freeman	2 – tied	Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,180) Indianapolis, IN
March 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		Green Bay	W 90–69	17–14 (12–8)	22 – Freeman	11 – Freeman	6 – Freeman	UW-Milwaukee Panther Arena (4,037) Milwaukee, WI
Horizon League tournament
March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(6)	(11) Detroit Mercy First round	W 83–79	18–14	30 – Freeman	10 – Freeman	5 – tied	Klotsche Center (1,558) Milwaukee, WI
March 7, 2024 9:00 p.m., ESPN+	(6)	at (3) Green Bay Quarterfinals	W 95–84	19–14	32 – Freeman	10 – Freeman	5 – Freeman	Kress Events Center (2,394) Green Bay, WI
March 11, 2024 8:30 p.m., ESPN2	(6)	vs. (5) Northern Kentucky Semifinals	W 82–75	20–14	27 – Freeman	16 – Fields	4 – Jamison	Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN
March 12, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN	(6)	vs. (1) Oakland Championship	L 76–83	20–15	16 – Pratt	9 – Franklin	6 – Jamison	Indiana Farmers Coliseum Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source:^[5]

References

^ Rosiak, Todd (April 10, 2023). "Difficult departure: Sophomore wing man Justin Thomas dismissed from UWM Panthers". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved May 3, 2023.
^ "Bucks 2023 summer league capsules". Bally Sports. July 5, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
^ White, Rachel (October 17, 2023). "Northern Kentucky Takes Top Spot in 2023-24 Under Armour #HLMBB Preseason Poll". horizonleague.org. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
^ Rosiak, Todd (December 18, 2023). "UW-Milwaukee guard Markeith Browning II is dismissed from team". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Milwaukee Panthers. Retrieved September 18, 2024.

[1] Rosiak, Todd (April 10, 2023). "Difficult departure: Sophomore wing man Justin Thomas dismissed from UWM Panthers". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. Retrieved May 3, 2023.

[2] "Bucks 2023 summer league capsules". Bally Sports. July 5, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.

[3] White, Rachel (October 17, 2023). "Northern Kentucky Takes Top Spot in 2023-24 Under Armour #HLMBB Preseason Poll". horizonleague.org. Retrieved October 17, 2023.

[4] Rosiak, Todd (December 18, 2023). "UW-Milwaukee guard Markeith Browning II is dismissed from team". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2023.

[5] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Milwaukee Panthers. Retrieved September 18, 2024.

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