2023–24 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2023–24 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big East Conference. Led by Sean Miller in the second season of his second stint after coaching the Musketeers from 2004 to 2009, they played their home games at the Cintas Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

2023–24 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
NIT, First Round
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record16–18 (9–11 Big East)
Head coach
Associate head coachAdam Cohen (2nd season)
Assistant coaches
  • Dante Jackson (6th season)
  • David Miller (2nd season)
Home arenaCintas Center
Seasons
2023–24 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 UConn 18 2   .900 37 3   .925
No. 13 Creighton 14 6   .700 25 10   .714
No. 12 Marquette 14 6   .700 27 10   .730
Seton Hall 13 7   .650 25 12   .676
St. John's 11 9   .550 20 13   .606
Villanova 10 10   .500 18 16   .529
Providence 10 10   .500 21 14   .600
Butler 9 11   .450 18 15   .545
Xavier 9 11   .450 16 18   .471
Georgetown 2 18   .100 9 23   .281
DePaul 0 20   .000 3 29   .094
2024 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

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The Musketeers finished the 2022–23 season 23–8, 15–5 in Big East play, to finish in second place. In the Big East tournament, they defeated DePaul and Creighton to reach the championship game, where they were defeated by Marquette. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they defeated Kennesaw State and Pittsburgh to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2017. There they were defeated by Texas, bringing their season to a close with a final record of 27–10.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Souley Boum 0 G 6'3" 175 GS Senior Oakland, CA Graduated
Colby Jones 3 G 6'6" 205 Junior Birmingham, AL Declare for 2023 NBA draft; selected 34th overall by Charlotte Hornets
Cesare Edwards 4 F 6'9" 225 Sophomore Hartsville, SC Transferred to Missouri State
Adam Kunkel 5 G 6'4" 185 GS Senior Hebron, KY Graduated
KyKy Tandy 15 G 6'2" 190 Senior Hopkinsville, KY Graduate transferred to Jacksonville State
Dieonte Miles 22 F 7'0" 240 RS Junior Walton, KY Transferred to Morehead State
Jack Nunge 24 F 7'0" 245 RS Senior Newburgh, IN Graduated
Elijah Tucker 34 F 6'7" 214 Sophomore Canton, GA Transferred to Longwood

Incoming transfers

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Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Quincy Olivari 8 G 6'3" 200 Senior Atlanta, GA Rice
Dayvion McKnight 20 G 6'1" 195 Senior Shelbyville, KY Western Kentucky
Abou Ousmane 24 F 6'10" 230 Senior Brooklyn, NY North Texas
Logan Duncomb 51 C 6'10" 241 Junior Cincinnati, OH Indiana

Note: After transferring to Xavier, Duncomb decided to step away from basketball for health reasons. He will remain enrolled at Xavier and complete his degree.[1]

Recruiting classes

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2023 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Trey Green
#18 PG
Charlotte, NC Link Academy 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Aug 6, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 85
Dailyn Swain
#14 SF
Columbus, OH Columbus Africentric High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 2, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 82
Reid Ducharme
#26 SF
Milton, MA Brewster Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Aug 25, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 82
Kachi Nzeh
#69 C
Newtown, PA George School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sep 8, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 76
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:

  • "Xavier 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  • "2023 Xavier Musketeers Recruiting Class". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.
  • "Xavier 2023 Basketball Commits". 247sports.com. Retrieved 2023-09-01.

2024 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2024 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jonathan Powell
#19 SG
Centerville, OH Centerville High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 31, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 81
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:

Roster

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2023–24 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Trey Green 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Prolific Prep (CA) Charlotte, NC
G 1 Desmond Claude 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 203 lb (92 kg) So Putnam Science Academy New Haven, CT
F 2 Jerome Hunter   6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) GS Indiana Columbus, OH
G 3 Dailyn Swain 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Columbus Africentric Early College Columbus, OH
G 8 Quincy Olivari 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Rice Atlanta, GA
G/F 11 Reid Ducharme 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Milton, MA
F 12 Kam Craft 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 211 lb (96 kg) So The Skill Factory (GA) Buffalo Grove, IL
C 15 Kachi Nzeh 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr George School Upper Darby, PA
F 17 Lazar Đjoković 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Crvena Zvezda Gornji Milanovac, Serbia
G 20 Dayvion McKnight 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Sr Western Kentucky Shelbyville, KY
F 21 Saša Ciani 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Cedevita Junior Šempeter pri Gorici, Slovenia
F 24 Abou Ousmane 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr North Texas Brooklyn, NY
G 25 Michael Wolf (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Bridgton Academy Greenwood Village, CO
F 31 Ian Sabourin (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Badin HS Hamilton, OH
F 32 Zach Freemantle   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 227 lb (103 kg) GS Bergen Catholic HS Teaneck, NJ
G 35 Bob Nunge (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Castle HS Newburgh, IN
G 45 Brad Colbert (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Louisville Loveland, OH
F 50 Gytis Nemeikša 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Fr Zalgiris Kaunas II Kaunas, Lithuania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: March 18, 2024

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
8:00 p.m., FS1
Robert Morris W 77–63  1–0
 25  Claude   12  Nemeikša   5  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
November 10, 2023*
6:30 p.m., FS2
Jacksonville W 79–56  2–0
 17  Olivari   8  Ousmane   4  Tied  Cintas Center (10,426)
Cincinnati, OH
November 13, 2023*
8:30 p.m., FS1
at No. 2 Purdue
Gavitt Tipoff Games
L 71–83  2–1
 15  Claude   7  Nemeikša   6  Claude  Mackey Arena (14,876)
West Lafayette, IN
November 18, 2023*
12:00 a.m., ESPN2
vs. Washington
Continental Tire Main Event semifinals
L 71–74  2–2
 20  Nemeikša   9  Olivari   4  Green  T-Mobile Arena (–)
Paradise, NV
November 19, 2023*
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
vs. Saint Mary's
Continental Tire Main Event consolation
W 66–49  3–2
 14  McKnight   6  Ciani   7  Claude  T-Mobile Arena (–)
Paradise, NV
November 24, 2023*
12:00 p.m., FS1
Bryant
Continental Tire Main Event campus site game
W 100–75  4–2
 22  Olivari   8  McKnight   8  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
November 27, 2023*
6:30 p.m., FS1
Oakland L 76–78  4–3
 24  Claude   7  Olivari   8  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,199)
Cincinnati, OH
December 1, 2023*
6:30 p.m., FS1
No. 6 Houston
Big East–Big 12 Battle
L 60–66  4–4
 17  Olivari   8  Nemeikša   4  Olivari  Cintas Center (10,472)
Cincinnati, OH
December 5, 2023*
6:30 p.m., FS1
Delaware L 80–87  4–5
 34  Olivari   8  Ousmane   7  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,035)
Cincinnati, OH
December 9, 2023*
6:30 p.m., FS1
Cincinnati
Crosstown Shootout
W 84–79  5–5
 27  Olivari   11  Ousmane   6  Claude  Cintas Center (10,724)
Cincinnati, OH
December 16, 2023*
7:30 p.m., FS1
Winthrop W 75–59  6–5
 22  Olivari   9  Tied   9  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
Big East regular season
December 20, 2023
7:00 p.m., FS1
at St. John's L 66–81  6–6
(0–1)
 21  Claude   12  Claude   3  Tied  Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
December 23, 2023
2:00 p.m., FS1
Seton Hall W 74–54  7–6
(1–1)
 29  Olivari   10  Ousmane   10  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
January 3, 2024
8:30 p.m., FS1
at Villanova L 65–66  7–7
(1–2)
 14  Olivari   8  Olivari   3  McKnight  Finneran Pavilion (6,501)
Villanova, PA
January 10, 2024
8:30 p.m., FS1
No. 4 UConn L 75–80  7–8
(1–3)
 24  Olivari   11  Ousmane   5  Claude  Cintas Center (10,335)
Cincinnati, OH
January 13, 2024
2:00 p.m., FS1
at Providence W 85–65  8–8
(2–3)
 23  Green   7  Nemeiksa   8  McKnight  Amica Mutual Pavilion (12,348)
Providence, RI
January 16, 2024
6:30 p.m., FS1
Butler W 85–71  9–8
(3–3)
 26  Claude   11  Ousmane   5  Olivari  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
January 19, 2024
6:30 p.m., FS1
Georgetown W 92–91  10–8
(4–3)
 27  Olivari   7  Ousmane   9  Claude  Cintas Center (10,432)
Cincinnati, OH
January 23, 2024
8:30 p.m., FS1
at No. 17 Creighton L 78–85  10–9
(4–4)
 20  Tied   7  Olivari   3  Olivari  CHI Health Center Omaha (17,195)
Omaha, NE
January 28, 2024
12:00 p.m., FS1
at No. 1 UConn L 56–99  10–10
(4–5)
 18  McKnight   6  Ousmane   4  McKnight  XL Center (15,684)
Hartford, CT
January 31, 2024
6:30 p.m., FS1
St. John's W 88–77  11–10
(5–5)
 23  Tied   8  Ousmane   6  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,360)
Cincinnati, OH
February 3, 2024
9:30 p.m., FS1
at DePaul W 93–68  12–10
(6–5)
 43  Olivari   10  Olivari   7  McKnight  Wintrust Arena (3,649)
Chicago, IL
February 7, 2024
7:00 p.m., FS1
Villanova W 56–53  13–10
(7–5)
 14  Olivari   9  Ousmane   7  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,285)
Cincinnati, OH
February 10, 2024
12:30 p.m., FOX
No. 19 Creighton L 71–78  13–11
(7–6)
 22  Claude   8  McKnight   5  Tied  Cintas Center (10,555)
Cincinnati, OH
February 14, 2024
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Seton Hall L 70–88  13–12
(7–7)
 25  Olivari   6  Olivari   5  Ciani  Prudential Center (8,361)
Newark, NJ
February 21, 2024
8:00 p.m., CBSSN
Providence L 75–79  13–13
(7–8)
 22  Claude   13  Ousmane   6  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,224)
Cincinnati, OH
February 25, 2024
5:00 p.m., FS1
at No. 7 Marquette L 64–88  13–14
(7–9)
 16  Green   8  Ousmane   6  McKnight  Fiserv Forum (17,540)
Milwaukee, WI
February 28, 2024
7:00 p.m., FS2
DePaul W 91–58  14–14
(8–9)
 32  Olivari   6  Swain   8  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,136)
Cincinnati, OH
March 2, 2024
7:30 p.m., FS1
at Georgetown W 98–93  15–14
(9–9)
 36  Claude   6  Nzeh   4  Claude  Capital One Arena (7,016)
Washington, D.C.
March 6, 2024
7:00 p.m., CBSSN
at Butler L 66–72  15–15
(9–10)
 17  Claude   10  Ousmane   2  Nzeh  Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,976)
Indianapolis, IN
March 9, 2024
5:00 p.m., FOX
No. 8 Marquette L 80–86  15–16
(9–11)
 32  Olivari   6  Tied   8  McKnight  Cintas Center (10,380)
Cincinnati, OH
Big East tournament
March 13, 2024
4:00 p.m., FS1
(9) vs. (8) Butler
First Round
W 76–72  16–16
 26  Claude   9  Olivari   6  Olivari  Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
March 14, 2024
12:00 p.m., FS1
(9) vs. (1) No. 2 UConn
Quarterfinal
L 60–87  16–17
 17  Olivari   6  Tied   2  Tied  Madison Square Garden 
New York, NY
NIT
March 19, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN
at (4) Georgia
First Round - Wake Forest Bracket
L 76–78  16–18
 30  Claude   10  Ousmane   5  Claude  Stegeman Coliseum (2,756)
Athens, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[2]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
APRV
CoachesRV

References

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