2022–23 Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball team

The 2022–23 Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball team represented Sam Houston State University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearkats, led by 13th-year head coach Jason Hooten, played their home games at the Bernard Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas as second-year members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 26–8, 14–4 in WAC play to finish in second place. They defeated California Baptist in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament before losing to Grand Canyon in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the National Invitation Tournament. There they defeated Santa Clara before losing to eventual champion North Texas in the second round.

2022–23 Sam Houston Bearkats men's basketball
NIT, Second Round
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	26–8 (14–4 WAC)
Head coach	Jason Hooten (13th season)
Associate head coach	Chris Mudge
Assistant coaches	Justin Bailey Mike Ekanem
Home arena	Bernard Johnson Coliseum
Seasons ← 2021–22 2023–24 →

2022–23 WAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Utah Valley	15	–	3		.833			28	–	9		.757
Sam Houston	14	–	4		.778			26	–	8		.765
Southern Utah	12	–	6		.667			24	–	13		.649
Grand Canyon †	11	–	7		.611			24	–	12		.667
Seattle	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Stephen F. Austin	11	–	7		.611			19	–	13		.594
Tarleton*	9	–	9		.500			17	–	17		.500
California Baptist	8	–	10		.444			17	–	16		.515
Abilene Christian	7	–	11		.389			13	–	17		.433
UT Rio Grande Valley	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
UT Arlington	6	–	12		.333			11	–	21		.344
Utah Tech*	5	–	13		.278			14	–	19		.424
New Mexico State**	2	–	16		.111			9	–	15		.375
* Ineligible for the NCAA tournament due to transition from Division II
** Season cancelled on February 11, 2023.
† Conference tournament winner

On March 24, 2023, head coach Jason Hooten left the school to take the head coaching position at New Mexico State.^[1] On April 3, the school named assistant coach Chris Mudge the team's new head coach.^[2]

Previous season

The Bearkats finished the 2021–22 season 19–14, 13–5 in WAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place.^[3] In the WAC tournament, they defeated California Baptist in the second round,^[4] before falling to Grand Canyon in the third round.^[5]

Roster

2022–23 Sam Houston State Bearkats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Ronald Mitchell Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania F 1 Kaosi Ezeagu 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr Brampton, Ontario G 2 Qua Grant 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr DeSoto, Texas G 3 Lamar Wilkerson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Ashdown, Arkansas G 4 Anthony Wrzeszcz 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Gdynia, Poland G 5 Jacoby Bishop 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So New Waverly, Texas G 10 Damon Nicholas Jr. 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Duncanville, Texas G 11 Javion May 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Chicago, Illinois F 12 Tristan Ikpe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Deer Park, Texas G 13 Jaden Ray 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Midwest City, Oklahoma G 24 Donte Powers 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Starkville, Mississippi F 25 Cameron Huefner 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Adelaide, Australia F/C 33 Giovanni Emejuru 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 270 lb (122 kg) RS Fr Leicester, United Kingdom F 40 Kian Scroggins 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Raymore, Missouri	Head coach Jason Hooten (Tarleton State) Assistant coach(es) Chris Mudge (Texas) Justin Bailey (UT Permian Basin) Mike Ekanem (Texas Lutheran) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 15, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 7, 2022* 7:00 pm, Big 12 Now		at Oklahoma	W 52–51	1–0	Lloyd Noble Center (6,198) Norman, OK
November 10, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Southwestern Adventist	W 120–33	2–0	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,892) Huntsville, TX
November 14, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		LeTourneau	W 84–48	3–0	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,320) Huntsville, TX
November 17, 2022* 8:00 pm, P12N		at Utah Fort Myers Tip-Off campus-site game	W 65–55	4–0	Jon M. Huntsman Center (5,503) Salt Lake City, UT
November 22, 2022* 11:00 am		vs. Northern Illinois Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Semifinals	W 88–54	5–0	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (244) Fort Myers, FL
November 23, 2022* 12:30 pm		vs. South Dakota Fort Myers Tip-Off Palms Championship	W 80–49	6–0	Suncoast Credit Union Arena (340) Fort Myers, FL
November 28, 2022* 9:00 pm, MW Network		at Nevada	L 60–78	6–1	Lawlor Events Center  Reno, NV
December 3, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Dallas Christian	W 111–58	7–1	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,127) Huntsville, TX
December 6, 2022* 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Oklahoma State	L 51–65	7–2	Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,368) Stillwater, OK
December 14, 2022* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Louisiana–Monroe	W 79–53	8–2	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (871) Monroe, LA
December 17, 2022* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Texas State	W 69–62	9–2	Strahan Arena (1,329) San Marcos, TX
December 20, 2022* 4:30 pm, ESPN+		Arlington Baptist	W 107–26	10–2	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (731) Huntsville, TX
December 22, 2022* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Missouri State	Canceled^[6]		Great Southern Bank Arena  Springfield, MO
WAC regular season
December 29, 2022 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Utah Valley	L 64–80	10–3 (0–1)	UCCU Center (1,911) Orem, UT
December 31, 2022 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at New Mexico State	W 75–62	11–3 (1–1)	Pan American Center (4,705) Las Cruces, NM
January 5, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Grand Canyon	L 68–72 ^OT	11–4 (1–2)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (777) Huntsville, TX
January 7, 2023 4:30 pm, ESPN+		Tarleton	W 75–68	12–4 (2–2)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,702) Huntsville, TX
January 12, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Southern Utah	L 74–86	12–5 (2–3)	America First Event Center (2,178) Cedar City, UT
January 14, 2023 8:00 pm, ESPN+		at Utah Tech	W 78–53	13–5 (3–3)	Burns Arena (1,689) St. George, UT
January 19, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Stephen F. Austin	W 76–71	14–5 (4–3)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (3,686) Huntsville, TX
January 21, 2023 4:30 pm, ESPN+		Texas–Rio Grande Valley	W 83–64	15–5 (5–3)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,674) Huntsville, TX
January 26, 2023 7:30 pm, ESPN+		Seattle	W 55–40	16–5 (6–3)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,845) Huntsville, TX
February 1, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Texas–Rio Grande Valley	W 67-65	17-5 (7-3)	UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,018) Edinburg, TX
February 4, 2023 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at UT Arlington	L 58–70	17–6 (7–4)	College Park Center (1,691) Arlington, TX
February 11, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Abilene Christian	W 77–62	18–6 (8–4)	Moody Coliseum  Abilene, TX
February 15, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		UT Arlington	W 66–56	19–6 (9–4)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,332) Huntsville, TX
February 18, 2023 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Tarleton	W 64–59	20–6 (10–4)	Wisdom Gym (2,367) Stephenville, TX
February 23, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		California Baptist	W 56–45	21–6 (11–4)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,613) Huntsville, TX
February 25, 2023 4:30 pm, ESPN+		Southern Utah	W 64–57	22–6 (12–4)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,772) Huntsville, TX
March 1, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	W 64–59 ^OT	23–6 (13–4)	William R. Johnson Coliseum (4,189) Nacogdoches, TX
March 3, 2023 6:30 pm, ESPN+		Abilene Christian	W 72–54	24–6 (14–4)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum (1,866) Huntsville, TX
WAC tournament
March 9, 2023 12:00 pm, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (8) California Baptist Quarterfinals	W 64–51	25–6	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
March 10, 2023 6:00 pm, ESPN+	(1)	vs. (5) Grand Canyon Semifinals	L 75–78	25–7	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
NIT
March 15, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	(3)	at Santa Clara First Round – Oklahoma State Bracket	W 58–56	26–7	Leavey Center (1,203) Santa Clara, CA
March 19, 2023 3:00 pm, ESPN+	(3)	at (2) North Texas Second Round – Oklahoma State Bracket	L 55–75	26–8	The Super Pit (3,130) Denton, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources^[7][8]

References

1. "Sam Houston's Hooten to coach New Mexico St". ESPN.com. March 25, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
2. Weaver, Morgan. "Sam Houston will hire Chris Mudge as its next head basketball coach". www.kbtx.com. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
3. "2021-22 WAC Men's Basketball Standings". Western Athletic Conference. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
4. "Kats unload on CBU to open WAC tourney". Sam Houston. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
5. "Woods leads clutch close, puts GCU in semis". Grand Canyon University Athletics. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
6. "Men's Basketball Game vs. Sam Houston Canceled". Missouri State. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
7. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Schedule". Sam Houston. Retrieved January 15, 2023.
8. "2022-23 Sam Houston Bearkats Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2023.