2023–24 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season

The 2023–24 Sun Belt men's basketball season began with practices in October 2023, followed by the start of the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in December 2023, and concluded on March 2, 2024. The 2024 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament took place from March 5–11, 2024, at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Florida.

2023–24 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 6, 2023 – March 1, 2024
Number of teams	14
TV partner(s)	ESPN
2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Regular season champions	Appalachian State
Season MVP	Terrence Edwards Jr., James Madison
Tournament
Champions	James Madison
Runners-up	Arkansas State
Basketball seasons
← 2022–23

2023–24 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Appalachian State	16	–	2		.889			27	–	7		.794
James Madison †	15	–	3		.833			32	–	4		.889
Troy	13	–	5		.722			20	–	12		.625
Arkansas State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	17		.541
Louisiana	10	–	8		.556			19	–	14		.576
Southern Miss	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Georgia State	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
South Alabama	8	–	10		.444			16	–	16		.500
Georgia Southern	8	–	10		.444			9	–	24		.273
Marshall	7	–	11		.389			13	–	20		.394
Texas State	7	–	11		.389			17	–	18		.486
Louisiana–Monroe	6	–	12		.333			11	–	19		.367
Coastal Carolina	5	–	13		.278			9	–	22		.290
Old Dominion	3	–	15		.167			7	–	25		.219
† 2024 Sun Belt tournament winner

Head coaches

Coaching changes

Arkansas State

On March 22, 2023, former Alabama assistant coach Bryan Hodgson was named the new head coach of the Red Wolves.^[1]

Coastal Carolina

Head coach Cliff Ellis retired on December 6, 2023, after 17 seasons with the Chanticleers. Assistant coach Benny Moss was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.^[2]

Georgia Southern

After head coach Brian Burg left to coach Ole Miss, on March 14, 2023, former Alabama assistant coach Charlie Henry was named head coach.^[3]

Old Dominion

Jeff Jones resigned after the ninth game of the season following a heart attack he had on December 20, 2023. Special assistant coach Kieran Donohue was named interim head coach for the rest of the season. Jones retired from coaching on February 26, 2024.^[4]

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous job	Years at school	Overall record	Sun Belt record	Sun Belt titles	Sun Belt Tournament titles	NCAA Tournaments
Appalachian State	Dustin Kerns	Presbyterian	5	97–65 (.599)	55–35 (.611)	1	1	1
Arkansas State	Bryan Hodgson	Alabama (Asst.)	1	20–16 (.556)	11–7 (.611)	0	0	0
Coastal Carolina	Cliff Ellis	Auburn	15	297–227 (.567)	57–65 (.467)	0	0	2
	Benny Moss (interim)	Coastal Carolina (Asst.)	13	5–13 (.278)	5–16 (.238)	0	0	0
Georgia Southern	Charlie Henry	Alabama (Asst.)	1	8–23 (.258)	8–10 (.444)	0	0	0
Georgia State	Jonas Hayes	Xavier (Assoc.)	2	24–38 (.387)	11–25 (.306)	0	0	0
James Madison	Mark Byington	Georgia Southern	4	82–36 (.695)	41–23 (.641)	0	1	1
Louisiana	Bob Marlin	Sam Houston	14	265–188 (.585)	150–103 (.593)	1	1	1
Louisiana–Monroe	Keith Richard	LSU (Asst.)	14	163–271 (.376)	91–165 (.355)	0	0	0
Marshall	Dan D'Antoni	Los Angeles Lakers (Asst.)	10	177–148 (.545)	95–81 (.540)	0	0	1
Old Dominion	Jeff Jones	American	11	203–131 (.608)	11–7 (.611)	0	0	1
	Kieran Donohue (interim)	Old Dominion (Special asst. coach)	11	4–18 (.182)	3–15 (.167)	0	0	0
South Alabama	Richie Riley	Nicholls State	6	110–83 (.570)	57–50 (.533)	0	0	0
Southern Miss	Jay Ladner	Southeastern Louisiana	5	65–88 (.425)	33–57 (.367)	0	0	0
Texas State	Terrence Johnson	Texas State (Asst.)	4	69–51 (.575)	37–29 (.561)	2	0	0
Troy	Scott Cross	TCU (Asst.)	5	80–76 (.513)	43–45 (.489)	0	0	0

Preseason

Preseason Coaches Poll

On October 16, 2023, the conference announced a preseason conference poll as voted on by the league's 14 head coaches.^[5]

Rank	Team
1.	James Madison (7)
2.	Appalachian State (2)
3.	Old Dominion (1)
4.	Southern Miss
5.	Louisiana (2)
6.	South Alabama (2)
7.	Marshall
8.	Troy
9.	Arkansas State
10.	Texas State
11.	Georgia State
12.	Coastal Carolina
13.	Georgia Southern
14.	Louisiana–Monore

Preseason Awards

The conference also announced preseason All-SBC teams.^[5]

Sun Belt preseason player of the year

• Austin Crowley – Southern Miss

Preseason All-Sun Belt teams

2023-24 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Teams
First Team	Second Team	Third Team
Austin Crowley – Southern Miss Terrence Edwards Jr. – JMU Donovan Gregory – Appalachian State Chaunce Jenkins – Old Dominion Christyon Eugene – Troy Themus Fulks – Louisiana	Tyrell Jones – South Alabama Kamdyn Curfman – Marshall Tyreke Locure – Louisiana–Monroe Dwan Odom – Georgia State Obinna Anochili-Killen – Marshall	Terrance Ford Jr. – Arkansas State Brenden Tucker – Georgia State C. J. Huntley – Appalachian State Freddy Hicks – Arkansas State Aamer Muhammad – Troy

Regular season

Early season tournaments

Team	Tournament	Finish
Appalachian State	Fort Myers Tip-Off	1st (Palms Division)
Arkansas State	Acrisure Invitational	3rd
Coastal Carolina	Myrtle Beach Invitational	8th
Georgia Southern	TowneBank Holiday Classic	4th
Georgia State	Capitol Challenge	3rd
James Madison	Cancún Challenge	1st (Rivera Division)
Louisiana	Gulf Coast Showcase	5th
Marshall	Cayman Islands Classic	6th
Old Dominion	Diamond Head Classic	6th
South Alabama	Jaguar Classic	1st
Southern Miss	Jacksonville Classic	4th
Texas State	Louisiana Tech MTE	–
Troy	Trojan Classic	1st

Player of the week

Week	Player(s) of the Week	School
Nov 13^[6]	Terrence Edwards Jr.	James Madison
Nov 20^[7]	Freddy Hicks	Arkansas State
Nov 27^[8]	Kobe Julien	Louisiana
Dec 4^[9]	Kobe Julien (2)	Louisiana
Dec 11^[10]	T. J. Bickerstaff	James Madison
Dec 18^[11]	Jordan Mason	Texas State
Dec 25^[12]	Terrence Edwards Jr. (2)	James Madison
Jan 1^[13]	T. J. Bickerstaff (2)	James Madison
Jan 8^[14]	André Curbelo	Southern Miss
Jan 15^[15]	Caleb Fields	Arkansas State
Jan 22^[16]	Tre'Von Spillers	Appalachian State
Jan 29^[17]	Nate Martin	Marshall
Feb 5^[18]	Caleb Fields (2)	Arkansas State
Feb 12^[19]	Victor Iwuakor	Southern Miss
Feb 19^[20]	Terrence Edwards Jr. (3)	James Madison
Feb 26^[21]	Samuel Tabe	South Alabama
March 4^[22]	Tyren Moore	Georgia Southern

Records against other conferences

Power 6 Conferences
Conference	Record
ACC	1–1
Big East	0–0
Big Ten	1–4
Big 12	0–6
Pac–12	0–2
SEC	1–7
Combined	3–20
Other NCAA Division I Conferences	Record
America East	0–0
American	4–5
ASUN	5–7
Atlantic 10	0–3
Big Sky	0–0
Big South	5–2
Big West	1–1
CAA	3–7
Conference USA	2–6
Horizon	2–2
Independents/Non-Division I	0–0
Ivy	0–1
MAAC	0–0
MAC	16–12
MEAC	3–1
Missouri Valley	2–2
Mountain West	1–1
Northeast	0–0
OVC	4–2
Patriot	0–0
Southern	3–4
Southland	2–5
SWAC	5–0
Summit	1–1
West Coast	0–2
WAC	2–0
Combined	61–64

Post season

Sun Belt tournament

Main article: 2024 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament

^[23]

	First round Tuesday, March 5 ESPN+					Second round Thursday, March 7 ESPN+					Quarterfinals Saturday, March 9 ESPN+					Semifinals Sunday, March 10 ESPN+					Championship Monday, March 11 ESPN2
											1	Appalachian State	85*
						8	South Alabama	71			9	Georgia Southern	80
						9	Georgia Southern	76								1	Appalachian State	65
																4	Arkansas State	67
											4	Arkansas State	89
						5	Louisiana	80			5	Louisiana	62
	12	Louisiana–Monroe	71			13	Coastal Carolina	66													4	Arkansas State	71
	13	Coastal Carolina	75																		2	James Madison	91
											2	James Madison	81
						7	Georgia State	74			10	Marshall	64
						10	Marshall	86								2	James Madison	73
																11	Texas State	68
											3	Troy	68
						6	Southern Miss	59			11	Texas State	74
	11	Texas State	92*			11	Texas State	75
	14	Old Dominion	83

* – Denotes overtime period

NCAA tournament

Main article: 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Seed	Region	School	First Four	1st round	2nd round
12	South	James Madison	Bye	W 72–61 #5 Wisconsin – (Brooklyn, NY)	L 55–93 #4 Duke – Brooklyn, NY)
		W–L (%):	0–0 (–)	1–0 (1.000)	0–1 (.000) Total: 1–1 (.500)

National Invitation Tournament

Main article: 2024 National Invitation Tournament

Seed	Bracket	School	1st round
—	Wake Forest	Appalachian State	L 76–87 #1 Wake Forest – (Winston-Salem, NC)
	W–L (%):	0–1 (.000)	0–1 (.000) Total: 0–1 (.000)

College Basketball Invitational

Main article: 2024 College Basketball Invitational

Seed	School	1st round	Quarterfinals	Semifinals
4	Arkansas State	W 86–85 #13 Bethune–Cookman – (Daytona Beach, FL)	W 74–61 #4 Montana – (Daytona Beach, FL)	L 80–81 #1 High Point – (Daytona Beach, FL)
	W–L (%):	1–0 (1.000)	1–0 (1.000)	0–1 (.000) Total: 2–1 (.667)

Honors and awards

Sun Belt Awards

^[24]

2023-24 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Individual Awards
Award	Recipient(s)
Player of the Year	Terrence Edwards Jr. – James Madison
Coach of the Year	Dustin Kerns – Appalachian State
Defensive Player of the Year	Justin Abson - Appalachian State
Newcomer of the Year	T. J. Bickerstaff – James Madison
Freshman of the Year	Myles Rigsby – Troy
Sixth Man Award	Tayton Conerway – Troy

2023-24 Sun Belt Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams
First Team	Second Team	Third Team
Terrence Edwards Jr. - James Madison Christyon Eugene – Troy Caleb Fields – Arkansas State Donovan Gregory – Appalachian State Tre'Von Spillers – Appalachian State	T. J. Bickerstaff – James Madison Austin Crowley – Southern Miss Chaunce Jenkins – Old Dominion Kobe Julien – Louisiana Tyren Moore — Georgia Southern	Joe Charles – Louisiana Noah Freidel – James Madison Terence Harcum – Appalachian State Hosana Kitenge – Louisiana Nika Metskhvarishvili – Louisiana–Monroe John Ojiako – Coastal Carolina Taryn Todd – Arkansas State

References

1. Kelly, Nick (March 22, 2023). "Alabama basketball assistant Bryan Hodgson hired as Arkansas State head coach". The Tuscaloosa News. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
2. "Cliff Ellis Announces Retirement, Ending 49-Year Coaching Career". Coastal Carolina University Athletics. December 6, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
3. "Charlie Henry Formally Introduced as Georgia Southern Men's Basketball Coach". Georgia Southern University Athletics. March 29, 2023. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
4. "Old Dominion coach Jeff Jones retiring after decades-long career including stops at Virginia, American". CBSSports.com. February 26, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
5. "James Madison Tops Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". Sun Belt Conference. October 16, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
6. "James Madison's Edwards Earns Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor". sunbeltsports.org. November 14, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
7. "Arkansas State's Hicks Named Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". sunbeltsports.org. November 21, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
8. "Louisiana's Kobe Julien Tabbed Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". November 28, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
9. "Louisiana's Kobe Julien Claims Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". December 5, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
10. "JMU's T.J. Bickerstaff Earns Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Sun Belt Sports. December 12, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
11. "Texas States Jordan Mason Claims Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Sun Belt Sports. December 18, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
12. "James Madison's Terrence Edwards Secures Second Sun Belt Men's Basketball Weekly Honor". Sun Belt Sports. December 27, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
13. "James Madison's T.J. Bickerstaff Collects Second Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor". Sun Belt Sports. January 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
14. "Southern Miss Guard Andre Curbelo Earns Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Sun Belt Sports. January 9, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
15. "Arkansas State's Caleb Fields Claims Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Sun Belt Sports. January 16, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
16. "App State's Tre'Von Spillers Collects Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Accolade". Sun Belt Sports. January 23, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
17. "Marshall's Nate Martin Tabbed Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week". Sun Belt Sports. January 30, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
18. "Arkansas State's Caleb Fields Earns Second Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Nod". Sun Belt Sports. February 5, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
19. "Southern Miss Forward Victor Iwuakor Garners Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor". Sun Belt Sports. February 13, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
20. "James Madison's Terrence Edwards Earns Third Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Accolade". Sun Belt Sports. February 20, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
21. "South Alabama's Samuel Tabe Collects Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Week Honor". Sun Belt Sports. February 27, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
22. "Georgia Southern's Tyren Moore Earns Season's Final Sun Belt Men' sBasketball Player of the Week Accolade". Sun Belt Sports. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
23. "2024 SBC MBB Tournament Bracket (PDF) - Sun Belt Conference" (PDF). sunbeltsports.org. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
24. "Sun Belt Announces 2023-24 Men's Basketball Postseason Awards & All-Conference Teams". Sun Belt Sports. Sun Belt Conference. March 4, 2024. Retrieved March 4, 2023.