2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represents the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders are led by first-year head coach Grant Billmeier and play their home games at the Wellness and Events Center located in Newark, New Jersey as third-year members of the America East Conference.

2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball
Conference	America East Conference
Record	4–8 (0–0 America East)
Head coach	Grant Billmeier (1st season)
Assistant coaches	RaShawn Stores Pete Lappas Thomas Messinger Mike Hamlin
Home arena	Wellness and Events Center
Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 America East Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UMass Lowell	0	–	0		–			9	–	4		.692
Vermont	0	–	0		–			10	–	5		.667
Binghamton	0	–	0		–			8	–	5		.615
New Hampshire	0	–	0		–			8	–	5		.615
Albany	0	–	0		–			8	–	7		.533
Bryant	0	–	0		–			8	–	7		.533
Maine	0	–	0		–			8	–	7		.533
UMBC	0	–	0		–			5	–	10		.333
NJIT	0	–	0		–			4	–	8		.333
† 2024 AmEast tournament winner As of January 4, 2024

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2022–23 season 7–23, 4–12 in America East play to finish in eighth place.^[1] They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to Vermont.^[2]

On March 6, 2023, it was announced that head coach Brian Kennedy would be resigning, after seven years at the helm.^[3] A month later, on April 6, Maryland assistant coach Grant Billmeier was named as the Highlanders' next head coach.^[4]

Roster

2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Sebastian Robinson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Roselle Catholic High School Montclair, New Jersey G 1 Jalen Robinson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Columbia High School South Orange, New Jersey G 2 Justin Anderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) GS Bloomsburg Philadelphia, Pennsylvania G 3 Isaac Hester 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Ranney School Ocean Township, New Jersey G 4 Adam Hess 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Eastern New Mexico Westlake Village, California G 5 Jake Goldberg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr IMG Academy Pasadena, California G 7 Cameron Piggee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Rutgers Prep North Brunswick, New Jersey F 8 Jeffrey Akintolu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Avon Old Farms Welling, England F 10 Eyal Nankin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Emek Harod Ra'anana, Israel F 11 Daniel Schreier 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Manhattan Santa Monica, California F 12 JJ Chaikovsky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr El Segundo High School Manhattan Beach, California G 20 Tariq Francis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr First Love Christian Academy Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania F 22 Levi Lawal 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Mt. Zion Prep Laurel, Maryland G 24 Mekhi Gray 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Putnam Science Academy Montrose, New York G 30 Elijah Buchanan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Manhattan Bronx, New York F 33 Kjell de Graaf 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Canarias Basketball Academy Rotterdam, Netherlands	Head coach Grant Billmeier (Seton Hall) Assistant coach(es) RaShawn Stores (Manhattan) Pete Lappas (Boston College) Thomas Messinger (Emerson) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 12, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 28, 2023* 4:00 pm		Seton Hall Charity Exhibition	L 60–68	–	Wellness and Events Center (1,012) Newark, NJ
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ACCNX/ESPN+		at No. 13 Miami (FL)	L 60–101	0–1	Watsco Center (6,861) Coral Gables, FL
November 11, 2023* 4:00 pm, ESPN+		Saint Peter's	L 48–75	0–2	Wellness and Events Center (616) Newark, NJ
November 16, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at American	L 73–87	0–3	Bender Arena (909) Washington, D.C.
November 20, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Delaware State	W 81–72	1–3	Wellness and Events Center (383) Newark, NJ
November 25, 2023* 1:00 pm, NEC Front Row		at Wagner	L 51–64	1–4	Spiro Sports Center (558) Staten Island, NY
November 29, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at George Mason	L 68–86	1–5	EagleBank Arena (2,443) Fairfax, VA
December 2, 2023* 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Fairleigh Dickinson	L 68–71	1–6	Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
December 6, 2023* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Fordham	W 80–77	2–6	Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,503) Bronx, NY
December 9, 2023* 8:00 pm, ACCN		at Wake Forest	L 59–83	2–7	LJVM Coliseum (7,224) Winston-Salem, NC
December 16, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at Niagara	L 81–89	2–8	Gallagher Center (362) Lewiston, NY
December 22, 2023* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		Medgar Evers	W 127–51	3–8	Wellness and Events Center (313) Newark, NJ
December 31, 2023* 4:30 pm, ESPN+		Morgan State	W 69–53	4–8	Wellness and Events Center (363) Newark, NJ
America East regular season
January 6, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Albany			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
January 11, 2024 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at UMass Lowell			Costello Athletic Center  Lowell, MA
January 13, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Vermont			Patrick Gym  Burlington, VT
January 18, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		New Hampshire			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
January 20, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Maine			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
January 25, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Bryant			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
January 27, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at UMBC			Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena  Catonsville, MD
February 1, 2024 6:07 pm, ESPN+		at Binghamton			Binghamton University Events Center  Vestal, NY
February 8, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Vermont			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
February 10, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+		UMass Lowell			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
February 15, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Albany			Broadview Center  Albany, NY
February 17, 2024 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Binghamton			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
February 22, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at New Hampshire			Lundholm Gym  Durham, NH
February 24, 2024 2:00 pm, ESPN+		at Maine			Memorial Gymnasium  Orono, ME
February 29, 2024 7:00 pm, ESPN+		UMBC			Wellness and Events Center  Newark, NJ
March 2, 2024 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Bryant			Chace Athletic Center  Smithfield, RI
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Sources:^[5][6]

References

1. "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". America East Conference. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
2. "Men's Basketball Concludes 2022-23 Season at #AEPlayoffs". New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
3. "NJIT basketball: Brian Kennedy resigns as coach. Who are potential candidates?". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
4. "Grant Billmeier Named NJIT Men's Basketball Head Coach". University of Maryland. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
5. "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
6. "NJIT Highlanders 2023-24 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2023.