2023–24 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	10–8 (3–2 OVC)
Head coach	Brian Barone (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Colin Schneider (Associate Head Coach) Angres Thorpe Darreon Reddick Mike Waldo (Special Assistant to the Head Coach) Ryan Hellenthal (Director of Player Development and Basketball Administration)
Home arena	First Community Arena

The 2023–24 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represents Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by fifth-year head coach Brian Barone, play their home games at the First Community Arena in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2022-23 season 19–14, 9–9 in OVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the OVC tournament, they defeated Southern Indiana in the first round before losing to UT Martin.^[1]

SIUE guards Ray'Sean Taylor were honored as All-Ohio Valley Conference selections. Taylor was named to the All-OVC First Team, while Minor earned a spot on the OVC All-Newcomer Team.^[2]

Season forecast

Nine players return from the 2022–23 squad. They are joined by one freshmen, two transfers from junior colleges, and two transfers from other Division I programs.^[3]

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men's basketball coaches and communication directors, SIUE was picked to finish 2nd in the 11 team Ohio Valley Conference.

2023-24 OVC Men's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish

1. Morehead State (20 first-place votes) – 200 points

2. SIUE - 162

3. Tennessee State (2) - 153

4. UT Martin - 149

5. Southeast Missouri - 124

6. Tennessee Tech - 120

7. Little Rock - 85

8. Western Illinois - 80

9. Southern Indiana - 63

10. Lindenwood - 40

11. Eastern Illinois - 34

Guards Ray’Sean Taylor and Damarco Minor and forward Shamar Wright were named to the 12 member 2023-24 Preseason All-OVC Men's Basketball Team.^[4]

Regular season

Both teams started verrry slowly in front of an opening night crowd of 13,407 at Dayton. The Cougars built an eight-point advantage with a running layup by Ray'Sean Taylor making it 24-16 with 3:38 to play. But then, the Flyers' defense clamped down, and they ran off an unanswered 11-0 run to take a 27-24 halftime lead. SIUE came out strong in the first five minutes of the second half and regained the lead at 33-32 after Ray'Sean Taylor dropped a three-point bomb. The home team clamped down again, scored the next five, and never looked back. Taylor finished the 63-47 loss with 14 points and was the only Cougar in double digits. Teammate Damarco "Polo" Minor hauled down a career-high 14 rebounds.^[5]

The game against Division III North Park gave SIUE coach Brian Barone a chance to give the entire SIUE roster some game time--- all 14 players got at least two minutes on the floor (North Park played 19). Shamar Wright led the Cougars in scoring with a career-high 29 points. Damarco Minor (16) and Lamar Wright (14) also scored in double figures and the two led the squad in rebounding with 7 apiece. With Shamar Wright's scoring outburst, SIUE turned a four point halftime lead into a fifteen point 92-67 win. The victory evened the Cougars' record at 1-1 and improved their all-time home openers record to 39-17. "We didn't do enough in the first half, but then we responded in the second half," coach Barone said. "I was obviously pleased with the end result, and getting the first win of the season is always something you're looking forward to doing." Scoring only five points in the first half, with no three-pointers, Shamar Wright hit his first five three-point attempts in the second half. His 29-point game moved him into eighth place on SIU's all-time scoring list with 1,126 points. Wright also was playing in his 123rd career game, the most ever of any Cougar.^[6][7]

The first half of the game at Missouri was mostly evenly played, with Mizzou taking a seven point halftime lead with a finishing three pointer. After the break, the Cougars were unable to put the ball in the hoop, scoring on only three of 24 shots. Even with Damarco Minor collecting his first double double of the season and Brian Taylor having his first double digit scoring outing as a Cougar, SIUE took an eighteen point loss, 68-50.^[8]

In the first game of the round-robin Jaguar Classic, the Cougars faced Denver. The high-scoring Pioneers ran out to a 31-24 before SIUE put the brakes on and finished the half with a 19-6 run to lead 43-37 at the break. The Cougars built to a 13-point lead with 8:21 to play before Denver fought back and tied the game at 74 with only 11 seconds to play. SIUE Head Coach Brian Barone said. "I could have drawn up 500 plays that would have made me look really cool. At the end of the day, give it to a really good player and let him go make a shot. The guys looked at me, 'like don't call a timeout.'" Ray'Sean Taylor took the in bound pass, walked the ball up the floor, stepped to his left, and knocked down the game-winning three point shot. Taylor scored 21 points in the game, with 16 in the second half, while Shamar Wright scored a team-high 24 points, with 18 of his in the first half. Damarco Minor added his second consecutive double-double, with 14 points and 13 rebounds.^[9]

In the second game of the Jaguar Classic, the Cougars, trailing Nichols midway through the first half, went on a 10 point run and took control of the game. "It was impressive today," SIUE coach Brian Barone said. "Our guys dug so deep." SIUE hit only 22 of 62 field goal attempts but held the Colonels to only 14 of 53. After taking the lead, SIUE was out in front by no less than four points and as many as nine on the way to their 60-51 win. The Cougars spread the scoring around; Shamar Wright led with 15 points, while Taylor had 11 points, Lamar Wright added nine, both Damarco Minor and Arnie Sakenis had eight, and Terrance Thompson scored seven. Minor pulled down 11 rebounds, while Thompson gathered in a career-high 10 as SIUE outrebounded Nichols 50 to 32. "We came here, and we have a mission to get three," Barone said. "We have to continue to stay in the moment for our team to have success. We'll enjoy a day off tomorrow, and then we'll get right back to it."^[10]

Roster

Source ^[3]

Schedule and results

References