2023–24 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

2023–24 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
2023–24 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	13–18 (6–12 MAC)
Head coach	Stan Heath (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Shawn Trice (3rd season); Bob Simon (3rd season); Drew Denisco (3rd season);
Home arena	George Gervin GameAbove Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Toledo	14	–	4	.778	20	–	12	.625
Akron †	13	–	5	.722	24	–	11	.686
Ohio	13	–	5	.722	20	–	13	.606
Central Michigan	12	–	6	.667	18	–	14	.563
Bowling Green	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Western Michigan	9	–	9	.500	12	–	20	.375
Miami (OH)	9	–	9	.500	15	–	17	.469
Kent State	8	–	10	.444	17	–	17	.500
Ball State	7	–	11	.389	15	–	16	.484
Eastern Michigan	6	–	12	.333	13	–	18	.419
Northern Illinois	5	–	13	.278	11	–	20	.355
Buffalo	2	–	16	.111	4	–	27	.129

† 2024 MAC tournament winner

The 2023–24 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by third-year head coach Stan Heath, played their home games at the George Gervin GameAbove Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan as members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 13–18, 6–12 in MAC play to finish in 10th place. They failed to qualify for the MAC tournament

Previous season

The Eagles finished 8–23 with a 5–13 MAC record. They finished tied for ninth in the MAC and failed to qualify for the MAC tournament.

Offseason

Departures

Departures
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason
Colin Golson	1	F	6'6"	230	Sophomore	Detroit, Michigan	Transferred to Morehouse
Noah Farrakhan	2	G	6'2"	162	Sophomore	Hillside	Transferred to West Virginia
Luka Savicevic	3	G	6'3"	150	Sophomore	Skopje, North Macedonia	Transferred to Lafayette
Emoni Bates	21	F	6'10"	170	Sophomore	Ypsilanti, Michigan	Declared for NBA draft
JZ Zaher	30	G	5'11"	164	Freshman	Fenton, Michigan	Transferred to Bowling Green
Derek Ballard	33	F	6'8"	232	Grad. Student	Southfield, Michigan	Exhausted Eligibility

Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers
Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Connor Serven	2	F	6'8"	RS-Junior	Prairie City, Illinois	Illinois
John McGriff	3	G	6'0"	RS-Junior	Glenn Dale, Maryland	Binghamton
Cyril Martynov	21	C	7'0"	Sophomore	Barrie, Ontario	Georgia Tech
Julius Ellerbe	6	G	6'7"	RS-Junior	Fort Washington, Maryland	East Central CC

Recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight
Arne Osojnik G	Ljubljana, Slovenia	Dream City Christian	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A
Arne Osojnik G	Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
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: "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2023–24 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Kevin-David Rice	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr	Grand Blanc Delta College	Flint, MI
F	1	Jalin Billingsley	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Jr	Lutheran East Georgetown	Cleveland, OH
F	2	Conner Serven	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	RS Jr	St. Rita Illinois	Prairie City, IL
G	3	John McGriff	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	RS Jr	Bishop McNamara Binghamton	Glenn Dale, MD
F	4	Legend Geeter	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	RS So	River Rouge Providence	River Rouge, MI
G	5	Tyson Acuff	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr	Cass Technical Duquesne	Detroit, MI
G	6	Julius Ellerbe	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	RS Jr	VA Beach Sports Academy East Central (Miss.) CC	Fort Washington, MD
G	12	Andrew Wells	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Jr	International Sports Academy	East Lansing, MI
G	13	Prakash Ketterhagen	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	RS So	New Rochelle Combine Academy	Kalamazoo, MI
G	14	Micah Schnyders	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	RS Jr	Yorkville Christian	New Lenox, IL
F	15	Derik Pranger	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	RS Fr	Colorado Prep	Parker, CO
C	21	Cyril Martynov	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	—	So	Lawrenceville School Georgia Tech	Barrie, ON
F	22	Yusuf Jihad	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Jr	North Farmington Oakland	Farmington Hills, MI
F	35	Javantae Randle	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	—	RS So	Frederick Douglass	Detroit, MI
F	35	Arne Osojnik	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	RS Fr	Dream City Christian	Ljubljana, Slovenia
G	55	Orlando Lovejoy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	So	Summit Academy North	Detroit, MI

Head coach

Stan Heath (Eastern Michigan)

Assistant coach(es)

Shawn Trice (Penn)
Bob Simon (Eastern Michigan)
Drew Denisco (Wittenberg)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	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	at Butler	L 55–94	0–1	13 – Tied	5 – Geeter	4 – Ellerbe	Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,792) Indianapolis, IN
November 11, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+	Georgia Southern MAC-SBC Challenge	W 70–60	1–1	18 – Osojnik	7 – Billingsley	4 – McGriff	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,484) Ypsilanti, MI
November 14, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at No. 10 Florida Atlantic	L 57–100	1–2	20 – Acuff	5 – Tied	2 – Tied	Eleanor R. Baldwin Arena (3,161) Boca Raton, FL
November 18, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Cleveland State	W 69–62	2–2	31 – Acuff	8 – Ellerbe	2 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,730) Ypsilanti, MI
November 21, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Detroit Mercy	W 76–72	3–2	25 – Acuff	6 – Serven	7 – Ellerbe	Calihan Hall (1,003) Detroit, MI
November 25, 2023* 5:45 p.m., ESPN+	at Central Arkansas Central Arkansas Classic	W 74–71	4–2	23 – Acuff	9 – Ellerbe	5 – Ellerbe	Farris Center (592) Conway, AR
November 26, 2023* 2:00 p.m.	vs. North Dakota Central Arkansas Classic	L 70–72	4–3	31 – Acuff	5 – Martynov	3 – Acuff	Farris Center (98) Conway, AR
December 1, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Lake Superior State	W 68–53	5–3	24 – Acuff	8 – Jihad	3 – Acuff	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,647) Ypsilanti, MI
December 8, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Oakland	L 63–77	5–4	18 – Acuff	9 – Ellerbe	5 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,796) Ypsilanti, MI
December 16, 2023* 2:15 p.m., BTN	at Michigan	L 66–83	5–5	24 – Acuff	6 – Ellerbe	2 – Tied	Crisler Center (11,761) Ann Arbor, MI
December 21, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Hampton	W 72–69	6–5	29 – Acuff	7 – Martynov	4 – Lovejoy	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,870) Ypsilanti, MI
December 30, 2023* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Northwood	W 67–64	7–5	17 – Lovejoy	10 – Lovejoy	4 – Lovejoy	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,517) Ypsilanti, MI
MAC regular season
January 2, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Bowling Green	L 90–92 ^OT	7–6 (0–1)	31 – Acuff	9 – Ellerbe	4 – Acuff	Stroh Center (2,439) Bowling Green, OH
January 6, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+	Kent State	W 71–69 ^OT	8–6 (1–1)	16 – Lovejoy	8 – Serven	7 – Acuff	George Gervin GameAbove Center (3,058) Ypsilanti, MI
January 9, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Central Michigan	L 64–80	8–7 (1–2)	16 – Lovejoy	4 – Tied	5 – Acuff	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,639) Ypsilanti, MI
January 13, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Miami (OH)	L 54–71	8–8 (1–3)	19 – Acuff	8 – Ellerbe	3 – Tied	Millett Hall (929) Oxford, OH
January 16, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Ball State	L 62–76	8–9 (1–4)	21 – Acuff	8 – Billingsley	4 – Acuff	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,546) Ypsilanti, MI
January 20, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Ohio	L 67–85	8–10 (1–5)	30 – Acuff	6 – Jihad	1 – Tied	Convocation Center (5,547) Athens, OH
January 23, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Western Michigan	L 56–73	8–11 (1–6)	14 – Acuff	7 – Tied	4 – Acuff	University Arena (2,208) Kalamazoo, MI
January 27, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+	Buffalo	W 75–65	9–11 (2–6)	19 – Acuff	7 – Acuff	7 – Lovejoy	George Gervin GameAbove Center (2,095) Ypsilanti, MI
January 30, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Akron	L 46–77	9–12 (2–7)	12 – Tied	4 – Tied	2 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,733) Ypsilanti, MI
February 3, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Northern Illinois	L 66–76	9–13 (2–8)	19 – Lovejoy	6 – Billingsley	5 – Lovejoy	Convocation Center (1,537) DeKalb, IL
February 6, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Toledo	L 87–91	9–14 (2–9)	24 – Acuff	8 – Billingsley	6 – Lovejoy	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,542) Ypsilanti, MI
February 10, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Louisiana–Monroe MAC-SBC Challenge	L 76–82	9–15	29 – Acuff	9 – Billingsley	6 – Lovejoy	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,102) Monroe, LA
February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+	Bowling Green	W 69–60	10–15 (3–9)	34 – Acuff	10 – Acuff	3 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (3,304) Ypsilanti, MI
February 20, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Buffalo	L 69–78	10–16 (3–10)	26 – Acuff	9 – Serven	4 – Acuff	Alumni Arena (2,946) Buffalo, NY
February 24, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Ball State	W 58–56	11–16 (4–10)	19 – Acuff	8 – Serven	3 – Tied	Worthen Arena (4,708) Muncie, IN
February 27, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Western Michigan	W 70–67	12–16 (5–10)	22 – Osojnik	8 – Billingsley	4 – Acuff	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,612) Ypsilanti, MI
March 2, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	Miami (OH)	L 37–52	12–17 (5–11)	13 – Billingsley	10 – Billingsley	2 – Tied	George Gervin GameAbove Center (1,588) Ypsilanti, MI
March 5, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Akron	W 61–60	13–17 (6–11)	14 – Billingsley	8 – Tied	3 – Lovejoy	James A. Rhodes Arena (1,923) Akron, OH
March 8, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Central Michigan	L 62–65 ^OT	13–18 (6–12)	15 – Osojnik	7 – Tied	8 – Lovejoy	McGuirk Arena (2,005) Mount Pleasant, MI
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source

Post Season Awards

Tyson Acuff 3rd Team All-MAC
Arne Osojnik All-MAC Freshman Team
Yusuf Jihad (Academic All-MAC)
Feb. 19, 2024 Tyson Acuff (MAC Player of the Week)

References

^ "Welcome Home! Stan Heath Named EMU Men's Basketball Coach". EMUEagles.com. April 12, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2022.
^ "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
^ "George Gervin GameAbove Center". Eastern Michigan Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^ "MAC Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
^ "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved March 5, 2023.
^ "Emoni Bates entering NBA draft after pair of college seasons". espn.com. ESPN. April 24, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2023-24 Men's Basketball Roster". EMUEagles.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^ ^a ^b "2023 D1 Basketball Transfers". Verbal Commits. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster". EMUEagles.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Eastern Michigan Athletics.
^ "Eastern Michigan Eagles Schedule 2023-24". ESPN.

[1] "Welcome Home! Stan Heath Named EMU Men's Basketball Coach". EMUEagles.com. April 12, 2021. Retrieved September 6, 2022.

[2] "MAC Men's College Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved May 19, 2023.

[3] "George Gervin GameAbove Center". Eastern Michigan Athletics. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

[4] "MAC Basketball Standings - 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2024.

[5] "MAC Basketball Standings - 2022-23". ESPN. Retrieved March 5, 2023.

[6] "Emoni Bates entering NBA draft after pair of college seasons". espn.com. ESPN. April 24, 2023. Retrieved August 8, 2023.

[roster-7] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Roster". EMUEagles.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

[transfer-8] "2023 D1 Basketball Transfers". Verbal Commits. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

[9] "2022-23 Men's Basketball Roster". EMUEagles.com. Retrieved August 11, 2023.

[10] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Eastern Michigan Athletics.

[11] "Eastern Michigan Eagles Schedule 2023-24". ESPN.

v t e Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
Venues	Normal Gymnasium (1897–1955) Bowen Field House (1955–1998) George Gervin GameAbove Center (1998–present)
Rivalries	In-state MAC schools
Culture & lore	Swoop
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25