The 2023–24 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

in the

2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2023. The regular season ended on March 17, 2024, with the 2024 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament beginning with the First Four on March 19 and ending with th ...

. The Cougars, led by third-year head coach

Pat Kelsey Patrick Kelsey (born May 15, 1975) is an American college basketball coach. He is the current head men's basketball coach at the University of Louisville. He previously served as head coach for the College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball, ...

, played their home games at

TD Arena TD Arena is a 5,100 seat multi-purpose arena in Charleston, South Carolina, United States that opened in 2008 and replaced John Kresse Arena as the home of the College of Charleston Cougars basketball and volleyball teams. The South Financial ...

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, as members of the

Coastal Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

. They finished the 27–8, 15–3 in CAA play to win the regular season championship. The team defeated

Monmouth Monmouth ( or ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Monmouthshire, Wales, situated on where the River Monnow joins the River Wye, from the Wales–England border. The population in the 2011 census was 10,508, rising from 8 ...

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

, and Stony Brook to win the CAA tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

, a team that went on to that year's

Final Four In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...

. On March 28, 2024, head coach Pat Kelsey left the team to take the head coaching position at

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2022–23 season 31–4, 16–2 in CAA play to finish tied for first place with

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, including the Zucker Scho ...

. The team defeated Stony Brook,

, and

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...

to win the CAA tournament, claiming the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team won 31 games before qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, a record for the school's Division I era. This was the 6th NCAA tournament appearance in program history. As a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament's Southern region, they were defeated in the First Round by No. 5 seed

San Diego State San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California, United States. Founded in 1897, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system. SDSU is ...

, a team that went on to upset No. 1 seed

in the Sweet 16 and later played in the national championship game. On November 20, 2022, the Cougars defeated the

Virginia Tech Hokies The Virginia Tech Hokies are the athletic teams representing Virginia Tech in intercollegiate athletics. The Hokies participate in the NCAA's Division I Atlantic Coast Conference in 22 varsity sports. Virginia Tech's men's sports are football, b ...

in the

Charleston Classic The Charleston Classic is a three-day invitational college basketball season-opening tournament held in Charleston, South Carolina. An ESPN-owned and operated event, it is contested at TD Arena, home of the Charleston Cougars. Each team plays th ...

Championship game, winning the local tournament for the first time in program history. On January 2, 2023, the Cougars were ranked in the AP poll for the first time in 20 years. They remained ranked for four weeks, the earliest in any season that the Cougars have been ranked for multiple consecutive weeks.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2023 recruiting class

Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Cougars were picked to finish in first place. Juniors Ante Brzovic (CAA Preseason First Team), Reyne Smith (CAA Preseason Second Team) and Ben Burnham announced that they would be returning to the team.

Roster

Schedule and results

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Awards and honors

Source

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2023-24 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team Charleston Cougars men's basketball seasons Charleston Charleston

Charleston Cougars men's basketball The Charleston Cougars men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The Cougars compete in the Coastal Athletic Association. Home games are played at TD A ...