2023–24 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team

2023–24 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball
2023–24 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	16–17 (6–12 SEC)
Head coach	Eric Musselman (5th season);
Assistant coaches	Anthony Ruta (2nd season); Todd Lee (1st season); Ronnie Brewer (1st season); Michael Musselman (1st season); Keith Smart (3rd season);
Home arena	Bud Walton Arena; (Capacity: 19,368)
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

The 2023–24 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Eric Musselman in his fifth and final year, and played its home games at Bud Walton Arena in Fayetteville, Arkansas as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. As the No. 12 seed in the SEC tournament, they defeated Vanderbilt before losing to South Carolina in the second round. It was Arkansas' first losing season since 2009-10.

2023–24 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 5 Tennessee	14	–	4	.778	27	–	9	.750
No. 20 Kentucky	13	–	5	.722	23	–	10	.697
No. 3т Alabama	13	–	5	.722	25	–	12	.676
No. 18 Auburn †	13	–	5	.722	27	–	8	.771
No. 24 South Carolina	13	–	5	.722	26	–	8	.765
Florida	11	–	7	.611	24	–	12	.667
Texas A&M	9	–	9	.500	21	–	15	.583
LSU	9	–	9	.500	17	–	16	.515
Mississippi State	8	–	10	.444	21	–	14	.600
Ole Miss	7	–	11	.389	20	–	12	.625
Georgia	6	–	12	.333	20	–	17	.541
Arkansas	6	–	12	.333	16	–	17	.485
Vanderbilt	4	–	14	.222	9	–	23	.281
Missouri	0	–	18	.000	8	–	24	.250

† 2024 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

On April 4, 2024, head coach Eric Musselman left the school to become the head coach at USC.^[1] On April 10, the school hired Kentucky coach John Calipari as the team's new head coach.^[2]

Previous season

The Razorbacks finished the 2022–23 season 22–14, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. In the SEC tournament, the Razorbacks defeated Auburn in the second round before losing to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the West. They would defeat Illinois before upsetting No. 1 seeded Kansas in the second round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third consecutive year. There they lost to eventual national champion UConn.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Anthony Black	0	G	6'7"	198	Freshman	Duncanville, TX	Declared for 2023 NBA draft
Ricky Council IV	1	G	6'6"	205	Junior	Durham, NC	Declared for 2023 NBA draft
Nick Smith Jr.	3	G	6'5"	185	Freshman	Jacksonville, AR	Declared for 2023 NBA draft
Jordan Walsh	13	F	6'7"	205	Freshman	Desoto, TX	Declared for 2023 NBA draft
Barry Dunning	12	G	6'6"	195	Freshman	Mobile, AL	Transferred to UAB
Makhel Mitchell	22	F	6'10"	240	Senior	Washington, D.C.	Transferred to Little Rock
Derrian Ford	23	G	6'3"	205	Freshman	Magnolia, AR	Transferred to Arkansas State

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Khalif Battle	0	G	6'5"	185	Senior	Metuchen, NJ	Temple
Keyon Menifield	1	G	6'1"	150	Sophomore	Flint, MI	Washington
El Ellis	3	G	6'3"	180	Senior	Durham, NC	Louisville
Denijay Harris	7	F	6'7"	200	Senior	Columbus, MS	Southern Miss
Tramon Mark	12	G	6'6"	185	Junior	Dickinson, TX	Houston
Chandler Lawson	14	F	6'8"	215	Senior	Memphis, TN	Memphis
Jeremiah Davenport	24	F	6'6"	215	Senior	Cincinnati, OH	Cincinnati

Sources:^[3]^[4]

Recruiting classes

2023 recruiting class

Arkansas signed two high school athletes for the 2023 class, which can sign in the early signing period in November 2022.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Layden Blocker PG	Little Rock, Arkansas	Sunrise Christian Academy Wichita, Kansas	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jun 25, 2022
Layden Blocker PG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88
Baye Fall C	Dakar, Senegal	Accelerated Schools Denver, Colorado	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Nov 15, 2022
Baye Fall C	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 21 247Sports: 13 ESPN: 20
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: "Arkansas 2023 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022. "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 15, 2022.

2024 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2023 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaiah Elohim SG	Chatsworth, California	Sierra Canyon	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Oct 5, 2023
Isaiah Elohim SG	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87
Jalen Shelley SF	Frisco, Texas	Link Academy Branson, Missouri	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sep 11, 2023
Jalen Shelley SF	Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 87
Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 12 247Sports: 14
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: "Arkansas 2024 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023. "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2023.

Roster

2023–24 Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Khalif Battle	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Trenton Catholic High School (Trenton, New Jersey) Temple	Hillside, New Jersey
G	1	Keyon Menifield	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	So	PHHoenix Prep HS (Phoenix, Arizona) Washington	Flint, Michigan
F	2	Trevon Brazile	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	So	Kickapoo HS Missouri	Springfield, Missouri
G	3	El Ellis	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Quality Education Academy (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) Louisville	Durham, North Carolina
G	4	Davonte Davis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Jacksonville HS	Jacksonville, Arkansas
G	5	Joseph Pinion	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Morrilton High School	Morrilton, Arkansas
G	6	Layden Blocker	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Fr	Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kansas)	Little Rock, Arkansas
F	7	Denijay Harris	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Columbus HS (Columbus, Mississippi) Southern Miss	Columbus, Mississippi
C	10	Baye Fall	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Accelerated Schools (Denver, Colorado)	Dakar, Senegal
F	11	Jalen Graham	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	Mountain Pointe High School Arizona State	Phoenix, Arizona
G	12	Tramon Mark	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	Dickinson HS Houston	Dickinson, Texas
F	8	Chandler Lawson	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Wooddale HS Memphis	Memphis, Tennessee
C	15	Makhi Mitchell	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Sr	Jackson-Reed High School Rhode Island	Washington, D.C.
G	21	Cade Arbogast (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	RS Sr	De La Salle High School Lane Community College	Concord, California
F	24	Jeremiah Davenport	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Hargrave Military Academy (Chatham, Virginia) Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio
C	45	Lawson Blake (W)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Jr	Fayetteville High School Link Year Prep	Fayetteville, Arkansas

Head coach

Eric Musselman (San Diego)

Assistant coach(es)

Keith Smart (Indiana)
Anthony Ruta (Arizona State)
Todd Lee (South Dakota)
Michael Musselman, Director of Recruiting (San Diego)
Ronnie Brewer, Recruiting Coordinator (Arkansas)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
October 20, 2023* 6:30 p.m.	No. 14	UT Tyler	W 92–39	–	14 – Battle	7 – Davis	4 – Ellis	Bud Walton Arena (7,046) Fayetteville, AR
October 28, 2023* 3:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 14	No. 3 Purdue Charity exhibition	W 81–77 ^OT	–	15 – Tied	6 – Mark	4 – Brazile	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 14	Alcorn State	W 93–59	1–0	21 – Battle	8 – Graham	5 – Davis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
November 10, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 14	Gardner–Webb	W 86–68	2–0	21 – Battle	7 – Brazile	3 – Ellis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
November 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 14	Old Dominion	W 86–77	3–0	17 – Ellis	10 – Mitchell	8 – Ellis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
November 17, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+	No. 14	UNC Greensboro	L 72–78	3–1	21 – Mark	9 – Brazile	2 – Tied	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
November 22, 2023* 2:30 p.m., ESPNU	No. 20	vs. Stanford Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals	W 77–74 ^2OT	4–1	25 – Mark	17 – Brazile	3 – Davis	Imperial Arena (820) Paradise Island, Bahamas
November 23, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN	No. 20	vs. Memphis Battle 4 Atlantis semifinals	L 79–84	4–2	21 – Battle	10 – Brazile	3 – Ellis	Imperial Arena (982) Paradise Island, Bahamas
November 24, 2023* 12:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 20	vs. No. 14 North Carolina Battle 4 Atlantis 3rd place game	L 72–87	4–3	34 – Mark	5 – Mark	2 – Lawson	Imperial Arena (1,456) Paradise Island, Bahamas
November 29, 2023* 8:15 p.m., ESPN		No. 7 Duke ACC–SEC Challenge	W 80–75	5–3	21 – Battle	11 – Brazile	6 – Ellis	Bud Walton Arena (20,344) Fayetteville, AR
December 4, 2023* 7:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		Furman	W 97–83	6–3	25 – Battle	10 – Davis	8 – Davis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
December 9, 2023* 3:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. No. 19 Oklahoma Crimson & Cardinal Classic	L 70–79	6–4	13 – Battle	6 – Mitchell	2 – Tied	BOK Center (17,485) Tulsa, OK
December 16, 2023* 5:00 p.m., SECN+/ESPN+		vs. Lipscomb	W 69–66	7–4	17 – Mark	6 – Brazile	4 – Blocker	Simmons Bank Arena (16,361) North Little Rock, AR
December 21, 2023* 6:00 p.m., SECN		Abilene Christian	W 83–73	8–4	25 – Mark	11 – Mark	2 – Tied	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
December 30, 2023* 6:00 p.m., SECN		UNC Wilmington	W 106–90	9–4	32 – Menifield	8 – Brazile	6 – Davis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
SEC regular season
January 6, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		No. 25 Auburn	L 51–83	9–5 (0–1)	14 – Menifield	7 – Brazile	4 – Menifield	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
January 10, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Georgia	L 66–76	9–6 (0–2)	24 – Mark	7 – Mark	3 – Tied	Stegeman Coliseum (7,820) Athens, GA
January 13, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN		at Florida	L 68–90	9–7 (0–3)	14 – Blocker	7 – Brazile	3 – Davenport	O'Connell Center (10,445) Gainesville, FL
January 16, 2024 8:00 p.m., SECN		Texas A&M	W 78–77	10–7 (1–3)	35 – Mark	6 – Tied	4 – Lawson	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
January 20, 2024 12:00 p.m., SECN		South Carolina	L 64–77	10–8 (1–4)	18 – Mark	7 – Lawson	2 – Ellis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
January 24, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Ole Miss	L 51–77	10–9 (1–5)	11 – Battle	4 – Tied	3 – Blocker	SJB Pavilion (8,207) Oxford, MS
January 27, 2024 5:00 p.m., ESPN		No. 6 Kentucky College GameDay	L 57–63	10–10 (1–6)	12 – Mitchell	13 – Mitchell	3 – Mark	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
January 31, 2024 7:30 p.m., SECN		at Missouri	W 91–84	11–10 (2–6)	22 – Mark	14 – Mitchell	4 – Graham	Mizzou Arena (11,020) Columbia, MO
February 3, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPN2		at LSU	L 74–95	11–11 (2–7)	20 – Mark	6 – Mark	4 – Mitchell	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (7,880) Baton Rouge, LA
February 10, 2024 5:00 p.m., SECN		Georgia	W 78–75	12–11 (3–7)	15 – Tied	5 – Tied	3 – Tied	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
February 14, 2024 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		No. 8 Tennessee	L 63–92	12–12 (3–8)	12 – Mark	7 – Graham	4 – Davis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
February 17, 2024 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Mississippi State	L 67–71	12–13 (3–9)	21 – Mitchell	9 – Mitchell	4 – Ellis	Humphrey Coliseum (9,219) Starkville, MS
February 20, 2024 6:00 p.m., ESPN		at Texas A&M	W 78–71	13–13 (4–9)	26 – Mark	13 – Mitchell	5 – Mark	Reed Arena (8,789) College Station, TX
February 24, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPN2		Missouri	W 88–73	14–13 (5–9)	42 – Battle	9 – Davis	6 – Davis	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
February 27, 2024 8:00 p.m., SECN		Vanderbilt	L 82–85	14–14 (5–10)	36 – Battle	6 – Tied	3 – Tied	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
March 2, 2024 12:30 p.m., CBS		at No. 16 Kentucky	L 102–111	14–15 (5–11)	34 – Battle	8 – Battle	3 – Mark	Rupp Arena (20,322) Lexington, KY
March 6, 2024 6:00 p.m., SECN		LSU	W 94–83	15–15 (6–11)	29 – Battle	8 – Mark	5 – Mark	Bud Walton Arena (19,200) Fayetteville, AR
March 9, 2024 11:00 a.m., ESPN		at No. 16 Alabama	L 88–92 ^OT	15–16 (6–12)	22 – Battle	7 – Battle	3 – Ellis	Coleman Coliseum (11,031) Tuscaloosa, AL
SEC Tournament
March 13, 2024 6:00 p.m., SECN	(12)	vs. (13) Vanderbilt First Round	W 90–85 ^OT	16–16	24 – Battle	12 – Brazile	3 – Tied	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, TN
March 14, 2024 2:30 p.m., SECN	(12)	vs. (5) No. 15 South Carolina Second Round	L 66–80	16–17	20 – Battle	7 – Battle	4 – Graham	Bridgestone Arena (11,638) Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[5]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	Final
AP	14	14	20	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	RV
Coaches	14	14	RV	RV	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings.

References

^ "USC hires Arkansas' Eric Musselman to replace Andy Enfield as men's basketball coach". AP News. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
^ Press, ERIC W. BOLIN-The Associated (April 15, 2024). "Arkansas hires John Calipari to coach the Razorbacks, a day after stepping down from Kentucky". GettysburgTimes.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.
^ "2023 Arkansas Basketball Transfer Portal". On3.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
^ Davis, Jacob. "Arkansas Basketball Transfer and Roster Tracker: Thursday 4/6 Update". Arkansas Fight. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Arkansas Razorbacks Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

[1] "USC hires Arkansas' Eric Musselman to replace Andy Enfield as men's basketball coach". AP News. April 4, 2024. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

[2] Press, ERIC W. BOLIN-The Associated (April 15, 2024). "Arkansas hires John Calipari to coach the Razorbacks, a day after stepping down from Kentucky". GettysburgTimes.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

[3] "2023 Arkansas Basketball Transfer Portal". On3.com. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

[4] Davis, Jacob. "Arkansas Basketball Transfer and Roster Tracker: Thursday 4/6 Update". Arkansas Fight. Retrieved June 6, 2023.

[5] "2023-24 Arkansas Razorbacks Men's Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 15, 2024.

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