2023–24 Air Force Falcons men's basketball team

2023–24 Air Force Falcons men's basketball
ConferenceMountain West Conference
Record9–22 (2–16 MW)
Head coach
Associate head coachDavid Metzendorf
Assistant coaches
  • Jared Czech
  • Lt. Col. Matt McCraw
  • Zack Curran
  • Derek Brooks
  • Jehyve Floyd
    Jon Jordan
Home arenaClune Arena
Seasons
2023–24 Mountain West Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 22 Utah State 14 – 4   .778 28 – 7   .800
Nevada 13 – 5   .722 26 – 8   .765
Boise State 13 – 5   .722 22 – 11   .667
UNLV 12 – 6   .667 21 – 13   .618
No. 17 San Diego State 11 – 7   .611 26 – 11   .703
New Mexico † 10 – 8   .556 26 – 10   .722
Colorado State 10 – 8   .556 25 – 11   .694
Wyoming 8 – 10   .444 15 – 17   .469
Fresno State 4 – 14   .222 12 – 21   .364
San Jose State 2 – 16   .111 9 – 23   .281
Air Force 2 – 16   .111 9 – 22   .290
† 2024 Mountain West tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2023–24 Air Force Falcons men's basketball team represented the United States Air Force Academy during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Falcons were led by head coach Joe Scott in his 4th season (8th overall) with the program and played their home games for the 56th season at Clune Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They participated as members of the Mountain West Conference for the 25th season.

Previous season

The Falcons would finish the 2022–23 season 14–18, 5–13 in Mountain West play to finish in tenth place. They would lose to the 7th seeded UNLV end their hopes of winning the tournament.[1]

Offseason

Departures

Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Jake Heidbreder 3 G 6'5" 180 Sophomore Floyds Knobs, IN Transferred to Clemson
Carter Murphy 4 G 6'4" 190 Senior Phoenix, AZ Graduate transferred to Georgia Tech
Kaleb Lichau 20 F 6'7" 205 Sophomore Gig Harbor, WA Left the team
Nikc Jackson 22 F 6'8" 195 Senior Scottsdale, AZ Graduated
Jack Murphy 23 G 6'4" 200 Sophomore Phoenix, AZ Transferred to UNC Wilmington
Camden Vander Zwaag 30 G 6'4" 200 Senior Johnston, IA Graduated

2023 recruiting class

There were no incoming recruits for the class of 2023.

Roster

2023–24 Air Force Falcons men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Josh Gatete 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Penn High School Granger, IN
G 1 Sam Akinrelere 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Fr USAFA Prep School Houston, TX
G 2 Dawson Sarblah 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Greenville High School Greenville, AL
F 3 Luke Kearney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr USAFA Prep School Phoenix, AZ
F 4 Wyatt Boeker 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr The Woodlands Christian Academy Tomball, TX
G 5 Ethan Taylor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr USAFA Prep School Houston, TX
F 10 Caleb Walker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr USAFA Prep School Jefferson City, MO
G 11 Byron Brown 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr USAFA Prep School Sahuarita, AZ
G/F 13 Chase Beasley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr USAFA Prep School Fort Washington, MD
F 14 Beau Becker 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr USAFA Prep School Dallas, TX
F 15 Corbin Green 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So USAFA Prep School Midlothian, TX
F 21 Solo Jones 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 202 lb (92 kg) So USAFA Prep School Long Beach, CA
G/F 23 Kellan Boylan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Bishop Miege High School Overland Park, KS
G 24 Jeffrey Mills 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr USAFA Prep School Flower Mound, TX
F 25 Warren Gorman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Bishop Ireton High School Washington, D.C.
F 31 Rytis Petraitis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So USAFA Prep School Arlington, TX
F 32 Kolby Gilles 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr USAFA Prep School Chicago, IL
G 33 Brady Ruggles 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr USAFA Prep School Wheaton, IL
G 40 Nate Robinson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 145 lb (66 kg) Fr Bishop Moore Catholic High School Orlando, FL
C 51 Wesley Celichowski 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Floyd Central High School Georgetown, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 28, 2023

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:30 p.m., MW Network 		Portland State L 55–62  0–1
  14 – Tied   15 – Boylan   5 – Taylor  Clune Arena (1,417)
Colorado Springs, CO
November 10, 2023*
11:00 a.m., SNY 		at LIU W 82–67  1–1
  26 – Taylor   12 – Taylor   6 – Taylor  Steinberg Wellness Center (812)
Brooklyn, NY
November 12, 2023*
11:00 a.m., FloHoops 		at Delaware L 57–65  1–2
  26 – Taylor   5 – Boylan   5 – Mills  Bob Carpenter Center (2,028)
Wilmington, DE
November 16, 2023*
4:30 p.m., MW Network 		Lindenwood
Air Force Multi-Team Event 		W 76–58  2–2
  21 – Taylor   6 – Tied   3 – Tied  Clune Arena (1,209)
Colorado Springs, CO
November 17, 2023*
4:30 p.m., MW Network 		William & Mary
Air Force Multi-Team Event 		W 80–71 OT 3–2
  31 – Becker   10 – Boylan   5 – Beasley  Clune Arena (1,411)
Colorado Springs, CO
November 19, 2023*
2:00 p.m., MW Network 		Omaha
Air Force Multi-Team Event 		W 58–56  4–2
  16 – Taylor   9 – Green   3 – Taylor  Clune Arena (1,466)
Colorado Springs, CO
November 22, 2023*
3:00 p.m., MW Network 		VMI W 64–54  5–2
  19 – Tied   8 – Tied   4 – Tied  Clune Arena (1,048)
Colorado Springs, CO
November 26, 2023*
11:30 a.m., SLN 		at South Dakota W 58–57  6–2
  18 – Petraitis   8 – Becker   5 – Boylan  Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,633)
Vermillion, SD
December 3, 2023*
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Portland W 80–58  7–2
  20 – Petraitis   6 – Boylan   4 – Mills  Chiles Center (1,043)
Portland, OR
December 9, 2023*
4:00 p.m., MW Network 		Eastern Washington L 68–73  7–3
  22 – Taylor   8 – Petraitis   4 – Petraitis  Clune Arena (2,377)
Colorado Springs, CO
December 16, 2023*
3:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		vs. UT Arlington
USLBM Coast-to-Coast Challenge 		L 73–76  7–4
  21 – Petraitis   7 – Petraitis   4 – Mills  Dickies Arena (3,752)
Fort Worth, TX
December 21, 2023*
2:00 p.m., MW Network 		Northern Colorado L 79–83  7–5
  26 – Becker   9 – Boylan   8 – Petraitis  Clune Arena (1,827)
Colorado Springs, CO
Mountain West regular season
January 2, 2024
7:00 p.m., MW Network 		Utah State L 60–88  7–6
(0–1) 		 15 – Petraitis   5 – Tied   4 – Mills  Clune Arena (945)
Colorado Springs, CO
January 9, 2024
8:00 p.m., MW Network 		at Nevada L 54–67  7–7
(0–2) 		 14 – Tied   9 – Boylan   4 – Mills  Lawlor Events Center (7,645)
Reno, NV
January 13, 2024
7:30 p.m., MW Network 		San Jose State L 54–67  7–8
(0–3) 		 14 – Tied   9 – Boylan   4 – Mills  Clune Arena (1,804)
Colorado Springs, CO
January 16, 2024
8:30 p.m., MW Network 		at Colorado State L 69–78 OT 7–10
(0–4) 		 22 – Petraitis   8 – Taylor   5 – Petraitis  Moby Arena (6,345)
Fort Collins, CO
January 20, 2024
2:00 p.m., CBSSN 		New Mexico L 66–85  7–11
(0–5) 		 23 – Becker   9 – Mills   6 – Tied  Clune Arena (2,785)
Colorado Springs, CO
January 23, 2024
9:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at UNLV W 90–58  8–10
(1–5) 		 22 – Taylor   13 – Petraitis   11 – Petraitis  Thomas & Mack Center (6,392)
Paradise, NV
January 27, 2024
5:00 pm, MW Network 		at Fresno State L 70–84  8–11
(1–6) 		 22 – Becker   6 – Boylan   6 – Mills  Save Mart Center (4,443)
Fresno, CA
January 30, 2024
7:00 p.m., MW Network 		Wyoming L 73–82  8–12
(1–7) 		 32 – Boylan   6 – Becker   5 – Petraitis  Clune Arena (1,888)
Colorado Springs, CO
February 3, 2024
2:00 pm, MW Network 		at Boise State L 56–94  8–13
(1–8) 		 17 – Mills   5 – Tied   3 – Tied  ExtraMile Arena (12,004)
Boise, ID
February 6, 2024
8:30 p.m., FS1 		No. 24 San Diego State L 64–77  8–14
(1–9) 		 15 – Tied   8 – Petraitis   3 – Tied  Clune Arena (1,556)
Colorado Springs, CO
February 10, 2024
2:00 p.m., MW Network 		Fresno State L 66–68  8–15
(1–10) 		 20 – Mills   11 – Petraitis   6 – Petraitis  Clune Arena (2,287)
Colorado Springs, CO
February 13, 2024
8:00 p.m., NBCSBA/MW Network 		at San Jose State L 66–73  8–16
(1–11) 		 26 – Petraitis   8 – Tied   3 – Tied  Provident Credit Union Event Center (1,722)
San Jose, CA
February 21, 2024
9:00 p.m., FS1 		UNLV L 43–72  8–17
(1–12) 		 19 – Becker   6 – Becker   4 – Boylan  Clune Arena (1,089)
Colorado Springs, CO
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at New Mexico W 78–77  9–17
(2–12) 		 17 – Taylor   5 – Boylan   3 – Tied  The Pit (15,011)
Albuquerque, NM
February 27, 2024
7:00 p.m., MW Network 		Boise State L 48–79  9–18
(2–13) 		 19 – Petraitis   9 – Petraitis   4 – Taylor  Clune Arena (1,066)
Colorado Springs, CO
March 1, 2024
9:00 p.m., FS1 		at No. 22 Utah State L 60–72  9–19
(2–14) 		 15 – Taylor   6 – Tied   5 – Petraitis  Smith Spectrum (9,194)
Logan, UT
March 5, 2024
6:30 p.m., MW Network 		at Wyoming L 63–74  9–20
(2–15) 		 17 – Mills   9 – Petraitis   5 – Petraitis  Arena-Auditorium (3,681)
Laramie, WY
March 9, 2024
2:00 p.m., MW Network 		Colorado State L 73–82  9–21
(2–16) 		 27 – Petraitis   8 – Petraitis   4 – Tied  Clune Arena (4,647)
Colorado Springs, CO
Mountain West tournament
March 13, 2024
5:00 p.m., MW Network 		(11) vs. (6) New Mexico
First Round 		L 56–82  9–22
  26 – Petraitis   10 – Petraitis   4 – Boylan  Thomas & Mack Center (5,858)
Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Source[2]

References

  1. ^ "2022–23 Air Force Falcons Men's Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  2. ^ "2023–24 Men's Basketball Schedule". goairforcefalcons.com. Retrieved October 23, 2022.