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 and Damarco Minor 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 freshman, 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
In their non-conference schedule, the Cougars won all five home games and two neutral court games, but they lost all six road games. [5]
In their conference schedule, the Cougars won seven and lost two at home but only won two while losing seven on the road. [5] They finished sixth in the conference, earning the #6 seed for the OVC Tournament. [6]
Postseason
In voting by league head coaches and communications directors prior to the OVC Tournament, Cougar guard Damarco Minor who has averaged 15.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per game and who was an OVC All-Newcomer selection last year was named to the All OVC First Team. [7]
In the first round of the OVC Tournament, the 6th seeded Cougars met seventh seed Eastern Illinois and won 68-57. They broke a 4-4 tie to take the lead, added a 10-0 run, and led the rest of the game. Trailing by 17 at the half, Eastern took a run at the Cougars as the second half started and put on a tight press defense to cut their deficit to six points. SIUE never faltered, stretching the lead back to eleven and mostly maintaining that margin. Ray'Sean Taylor led four players in double figures with 25 points, with 18 in the first half including a three point buzzer beater. Damarco Minor had his fourth straight and 11th double-double of the season with 16 points and a career high 14 rebounds. Both of the Wright twins were in double figures with Shamar scoring 14 and Lamar 11. [8]
In the OVC Tournament quarterfinals, SIUE met third seeded conference co-champion Morehead State. The Cougars got off to a slow start, missing their first four shots and sank only two of their first 11 tries from the field. The Eagles hit only four of their first dozen shots, but they picked up the pace for a thirteen point 34-21 halftime lead. SIUE played closer in the second half, but the Eagles took a fifteen point win 78-63, and Morehead State improved to 24-8 and advanced to the OVC semifinals where they met No. 2 seed and fellow regular-season co-champion UT Martin. Ray'Sean Taylor again led the Cougar's scoring with 19 points and moved into fifth place all-time in SIUE scoring with 1,314 points. Shamar Wright added 12 points and is alone in third place in Cougar scoring with 1,549 points, and he is the all-time leader in games played with 154. Lamar Wright is second in games played with 143 and has 978 career points.[9]
