2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball
ConferenceAmerica East Conference
Record7–21 (3–13 America East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaWellness and Events Center
Seasons
2023–24 America East Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Vermont † 15 – 1   .938 28 – 7   .800
UMass Lowell 11 – 5   .688 22 – 10   .688
Bryant 11 – 5   .688 20 – 13   .606
New Hampshire 7 – 9   .438 16 – 15   .516
Binghamton 7 – 9   .438 15 – 15   .500
Maine 7 – 9   .438 15 – 17   .469
UMBC 6 – 10   .375 11 – 21   .344
Albany 5 – 11   .313 13 – 19   .406
NJIT 3 – 13   .188 7 – 21   .250
† 2024 AmEast tournament winner

The 2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders were led by first-year head coach Grant Billmeier and played their home games at the Wellness and Events Center located in Newark, New Jersey as third-year members of the America East Conference. They finished the season 7–21, 3–13 in America East play, to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the America East tournament.

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2022–23 season 7–23, 4–12 in America East play, to finish in eighth place.[1] They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to Vermont.[2]

On March 6, 2023, it was announced that head coach Brian Kennedy had resigned as head coach, after seven years at the helm.[3] A month later on April 6, Maryland assistant coach Grant Billmeier was named as the Highlanders' next head coach.[4]

Roster

2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Sebastian Robinson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Roselle Catholic High School Montclair, NJ
G 1 Jalen Robinson 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Columbia High School South Orange, NJ
G 2 Justin Anderson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) GS Bloomsburg Philadelphia, PA
G 3 Isaac Hester 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Ranney School Ocean Township, NJ
G 4 Adam Hess 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) GS Eastern New Mexico Westlake Village, CA
G 5 Jake Goldberg 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr IMG Academy Pasadena, CA
G 7 Cameron Piggee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Rutgers Prep North Brunswick, NJ
F 8 Jeffrey Akintolu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Avon Old Farms Welling, England
F 10 Eyal Nankin 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Emek Harod Ra'anana, Israel
F 11 Daniel Schreier 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) GS Manhattan Santa Monica, CA
F 12 JJ Chaikovsky 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr El Segundo High School Manhattan Beach, CA
G 20 Tariq Francis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr First Love Christian Academy Pittsburgh, PA
F 22 Levi Lawal 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Mt. Zion Prep Laurel, MD
G 24 Mekhi Gray 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Putnam Science Academy Montrose, NY
G 30 Elijah Buchanan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) GS Manhattan The Bronx, NY
F 33 Kjell de Graaf 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Canarias Basketball Academy Rotterdam, Netherlands
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 12, 2023

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 28, 2023*
4:00 p.m. 		Seton Hall
Charity Exhibition 		L 60–68  –
 Wellness and Events Center (1,012)
Newark, NJ
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ 		at No. 13 Miami (FL) L 60–101  0–1
 Watsco Center (6,861)
Coral Gables, FL
November 11, 2023*
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Saint Peter's L 48–75  0–2
 Wellness and Events Center (616)
Newark, NJ
November 16, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at American L 73–87  0–3
 Bender Arena (909)
Washington, D.C.
November 20, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Delaware State W 81–72  1–3
 Wellness and Events Center (383)
Newark, NJ
November 25, 2023*
1:00 p.m., NEC Front Row 		at Wagner L 51–64  1–4
 Spiro Sports Center (558)
Staten Island, NY
November 29, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at George Mason L 68–86  1–5
 EagleBank Arena (2,443)
Fairfax, VA
December 2, 2023*
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Fairleigh Dickinson L 68–71  1–6
 Wellness and Events Center 
Newark, NJ
December 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Fordham W 80–77  2–6
 Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,503)
The Bronx, NY
December 9, 2023*
8:00 p.m., ACCN 		at Wake Forest L 59–83  2–7
 LJVM Coliseum (7,224)
Winston-Salem, NC
December 16, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Niagara L 81–89  2–8
 Gallagher Center (362)
Lewiston, NY
December 22, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Medgar Evers W 127–51  3–8
 Wellness and Events Center (313)
Newark, NJ
December 31, 2023*
4:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Morgan State W 69–53  4–8
 Wellness and Events Center (363)
Newark, NJ
America East regular season
January 6, 2024
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Albany L 73–79  4–9
(0–1) 		Wellness and Events Center (323)
Newark, NJ
January 11, 2024
6:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UMass Lowell L 62–70  4–10
(0–2) 		Costello Athletic Center (373)
Lowell, MA
January 13, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Vermont L 55–76  4–11
(0–3) 		Patrick Gym (2,434)
Burlington, VT
January 18, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		New Hampshire L 62–70  4–12
(0–4) 		Wellness and Events Center (646)
Newark, NJ
January 20, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Maine L 64–70  4–13
(0–5) 		Wellness and Events Center (655)
Newark, NJ
January 25, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Bryant L 55–70  4–14
(0–6) 		Wellness and Events Center (444)
Newark, NJ
January 27, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at UMBC W 75–74  5–14
(1–6) 		Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (1,685)
Catonsville, MD
February 1, 2024
6:07 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Binghamton L 66–75  5–15
(1–7) 		Binghamton University Events Center (1,898)
Vestal, NY
February 8, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		Vermont W 63–61  6–15
(2–7) 		Wellness and Events Center (474)
Newark, NJ
February 10, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UMass Lowell W 71–64  7–15
(3–7) 		Wellness and Events Center (471)
Newark, NJ
February 15, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Albany L 58–83  7–16
(3–8) 		Broadview Center (1,453)
Albany, NY
February 17, 2024
3:30 p.m., ESPN+ 		Binghamton L 55–69  7–17
(3–9) 		Wellness and Events Center (472)
Newark, NJ
February 22, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at New Hampshire L 78–83  7–18
(3–10) 		Lundholm Gym (462)
Durham, NH
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Maine L 58–68  7–19
(3–11) 		Memorial Gymnasium (689)
Orono, ME
February 29, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		UMBC L 60–79  7–20
(3–12) 		Wellness and Events Center (515)
Newark, NJ
March 2, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Bryant L 82–101  7–21
(3–13) 		Chace Athletic Center (777)
Smithfield, RI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Sources:[5][6]

References

  1. ^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". America East Conference. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  2. ^ "Men's Basketball Concludes 2022-23 Season at #AEPlayoffs". New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics. March 4, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  3. ^ Carino, Jerry (March 6, 2023). "NJIT basketball: Brian Kennedy resigns as coach. Who are potential candidates?". Asbury Park Press. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "Grant Billmeier Named NJIT Men's Basketball Head Coach". University of Maryland. April 6, 2023. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  5. ^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". New Jersey Institute of Technology Athletics. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
  6. ^ "NJIT Highlanders Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved November 12, 2023.