2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball
2023–24 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball
Conference	America East Conference
Record	7–21 (3–13 America East)
Head coach	Grant Billmeier (1st season);
Assistant coaches	RaShawn Stores; Pete Lappas; Thomas Messinger; Mike Hamlin;
Home arena	Wellness and Events Center
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

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.

2023–24 America East Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	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

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

Grant Billmeier (Seton Hall)

Assistant coach(es)

RaShawn Stores (Manhattan)
Pete Lappas (Boston College)
Thomas Messinger (Emerson)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 12, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	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

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

[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.

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