2024–25 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team

2024–25 James Madison Dukes men's basketball
2024–25 James Madison Dukes men's basketball
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	6–4 (0–0 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Preston Spradlin (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Scott Combs; Dominic Lombardi; Cason Burk; Dionte Ferguson;
Home arena	Atlantic Union Bank Center
	Seasons ← 2023–24 2025–26 →

The 2024–25 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team represents James Madison University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Dukes are led by first-year head coach Preston Spradlin and play their home games at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in Harrisonburg, Virginia, as members of the Sun Belt Conference.

2024–25 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Arkansas State	0	–	0	–	9	–	3	.750
South Alabama	0	–	0	–	7	–	3	.700
Texas State	0	–	0	–	7	–	4	.636
Appalachian State	0	–	0	–	6	–	4	.600
James Madison	0	–	0	–	6	–	4	.600
Troy	0	–	0	–	6	–	4	.600
Georgia Southern	0	–	0	–	6	–	5	.545
Marshall	0	–	0	–	6	–	5	.545
Coastal Carolina	0	–	0	–	5	–	5	.500
Georgia State	0	–	0	–	4	–	6	.400
Southern Miss	0	–	0	–	4	–	6	.400
Louisiana–Monroe	0	–	0	–	4	–	8	.333
Old Dominion	0	–	0	–	3	–	8	.273
Louisiana	0	–	0	–	2	–	9	.182

† 2025 Sun Belt tournament winner As of December 15, 2024

Previous season

The Dukes' 2023–24 season was the most successful year in school history, beginning the season with upsetting then-ranked No. 4 Michigan State, their first win over a ranked team since defeating California in 1992.^[1] This season also marked their first appearance as a ranked team in the AP poll in school history.^[2] The Dukes finished the 2023–24 season with a record of 28–3, 15–3 in Sun Belt play, to finish in second place.^[3] They defeated Marshall, Texas State and Arkansas State in the Sun Belt tournament to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 12 seed in South region, marking the team's first trip to the NCAA tournament since 2013. They upset No. 5-seeded Wisconsin in the first round to advance on to the second round for the first time since 1983.^[4] There they lost to Duke in the second round, ending the season with a 32–4 overall record.

On March 25, 2024, head coach Mark Byington left the school to become the head coach at Vanderbilt.^[5]

Preseason

Preseason Sun Belt Conference poll

The Dukes were picked to finish in second place in the conference's preseason poll.^[6] Redshirt senior guard Mark Freeman was named to the preseason All-SBC First Team.^[6] Junior guard Xavier Brown was named to the conference preseason third team.^[6]

Predicted finish	Team (1st place Votes)
Coaches poll
1	Arkansas State - 193 (12)
2	James Madison - 170 (1)
3	Troy - 155 (1)
4	Louisiana - 144
5	Southern Miss - 133
6	App State - 122
7	Texas State - 89
T8	Georgia Southern - 85
T8	Old Dominion - 85
10	Marshall - 79
11	South Alabama - 78
12	Georgia State - 75
13	Coastal Carolina - 34
14	ULM - 28

Roster

2024–25 James Madison Dukes men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Mark Freeman	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	RS Sr	Morehead State	Memphis, TN
G	1	Xavier Brown	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Jr	Jamestown HS	Williamsburg, VA
G	2	Bryce Lindsay	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	194 lb (88 kg)	RS Fr	Texas A&M	Baltimore, MD
F	3	Eddie Ricks III	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	217 lb (98 kg)	So	Morehead State	Clarksville, TN
C	4	Elijah Hutchins-Everett	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	Sr	Seton Hall	Orange, NJ
G	5	Justin Taylor	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	Jr	Syracuse	Charlottesville, VA
F	7	Matt Hain	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS Fr	Morehead State	Perth, Australia
G	8	Will Lovings-Watts	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Northern Illinois	Jeffersonville, IN
F	10	Ebenezer Dowuona	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	238 lb (108 kg)	Sr	Georgia Tech	Accra, Ghana
G	13	Noah Williams	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	203 lb (92 kg)	RS Sr	Washington	Seattle, WA
G	20	Jarrell Pope	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Sr	Princess Anne HS	Virginia Beach, VA
G/F	21	AJ Smith	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Southern Indiana	Edwardsville, IL
G	24	Redd Thompson	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	183 lb (83 kg)	Fr	John Marshall HS	Richmond, VA
G	30	Aidan Mckeon	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Freeman HS	Henrico, VA
F	33	Jerrell Roberson	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Jr	DeMatha HS	Upper Marlboro, MD
F	35	Shane Feden	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sr	Woodbridge HS	Woodbridge, VA
F	44	Luke Anderson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	RS Sr	Florida Southern	Lakeland, FL

Head coach

Preston Spradlin (Alice Lloyd)

Assistant coach(es)

Scott Combs (Austin Peay)
Dominic Lombardi (Indiana (PA))
Cason Burk (Jackson State)
Dionte Ferguson (South Alabama)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 26, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 4, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Ohio MAC–SBC Challenge	W 88–78	1–0	23 – Brown	8 – Hutchins-Everett	4 – Freeman	Atlantic Union Bank Center (5,973) Harrisonburg, VA
November 9, 2024* 6:00 p.m.	at Norfolk State	L 69–83	1–1	21 – Lindsay	10 – Smith	4 – Brown	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (3,170) Norfolk, VA
November 12, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Mary Baldwin	W 100–52	2–1	21 – Hutchins-Everett	12 – Hutchins-Everett	7 – Freeman	Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,516) Harrisonburg, VA
November 16, 2024* 8:00 p.m., FloHoops	at Towson	L 63–67	2–2	21 – Edwards	8 – Bickerstaff	5 – Green III	TU Arena (3,036) Towson, MD
November 21, 2024* 11:00 a.m., BallerTV	vs. UIC Boardwalk Battle quarterfinals	W 99–81	3–2	28 – Lindsay	5 – Tied	7 – Freeman	Ocean Center (386) Daytona Beach, FL
November 22, 2024* 3:30 p.m., BallerTV	vs. UC San Diego Boardwalk Battle semifinals	L 67–73	3–3	17 – Lindsay	9 – Smith	4 – Brown	Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
November 23, 2024* 3:30 p.m., BallerTV	vs. Jacksonville State Boardwalk Battle 3rd place game	W 71–65	4–3	18 – Brown	9 – Smith	4 – Brown	Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
November 29, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	George Mason	L 61–66	4–4	19 – Lindsay	10 – Smith	4 – Freeman	Atlantic Union Bank Center (4,611) Harrisonburg, VA
December 3, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	East Tennessee State	W 71–61	5–4	16 – Tied	6 – Tied	5 – Brown	Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,364) Harrisonburg, VA
December 7, 2024 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Utah Valley	W 78–61	6–4	18 – Lindsay	7 – Smith	7 – Brown	Atlantic Union Bank Center (3,726) Harrisonburg, VA
December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ACCN	at Wake Forest						LJVM Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC
December 21, 2024 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at South Alabama						Mitchell Center Mobile, AL
December 29, 2024* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+	Midway						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Southern Miss						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
January 4, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Arkansas State						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
January 9, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Marshall						Cam Henderson Center Huntington, WV
January 11, 2025 TBA, ESPN+	at Appalachian State						Holmes Center Boone, NC
January 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Marshall						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
January 18, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Appalachian State						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
January 22, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Old Dominion Royal Rivalry						Chartway Arena Norfolk, VA
January 25, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Georgia State						GSU Convocation Center Atlanta, GA
January 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Coastal Carolina						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
February 1, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Old Dominion Royal Rivalry						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
February 5, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Troy						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
February 8, 2025* TBA	TBA MAC–SBC Challenge						TBA
February 13, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Georgia Southern						Hill Convocation Center Statesboro, GA
February 15, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Coastal Carolina						HTC Center Conway, SC
February 20, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	Georgia State						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
February 22, 2025 4:00 p.m., ESPN+	Georgia Southern						Atlantic Union Bank Center Harrisonburg, VA
February 25, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+	at Louisiana-Monroe						Fant–Ewing Coliseum Monroe, LA
February 28, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+	at Texas State						Strahan Arena San Marcos, TX
Sun Belt tournament
March 4–9, 2025 TBA, ESPN+	vs. TBA						Pensacola Bay Center Pensacola, FL
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern.

References

^ "James Madison surprises No. 4 Michigan State 79-76 in OT, earning program's 2nd Top 25 win". ESPN. Associated Press. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
^ "Dukes Ranked in AP Poll For First Time in Program History". jmusports.com. November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
^ "JMU Men's Basketball Claims No. 2 Seed for Sun Belt Conference Championship". James Madison University Athletics. March 2, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
^ "No. 12 James Madison Controls No. 5 Wisconsin 72-61 in NCAA First Round". James Madison University Athletics. March 23, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
^ Norlander, Matt (2024-03-26). "Vanderbilt hires Mark Byington: James Madison coach led Dukes to 32-4 record in 2023-24 season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Arkansas State Tops 2024-25 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". sunbeltsports.org. 2024-10-14. Retrieved 26 November 2024.

[[Category:2025 in sports in Virginia|James Madison Dukes men's basketball]

[1] "James Madison surprises No. 4 Michigan State 79-76 in OT, earning program's 2nd Top 25 win". ESPN. Associated Press. November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 26, 2024.

[2] "Dukes Ranked in AP Poll For First Time in Program History". jmusports.com. November 13, 2023. Retrieved November 13, 2023.

[3] "JMU Men's Basketball Claims No. 2 Seed for Sun Belt Conference Championship". James Madison University Athletics. March 2, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.

[4] "No. 12 James Madison Controls No. 5 Wisconsin 72-61 in NCAA First Round". James Madison University Athletics. March 23, 2024. Retrieved November 26, 2024.

[5] Norlander, Matt (2024-03-26). "Vanderbilt hires Mark Byington: James Madison coach led Dukes to 32-4 record in 2023-24 season". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 26, 2024.

[:0-6] "Arkansas State Tops 2024-25 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Preseason Poll". sunbeltsports.org. 2024-10-14. Retrieved 26 November 2024.

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