Could the wild ending to the 2023-24 regular season, in which the Western Michigan University's men's basketball team won four of its final six games, including a final-game win over always-tough Akron to qualify for the Mid-American Conference tournament, be a momentum starter for this season?

Absolutely.

Add in a little disrespect from the 2024-25 preseason poll which picked WMU to finish 10th in the 12-team league and the Broncos (12-20 overall, 9-9 MAC) have a lot of juice to start the season, which begins with an exhibition game against Kalamazoo College on Wednesday.

The regular season begins on Monday, Nov. 4, when WMU travels to Coastal Carolina for the MAC-Sun Belt Challenge. The MAC season begins on Jan. 4 at home against Toledo.

"They picked us 12th last year and we ended up sixth," said head coach Dwayne Stephens with a grin. "I wouldn't have minded if they would have picked us 12th again.

"I don't get caught up in the rankings, and if anything, it hopefully puts a chip on my guys' shoulders. They know what they are capable of, and they need to just go out and prove who we are."

The Broncos are like many college basketball teams. With the transfer portal pulling players from teams, WMU has eight returners, but only two – senior Owen Lobsinger (6-foot-9) and junior JaVaughn Hannah (6-4) – saw meaningful minutes last season. The other returning players are juniors Brandon Muntu (6-4), Markhi Strickland (6-6) and Jack Stefanski (6-6); sophomore Max Burton (6-10); and redshirt freshmen Josh Thomas (6-6) and Michael Sulaka (6-9).

The transfers are graduate student Donovan Williams (6-5), junior Chansey Willis Jr. (6-2) and sophomores Marquese Josephs (6-1), Seryee Lewis (6-9) and Hutch Ward (6-7). The incoming freshmen are EJ Ryans (6-3) and Junior Sileu (6-10).

"(The portal) will be the norm, unfortunately, and not just for our level, but for the Power 5 level, too," Stephens said.

Hannah and Lobsinger have gladly taken up the challenge of helping the new players get acclimated to Western Michigan.

"I was extremely excited when we all walked in for the first practice session," Hannah, the MAC Sixth Man of the Year last season, said. "Letting them know what we're trying to accomplish, and can we put aside our egos and get to where we want to be."

Added Lobsinger: "This team has come a long way in a short amount of time. There are a bunch of new faces, but I feel like this is one of the closest teams I've been a part of.

"Like JaVaughn, working with the new players is something in which I take responsibility. When I was a freshman, the older guys took me under their wing. When you are young, sometimes it can be tough.''

Hannah averaged 9.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and had 47 assists. Lobsinger averaged 9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and started all 32 games. He was 12th in the MAC in 3-point shooting percentage (37.8). He's the only four-year senior on the team.

"It didn't sink in until we had our Tip-Off dinner and I'm the last one called because they started with the freshmen and worked up," Lobsinger said. "I must really be the old man."

One of the most important positions on a basketball team is point guard, and for the Broncos, the top three assist leaders are gone.

"I have three guys who can play point," Stephens said of this season's team. "Chansey is a kid with unbelievable court vision.

"Marquese is a transfer and he's learning our system and EJ is a high school guy who has a lot of promise and will be a really good player for us."

In high school at Detroit King, Willis was the 2022 Mr. Basketball award winner along with being named Michigan's Gatorade Player of the Year.

Now, about that Akron game at the end of last season. Akron wound up being the No. 2 seed in the MAC Tournament and beat No. 8 Kent State, 62-61, in the championship game.

"What it proves to our guys is what we are doing here is working," Stephens said. "I think it creates more buy-in with the guys who come in and the guys who have been here…they understand we can compete with the best in the league and it's our job to make sure we do it each and every night."

Added Lobsinger: "That Akron game was a wild one and I still get chills thinking about the last 10 minutes, fighting back and getting the win. We just have to build off last year."

Added Hannah, looking ahead: "I know people in the city of Kalamazoo felt the energy and it's something veterans like Owen and me can bring back this season. We're not just satisfied with making the tournament. We want to kick in that door, take the next step and win a championship. That foundation is set. We just want to continue it this season."