2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball season
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball season | |
---|---|
Tournament | |
Champions | Marshall |
Runners-up | Western Kentucky |
Finals MVP | Jon Elmore |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Middle Tennessee | 16 | – | 2 | .889 | 25 | – | 8 | .758 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Old Dominion | 15 | – | 3 | .833 | 25 | – | 7 | .781 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Kentucky | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 27 | – | 11 | .711 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marshall † | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 25 | – | 11 | .694 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UTSA | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 20 | – | 15 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UAB | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 13 | .606 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
North Texas | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 20 | – | 18 | .526 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
FIU | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 14 | – | 18 | .438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Southern Miss | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 16 | – | 18 | .471 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Louisiana Tech | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 16 | .515 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida Atlantic | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
UTEP | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rice | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 7 | – | 24 | .226 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Charlotte | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 6 | – | 23 | .207 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 2018 C-USA Tournament winner |
The 2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in early March.
Middle Tennessee's Nick King was named C-USA Player of the Year and UTSA's Steve Henson was named the Coach of the Year.[2]
The
Head coaches
Coaching changes
On March 5, 2017, North Texas fired head coach Tony Benford after five years without a winning season.[3] On March 13, the school hired Arkansas State head coach Grant McCasland to the same role.[4]
On March 21, 2017, Rice head coach Mike Rhoades resigned to become the head coach at VCU.[5] He finished at Rice with a three-year record of 47–52. On March 23, the school promoted assistant coach Scott Pera to head coach.[6]
On November 27, 2017 UTEP dropped to 1–5 on the season, head coach Tim Floyd announced that he was retiring effective immediately.[7][8] The school had previously announced a new athletic director, Jim Senter, a week prior, but Floyd said that had nothing to do with his decision.[9][10] Assistant Phil Johnson was named interim head coach of the Miners the next day.[11]
On December 14, 2017, Charlotte head coach Mark Price was fired after a 3–6 start to the season and was replaced by Houston Fancher.[12] Fancher was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.[13]
Coaches
Team | Head coach | Previous job | Year at school | Overall record | C-USA record | C-USA championships | NCAA Tournaments |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlotte | Houston Fancher (interim) |
Charlotte (asst.) |
0 | 3–17 | 2–16 | 0 | 0 |
FIU | Anthony Evans | Norfolk State | 5 | 65–94 | 33–55 | 0 | 0 |
Florida Atlantic | Michael Curry | Philadelphia 76ers (asst.) |
4 | 39–84 | 19–53 | 0 | 0 |
Louisiana Tech | Eric Konkol | Miami (asst.) |
3 | 63–36 | 33–21 | 0 | 0 |
Marshall | Dan D'Antoni | Los Angeles Lakers (asst.) |
4 | 73–63 | 41–31 | 1 | 1 |
Middle Tennessee | Kermit Davis | LSU (asst.) |
16 | 332–188 | 68–20 | 2 | 2 |
North Texas | Grant McCasland | Arkansas State | 1 | 20–18 | 8–10 | 0 | 0 |
Old Dominion | Jeff Jones | American | 5 | 114–58 | 61–27 | 0 | 0 |
Rice | Scott Pera | Rice (asst.) |
1 | 7–24 | 4–14 | 0 | 0 |
Southern Miss | Doc Sadler | Iowa State (asst.) |
4 | 38–81 | 21–50 | 0 | 0 |
UAB | Robert Ehsan
|
UAB (asst.) |
2 | 37–29 | 19–17 | 0 | 0 |
UTEP | Phil Johnson (interim) |
UTEP (asst.) |
0 | 10–15 | 6–12 | 0 | 0 |
UTSA | Steve Henson | Oklahoma (asst.) |
3 | 34–33 | 18–18 | 0 | 0 |
WKU | Rick Stansbury | Texas A&M (asst.) |
2 | 42–28 | 23–13 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
- All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
- Year at school includes 2017–18 season.
- Overall and C-USA records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2017–18 season.
Preseason
Preseason Coaches Poll
Source[14]
Rank | Team |
---|---|
1. | Middle Tennessee (8) |
2. | UAB (4) |
3. | Louisiana Tech (2) |
4. | Old Dominion |
5. | UTEP |
6. | Western Kentucky |
7. | Marshall |
8. | Charlotte |
9. | UTSA |
10. | Southern Miss |
11. | North Texas |
12. | Florida Atlantic |
13. | Rice |
14. | FIU |
() first place votes
Preseason All-C-USA Team
Source[15]
Recipient | School |
---|---|
Daquan Bracey | La Tech |
William Lee | UAB |
Jon Elmore | Marshall |
Justin Johnson | WKU |
Chris Cokely | UAB |
Jon Davis | Charlotte |
Ahmad Caver | Old Dominion |
Giddy Potts | Middle Tennessee |
Jacobi Boykins | La Tech |
Omega Harris | UTEP |
Conference schedules
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
Charlotte | FIU | FAU | LaTech | Marshall | MTSU | UNT | ODU | Rice | USM | UAB | UTEP | UTSA | WKU | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
vs. Charlotte | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
vs. FIU | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
vs. Florida Atlantic | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 |
vs. Louisiana Tech | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
vs. Marshall | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 |
vs. Middle Tennessee | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
vs. North Texas | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 |
vs. Old Dominion | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 2–0 |
vs. Rice | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
vs. Southern Miss | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | – | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
vs. UAB | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
vs. UTEP | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 |
vs. UTSA | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 |
vs. WKU | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – |
Total | 2–16 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 7–11 | 12–6 | 16–2 | 8–10 | 15–3 | 4–14 | 7–11 | 10–8 | 6–12 | 11–7 | 14–4 |
Players of the Week
Throughout the conference regular season, the C-USA offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.[16]
Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
---|---|---|
November 13, 2017 | Jon Elmore, Marshall | Keaton Wallace, UTSA |
November 20, 2017 | Nick King, Middle Tennessee | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
November 27, 2017 | Chris Cokley, UAB | Jake Ohmer, Western Kentucky |
December 4, 2017 | Jon Elmore, Marshall | Keaton Wallace, UTSA |
December 11, 2017 | Nick King, Middle Tennessee | Keaton Wallace, UTSA |
December 18, 2017 | Ajdin Penava, Marshall | Taveion Hollingsworth, Western Kentucky |
December 26, 2017 | Nick King, Middle Tennessee | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
January 2, 2018 | Roosevelt Smart, North Texas | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
January 8, 2018 | Darius Thompson, Western Kentucky | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
January 16, 2018 | Roosevelt Smart, North Texas | Zack Byrant, UAB |
January 22, 2018 | C. J. Burks, Marshall | Anthony Duruji, Louisiana Tech |
January 29, 2018 | Ronald Delph, FAU | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
February 7, 2018 | Brian Beard, FIU | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
February 12, 2018 | Nick King, Middle Tennessee | Taveion Hollingsworth, Western Kentucky |
February 19, 2018 | C. J. Burks, Marshall | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
February 26, 2018 | Jon Elmore, Marshall | Najja Hunter, Rice |
March 4, 2018 | Jon Davis, Charlotte Trey Porter, Old Dominion |
Zack Bryant, UAB |
All-C-USA honors and awards
Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches.[17][18]
Honor | Recipient |
---|---|
Player of the Year | Nick King, Middle Tennessee |
Coach of the Year | Steve Henson, UTSA |
Defensive Player of the Year | Ajdin Penava, Marshall |
Freshman of the Year | Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA |
Newcomer of the Year | Nick King, Middle Tennessee |
Sixth Man of the Year | Deon Lyle, UTSA |
All-C-USA First Team | Jon Elmore, Marshall |
Nick King, Middle Tennessee | |
Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion | |
Chris Cokley, UAB | |
Justin Johnson, WKU | |
All-C-USA Second Team | C. J. Burks, Marshall |
Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee | |
Roosevelt Smart, North Texas | |
Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA | |
Darius Thompson, WKU | |
All-C-USA Third Team | Brian Beard, FIU |
Ronald Delph, FAU | |
Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech | |
Ajdin Penava, Marshall | |
B. J. Stith, Old Dominion | |
All-C-USA Defensive Team | Brian Beard, FIU |
Ajdin Penava, Marshall | |
Tyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee | |
Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion | |
William Lee, UAB | |
All-C-USA Freshman Team | Anthony Duruji, Louisiana Tech |
Zack Bryant, UAB | |
Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA | |
Keaton Wallace, UTSA | |
Taveion Hollingsworth, WKU |
Postseason
C-USA Tournament
Only the top 12 conference teams were eligible for the tournament.
Session | Game | Matchup | Score | Television |
---|---|---|---|---|
First Round – Wednesday, March 7 | ||||
1 | 1 | No. 8 FIU vs. No. 9 Southern Miss | 68–69 | Stadium |
2 | No. 5 UTSA vs. No. 12 UTEP | 71–58 | ||
3 | No. 7 North Texas vs. No. 10 Louisiana Tech | 62–68 | ||
4 | No. 6 UAB vs. No. 11 Florida Atlantic | 83–72 | ||
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 8 | ||||
2 | 5 | No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 9 Southern Miss | 68–71OT | Stadium |
6 | No. 4 Marshall vs. No. 5 UTSA | 95–81 | ||
7 | No. 2 Old Dominion vs. No. 10 Louisiana Tech | 62–58 | ||
8 | No. 3 Western Kentucky vs. No. 6 UAB | 98–70 | ||
Semifinals – Friday, March 9 | ||||
3 | 9 | No. 4 Marshall vs. No. 9 Southern Miss | 85–75 | CBSSN |
10 | No. 2 Old Dominion vs. No. 3 Western Kentucky | 49–57 | ||
Championship – Saturday, March 10 | ||||
4 | 11 | No. 3 Western Kentucky vs. No. 4 Marshall | 66–67 | CBSSN |
NCAA tournament
Seed | Region | School | First Four | First round | Second round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
13 | East | Marshall | N/A | defeated (4) Wichita State 81–75 | eliminated by (5) West Virginia 71–94 |
National Invitation Tournament
Seed | Bracket | School | First round | Second round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | Baylor | Middle Tennessee | defeated (6) Vermont 91–64 | eliminated by (2) Louisville 68–84 | |||
4 | USC | Western Kentucky | defeated (5) Boston College 79–62 | defeated (1) USC 79–75 | defeated (2) Oklahoma State 92–84 | eliminated by (2) Utah 64–69 | |
W–L (%): | 2–0 (1.000) | 1–1 (.500) | 1–0 (1.000) | 0–1 (.000) | 0–0 (–) Total: 4–2 (.667) |
References
- ^ "Blue Raiders take C-USA title after dominating WKU". GoBlueRaiders. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
- ^ "King, Henson Named Player, Coach of the Year". Conference USA. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
- ^ "North Texas fires head coach Tony Benford after 5 seasons". USA TODAY. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ "North Texas hires McCasland as new coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
- ^ "Mike Rhoades leaving Rice for VCU job". March 22, 2017.
- ^ Payne, Terrence (March 23, 2017). "Rice promotes Scott Pera to head coach". CollegeBasketballTalk. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
- ^ "UTEP's Tim Floyd, a former coach of the Chicago Bulls, announces his retirement". CBSSports.com. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ "UTEP's Floyd retires after Miners fall to 1–5". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ "Citing 'new world of college basketball,' Tim Floyd abruptly retires from coaching". kansascity. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Villasana, Jose (November 28, 2017). "UTEP's new athletic director: We are going to engage our community". KVIA. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Dauster, Rob. "UTEP announces that Phil Johnson will replace Tim Floyd". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^ Reed, Steve (December 14, 2017). "Charlotte fires basketball coach, former NBA star Mark Price". The Charlotte Observer. Archived from the original on December 23, 2017. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ "Charlotte 49ers interim coach Houston Fancher: 'I ... hurt in my heart for Mark (Price)". charlotteobserver. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
- ^ "2017-18 Basketball Preseason Polls Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ "2017-18 C-USA Basketball Preseason Team". Conference USA. Retrieved October 27, 2017.
- ^ "C-USA Notebook" (PDF).
- ^ "C-USA Announces All-Conference Teams".
- ^ "2018 Superlative Awards Announced".