2017–18 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team represented Davidson College during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by 29th-year head coach Bob McKillop and played their home games at the John M. Belk Arena in Davidson, North Carolina as fourth-year members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 13–5 in the A-10 to finish in third place. In the A-10 tournament they defeated Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, and Rhode Island to be A-10 Tournament champions. They received the A-10's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Kentucky.

2017–18 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball
Atlantic 10 tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Record	21–12 (13–5 A-10)
Head coach	Bob McKillop (29th season)
Assistant coaches	Matt McKillop Ryan Mee Will Reigel
Home arena	John M. Belk Arena
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Rhode Island	15	–	3		.833			26	–	8		.765
St. Bonaventure	14	–	4		.778			26	–	8		.765
Davidson †	13	–	5		.722			21	–	12		.636
Saint Joseph's	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
VCU	9	–	9		.500			18	–	15		.545
Saint Louis	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
George Mason	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Richmond	9	–	9		.500			12	–	20		.375
Dayton	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Duquesne	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
George Washington	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
La Salle	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
Massachusetts	5	–	13		.278			13	–	20		.394
Fordham	4	–	14		.222			9	–	22		.290
† 2018 A10 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 17–15, 8–10 in A-10 play to finish in ninth place. In the A-10 tournament, they defeated La Salle^[1] and Dayton^[2][3] to advance to the tournament semifinals where they lost to Rhode Island.^[4]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jack Gibbs	12	G	6'0"	195	Senior	Westerville, OH	Graduated
Kamau Faines	13	G	6'2"	200	Junior	Chicago, IL	Walk-on; didn't return
Manu Giamoukis	31	G	6'1"	200	Senior	Thessaloniki, Greece	Graduated
Connor Perkey	34	F	6'8"	215	RS Senior	Atlanta, GA	Graduated
Andrew McAuliffe	40	F	6'8"	260	Senior	Northbrook, IL	Graduated

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Kellan Grady #42 PG	West Roxbury, MA	Northfield Mt. Hermon School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Apr 12, 2016
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (81)
Carter Collins PG	Chapel Hill, NC	East Chapel Hill High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	N/A
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Luke Frampton SG	Poca, WV	Poca High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)
	Recruit ratings: No ratings found
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved July 27, 2017.

Source^[5]

Preseason

In a poll of the league's head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Wildcats were picked to finish in sixth place in the A-10.^[6] Senior forward Peyton Aldridge was named to the conference's preseason first team.^[6]

Roster

2017–18 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Dusan Kovacevic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS So Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School Novi Sad, Serbia F 1 Nathan Ekwu 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Cardinal Hayes High School Enugu, Nigeria G 2 Jordan Watkins 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Providence Day School Charlotte, North Carolina G 3 Jón Axel Guðmundsson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja Grindavík, Iceland G 4 Cal Freundlich (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Friends Seminary New York, New York G 5 Malcolm Wynter (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Harborfields High School Greenlawn, New York G 14 Michael Brown (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Saint Francis Academy Gainesville, Florida F 15 Oskar Michelsen 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Makelanrinne Sports High School Helsinki, Finland G 20 KiShawn Pritchett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Lake Norman High School Mooresville, North Carolina F 22 Will Magarity 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Sr Boston College Stockholm, Sweden F 23 Peyton Aldridge 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr LaBrae High School Leavittsville, Ohio G 24 Carter Collins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr East Chapel Hill High School Chapel Hill, North Carolina F 25 Bates Jones (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Charlotte Latin School Charlotte, North Carolina G 31 Kellan Grady 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Northfield Mount Hermon School Boston, Massachusetts G 32 Rusty Reigel 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Charlotte Latin School Charlotte, North Carolina G 34 Luke Frampton 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Poca High School Poca, West Virginia	Head coach Bob McKillop (Hofstra) Assistant coach(es) Matt McKillop (Davidson) Ryan Mee (University of Rochester Will Reigel (Davidson) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2017* 7:30 pm		Hampden–Sydney	W 106–55		John M. Belk Arena (2,864) Davidson, NC
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm		Charleston Southern	W 110–62	1–0	John M. Belk Arena (3,705) Davidson, NC
Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm		UNC Wilmington	W 108–81	2–0	John M. Belk Arena (3,252) Davidson, NC
Nov 21, 2017* 10:00 pm, ATTSN		at Nevada	L 68–81	2–1	Lawlor Events Center (8,225) Reno, NV
Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Appalachian State	L 62–79	2–2	Holmes Center (1,216) Boone, NC
Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium		at Charlotte	W 85–70	3–2	Dale F. Halton Arena (4,418) Charlotte, NC
Dec 1, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 13 North Carolina Charlotte Showcase	L 75–85	3–3	Spectrum Center (11,395) Charlotte, NC
Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm		VMI	W 74–51	4–3	John M. Belk Arena  Davidson, NC
Dec 16, 2017* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at No. 16 Virginia	L 60–80	4–4	John Paul Jones Arena (13,910) Charlottesville, VA
Dec 22, 2017* 11:00 pm, ESPNU		vs. New Mexico State Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals	L 68–69	4–5	Stan Sheriff Center (7,669) Honolulu, HI
Dec 24, 2017* 12:30 am, ESPNU		at Hawaii Diamond Head Classic consolation round	L 71–79	4–6	Stan Sheriff Center (5,946) Honolulu, HI
Dec 25, 2017* 12:30pm, ESPNU		vs. Akron Diamond Head Classic 7th place game	W 91–78	5–6	Stan Sheriff Center (6,698) Honolulu, HI
A-10 regular season
Dec 30, 2017 4:30 pm, NBCSN		at Richmond	L 58–69	5–7 (0–1)	Robins Center (6,560) Richmond, VA
Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm		Saint Louis	W 54–51	6–7 (1–1)	John M. Belk Arena (3,140) Davidson, NC
Jan 7, 2018 12:00 pm, NBCSN		at George Mason	W 86–59	7–7 (2–1)	EagleBank Arena (3,023) Fairfax, VA
Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm		George Washington	W 72–45	8–7 (3–1)	John M. Belk Arena (3,310) Davidson, NC
Jan 14, 2018 3:00 pm, NBCSN		at Fordham	W 75–45	9–7 (4–1)	Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,734) Bronx, NY
Jan 19, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2		St. Bonaventure	W 83–73	10–7 (5–1)	John M. Belk Arena (4,305) Davidson, NC
Jan 23, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at Dayton	L 64–65	10–8 (5–2)	UD Arena (13,173) Dayton, OH
Jan 28, 2018 2:00 pm, NBCSN		Richmond	L 63–66	10–9 (5–3)	John M. Belk Arena (4,412) Davidson, NC
Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium		La Salle	W 84–65	11–9 (6–3)	John M. Belk Arena (3,248) Davidson, NC
Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm		at George Washington	W 87–58	12–9 (7–3)	Charles E. Smith Center (4,018) Washington, D.C.
Feb 6, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium		Saint Joseph's	W 91–62	13–9 (8–3)	John M. Belk Arena (3,134) Davidson, NC
Feb 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2		at No. 18 Rhode Island	L 59–72	13–10 (8–4)	Ryan Center (7,743) Kingston, RI
Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN		at VCU	W 74–63	14–10 (9–4)	Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA
Feb 17, 2018 7:00 pm		Massachusetts	W 83–78	15–10 (10–4)	John M. Belk Arena (4,202) Davidson, NC
Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm		Fordham	W 76–52	16–10 (11–4)	John M. Belk Arena (3,212) Davidson, NC
Feb 24, 2018 12:00 pm		at Duquesne	W 71–60	17–10 (12–4)	Palumbo Center (2,555) Pittsburgh, PA
Feb 27, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN		at St. Bonaventure	L 113–117 3OT	17–11 (12–5)	Reilly Center (4,865) Olean, NY
Mar 2, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		No. 17 Rhode Island	W 63–61	18–11 (13–5)	John M. Belk Arena (4,442) Davidson, NC
A-10 tournament
Mar 9, 2018 8:30 pm, NBCSN	(3)	vs. (6) Saint Louis Quarterfinals	W 78–60	19–11	Capital One Arena (7,664) Washington, D.C.
Mar 10, 2018 3:30 pm, CBSSN	(3)	vs. (2) Saint Bonaventure Semifinals	W 83–70	20–11	Capital One Arena (8,756) Washington, D.C.
Mar 11, 2018 1:00 pm, CBS	(3)	vs. (1) No. 25 Rhode Island Championship	W 58–57	21–11	Capital One Arena (7,643) Washington, D.C.
NCAA tournament
Mar 15, 2018* 7:10 pm, CBS	(12 S)	vs. (5 S) No. 18 Kentucky First Round	L 73–78	21–12	Taco Bell Arena (11,673) Boise, ID
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time.