2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team

The 2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by fifth-year head coach Matthew Graves and played their home games at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama as members in the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament to Troy.

2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield champions
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	14–18 (7–11 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Matthew Graves (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Darnell Archey Russ Willemsen Brock Morris
Home arena	Mitchell Center
Seasons ← 2016–17 2018–19 →

2017–18 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Louisiana	16	–	2		.889			27	–	7		.794
Georgia State †	12	–	6		.667			24	–	11		.686
Georgia Southern	11	–	7		.611			21	–	12		.636
Texas–Arlington	10	–	8		.556			21	–	13		.618
Louisiana–Monroe	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Troy	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Appalachian State	9	–	9		.500			15	–	18		.455
Coastal Carolina	8	–	10		.444			14	–	18		.438
South Alabama	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Texas State	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
Arkansas State	6	–	12		.333			11	–	21		.344
Little Rock	4	–	14		.222			7	–	25		.219
† 2018 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner

On March 8, South Alabama fired head coach Matthew Graves.^[1] He finished at South Alabama with a five-year record of 65–96.

On March 15, South Alabama hired Nicholls State head coach Richie Riley as their new head coach.^[2]

Previous season

The Jaguars finished the 2016–17 season 14–18, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

Off-season

Departures

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Georgi Boyanov	F	6'7"	205	Senior	Bulgaria	Graduated.
Ken Williams	G	6'3"	198	Senior	Houston, TX	Graduated.
Nick Stover	F	6'6"	198	Senior	Los Angeles, CA	Graduated.
Dan MuepoKelly	F	6'7"	236	Senior	Fontana, CA	Graduated.
Nikola Marijan	F	7'1"	242	Sophomore	Serbia	Transferred to Tampa.

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Rodrick Sikes	14	G	6'1"	170	Junior	Ocean Springs, MS	Junior college transferred from Southwest Mississippi CC.
R.J. Kelly		F	6'7"	195	Sophomore	Powder Springs, GA	Transferred from Savannah State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Kelly will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Rozelle Nix	34	F	6'11"	300	Senior	Cincinnati, OH	Graduate transfer from Pittsburgh. Under NCAA transfer rules, Nix will play immediately in the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.

Incoming recruits

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Joe Thompson F	Kenner, Louisiana	Alfred Bonnabel High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (NR)
A.J. Caldwell G	Sarasota, Florida	Riverview High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:    (75)
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.

Roster

2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F R.J. Kelly  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 183 lb (83 kg) RS So Savannah State Powder Springs, GA F 0 Joe Thompson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 211 lb (96 kg) Fr Bonnabel HS Kenner, LA G 1 Herb McGee 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Riverside Academy Reserve, LA F 3 Kevin Morris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 265 lb (120 kg) So Dothan HS Dothan, AL G 4 A.J. Caldwell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Riverview HS Sarasota, FL G 5 Dederick Lee 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 162 lb (73 kg) Sr Indian Hills CC Clarksville, AR G 11 John Pettway 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Fr Keith HS Safford, AL G 13 Devin Epps 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 167 lb (76 kg) RS Sr Oakland HS Murfreesboro, TN G 14 Rodrick Sikes 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Jr St. Martin HS Ocean Springs, MS G 21 Nick Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 191 lb (87 kg) Sr Alabama State Mount Vernon, AL G 25 Jordan Andrews 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Youngstown State Abita Springs, LA G 30 Ethan Haslam 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) RS So Academy at the Lakes Lithia, FL F 33 Josh Ajayi 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) RS So San Gabriel Academy El Monte, CA F 34 Rozelle Nix 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 300 lb (136 kg) GS Pittsburgh Cincinnati, OH F 42 Trhae Mitchell 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 189 lb (86 kg) RS So Pebblebrook HS Austell, GA	Head coach Matthew Graves (Butler) Assistant coach(es) Darnell Archey (Butler) Russ Willemsen (Lee) Brock Morris (Snead State CC) 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
Oct 24, 2017* 7:30 pm		at Spring Hill	W 77–55		Arthur Outlaw Recreational Center  Mobile, AL
Nov 3, 2017* 7:35 pm		North Alabama	L 80–82		Mitchell Center (2,146) Mobile, AL
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, FCS		at Texas Tech Hall of Fame Tip Off	L 50–75	0–1	United Supermarkets Arena (8,865) Lubbock, TX
Nov 13, 2017* 7:05 pm		Mobile	W 71–49	1–1	Mitchell Center (1,990) Mobile, AL
Nov 16, 2017* 6:00 pm		at La Salle Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic	L 73–81	1–2	Tom Gola Arena (1,488) Philadelphia, PA
Nov 18, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3		vs. Maine Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket	W 68–46	2–2	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
Nov 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		vs. Saint Peter’s Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket	W 54–49	3–2	Mohegan Sun Arena  Uncasville, CT
Nov 22, 2017* 7:05 pm		Stetson	L 77–81 OT	3–3	Mitchell Center (1,737) Mobile, AL
Nov 26, 2017* 3:05 pm		New Orleans	W 55–52	4–3	Mitchell Center (1,548) Mobile, AL
Nov 29, 2017* 7:05 pm		Southern Miss	W 69–58	5–3	Mitchell Center (2,353) Mobile, AL
Dec 2, 2017* 6:00 pm		at FIU	L 58–87	5–4	FIU Arena (653) Miami, FL
Dec 10, 2017* 2:00 pm, FSMW		at SIU Edwardsville	L 75–76	5–5	Vadalabene Center (1,155) Edwardsville, IL
Dec 16, 2017* 3:05 pm		Eastern Illinois	W 63–52	6–5	Mitchell Center (1,901) Mobile, AL
Dec 21, 2017* 12:00 pm		at Tulane	L 73–77	6–6	Devlin Fieldhouse (1,187) New Orleans, LA
Dec 29, 2017 7:05 pm		Georgia State	W 86–64	7–6 (1–0)	Mitchell Center (1,788) Mobile, AL
Dec 31, 2017 3:05 pm		at Georgia Southern	W 69–67	8–6 (2–0)	Mitchell Center (1,612) Mobile, AL
Jan 4, 2018 7:30 pm		at Texas State	L 69–72	8–7 (2–1)	Strahan Coliseum (1,407) San Marcos, TX
Jan 6, 2018 4:15 pm		at Texas–Arlington	L 67–91	8–8 (2–2)	College Park Center (1,914) Arlington, TX
Jan 9, 2018* 7:05 pm		Trinity Baptist	W 99–34	9–8	Mitchell Center (1,924) Mobile, AL
Jan 13, 2018 3:05 pm		Troy	L 64–79	9–9 (2–3)	Mitchell Center (3,014) Mobile, AL
Jan 18, 2018 7:05 pm		Coastal Carolina	W 60–57	10–9 (3–3)	Mitchell Center (2,098) Mobile, AL
Jan 20, 2018 3:05 pm		Appalachian State	W 83–77	11–9 (4–3)	Mitchell Center (3,877) Mobile, AL
Jan 25, 2018 7:15 pm		at Louisiana	L 57–76	11–10 (4–4)	Cajundome (5,036) Lafayette, LA
Jan 27, 2018 2:00 pm		at Louisiana–Monroe	L 74–83	11–11 (4–5)	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,635) Monroe, LA
Feb 3, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3		at Troy	L 63–80	11–12 (4–6)	Trojan Arena (3,266) Troy, AL
Feb 8, 2018 7:05 pm		Little Rock	W 73–56	12–12 (5–6)	Mitchell Center (1,541) Mobile, AL
Feb 10, 2018 3:05 pm		Arkansas State	W 87–67	13–12 (6–6)	Mitchell Center (1,983) Mobile, AL
Feb 15, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3		at Appalachian State	W 77–66	14–12 (7–6)	Holmes Center (w) Boone, NC
Feb 17, 2018 2:30 pm		at Coastal Carolina	L 70–72	14–13 (7–7)	HTC Center (1,311) Conway, SC
Feb 22, 2018 7:05 pm		Louisiana–Monroe	L 62–66	14–14 (7–8)	Mitchell Center (2,011) Mobile, AL
Feb 24, 2018 7:05 pm		Louisiana	L 71–88	14–15 (7–9)	Mitchell Center (1,946) Mobile, AL
Mar 1, 2018 6:30 pm		at Georgia Southern	L 74–81	14–16 (7–10)	Hanner Fieldhouse (1,526) Statesboro, GA
Mar 3, 2018 1:15 pm, ESPN3		at Georgia State	L 75–90	14–17 (7–11)	GSU Sports Arena (1,649) Atlanta, GA
Sun Belt tournament
Mar 7, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3	(10)	vs. (7) Troy First round	L 62–69	14–18	Lakefront Arena (986) New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

See also

• 2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars women's basketball team