# 2017–18 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team

The 2017–18 SMU Mustangs men's basketball team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mustangs were led by second-year head coach Tim Jankovich and played their home games at Moody Coliseum on their campus in University Park, Texas as members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 6–12 in AAC play to finish in ninth place. In the AAC tournament, they defeated UConn before losing to Cincinnati in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Mustangs finished the 2015–16 season 30–5, 17–1 in AAC play to win the AAC regular season championship. In the AAC tournament, they defeated East Carolina, UCF, and Cincinnati to win the tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 6 seed in the East region, were upset in the first round by No. 11 USC.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Ben Moore | 00 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | Bolingbrook, IL | Graduated |
| Sterling Brown | 3 | G | 6'6" | 230 | Senior | Maywood, IL | Graduated; selected 46th overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA draft |
| Dashawn McDowell | 5 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Freshman | Oklahoma City, OK | Transferred to Seattle |
| Courtland Sutton | 14 | F | 6'4" | 215 | RS Sophomore | Brenham, TX | Walk-on; didn't make the roster |
| Leo Kontopoulos | 15 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Freshman | Frankfurt, Germany | Walk-on; didn't make the roster |
| Semi Ojeleye | 33 | F | 6'7" | 235 | RS Junior | Ottawa, KS | Declared for NBA draft; selected 37th overall by the Boston Celtics |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jahmal McMurray | 0 | G | 6'0" | 165 | Junior | Topeka, KS | Transferred from South Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, McMurray will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Isiaha Mike | 15 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Sophomore | Scarborough, ON | Transferred from Duquesne. Under NCAA transfer rules, Mike will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Akoy Agau | 23 | F | 6'8" | 235 | RS Senior | Omaha, NE | Transferred from Georgetown. Will be eligible to play immediately since Agau graduated from Georgetown. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Elijah Landrum #28 PG | Tulsa, OK | Tulsa Central High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 12, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Ethan Chargois #38 C | Union City, OK | Union City High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Oct 1, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Everett Ray PF | Addison, TX | Trinity Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 22, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| William Douglas SF | Memphis, TN | Christian Brother | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 7, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, 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 SMU Recruiting List". Rivals.com. "2017 SMU Recruiting List". Scout.com. "2017 SMU Recruiting List". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jahmar Young Jr. C | DeSoto, TX | DeSoto High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 197 lb (89 kg) | Aug 18, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Feron Hunt SF | DeSoto, TX | DeSoto High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 9, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 0 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, 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: "2018 SMU Recruiting List". Rivals.com. "2018 SMU Recruiting List". Scout.com. "2018 SMU Recruiting List". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Preseason

At the conference's annual media day, the Mustangs were picked to finish in fourth place in the AAC. Junior guard Shake Milton was named the conference's preseason Player of the Year.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UMBC Battle 4 Atlantis campus-site game | W 78–67 | 1–0 | Moody Coliseum (6,841) Dallas, TX |
| Nov 12, 2017* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 83–65 | 2–0 | Moody Coliseum (6,622) Dallas, TX |
| Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwestern State | W 81–45 | 3–0 | Moody Coliseum (6,769) Dallas, TX |
| Nov 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 72–37 | 4–0 | Moody Coliseum (6,738) Dallas, TX |
| Nov 22, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Northern Iowa Battle 4 Atlantis quarterfinals | L 58–61 | 4–1 | Imperial Arena (909) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 23, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. No. 2 Arizona Battle 4 Atlantis consolation 2nd round | W 66–60 | 5–1 | Imperial Arena (1,236) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 24, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Western Kentucky Battle 4 Atlantis 5th place game | L 61–63 | 5–2 | Imperial Arena (1,252) Nassau, Bahamas |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 95–64 | 6–2 | Moody Coliseum (6,326) Dallas, TX |
| Dec 2, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 14 USC | W 72–55 | 7–2 | Moody Coliseum (6,918) Dallas, TX |
| Dec 5, 2017* 8:00 pm, FSSW+ | | at No. 20 TCU | L 83–94 | 7–3 | Schollmaier Arena (6,840) Fort Worth, TX |
| Dec 13, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Orleans | W 79–66 | 8–3 | Moody Coliseum (6,512) Dallas, TX |
| Dec 18, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Boise State | W 86–63 | 9–3 | Moody Coliseum (6,551) Dallas, TX |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cal Poly | W 84–64 | 10–3 | Moody Coliseum (6,480) Dallas, TX |
| AAC regular season ||||||
| Dec 27, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | UCF | W 56–51 | 11–3 (1–0) | Moody Coliseum (6,628) Dallas, TX |
| Dec 31, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | South Florida | W 79–39 | 12–3 (2–0) | Moody Coliseum (6,477) Dallas, TX |
| Jan 4, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulane | L 70–73 | 12–4 (2–1) | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,512) New Orleans, LA |
| Jan 7, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 19 Cincinnati | L 56–76 | 12–5 (2–2) | BB&T Arena (9,109) Highland Heights, KY |
| Jan 10, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Temple | L 64–66 | 12–6 (2–3) | Moody Coliseum (6,471) Dallas, TX |
| Jan 17, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 7 Wichita State | W 83–78 | 13–6 (3–3) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| Jan 20, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPNews | | Tulane | W 73–62 | 14–6 (4–3) | Moody Coliseum (6,814) Dallas, TX |
| Jan 25, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UConn | L 52–63 | 14–7 (4–4) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (7,322) Storrs, CT |
| Jan 28, 2018 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | East Carolina | W 86–61 | 15–7 (5–4) | Moody Coliseum (6,544) Dallas, TX |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Tulsa | L 67–76 | 15–8 (5–5) | Reynolds Center (4,337) Tulsa, OK |
| Feb 8, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Houston | L 58–67 | 15–9 (5–6) | Toyota Center (3,547) Houston, TX |
| Feb 11, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 6 Cincinnati | L 51–76 | 15–10 (5–7) | Moody Coliseum (6,935) Dallas, TX |
| Feb 14, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Memphis | L 67–70 | 15–11 (5–8) | Moody Coliseum (6,539) Dallas, TX |
| Feb 17, 2018 10:00 am, ESPNU | | at UCF | L 37–52 | 15–12 (5–9) | CFE Arena (4,016) Orlando, FL |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNews | | at East Carolina | W 77–58 | 16–12 (6–9) | Williams Arena (2,923) Greenville, NC |
| Feb 24, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 13 Wichita State | L 78–84 | 16–13 (6–10) | Moody Coliseum (6,931) Dallas, TX |
| Feb 28, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 25 Houston | L 56–69 | 16–14 (6–11) | Moody Coliseum (6,782) Dallas, TX |
| Mar 4, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPNews | | at South Florida | L 54–65 | 16–15 (6–12) | USF Sun Dome (2,593) Tampa, FL |
| AAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 11:00 am, ESPNU | (9) | vs. (8) UConn First round | W 80–73 | 17–15 | Amway Center (7,856) Orlando, FL |
| Mar 9, 2018 11:00 am, ESPN2 | (9) | vs. (1) No. 8 Cincinnati Quarterfinals | L 51–61 | 17–16 | Amway Center (8,491) Orlando, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source