# 2017–18 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team

The 2017–18 Texas Southern Tigers basketball team represented Texas Southern University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by sixth-year head coach Mike Davis, played their home games at the Health and Physical Education Arena in Houston, Texas as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 16–20, 12–6 in SWAC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. Due to Grambling State's Academic Progress Rate violations and subsequent postseason ineligibility, they received the No. 3 seed in the SWAC tournament where they defeated Alabama State, Prairie View A&M and Arkansas–Pine Bluff to become SWAC Tournament champions. They received the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated North Carolina Central in the First Four before losing in the first round to Xavier.
On June 5, 2018, head coach Mike Davis announced he would step down as head coach to become the head coach at Detroit, which was made official on June 13. On June 25, the school hired Nevada associate head coach and former North Texas and LSU head coach Johnny Jones for the job.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2016–17 season 23–12, 16–2 in SWAC play to win the regular season SWAC championship. They defeated Alabama State, Grambling State, and Alcorn State to win the SWAC tournament. As a result, they received the SWAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed in the East region. There they lost in the first round to North Carolina.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, RTNW | | at No. 18 Gonzaga | L 69–97 | 0–1 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| Nov 12, 2017* 3:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington State | L 84–86 $^{OT}$ | 0–2 | Beasley Coliseum (2,424) Pullman, WA |
| Nov 16, 2017* 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Ohio State | L 64–82 | 0–3 | Value City Arena (9,984) Columbus, OH |
| Nov 18, 2017* 6:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Syracuse | L 67–80 | 0–4 | Carrier Dome (16,644) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at No. 3 Kansas | L 71–114 | 0–5 | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| Nov 24, 2017* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Clemson | L 77–84 | 0–6 | Littlejohn Coliseum (5,526) Clemson, SC |
| Nov 30, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Oakland | L 87–97 | 0–7 | Athletics Center O'Rena (2,854) Rochester, MI |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 69–71 | 0–8 | Savage Arena (3,199) Toledo, OH |
| Dec 11, 2017* 9:00 pm, P12N | | at Oregon | L 68–74 | 0–9 | Matthew Knight Arena (6,249) Eugene, OR |
| Dec 14, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 21 Baylor | L 68–99 | 0–10 | Ferrell Center (5,459) Waco, TX |
| Dec 16, 2017* 9:00 pm | | at Wyoming | L 66–72 | 0–11 | Arena-Auditorium (4,487) Laramie, WY |
| Dec 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSSW+ | | at No. 15 TCU | L 72–91 | 0–12 | Schollmaier Arena (5,925) Fort Worth, TX |
| Dec 23, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at BYU | L 52–73 | 0–13 | Marriott Center (14,583) Provo, UT |
| SWAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 1, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | Southern | W 78–66 | 1–13 (1–0) | H&PE Arena (1,007) Houston, TX |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:30 pm | | Alcorn State | W 85–70 | 2–13 (2–0) | H&PE Arena (802) Houston, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 7:30 pm | | Prairie View A&M | W 100–94 | 3–13 (3–0) | H&PE Arena (5,128) Houston, TX |
| Jan 13, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Jackson State | L 80–85 $^{OT}$ | 3–14 (3–1) | Williams Assembly Center (2,499) Jackson, MS |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Grambling State | L 78–79 | 3–15 (3–2) | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (1,243) Grambling, LA |
| Jan 20, 2018 7:30 pm | | Mississippi Valley State | W 91–77 | 4–15 (4–2) | H&PE Arena (2,485) Houston, TX |
| Jan 22, 2018 7:20 pm | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | L 72–74 | 4–16 (4–3) | H&PE Arena (2,278) Houston, TX |
| Jan 27, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Alabama A&M | W 58–56 | 5–16 (5–3) | Elmore Gymnasium Normal, AL |
| Jan 29, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Alabama State | W 97–82 | 6–16 (6–3) | Dunn–Oliver Acadome (1,237) Montgomery, AL |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Prairie View A&M | L 82–96 | 6–17 (6–4) | William Nicks Building (3,351) Prairie View, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 7:30 pm | | Jackson State | W 86–75 | 7–17 (7–4) | H&PE Arena (2,028) Houston, TX |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:30 pm | | Grambling State | L 55–78 | 7–18 (7–5) | H&PE Arena (3,127) Houston, TX |
| Feb 17, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Mississippi Valley State | W 72–71 | 8–18 (8–5) | Harrison HPER Complex (1,515) Itta Bena, MS |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Arkansas–Pine Bluff | L 61–62 | 8–19 (8–6) | K. L. Johnson Complex (2,990) Pine Bluff, AR |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:30 pm | | Alabama A&M | W 106–71 | 9–19 (9–6) | H&PE Arena (1,028) Houston, TX |
| Feb 26, 2018 7:30 pm | | Alabama State | W 95–77 | 10–19 (10–6) | H&PE Arena (1,021) Houston, TX |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Southern | W 90–88 | 11–19 (11–6) | F. G. Clark Center (2,351) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Mar 3, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Alcorn State | W 78–71 | 12–19 (12–6) | Davey Whitney Complex (466) Lorman, MS |
| SWAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (6) Alabama State Quarterfinals | W 90–76 | 13–19 | H&PE Arena (2,481) Houston, TX |
| Mar 9, 2018 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (2) Prairie View A&M Semifinals | W 88-74 | 14–19 | Delmar Fieldhouse (2,500) Houston, TX |
| Mar 10, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | (3) | vs. (1) Arkansas–Pine Bluff Championship | W 84–69 | 15–19 | Delmar Fieldhouse (1,933) Houston, TX |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 5:40 pm, truTV | (16 W) | vs. (16 W) North Carolina Central First Four | W 64–46 | 16–19 | UD Arena (12,732) Dayton, OH |
| Mar 16, 2018* 6:20 pm, TBS | (16 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 3 Xavier First Round | L 83–102 | 16–20 | Bridgestone Arena (17,549) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||