# 2017–18 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team

The 2017–18 Texas Tech Red Raiders basketball team represented Texas Tech University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The Red Raiders were led by second-year coach Chris Beard. They played their home games at the United Supermarkets Arena in Lubbock, Texas. They finished the season 27–10, 11–7 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Baylor in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament before losing in the semifinals to West Virginia. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Stephen F. Austin, Florida, and Purdue to advance to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. In the Elite Eight, they were eliminated by Villanova.

## Previous season

The Red Raiders finished the 2016–17 season 18–14, 6–12 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to Texas.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Devon Thomas | 2 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Silver Spring, MD | Graduated |
| Shandell Millighaus | 4 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduate transferred to Georgetown (KY) |
| Aaron Ross | 15 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | North Little Rock, AR | Graduated |
| Anthony Livingston | 21 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | Washington, DC | Graduated |
| Thomas Brandsma | 22 | F | 6'5" | 220 | Senior | Colleyville, TX | Graduated |
| Giovanni McLean | 23 | G | 6'0" | 190 | Senior | Bronx, NY | Graduated |
| Matthew Temple | 34 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Senior | Wichita Falls, TX | Graduated |
| John Brown | 44 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Freshman | Magnolia, TX | Walk-on; didn't return |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous college |
| Josh Webster | 3 | G | 6'4" | | Junior | St. Louis, MO | Junior college transferred from South Plains College |
| Hyron Edwards | 4 | G | 6'1" | 165 | Junior | East Chicago, IN | Junior college transferred from Trinity Valley Community College |

## Recruits
### Recruiting Class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jarrett Culver #43 SG | Lubbock, TX | Coronado High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 22, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Daniel Mading #48 PF | Perth, Australia | St. Anthony High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Davide Moretti PG | Bologna, Italy | Universo Treviso Basket | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Zhaire Smith SG | Garland, TX | Lakeview Centennial High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 13, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Malik Ondigo PF | El Mirage, AZ | Putnam Science Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 24, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kyler Edwards SG | Arlington, TX | Findley Prep | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Sep 17, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Deshawn Corprew SG | Norfolk, VA | South Plains College | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Sep 26, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Khavon Moore SF | Macon, GA | Westside High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 187 lb (85 kg) | Feb 26, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Angelo State | W 88–69 | | 21 – Evans | 8 – Zach Smith | 6 – Zach Smith | United Supermarkets Arena Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 5, 2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. New Mexico State Hurricane Relief exhibition game | W 84–54 | | 13 – Zhaire Smith | – | 4 – Stevenson | Chaparral Center Midland, TX |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, FCS | | South Alabama Hall of Fame Tip Off campus-site game | W 75–50 | 1–0 | 14 – Zhaire Smith | 6 – Francis | 3 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (8,865) Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, FCS | | Maine Hall of Fame Tip Off campus-site game | W 83–44 | 2–0 | 12 – Evans | 8 – Stevenson | 4 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (6,317) Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 18, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | vs. Boston College Hall of Fame Tip Off semifinals | W 75–64 | 3–0 | 29 – Evans | 9 – Zach Smith | 3 – Zach Smith | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 19, 2017* 4:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 20 Northwestern Hall of Fame Tip Off championship | W 85–49 | 4–0 | 25 – Evans | 5 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 22, 2017* 5:30 pm, FSSW+ | | Wofford | W 79–56 | 5–0 | 21 – Culver | 7 – Odiase | 6 – Moretti | United Supermarkets Arena (7,526) Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 25, 2017* 2:00 pm, FSSW+ | | Savannah State | W 103–69 | 6–0 | 18 – Tied | 7 – Odiase | 7 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (6,614) Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 30, 2017* 5:30 pm, FS1 | No. 22 | vs. Seton Hall Under Armour Reunion | L 79–89 | 6–1 | 21 – Evans | 12 – Odiase | 6 – Evans | Madison Square Garden (6,081) New York, NY |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, FCS | | No. 22 Nevada | W 82–76 $^{OT}$ | 7–1 | 32 – Evans | 8 – Evans | 3 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (9,872) Lubbock, TX |
| Dec 13, 2017* 8:00 pm, FSSW+ | No. 24 | Kennesaw State | W 82–53 | 8–1 | 16 – Evans | 8 – Odiase | 4 – Stevenson | United Supermarkets Arena (7,026) Lubbock, TX |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | No. 24 | Rice Throwback Game | W 73–53 | 9–1 | 13 – Evans | 5 – Tied | 5 – Evans | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (7,034) Lubbock, TX |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSSW+ | No. 21 | Florida Atlantic | W 90–54 | 10–1 | 15 – Evans | 7 – Hamilton | 6 – Evans | United Supermarkets Arena (7,731) Lubbock, TX |
| Dec 22, 2017* 2:00 pm, FSSW+ | No. 21 | Abilene Christian | W 74–47 | 11–1 | 16 – Zach Smith | 8 – Hamilton | 3 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (7,907) Lubbock, TX |
| Dec 29, 2017 7:00 pm, FCS | No. 22 | No. 18 Baylor | W 77–53 | 12–1 (1–0) | 18 – Evans | 7 – Hamilton | 5 – Stevenson | United Supermarkets Arena (12,827) Lubbock, TX |
| Jan 2, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | at No. 10 Kansas | W 85–73 | 13–1 (2–0) | 15 – Evans | 8 – Odiase | 4 – Stevenson | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:00 pm, FSSW+ | No. 18 | Kansas State | W 74–58 | 14–1 (3–0) | 27 – Evans | 6 – Zhaire Smith | 4 – Evans | United Supermarkets Arena (12,531) Lubbock, TX |
| Jan 9, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 8 | at No. 9 Oklahoma | L 65–75 | 14–2 (3–1) | 19 – Evans | 9 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Lloyd Noble Center (10,043) Norman, OK |
| Jan 13, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 8 | No. 2 West Virginia | W 72–71 | 15–2 (4–1) | 20 – Evans | 8 – Zhaire Smith | 2 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm, LHN | No. 8 | at Texas | L 58–67 | 15–3 (4–2) | 16 – Culver | 9 – Culver | 2 – Tied | Frank Erwin Center (12,396) Austin, TX |
| Jan 20, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 8 | at Iowa State | L 52–70 | 15–4 (4–3) | 10 – Zhaire Smith | 6 – Culver | 4 – Evans | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| Jan 23, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 14 | Oklahoma State | W 75–70 | 16–4 (5–3) | 26 – Evans | 8 – Culver | 5 – Evans | United Supermarkets Arena (12,585) Lubbock, TX |
| Jan 27, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN2 | No. 14 | at South Carolina Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 70–63 | 17–4 | 31 – Evans | 7 – Zhaire Smith | 3 – Tied | Colonial Life Arena (14,142) Columbia, SC |
| Jan 31, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | Texas | W 73–71 $^{OT}$ | 18–4 (6–3) | 38 – Evans | 11 – Odiase | 3 – Evans | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| Feb 3, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | at TCU | W 83–71 | 19–4 (7–3) | 20 – Culver | 5 – Odiase | 6 – Evans | Schollmaier Arena (7,178) Fort Worth, TX |
| Feb 7, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 7 | Iowa State | W 76–58 | 20–4 (8–3) | 21 – Zhaire Smith | 8 – Zhaire Smith | 4 – Evans | United Supermarkets Arena (13,221) Lubbock, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 7 | at Kansas State | W 66–47 | 21–4 (9–3) | 19 – Evans | 8 – Culver | 4 – Zhaire Smith | Bramlage Coliseum (9,365) Manhattan, KS |
| Feb 13, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN | No. 7 | No. 23 Oklahoma | W 88–78 | 22–4 (10–3) | 26 – Evans | 7 – Stevenson | 3 – Tied | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| Feb 17, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 7 | at Baylor | L 57–59 | 22–5 (10–4) | 15 – Zhaire Smith | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Ferrell Center (10,627) Waco, TX |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 6-T | at Oklahoma State | L 71–79 | 22–6 (10–5) | 18 – Zhaire Smith | 6 – Culver | 4 – Stevenson | Gallagher-Iba Arena (7,092) Stillwater, OK |
| Feb 24, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN | No. 6-T | No. 8 Kansas College GameDay | L 72–74 | 22–7 (10–6) | 20 – Zhaire Smith | 6 – Evans | 3 – Evans | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| Feb 26, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | at No. 20 West Virginia | L 74–84 | 22–8 (10–7) | 26 – Culver | 12 – Culver | 3 – Webster | WVU Coliseum (14,542) Morgantown, WV |
| Mar 3, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 12 | TCU | W 79–75 | 23–8 (11–7) | 23 – Evans | 7 – Culver | 3 – Gray | United Supermarkets Arena (15,098) Lubbock, TX |
| Big 12 Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | (2) No. 14 | vs. (7) Texas Quarterfinals | W 73–69 | 24–8 | 25 – Evans | 11 – Culver | 3 – Evans | Sprint Center (17,653) Kansas City, MO |
| Mar 9, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) No. 14 | vs. (3) No. 18 West Virginia Semifinals | L 63–66 | 24–9 | 16 – Culver | 7 – Gray | 7 – Hamilton | Sprint Center (18,223) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 15, 2018* 6:27 pm, truTV | (3 E) No. 14 | vs. (14 E) Stephen F. Austin First Round | W 70–60 | 25–9 | 23 – Evans | 8 – Smith | 5 – Evans | American Airlines Center (18,703) Dallas, TX |
| Mar 17, 2018* 8:40 pm, TNT | (3 E) No. 14 | vs. (6 E) No. 23 Florida Second Round | W 69–66 | 26–9 | 22 – Evans | 9 – Tied | 7 – Smith | American Airlines Center (18,642) Dallas, TX |
| Mar 23, 2018* 9:07 pm, TBS | (3 E) No. 14 | vs. (2 E) No. 11 Purdue Sweet Sixteen | W 78–65 | 27–9 | 16 – Evans | 7 – Gray | 4 – Tied | TD Garden (19,059) Boston, MA |
| Mar 25, 2018* 1:20 pm, CBS | (3 E) No. 14 | vs. (1 E) No. 2 Villanova Elite Eight | L 59–71 | 27–10 | 12 – Evans | 9 – Gray | 4 – Evans | TD Garden (19,169) Boston, MA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | — | — | RV | 22 | RV | 24 | 21 | 22 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 6–T | 12 | 14 | 14 | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | — | 22 | RV | RV | 21 | 21 | 18 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 6 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings.