# 2017–18 Southern Jaguars basketball team

The 2017–18 Southern Jaguars basketball team represented Southern University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars, led by interim head coach Morris Scott, played their home games at the F. G. Clark Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 15–18, 10–8 in SWAC play to finish in fifth place. Due to Grambling State's Academic Progress Rate violations and subsequent postseason ineligibility, the Jaguars received the No. 4 seed in the SWAC tournament. They defeated Jackson State in the quarterfinals before losing to Arkansas–Pine Bluff in the semifinals.
On April 12, 2018, Southern hired Stetson assistant coach and former Morehead State/Mississippi Valley State head coach Sean Woods for the full-time job.

## Previous season

The Jaguars finished the 2016–17 season 15–18, 10–8 in SWAC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. As the 3-seed in the SWAC tournament they defeated Jackson State before losing in the semifinals to Alcorn State.
On March 31, head coach Roman Banks, who had been serving as Southern's interim Athletic Director for almost two years, was promoted to full-time Athletic Director and stepped down as basketball coach. He finished his coaching career at Southern with a six-year record of 114–85. Assistant coach Morris Scott was named interim head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Illinois Global Sports Invitational | L 55–102 | 0–1 | State Farm Center (14,637) Champaign, IL |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Marshall Global Sports Invitational | L 74–83 | 0–2 | Cam Henderson Center (4,674) Huntington, WV |
| Nov 15, 2017* 5:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | L 58–86 | 0–3 | JQH Arena (4,876) Springfield, MO |
| Nov 17, 2017* 6:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 1 Duke | L 61–78 | 0–4 | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Nov 19, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at North Carolina Central Global Sports Invitational | L 67–80 | 0–5 | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (803) Durham, NC |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | UT Martin Global Sports Invitational | W 69–66 | 1–5 | F. G. Clark Center (225) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Nov 29, 2017* 6:00 pm | | Wiley | W 92–69 | 2–5 | F. G. Clark Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec 6, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Tulane | L 76–95 | 2–6 | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,834) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 9, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UCF | L 60–76 | 2–7 | CFE Arena (4,139) Orlando, FL |
| Dec 10, 2017* 4:00 pm, BTN | | at Iowa | L 60–91 | 2–8 | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (11,397) Iowa City, IA |
| Dec 14, 2017* 6:30 pm | | Florida A&M | W 68–50 | 3–8 | F. G. Clark Center (421) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, FCS | | at No. 18 Baylor | L 60–80 | 3–9 | Ferrell Center (5,877) Waco, TX |
| Dec 29, 2017* 1:00 pm | | Ecclesia | W 98–57 | 4–9 | F. G. Clark Center (45) Baton Rouge, LA |
| SWAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 1, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Texas Southern | L 66–78 | 4–10 (0–1) | H&PE Arena (1,007) Houston, TX |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Prairie View | L 74–78 | 4–11 (0–2) | William J. Nicks Building (323) Prairie View, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 5:30 pm | | Grambling State | W 80–69 | 5–11 (1–2) | F. G. Clark Center (2,108) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | Jackson State | L 61–65 | 5–12 (1–3) | F. G. Clark Center (1,129) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan 13, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Arkansas–Pine Bluff | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 5–13 (1–4) | K. L. Johnson Complex (2,600) Pine Bluff, AR |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Mississippi Valley State | W 78–70 $^{OT}$ | 6–13 (2–4) | Harrison HPER Complex (2,876) Itta Bena, MS |
| Jan 20, 2018 5:30 pm | | Alabama State | W 63–61 | 7–13 (3–4) | F. G. Clark Center (1,299) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan 22, 2018 7:30 pm | | Alabama A&M | W 62–61 | 8–13 (4–4) | F. G. Clark Center (1,109) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan 27, 2018 5:30 pm | | Alcorn State | W 61–48 | 9–13 (5–4) | F. G. Clark Center (1,178) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Grambling State | L 68–69 | 9–14 (5–5) | Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center (3,875) Grambling, LA |
| Feb 5, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Jackson State | W 67–65 | 10–14 (6–5) | Williams Assembly Center (3,996) Jackson, MS |
| Feb 10, 2018 5:30 pm | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 70–62 | 11–14 (7–5) | F. G. Clark Center (1,011) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:30 pm | | Mississippi Valley State | W 55–51 | 12–14 (8–5) | F. G. Clark Center (1,005) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb 17, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Alabama State | W 71–67 | 13–14 (9–5) | Dunn–Oliver Acadome Montgomery, AL |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Alabama A&M | W 60–50 | 14–14 (10–5) | Elmore Gymnasium (357) Normal, AL |
| Feb 24, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Alcorn State | L 85–89 | 14–15 (10–6) | Davey Whitney Complex (472) Lorman, MS |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:30 pm | | Texas Southern | L 88–90 | 14–16 (10–7) | F. G. Clark Center (2,351) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Mar 3, 2018 5:30 pm | | Alcorn State | L 69–77 | 14–17 (10–8) | F. G. Clark Center (1,345) Baton Rouge, LA |
| SWAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 7:30 pm | (4) | vs. (5) Jackson State Quarterfinals | W 62–60 | 15–17 | F. G. Clark Center (2,059) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Mar 9, 2018 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (1) Arkansas–Pine Bluff Semifinals | L 65–71 | 15–18 | Delmar Fieldhouse (1,325) Houston, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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