# 2017–18 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the 97th season of Tiger basketball, the second under head coach Tubby Smith, and the fifth as members of the American Athletic Conference. They played their home games at the FedEx Forum. They finished the season 21–13, 10–8 in AAC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Tulsa in the AAC tournament before losing to Cincinnati in the semifinals.
On March 14, 2018, the school fired head coach Tubby Smith after two years. On March 20, the school hired former Memphis player and NBA star Penny Hardaway as coach.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2016–17 season 19–13, 9–9 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to UCF. Despite having 19 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Following the 2016–17 season, Dedric Lawson, K.J. Lawson, and Markel Crawford, the Tigers' three leading scorers and rebounders, announced they would transfer from Memphis.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| K. J. Lawson | 0 | G/F | 6' 7" | 210 | RS Freshman | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Kansas |
| Dedric Lawson | 1 | G/F | 6' 9" | 236 | Sophomore | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Kansas |
| Keon Clergeot | 4 | G | 6' 1" | 187 | Freshman | Winter Haven, FL | Transferred to Massachusetts |
| Markel Crawford | 5 | G | 6' 5" | 208 | RS Junior | Memphis, TN | Transferred to Ole Miss |
| Christian Keese | 10 | G | 6' 1" | 182 | Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Graduated |
| Craig Randall II | 12 | G | 6' 4" | 184 | Sophomore | Youngstown, OH | Transferred to Duquesne |
| Chad Rykhoek | 15 | F | 6' 11" | 236 | RS Senior | Fort Worth, TX | Transferred |
| Jake McDowell | 42 | G/F | 6' 5" | 218 | Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Num | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kyvon Davenport | 0 | PF | 6'8" | 185 | Sophomore | Gainesville, GA | Junior college transfer from Georgia Highlands College. |
| Raynere Thornton | 4 | SF | 6'7" | 215 | Sophomore | Marietta, GA | Junior college transfer from Gordon College. |
| Kareem Brewton | 5 | SG | 6'3" | 205 | Sophomore | Snellville, GA | Junior college transfer from Eastern Florida State College. |
| Mike Parks Jr. | 10 | C | 6'9" | 270 | Sophomore | Cleveland, OH | Junior college transfer from SW Mississippi CC. |
| Malik Rhodes | 11 | SG | 6'2" | 170 | Sophomore | Cincinnati, OH | Junior college transfer from Barton CC. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Victor Enoh PF | Decatur, Georgia | Greenforest Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Oct 7, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| David Nickelberry SF | Orlando, Florida | Windermere Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 202 lb (92 kg) | Apr 6, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jamal Johnson SG | Birmingham, Alabama | Spain Park HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 9, 2016 |
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

#### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Alex Lomax PG | Memphis, TN | East HS | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 189 lb (86 kg) | Apr 4, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Ryan Boyce SF | Memphis, TN | East High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 13, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Tyler Harris PG | Memphis, TN | Cordova HS | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Apr 13, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Antwann Jones SG | Orlando, FL | Oak Ridge HS | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Apr 15, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Jayden Hardaway SG | Memphis, TN | IMG Academy (FL) | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 3, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| David Wingett SG | Winnebago, NE | Bull City Prep (NC) | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 9, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | LeMoyne–Owen | W 101–78 | | FedEx Forum Memphis, TN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 5:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Alabama Veterans Classic | L 70–82 | 0–1 | Alumni Hall (3,238) Annapolis, MD |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Little Rock | W 70–62 | 1–1 | FedEx Forum (7,224) Memphis, TN |
| Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Orleans | W 62–53 | 2–1 | FedEx Forum (7,224) Memphis, TN |
| Nov 25, 2017* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Kentucky | W 76–74 | 3–1 | FedEx Forum (5,369) Memphis, TN |
| Nov 30, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at UAB Bartow Classic | L 56–71 | 3–2 | Bartow Arena (4,920) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 2, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Mercer | W 83–81 $^{2OT}$ | 4–2 | FedEx Forum (4,113) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Samford | W 65–64 | 5–2 | FedEx Forum (4,702) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 9, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bryant Gotham Classic | W 90–72 | 6–2 | FedEx Forum (4,373) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 12, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Albany Gotham Classic | W 67–58 | 7–2 | FedEx Forum (4,168) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 16, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | vs. Louisville Gotham Classic/Rivalry | L 72–81 | 7–3 | Madison Square Garden (6,525) New York, NY |
| Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Siena Gotham Classic | W 70–66 | 8–3 | FedEx Forum (6,079) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 23, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | Loyola (MD) | W 83–71 | 9–3 | FedEx Forum (5,825) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 28, 2017* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | LSU | L 61–71 | 9–4 | FedEx Forum (9,468) Memphis, TN |
| AAC regular season ||||||
| Dec 31, 2017 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 21 Cincinnati | L 48–82 | 9–5 (0–1) | BB&T Arena (8,143) Highland Heights, KY |
| Jan 3, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UCF | L 56–65 | 9–6 (0–2) | CFE Arena (4,298) Orlando, FL |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPNews | | Tulsa | W 76–67 | 10–6 (1–2) | FedEx Forum (6,004) Memphis, TN |
| Jan 9, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNews | | Tulane | W 96–89 | 11–6 (2–2) | FedEx Forum (4,825) Memphis, TN |
| Jan 13, 2018 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Temple | W 75–72 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (3–2) | Liacouras Center (6,238) Philadelphia, PA |
| Jan 16, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | UConn | W 73–49 | 13–6 (4–2) | FedEx Forum (2,417) Memphis, TN |
| Jan 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulsa | L 51–64 | 13–7 (4–3) | Reynolds Center (5,189) Tulsa, OK |
| Jan 27, 2018 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 9 Cincinnati | L 48–62 | 13–8 (4–4) | FedEx Forum (12,223) Memphis, TN |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPNews | | at South Florida | W 86–74 | 14–8 (5–4) | USF Sun Dome (2,754) Tampa, FL |
| Feb 3, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPNews | | at East Carolina | L 85–88 $^{OT}$ | 14–9 (5–5) | Williams Arena (3,338) Greenville, NC |
| Feb 6, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 22 Wichita State | L 65–85 | 14–10 (5–6) | FedEx Forum (7,257) Memphis, TN |
| Feb 11, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | UCF | L 64–68 | 14–11 (5–7) | FedEx Forum (7,163) Memphis, TN |
| Feb 14, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at SMU | W 70–67 | 15–11 (6–7) | Moody Coliseum (6,539) Dallas, TX |
| Feb 17, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tulane | W 68–63 | 16–11 (7–7) | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,896) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 22, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 23 Houston | W 91–85 | 17–11 (8–7) | FedEx Forum (6,536) Memphis, TN |
| Feb 25, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN | | at UConn | W 83–79 | 18–11 (9–7) | Gampel Pavilion (8,574) Storrs, CT |
| Mar 1, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNews | | South Florida | L 51–75 | 18–12 (9–8) | FedEx Forum (5,945) Memphis, TN |
| Mar 4, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPNews | | East Carolina | W 90–70 | 19–12 (10–8) | FedEx Forum (6,474) Memphis, TN |
| AAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 1:30 pm, ESPNU | (5) | vs. (12) USF First Round | W 79–77 | 20–12 | Amway Center (7,856) Orlando, FL |
| Mar 9, 2018 1:17 pm, ESPN2 | (5) | vs. (4) Tulsa Quarterfinals | W 67–64 | 21–12 | Amway Center (8,491) Orlando, FL |
| Mar 10, 2018 12:00 pm, CBS | (5) | vs. (1) No. 8 Cincinnati Semifinals | L 60–70 | 21–13 | Amway Center Orlando, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||