# 2017–18 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Miami Hurricanes men's basketball team represented the University of Miami during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by seventh-year head coach Jim Larrañaga, they played their home games at the Watsco Center on the university's campus in Coral Gables, Florida as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). They finished the season 22–10, 11–7 in ACC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Loyola–Chicago.

## Previous season

The Hurricanes finished the 2016–17 season 21–12, 10–8 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. They defeated Syracuse in the second round of the ACC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the #8 seed in the Midwest region where they lost in the first round to #9 Michigan State.

## FBI investigation

On September 26, 2017 federal prosecutors in New York announced that various schools were under investigation for an alleged "pay for play" scheme involving recruits at various schools including Miami. On October 23, head coach Jim Larrañaga announced that he believed he was one of the coaches implicated in the FBI indictment. Larrañaga insisted that he had done nothing wrong, however.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Davon Reed | 5 | G | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Ewing, NJ | Graduated |
| Kamari Murphy | 21 | F | 6'8" | 220 | RS Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Miles Wilson | 10 | G | 6'5" | 165 | Sophomore | Reistertown, MD | Mount St. Mary's |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lonnie Walker IV G | Reading, PA | Reading High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 206 lb (93 kg) | Nov 16, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Chris Lykes G | Mitchellville, MD | Gonzaga College High School | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Jun 12, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Deng Gak F | Sydney, Australia | Blair Academy | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | Oct 25, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Sam Waardenburg F | Henderson, New Zealand | Rangitoto College | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 13, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A 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. ||||||

## 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, ACCN Extra | No. 13 | Newberry College | W 106–79 | | 30 – Vasiljevic | 7 – Vasiljevic | 8 – Tied | Watsco Center (6,174) Coral Gables, FL |
| Non-conference Regular Season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 13 | Gardner–Webb | W 77–45 | 1–0 | 14 – Izundu | 11 – Brown Jr. | 10 – Brown Jr. | Watsco Center (7,073) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 12, 2017* 4:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 13 | Navy | W 89–55 | 2–0 | 16 – Vasiljevic | 10 – Huell | 6 – Brown Jr. | Watsco Center (6,611) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | No. 11 | Florida A&M | W 90–59 | 3–0 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Brown Jr. | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (6,735) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 22, 2017* 6:00 pm | No. 11 | vs. La Salle Reading Showcase | W 57–46 | 4–0 | 16 – Huell | 11 – Brown Jr. | 5 – Lawrence II | Santander Arena (6,735) Reading, PA |
| Nov 25, 2017* 4:00 pm, RSN | No. 11 | North Florida | W 86–65 | 5–0 | 14 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (7,189) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 29, 2017* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 10 | at No. 12 Minnesota Big Ten-ACC Challenge | W 86–81 | 6–0 | 23 – Huell | 9 – Brown Jr. | 9 – Newton | Williams Arena (14,625) Minneapolis, MN |
| Dec 2, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | vs. Princeton Hoophall Miami Invitational | W 80–52 | 7–0 | 20 – Vasiljevic | 10 – Lawrence | 5 – Newton | American Airlines Arena (8,426) Miami, FL |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, RSN | No. 10 | Boston University | W 69–54 | 8–0 | 26 – Walker IV | 7 – Walker IV | 6 – Lawrence II | Watsco Center (6,893) Coral Gables, FL |
| Dec 16, 2017* 12:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 6 | at George Washington | W 59–50 | 9–0 | 15 – Huell | 12 – Huell | 3 – Tied | Charles E. Smith Center (3,862) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 23, 2017* 1:00 am, ESPNU | No. 6 | at Hawaii Diamond Head Classic First Round | W 75–57 | 10–0 | 16 – Tied | 6 – Huell | 8 – Brown Jr. | Stan Sheriff Center (7,669) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 23, 2017* 10:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 6 | vs. New Mexico State Diamond Head Classic Semifinals | L 54–63 | 10–1 | 15 – Vasiljevic | 9 – Huell | 1 – Tied | Stan Sheriff Center (5,946) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 25, 2017* 8:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | vs. Middle Tennessee Diamond Head Classic 3rd Place | W 84–81 | 11–1 | 21 – Huell | 6 – Brown Jr. | 6 – Newton | Stan Sheriff Center (6,062) Honolulu, HI |
| ACC Regular Season |||||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 4:00 pm, ACCN | No. 15 | at Pittsburgh | W 67–53 | 12–1 (1–0) | 12 – Lawrence II | 7 – Huell | 4 – Newton | Peterson Events Center (5,307) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 3, 2018 9:00 pm, RSN | No. 15 | at Georgia Tech | L 54–64 | 12–2 (1–1) | 13 – Huell | 12 – Lawrence II | 5 – Lykes | McCamish Pavilion (5,568) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 7, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | No. 24 Florida State | W 80–74 | 13–2 (2–1) | 23 – Brown Jr. | 12 – Lawrence II | 4 – Tied | Watsco Center (7,647) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 13, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | at No. 19 Clemson | L 63–72 | 13–3 (2–2) | 16 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 2 – Huell | Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | No. 5 Duke | L 75–83 | 13–4 (2–3) | 19 – Walker IV | 13 – Huell | 2 – Tied | Watsco Center (7,972) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 21, 2018 12:00 pm, ACCN | No. 25 | at NC State | W 86–81 | 14–4 (3–3) | 19 – Brown Jr. | 4 – Tied | 9 – Brown Jr. | PNC Arena (17,265) Raleigh, NC |
| Jan 24, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Louisville | W 78–75 $^{OT}$ | 15–4 (4–3) | 25 – Walker IV | 12 – Huell | 4 – Lykes | Watsco Center (7,190) Coral Gables, FL |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm, ACCN | | at Florida State | L 94–103 $^{OT}$ | 15–5 (4–4) | 23 – Walker IV | 7 – Brown Jr. | 5 – Tied | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (11,675) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, RSN | | Pittsburgh | W 69–57 | 16–5 (5–4) | 16 – Walker IV | 10 – Lawrence II | 5 – Lykes | Watsco Center (7,169) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 3, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN | | at Virginia Tech | W 84–75 | 17–5 (6–4) | 25 – Lawrence II | 13 – Lawrence II | 4 – Newton | Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | Wake Forest | W 87–81 | 18–5 (7–4) | 19 – Walker IV | 10 – Huell | 5 – Lykes | Watsco Center (6,774) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm, RSN | No. 25 | at Boston College | L 70–72 | 18–6 (7–5) | 17 – Vasiljevic | 9 – Lawrence II | 4 – Lawrence II | Conte Forum (7,740) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Feb 13, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 1 Virginia | L 50–59 | 18–7 (7–6) | 19 – Lykes | 7 – Lawrence II | 2 – Tied | Watsco Center (7,333) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 17, 2018 12:00 pm, CBS | | Syracuse | L 55–62 | 18–8 (7–7) | 14 – Lykes | 10 – Huell | 5 – Lawrence II | Watsco Center (6,879) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN | | at Notre Dame | W 77–74 | 19–8 (8–7) | 19 – Walker IV | 8 – Izundu | 6 – Lawrence II | Joyce Center (9,149) Notre Dame, IN |
| Feb 24, 2018 2:00 pm, RSN | | Boston College | W 79–78 | 20–8 (9–7) | 16 – Huell | 9 – Tied | 4 – Walker IV | Watsco Center (7,010) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 27, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 9 North Carolina | W 91–88 | 21–8 (10–7) | 18 – Lykes | 8 – Huell | 4 – Lykes | Dean Smith Center (21,750) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Mar 3, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Virginia Tech | W 69–68 | 22–8 (11–7) | 16 – Vasiljevic | 6 – Lawrence II | 7 – Lykes | Watsco Center (7,164) Coral Gables, FL |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN | (3) No. 24 | vs. (6) No. 12 North Carolina Quarterfinals | L 65–82 | 22–9 | 17 – Newton | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 15, 2018* 3:10 pm, truTV | (6 S) No. 22 | vs. (11 S) Loyola–Chicago First Round | L 62–64 | 22–10 | 12 – Walker IV | 7 – Huell | 2 – Lykes | American Airlines Center (15,802) Dallas, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | 13 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 18 | 25 | RV | RV | 25 | RV | — | | | | Not released |
| Coaches | 12 | 12^ | 11 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 7 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 23 | 24 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | | | | |
^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll. *AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings