# 2017–18 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by fourth-year head coach Earl Grant, played their home games at the TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). They finished the season 26–8, 14–4 in CAA play, to share the regular season title with Northeastern. At the CAA tournament they defeated Drexel, William & Mary and Northeastern to become CAA tournament champions. They earned the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Auburn.

## Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2016–17 season 25–10, 14–4 in CAA play, to finish in second place. In the CAA tournament, they defeated James Madison in the quarterfinals and Towson in the semifinals, before losing to UNC Wilmington in the championship game. They were then invited to participate in the NIT, where they lost to Colorado State in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Chevez Goodwin | 0 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Freshman | Columbia, SC | Transferred to Wofford |
| Payton Hulsey | 3 | G | 6'5" | 215 | Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduated and transferred to FAU |
| Terrance O'Donohue | 15 | F | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Norcross, GA | Graduated |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Samba Ndiaye C | Thiès, Senegal | Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: 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. ||||||

## Preseason

In a poll of league coaches, media relations directors, and media members at the CAA's media day, the Cougars were picked to finish atop the CAA. Junior forward Jarrell Brantley and senior guard Joe Chealey were named to the preseason All-CAA first team, while sophomore guard Grant Riller was named to the preseason All-CAA second team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 2, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Bob Jones | W 77–44 | | 16 – Brantley | 8 – Brantley | 5 – Pointer | TD Arena (2,728) Charleston, SC |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 10, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Siena | W 68–60 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | 21 – Riller | 9 – Harris | 3 – Riller | TD Arena (4,955) Charleston, SC |
| November 13, 2017* 9:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at No. 6 Wichita State | L 63–81 | 1–1 | 20 – Riller | 6 – Harris | 2 – Pointer | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| November 18, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | at Charlotte | W 81–72 | 2–1 | 29 – Chealey | 7 – tied | 2 – tied | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,122) Charlotte, NC |
| November 22, 2017* 4:00 p.m. | | vs. Cal Poly Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals | L 68–73 | 2–2 | 26 – Chealey | 6 – Chealey | 10 – Chealey | Alaska Airlines Center (1,524) Anchorage, AK |
| November 23, 2017* 9:30 p.m. | | vs. Sam Houston State Great Alaska Shootout consolation 2nd round | W 59–49 | 3–2 | 13 – Chealey | 8 – Harris | 8 – Chealey | Alaska Airlines Center (1,646) Anchorage, AK |
| November 22, 2017* 6:30 p.m. | | at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout 5th-place game | W 55–46 | 4–2 | 15 – Chealey | 7 – Harris | 8 – Chealey | Alaska Airlines Center (2,229) Anchorage, AK |
| November 30, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Western Carolina | W 69–60 | 5–2 | 18 – Chealey | 10 – Smart | 7 – Chealey | TD Arena (3,889) Charleston, SC |
| December 4, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | High Point | W 70–58 | 6–2 | 17 – Chealey | 9 – Harris | 4 – Johnson | TD Arena (3,223) Charleston, SC |
| December 10, 2017* 2:00 p.m. | | North Greenville | W 92–60 | 7–2 | 20 – Chealey | 12 – Harris | 5 – tied | TD Arena (3,227) Charleston, SC |
| December 16, 2017* 4:00 p.m. | | at Rhode Island | L 62–68 | 7–3 | 21 – Riller | 8 – Chealey | 5 – Chealey | Ryan Center (5,761) Kingston, RI |
| December 19, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | South Carolina State | W 80–64 | 8–3 | 31 – Riller | 10 – Harris | 6 – Chealey | TD Arena (3,195) Charleston, SC |
| December 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | at Coastal Carolina | W 67–65 | 9–3 | 24 – Riller | 9 – Harris | 2 – 3 tied | HTC Center (1,239) Conway, SC |
| CAA regular season |||||||||
| December 30, 2017 4:00 p.m. | | Towson | W 73–62 | 10–3 (1–0) | 24 – Brantley | 7 – Chealey | 4 – tied | TD Arena (4,343) Charleston, SC |
| January 2, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | Delaware | W 93–78 | 11–3 (2–0) | 29 – Chealey | 6 – Brantley | 4 – Chealey | TD Arena (2,894) Charleston, SC |
| January 5, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | at Drexel | L 82–87 $^{OT}$ | 11–4 (2–1) | 22 – Chealey | 10 – Brantley | 3 – Brantley | Daskalakis Athletic Center (704) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 7, 2018 2:00 p.m. | | at Towson | L 62–73 | 11–5 (2–2) | 18 – Riller | 7 – Brantley | 5 – Chealey | SECU Arena (1,410) Towson, MD |
| January 11, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | Northeastern | W 82–66 | 12–5 (3–2) | 22 – Brantley | 6 – Brantley | 3 – Johnson | TD Arena (3,705) Charleston, SC |
| January 13, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | at Elon | L 58–63 | 12–6 (3–3) | 16 – Brantley | 10 – Harris | 3 – Riller | Alumni Gym (1,855) Elon, NC |
| January 18, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | UNC Wilmington | W 80–76 | 13–6 (4–3) | 18 – Chealey | 8 – Harris | 4 – Chealey | TD Arena (3,649) Charleston, SC |
| January 20, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | Hofstra | W 76–70 | 14–6 (5–3) | 33 – Chealey | 11 – Harris | 2 – Pointer | TD Arena (4,045) Charleston, SC |
| January 25, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | at Delaware | W 62–54 | 15–6 (6–3) | 23 – Chealey | 12 – Brantley | 4 – Riller | Bob Carpenter Center (2,350) Newark, DE |
| January 27, 2018 3:00 p.m. | | James Madison | W 66–59 | 16–6 (7–3) | 21 – Brantley | 8 – tied | 4 – Riller | TD Arena (4,030) Charleston, SC |
| February 1, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | at Northeastern | W 69–64 | 17–6 (8–3) | 23 – Chealey | 10 – Harris | 3 – Johnson | Matthews Arena (1,106) Boston, MA |
| February 3, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | at Hofstra | W 86–85 | 18–6 (9–3) | 24 – Riller | 7 – Brantley | 7 – Johnson | Mack Sports Complex (2,508) Hempstead, NY |
| February 8, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | William & Mary | W 82–77 | 19–6 (10–3) | 37 – Riller | 4 – 3 tied | 2 – tied | TD Arena (3,857) Charleston, SC |
| February 10, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | Drexel | W 89–67 | 20–6 (11–3) | 30 – Brantley | 6 – tied | 6 – Chealey | TD Arena (4,219) Charleston, SC |
| February 15, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | at James Madison | W 81–78 $^{OT}$ | 21–6 (12–3) | 32 – Riller | 13 – Brantley | 7 – Brantley | JMU Convocation Center (2,454) Harrisonburg, VA |
| February 17, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | UNC Wilmington | W 88–74 | 22–6 (13–3) | 28 – Riller | 7 – Brantley | 3 – tied | TD Arena (4,809) Charleston, SC |
| February 22, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | Elon | W 79–58 | 23–6 (14–3) | 30 – Riller | 7 – Chealey | 4 – tied | TD Arena (4,745) Charleston, SC |
| February 24, 2018 4:00 p.m. | | at William & Mary | L 104–114 $^{OT}$ | 23–7 (14–4) | 29 – Riller | 12 – Brantley | 5 – Chealey | Kaplan Arena (3,649) Williamsburg, VA |
| CAA tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2018 12:00 p.m., CAA.tv | (1) | vs. (8) Drexel Quarterfinals | W 66–59 | 24–7 | 22 – Chealey | 11 – Brantley | 3 – tied | North Charleston Coliseum (4,672) North Charleston, SC |
| March 5, 2018 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) William & Mary Semifinals | W 83–73 | 25–7 | 25 – Riller | 10 – Brantley | 5 – Pointer | North Charleston Coliseum (4,099) North Charleston, SC |
| March 6, 2018 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | (1) | vs. (2) Northeastern Championship | W 83–76 $^{OT}$ | 26–7 | 32 – Chealey | 11 – Brantley | 3 – Chealey | North Charleston Coliseum (7,945) North Charleston, SC |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 16, 2018* 7:27 p.m., truTV | (13 MW) | vs. (4 MW) No. 19 Auburn First Round | L 58–62 | 26–8 | 24 – Brantley | 7 – tied | 3 – Pointer | Viejas Arena (10,092) San Diego, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source:

## Awards and honors
### CAA Conference Honors
#### First Team All-CAA

* Joe Chealey
* Grant Riller

#### Second Team All-CAA

* Jarrell Brantley

#### CAA All-Defensive Team

* Cameron Johnson

### CAA Tournament honors
#### All-Tournament Team

* Jarrell Brantley
* Joe Chealey

#### Most Outstanding Player

* Grant Riller
Source: