# 2017–18 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team represented Saint Louis University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Travis Ford in his second season at Saint Louis. The team played their home games at Chaifetz Arena as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 9–9 in A-10 play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the A-10 tournament, they defeated George Washington in the second round before losing to Davidson in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Billikens finished the 2016–17 season 11–21, 5–13 in A-10 play to finish in 11th place. They received the No. 11 seed in the A-10 tournament where they defeated Duquesne in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to George Washington.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Matt Neufeld | 13 | C | 6'11" | 220 | Junior | Victoria, BC | Transferred to UC Davis |
| Zeke Moore | 23 | G | 6'6" | 175 | Sophomore | St. Louis, MO | Transferred to Tulsa |
| Austin Gillman | 25 | C | 6'10" | 220 | Junior | Oakville, MO | Voluntarily Withdrawn |
| Mike Crawford | 32 | F | 6'4" | 200 | Senior | Tipton, IN | Graduated |
| Reggie Agbeko | 35 | F | 6'7" | 240 | Senior | Buffalo, NY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Rashed Anthony | 25 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Senior | Orangeburg, SC | Transferred from Seton Hall. Graduate Transfer, eligible immediately. |
| Luis Santos | 42 | C | 6'9" | 266 | Junior | Bronx, NY | Transferred from South Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Santos will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jordan Goodwin #12 SG | Belleville, IL | Althoff Catholic High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 12, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Hasahn French #15 PF | Middletown, NY | Commonwealth Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 24, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 83 ||||||
| 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 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Carte'Are Gordon PF | St. Louis, MO | Webster Groves High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Aug 26, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 91 |||||||
| Fred Thatch SG | Sikeston, MO | Sikeston High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Jan 12, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Mickey Pearson SF | Elizabethtown, KY | John Hardin High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Oct 14, 2017 - released June 19, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| Demarius Jacobs SG | Chicago, IL | Hillcrest Prep Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Feb 25, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| Ingvi Gudmundsson SG | Grindavík, Iceland | Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Apr 11, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A |||||||
| KC Hankton SF | Charlotte, NC | United Faith Christian Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 31, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 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: |||||||

## Preseason

In a poll of the league's head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Billikens were picked to finish in seventh place in the A-10.

## Title IX Investigation

On September 24, 2017, three women alleged sexual assault by four players. A Title IX investigation was opened on September 26, 2017. When exhibition season opened and during the season, Ty Graves, Adonys Henriquez and Jermaine Bishop were not on the bench during games and the team plays with eight scholarship players. January 19, 2018 the university announces that the four players were informed of the Title IX findings and given suspensions ranging from 18 to 24 months, with one player being expelled. The players appeal the decision and the team continues to play with the same roster as the start of the season. February 6, 2013, Graves announced he was leaving the school and it is reported that Henriquez signed with an agent and that Jermaine Bishop had practiced through the end of the week. February 13, 2018, the university announces it has concluded its Title IX investigation and all parties have been notified of the final decisions, which were determined by the Appeal Panel. Jordan Goodwin was suspended for the remainder of the season and was no longer enrolled in the school as he was found to be in violation of university policy. February 15, 2018, Graves announces he is transferring to North Carolina Central University. March 1, 2018, Club San Lazaro of the Dominican Republic announced they have signed Henriquez to a professional contract. May 22, 2018, Goodwin re-enrolled at SLU. June 6, 2018, Bishop announced he was transferring to Norfolk State.

## Roster

Source

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 4, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Harris-Stowe | W 69–51 | | Chaifetz Arena St. Louis, MO |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW | | Seattle 2K Sports Classic | W 62–46 | 1–0 | Chaifetz Arena (7,256) St. Louis, MO |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Rockhurst | W 74–50 | 2–0 | Chaifetz Arena (5,009) St. Louis, MO |
| Nov 16, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Virginia Tech 2K Sports Classic semifinal | W 77–71 | 3–0 | Madison Square Garden (6,104) New York City, NY |
| Nov 17, 2017* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Providence 2K Sports Classic championship | L 63–90 | 3–1 | Madison Square Garden (6,173) New York City, NY |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW | | Detroit 2K Sports Classic | L 70–72 | 3–2 | Chaifetz Arena (6,026) St. Louis, MO |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW | | Western Michigan | L 51–65 | 3–3 | Chaifetz Arena (5,081) St. Louis, MO |
| Dec 2, 2017* 1:00 pm, FS1 | | at Butler | L 45–75 | 3–4 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,963) Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW | | Southern Illinois | W 74–69 | 4–4 | Chaifetz Arena (5,633) St. Louis, MO |
| Dec 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Houston | L 58–77 | 4–5 | Chaifetz Arena (6,014) St. Louis, MO |
| Dec 12, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW | | Murray State | W 69–55 | 5–5 | Chaifetz Arena (4,971) St. Louis, MO |
| Dec 16, 2017* 9:30 pm, P12N | | vs. Oregon State Dam City Classic | L 60–63 | 5–6 | Moda Center (8,110) Portland, OR |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Campbell | W 74–66 | 6–6 | Chaifetz Arena (5,017) St. Louis, MO |
| Dec 22, 2017* 6:00 pm, FSMW | | Southeast Missouri State | W 78–48 | 7–6 | Chaifetz Arena (8,021) St. Louis, MO |
| A-10 regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 1:00 pm | | at La Salle | L 60–83 | 7–7 (0–1) | Tom Gola Arena (1,437) Philadelphia, PA |
| Jan 3, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Davidson | L 51–54 | 7–8 (0–2) | John M. Belk Arena (3,140) Davidson, NC |
| Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW | | Richmond | W 69–62 | 8–8 (1–2) | Chaifetz Arena (7,291) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 9, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Rhode Island | L 65–72 | 8–9 (1–3) | Chaifetz Arena (5,179) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 13, 2018 1:30 pm, NBCSN | | at George Mason | L 81–86 | 8–10 (1–4) | EagleBank Arena (3,284) Fairfax, VA |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm | | Duquesne | W 76–63 | 9–10 (2–4) | Chaifetz Arena (5,227) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 20, 2018 1:00 pm, Stadium | | at Massachusetts | W 66–47 | 10–10 (3–4) | Mullins Center (4,121) Amherst, MA |
| Jan 23, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | VCU | L 74–75 $^{OT}$ | 10–11 (3–5) | Chaifetz Arena (5,649) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 27, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Dayton | W 75–65 | 11–11 (4–5) | Chaifetz Arena (8,552) St. Louis, MO |
| Jan 31, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Saint Joseph's | W 60–59 | 12–11 (5–5) | Hagan Arena (3,143) Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW+ | | Fordham | W 73–50 | 13–11 (6–5) | Chaifetz Arena (7,312) St. Louis, MO |
| Feb 7, 2018 6:00 pm | | at St. Bonaventure | L 56–79 | 13–12 (6–6) | Reilly Center (3,448) Olean, NY |
| Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW | | La Salle | W 70–62 | 14–12 (7–6) | Chaifetz Arena (5,229) St. Louis, MO |
| Feb 17, 2018 5:00 pm, FSMW | | at Richmond | W 72–66 | 15–12 (8–6) | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| Feb 20, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Dayton | L 50–53 | 15–13 (8–7) | UD Arena (12,577) Dayton, OH |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW | | George Washington | W 62–53 | 16–13 (9–7) | Chaifetz Arena (6,238) St. Louis, MO |
| Feb 28, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium | | at Duquesne | L 69–76 | 16–14 (9–8) | Palumbo Center (2,272) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW | | St. Bonaventure | L 56–64 | 16–15 (9–9) | Chaifetz Arena (8,542) St. Louis, MO |
| A-10 tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 7:30 pm, NBCSN | (6) | vs. (11) George Washington Second round | W 70–63 | 17–15 | Capital One Arena (6,514) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 9, 2018 7:30 pm, NBCSN | (6) | vs. (3) Davidson Quarterfinals | L 60–78 | 17–16 | Capital One Arena (7,664) Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||