# 2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team

The 2017–18 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by fifth-year head coach Matthew Graves and played their home games at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama as members in the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 14–18, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament to Troy.
On March 8, South Alabama fired head coach Matthew Graves. He finished at South Alabama with a five-year record of 65–96.
On March 15, South Alabama hired Nicholls State head coach Richie Riley as their new head coach.

## Previous season

The Jaguars finished the 2016–17 season 14–18, 7–11 in Sun Belt play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Coastal Carolina in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Off-season
### Departures

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Georgi Boyanov | F | 6'7" | 205 | Senior | Bulgaria | Graduated. |
| Ken Williams | G | 6'3" | 198 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated. |
| Nick Stover | F | 6'6" | 198 | Senior | Los Angeles, CA | Graduated. |
| Dan MuepoKelly | F | 6'7" | 236 | Senior | Fontana, CA | Graduated. |
| Nikola Marijan | F | 7'1" | 242 | Sophomore | Serbia | Transferred to Tampa. |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Rodrick Sikes | 14 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Junior | Ocean Springs, MS | Junior college transferred from Southwest Mississippi CC. |
| R.J. Kelly | | F | 6'7" | 195 | Sophomore | Powder Springs, GA | Transferred from Savannah State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Kelly will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Rozelle Nix | 34 | F | 6'11" | 300 | Senior | Cincinnati, OH | Graduate transfer from Pittsburgh. Under NCAA transfer rules, Nix will play immediately in the 2017–18 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |

### Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Joe Thompson F | Kenner, Louisiana | Alfred Bonnabel High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| A.J. Caldwell G | Sarasota, Florida | Riverview High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| 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 | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 24, 2017* 7:30 pm | | at Spring Hill | W 77–55 | | Arthur Outlaw Recreational Center Mobile, AL |
| Nov 3, 2017* 7:35 pm | | North Alabama | L 80–82 | | Mitchell Center (2,146) Mobile, AL |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, FCS | | at Texas Tech Hall of Fame Tip Off | L 50–75 | 0–1 | United Supermarkets Arena (8,865) Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:05 pm | | Mobile | W 71–49 | 1–1 | Mitchell Center (1,990) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 16, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at La Salle Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic | L 73–81 | 1–2 | Tom Gola Arena (1,488) Philadelphia, PA |
| Nov 18, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Maine Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket | W 68–46 | 2–2 | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Saint Peter’s Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket | W 54–49 | 3–2 | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:05 pm | | Stetson | L 77–81 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | Mitchell Center (1,737) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 26, 2017* 3:05 pm | | New Orleans | W 55–52 | 4–3 | Mitchell Center (1,548) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:05 pm | | Southern Miss | W 69–58 | 5–3 | Mitchell Center (2,353) Mobile, AL |
| Dec 2, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at FIU | L 58–87 | 5–4 | FIU Arena (653) Miami, FL |
| Dec 10, 2017* 2:00 pm, FSMW | | at SIU Edwardsville | L 75–76 | 5–5 | Vadalabene Center (1,155) Edwardsville, IL |
| Dec 16, 2017* 3:05 pm | | Eastern Illinois | W 63–52 | 6–5 | Mitchell Center (1,901) Mobile, AL |
| Dec 21, 2017* 12:00 pm | | at Tulane | L 73–77 | 6–6 | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,187) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 29, 2017 7:05 pm | | Georgia State | W 86–64 | 7–6 (1–0) | Mitchell Center (1,788) Mobile, AL |
| Dec 31, 2017 3:05 pm | | at Georgia Southern | W 69–67 | 8–6 (2–0) | Mitchell Center (1,612) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 4, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Texas State | L 69–72 | 8–7 (2–1) | Strahan Coliseum (1,407) San Marcos, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:15 pm | | at Texas–Arlington | L 67–91 | 8–8 (2–2) | College Park Center (1,914) Arlington, TX |
| Jan 9, 2018* 7:05 pm | | Trinity Baptist | W 99–34 | 9–8 | Mitchell Center (1,924) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 13, 2018 3:05 pm | | Troy | L 64–79 | 9–9 (2–3) | Mitchell Center (3,014) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:05 pm | | Coastal Carolina | W 60–57 | 10–9 (3–3) | Mitchell Center (2,098) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 20, 2018 3:05 pm | | Appalachian State | W 83–77 | 11–9 (4–3) | Mitchell Center (3,877) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 25, 2018 7:15 pm | | at Louisiana | L 57–76 | 11–10 (4–4) | Cajundome (5,036) Lafayette, LA |
| Jan 27, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Louisiana–Monroe | L 74–83 | 11–11 (4–5) | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,635) Monroe, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3 | | at Troy | L 63–80 | 11–12 (4–6) | Trojan Arena (3,266) Troy, AL |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:05 pm | | Little Rock | W 73–56 | 12–12 (5–6) | Mitchell Center (1,541) Mobile, AL |
| Feb 10, 2018 3:05 pm | | Arkansas State | W 87–67 | 13–12 (6–6) | Mitchell Center (1,983) Mobile, AL |
| Feb 15, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Appalachian State | W 77–66 | 14–12 (7–6) | Holmes Center (w) Boone, NC |
| Feb 17, 2018 2:30 pm | | at Coastal Carolina | L 70–72 | 14–13 (7–7) | HTC Center (1,311) Conway, SC |
| Feb 22, 2018 7:05 pm | | Louisiana–Monroe | L 62–66 | 14–14 (7–8) | Mitchell Center (2,011) Mobile, AL |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:05 pm | | Louisiana | L 71–88 | 14–15 (7–9) | Mitchell Center (1,946) Mobile, AL |
| Mar 1, 2018 6:30 pm | | at Georgia Southern | L 74–81 | 14–16 (7–10) | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,526) Statesboro, GA |
| Mar 3, 2018 1:15 pm, ESPN3 | | at Georgia State | L 75–90 | 14–17 (7–11) | GSU Sports Arena (1,649) Atlanta, GA |
| Sun Belt tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (10) | vs. (7) Troy First round | L 62–69 | 14–18 | Lakefront Arena (986) New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||