# 2017–18 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented Syracuse University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Orange were led by 42nd-year head coach Jim Boeheim and played their home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York as fifth-year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 23–14, 8–10 in ACC play to finish in a tie for tenth place. They defeated Wake Forest in the first round of the 2018 ACC tournament before losing in the second round to North Carolina. They received one of the final four at-large bids to the NCAA tournament where, as a No. 11 seed, they defeated Arizona State in the First Four, and upset No. 6 seed TCU in the First Round and No. 3 seed Michigan State in the Second Round before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to fellow ACC member and No. 2 seed Duke.

## Previous season

The Orange finished the 2016–17 season 19–15, 10–8 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. They lost in the second round of the ACC tournament to Miami. They were one of the last four teams not selected for the NCAA tournament and thus received a No. 1 seed in the National Invitation Tournament. There, they defeated UNC Greensboro in the first round before losing in the second round to Ole Miss.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Andrew White | 3 | F | 6'7" | 210 | RS Senior | Richmond, VA | Graduated |
| John Gillon | 4 | G | 6'0" | 168 | RS Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Mike Sutton | 5 | G | 6'2" | 194 | Junior | Norwich, NY | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Taurean Thompson | 12 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Sophomore | Jersey City, NJ | Transferred to Seton Hall |
| Evan Dourdas | 14 | G | 6'0" | 160 | Junior | Jamesville, NY | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Tyler Lydon | 20 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Sophomore | Elizaville, NY | Declared for 2017 NBA draft |
| Tyler Roberson | 21 | F | 6'8" | 226 | Senior | Union, NJ | Graduated |
| DaJuan Coleman | 32 | C | 6'9" | 268 | RS Senior | Jamesville, NY | Graduated |
| Jonathan Radner | 33 | G | 5'10" | 168 | Sophomore | Huntington Woods, MI | Walk-on; left the team |
| Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye | 34 | F | 6'6" | 230 | Senior | Uniondale, NY | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Elijah Hughes | 4 | G | 6'6" | 220 | Sophomore | Somers, NY | Transferred from East Carolina. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hughes will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Geno Thorpe | 30 | G | 6'4" | 170 | RS Senior | Pittsburgh, PA | Transferred from South Florida. Eligible to play immediately since he graduated from South Florida. |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Oshae Brissett SF | Mississauga, Ont., CAN | Athlete Institute Basketball Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Nov 12, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 84 ||||||
| Bourama Sidibe #15 C | Newark, NJ | Saint Benedict's Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Nov 21, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 82 ||||||
| Howard Washington PG | Buffalo, NY | Athlete Institute Basketball Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 172 lb (78 kg) | Mar 16, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: POST ||||||
| Marek Doležaj PF | Bratislava, Slovakia, EUR | MBK Karlovka | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Mar 16, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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 Syracuse Signees". Rivals.com. "2017 Syracuse Signees". Scout.com. "2017 Syracuse Signees". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Future recruits
#### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018-2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Buddy Boeheim SG | Syracuse, New York | Jamesville-DeWitt High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 76 |||||||
| Jalen Carey PG | Montclair, New Jersey | Immaculate Conception High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 4, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 88 |||||||
| 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 Syracuse Signees". Rivals.com. "2018 Syracuse Signees". Scout.com. "2018 Syracuse Signees". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2018 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 p.m. | | Southern New Hampshire | W 84–54 | | 20 – Battle | 11 – Brisett | 5 – Battle | Carrier Dome (8,668) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 6, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Southern Connecticut State | W 84–59 | | 20 – Battle | 12 – Sidibe | 4 – Thorpe | Carrier Dome (5,195) Syracuse, NY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | Cornell | W 77–45 | 1–0 | 18 – Battle | 10 – Brissett | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (21,720) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | Iona | W 71–62 | 2–0 | 28 – Battle | 10 – Chukwu | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (19,601) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 18, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | Texas Southern Hoophall Miami Invitational | W 80–67 | 3–0 | 21 – Battle | 10 – Brissett | 8 – Howard | Carrier Dome (16,644) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | Oakland Hoophall Miami Invitational | W 74–50 | 4–0 | 25 – Battle | 11 – Chukwu | 6 – Howard | Carrier Dome (15,534) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | Toledo Hoophall Miami Invitational | W 72–64 | 5–0 | 25 – Howard | 14 – Brissett | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (16,237) Syracuse, NY |
| Nov 27, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Maryland ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 72–70 | 6–0 | 18 – Battle | 13 – Brissett | 10 – Howard | Carrier Dome (20,852) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 2, 2017* 5:30 p.m., ESPN | | vs. No. 2 Kansas Hoophall Miami Invitational | L 60–76 | 6–1 | 22 – Battle | 9 – Brissett | 7 – Howard | American Airlines Arena (14,324) Miami, FL |
| Dec 5, 2017* 9:00 p.m., ESPN | | vs. UConn Jimmy V Classic/Rivalry | W 72–63 | 7–1 | 22 – Battle | 10 – Brissett | 5 – Howard | Madison Square Garden (17,532) New York City, NY |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 p.m., RSN | | Colgate | W 72–58 | 8–1 | 24 – Battle | 9 – Chukwu | 6 – Howard | Carrier Dome (21,380) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 16, 2017* 12:30 p.m., CBS | | at Georgetown | W 86–79 $^{OT}$ | 9–1 | 29 – Battle | 14 – Brissett | 9 – Howard | Capital One Arena (15,418) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | Buffalo | W 81–74 | 10–1 | 25 – Brissett | 9 – Moyer | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (17,335) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ACCN Extra | | St. Bonaventure | L 57–60 $^{OT}$ | 10–2 | 17 – Howard | 13 – Brissett | 6 – Howard | Carrier Dome (20,976) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 27, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Eastern Michigan | W 62–47 | 11–2 | 22 – Battle | 12 – Tied | 7 – Howard | Carrier Dome (21,925) Syracuse, NY |
| ACC regular season |||||||||
| Dec 31, 2017 6:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Virginia Tech | W 68–56 | 12–2 (1–0) | 19 – Brissett | 13 – Moyer | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (20,688) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Wake Forest | L 67–73 | 12–3 (1–1) | 23 – Howard | 8 – Moyer | 5 – Howard | LJVM Coliseum (8,109) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:15 p.m., ESPN2 | | Notre Dame | L 49–51 | 12–4 (1–2) | 21 – Battle | 11 – Brissett | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (24,304) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 9, 2018 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 3 Virginia | L 61–68 | 12–5 (1–3) | 18 – Howard | 16 – Chukwu | 1 – 3 tied | John Paul Jones Arena (13,625) Charlottesville, VA |
| Jan 13, 2018 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at No. 23 Florida State | L 90–101 $^{2OT}$ | 12–6 (1–4) | 37 – Battle | 11 – Chukwu | 5 – Howard | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (10,938) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 16, 2018 9:00 p.m., RSN | | Pittsburgh | W 59–45 | 13–6 (2–4) | 18 – Howard | 8 – Chukwu | 4 – Howard | Carrier Dome (21,259) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | | Boston College | W 81–63 | 14–6 (3–4) | 24 – Battle | 8 – Doležaj | 6 – Howard | Carrier Dome (21,262) Syracuse, NY |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 60–55 | 15–6 (4–4) | 18 – Sidibe | 16 – Sidibe | 4 – Howard | Petersen Events Center (7,033) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Jan 31, 2018 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | L 51–55 | 15–7 (4–5) | 19 – Battle | 9 – Battle | 4 – Battle | McCamish Pavilion (8,600) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 2 Virginia | L 44–59 | 15–8 (4–6) | 15 – Battle | 7 – Doležaj | 2 – Howard | Carrier Dome (27,083) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 5, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | at Louisville | W 78–73 | 16–8 (5–6) | 25 – Battle | 8 – Tied | 2 – 3 tied | KFC Yum! Center (16,983) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 11, 2018 1:00 p.m., ACCN | | Wake Forest | W 78–70 | 17–8 (6–6) | 34 – Battle | 11 – Chukwu | 9 – Howard | Carrier Dome (24,018) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 14, 2018 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | NC State | L 70–74 | 17–9 (6–7) | 25 – Brissett | 7 – Brissett | 6 – Howard | Carrier Dome (21,125) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 17, 2018 12:00 p.m., CBS | | at Miami (FL) | W 62–55 | 18–9 (7–7) | 18 – Howard | 12 – Brissett | 6 – Howard | Watsco Center (6,879) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | No. 10 North Carolina | L 74–78 | 18–10 (7–8) | 26 – Battle | 11 – Chuwku | 6 – Battle | Carrier Dome (27,165) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 24, 2018 6:00 p.m., ESPN | | at No. 5 Duke | L 44–60 | 18–11 (7–9) | 12 – Battle | 12 – Chukwu | 7 – Howard | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Feb 28, 2018 9:00 p.m., RSN | | at Boston College | L 70–85 | 18–12 (7–10) | 29 – Battle | 9 – Tied | 5 – Howard | Conte Forum (5,718) Chesnut Hill, MA |
| Mar 3, 2018 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | No. 18 Clemson | W 55–52 | 19–12 (8–10) | 17 – Brissett | 6 – Brissett | 1 – Tied | Carrier Dome (28,670) Syracuse, NY |
| ACC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | (11) | vs. (14) Wake Forest First Round | W 73–64 | 20–12 | 20 – Doležaj | 9 – Tied | 5 – Howard | Barclays Center (10,612) Brooklyn, NY |
| Mar 7, 2018 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | (11) | vs. (6) No. 12 North Carolina Second Round | L 59–78 | 20–13 | 20 – Brissett | 10 – Brissett | 4 – Howard | Barclays Center (17,732) Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 9:10 p.m., truTV | (11 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Arizona State First Four | W 60–56 | 21–13 | 23 – Brissett | 12 – Brissett | 3 – Tied | UD Arena (12,732) Dayton, OH |
| Mar 16, 2018* 9:40 p.m., CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) TCU First Round | W 57–52 | 22–13 | 17 – Doležaj | 10 – Chukwu | 3 – Tied | Little Caesars Arena (20,314) Detroit, MI |
| Mar 18, 2018* 2:40 p.m., CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 5 Michigan State Second Round | W 55–53 | 23–13 | 17 – Battle | 9 – Brissett | 2 – Battle | Little Caesars Arena (20,360) Detroit, MI |
| Mar 23, 2018* 9:37 p.m., CBS | (11 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 9 Duke Sweet Sixteen | L 65–69 | 23–14 | 19 – Battle | 8 – Howard | 5 – Battle | CenturyLink Center Omaha (17,399) Omaha, NE |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. 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 | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | — | — | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | | | | | | | | | | | | | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings