# 2017–18 Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Grand Canyon Antelopes men's basketball team represented Grand Canyon University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Dan Majerle in his fifth season at Grand Canyon. The Antelopes played their home games at the GCU Arena in Phoenix, Arizona as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–12, 9–5 in WAC play to finish in third place. They defeated UMKC and Utah Valley to advance to the championship game of the WAC tournament where they lost to New Mexico. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Mercer.
The season marked the Antelopes' first full season as a Division I school after a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. This means the team was officially eligible for the NCAA tournament if they had qualified, as well as becoming fully eligible for the WAC tournament.

## Previous season

The Antelopes finished the 2016–17 season 22–9, 11–3 in WAC play to finish in a tie for second place. Citing injuries, they decided to not participate in a postseason tournament. They had participated in the CIT the previous three seasons.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Darion Clark | 23 | F | 6'7" | 235 | RS Senior | Conyers, GA | Graduated |
| DeWayne Russell | 0 | G | 5'11" | 155 | RS Senior | Peoria, AZ | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Note | Previous School |
| Casey Benson | G | 6'3" | 185 | Jr. | Tempe, AZ | Graduate transfer from Oregon. Immediately eligible with one year eligibility. | Oregon |

### Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Damarion Milstead PG | Hayward, CA | Moreau Catholic High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 155 lb (70 kg) | Mar 1, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Roberts Blumbergs PF | Latvia | Get Better Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | Jun 26, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Alessandro Lever PF | Bolzano, Italy | Istituto Secchi | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) | Mar 14, 2017 |
| Recruiting 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. Retrieved September 15, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 22, 2017* 5:00 pm | | at Nevada Charity exhibition benefiting North Bay Fire Relief | L 72–81 | | 15 – Frayer | 7 – Blumbergs | 3 – Martin | Lawlor Events Center (3,072) Reno, NV |
| Nov 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | St. Francis (IL) | W 89–49 | | 17 – Lever | 8 – Smith | 9 – Benson | GCU Arena (7,118) Phoenix, AZ |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Florida A&M | W 67–51 | 1–0 | 11 – Aidoo/Braun | 9 – Vernon | 4 – Benson/Braun | GCU Arena (7,202) Phoenix, AZ |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Robert Morris Grand Canyon Classic | W 75–61 | 2–0 | 20 – Braun | 9 – Frayer | 5 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,833) Phoenix, AZ |
| Nov 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Little Rock Grand Canyon Classic | W 76–51 | 3–0 | 29 – Braun | 6 – Frayer/Vernon | 3 – 5 players tied | GCU Arena (7,394) Phoenix, AZ |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Norfolk State Grand Canyon Classic | W 75–60 | 4–0 | 19 – Frayer | 8 – Blumbergs/Vernon | 8 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,889) Phoenix, AZ |
| Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | San Diego Grand Canyon Classic | L 62–75 | 4–1 | 20 – Braun | 10 – Benson | 6 – Benson | GCU Arena (7,391) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | UC Riverside | W 68–56 | 5–1 | 14 – Blumbergs | 7 – Blumbergs/Braun/Vernon | 7 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,844) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 5, 2017* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. St. John's Valley of the Sun Showcase | L 60–68 | 5–2 | 18 – Benson | 15 – Vernon | 3 – Aidoo | Talking Stick Resort Arena (8,907) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Grambling State | W 87–53 | 6–2 | 19 – Vernon | 6 – Martin/Vernon | 8 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,829) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | North Carolina Central | W 64–59 | 7–2 | 20 – Braun | 7 – Braun | 7 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,276) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Boise State | L 80–85 $^{2OT}$ | 7–3 | 16 – Benson | 12 – Vernon | 5 – Carr | Taco Bell Arena (4,628) Boise, ID |
| Dec 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Mississippi Valley State | W 71–38 | 8–3 | 16 – Braun | 6 – Braun/Lever | 6 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,464) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Longwood | W 86–56 | 9–3 | 14 – Aidoo | 10 – Lever | 5 – Benson/Carr | GCU Arena (7,006) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 23, 2017* 11:00 am, ACCN Extra | | at Louisville | L 56–74 | 9–4 | 14 – Frayer | 9 – Vernon | 7 – Benson | KFC Yum! Center (16,841) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 27, 2017* 6:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | vs. Morgan State Las Vegas Showcase | W 100–74 | 10–4 | 18 – Braun | 9 – Lever | 6 – Carr | Orleans Arena (1,544) Paradise, NV |
| Dec 30, 2017* 2:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Illinois | L 58–62 | 10–5 | 14 – Vernon | 5 – Braun/Lever/Vernon | 3 – Braun/Carr | State Farm Center (13762) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 6, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Seattle | W 73–57 | 11–5 (1–0) | 18 – Frayer | 7 – Frayer/Martin | 3 – Carr/Vernon | KeyArena (2,156) Seattle, WA |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | New Mexico State | L 59–70 | 11–6 (1–1) | 15 – Braun | 12 – Vernon | 2 – 5 players tied | GCU Arena (7,521) Phoenix, AZ |
| Jan 13, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 84–71 | 12–6 (2–1) | 25 – Blumbergs | 15 – Vernon | 3 – Braun/Carr | GCU Arena (7,222) Phoenix, AZ |
| Jan 18, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Chicago State | W 86–58 | 13–6 (3–1) | 28 – Lever | 8 – Lever | 6 – Benson | Jones Convocation Center (463) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 20, 2018 6:00 pm | | at UMKC | W 86–69 | 14–6 (4–1) | 24 – Lever | 10 – Lever | 9 – Benson | Municipal Auditorium (1,440) Kansas City, MO |
| Jan 23, 2018* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | William Jessup | W 96–80 | 15–6 | 25 – Lever | 8 – Blumbergs/Vernon | 10 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,952) Phoenix, AZ |
| Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Utah Valley | L 56–68 | 15–7 (4–2) | 22 – Lever | 9 – Frayer | 5 – Benson | UCCU Center (4,881) Orem, UT |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | UMKC | W 79–62 | 16–7 (5–2) | 18 – Vernon | 13 – Frayer | 4 – Benson/Martin | GCU Arena (7,005) Phoenix, AZ |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Chicago State | W 89–55 | 17–7 (6–2) | 14 – Braun | 8 – Vernon | 6 – Benson | GCU Arena (7,244) Phoenix, AZ |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | L 81–83 | 17–8 (6–3) | 22 – Lever | 10 – Benson | 6 – Benson | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,038) Edinburg, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at New Mexico State | L 70–74 | 17–9 (6–4) | 23 – Frayer | 10 – Frayer | 3 – Benson/Blumbergs/Vernon | Pan American Center (12,989) Las Cruces, NM |
| Feb 17, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cal State Bakersfield | L 58–71 | 17–10 (6–5) | 11 – Frayer | 6 – Lever | 2 – Lever/Milstead | Icardo Center (3,002) Bakersfield, CA |
| Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Seattle | W 76–64 | 18–10 (7–5) | 30 – Lever | 10 – Lever | 5 – Benson | GCU Arena (6,925) Phoenix, AZ |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Utah Valley | W 60–59 | 19–10 (8–5) | 16 – Frayer/Lever | 8 – Jackson | 5 – Jackson | GCU Arena (7,179) Phoenix, AZ |
| Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 81–62 | 20–10 (9–5) | 23 – Lever | 9 – Vernon | 5 – Vernon | GCU Arena (7,372) Phoenix, AZ |
| WAC tournament |||||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (6) UMKC Quarterfinals | W 77–74 | 21–10 | 29 – Lever | 15 – Frayer | 3 – Martin/Milstead | Orleans Arena (1,508) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (2) Utah Valley Semifinals | W 75–60 | 22–10 | 15 – Tied | 8 – Tied | 5 – Frayer | Orleans Arena (2,739) Paradise, NV |
| Mar 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) | vs. (1) New Mexico State Championship game | L 58–72 | 22–11 | 20 – Lever | 8 – Vernon | 4 – Vernon | Orleans Arena (3,065) Paradise, NV |
| CBI |||||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, YurView/ESPN3 | | Mercer First round | L 73–78 | 22–12 | 20 – Vernon | 8 – Benson | 7 – Benson | GCU Arena (5,941) Phoenix, AZ |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||||||
Source