# 2017–18 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team

The 2017–18 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team represented St. John's University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by alumnus and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member Chris Mullin, in his third year at the school. They played their home games at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden as members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 4–14 in Big East play to finish in tie for ninth place. They beat Georgetown in the first round of the Big East tournament before losing to Xavier in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Red Storm finished the 2016–17 season with a record of 14–19, 7–11 in Big East play to finish in eighth place in conference. They defeated Georgetown in the first round of the Big East tournament before losing to Villanova in the quarterfinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Malik Ellison | 0 | G | 6'6" | 215 | Sophomore | Voorhees, New Jersey | Transferred to Pittsburgh |
| Federico Mussini | 4 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Sophomore | Reggio Emilia, Italy | Entered the LBA |
| Sidney Wilson | 15 | F | 6'7" | 170 | Freshman | Bronx, NY | Transferred to Connecticut (pre-season) |
| Richard Freudenberg | 20 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Freshman | Heidelberg, Germany | Entered the BBL |
| Darien Williams | 45 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | San Francisco, California | Graduated Transferred to Nevada |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Sedee Keita | F | 6'9" | 240 | Sophomore | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | transfer from South Carolina (3 yrs eligibility remaining) |
| Mikey Dixon | G | 6'2" | 170 | Sophomore | New Castle, Delaware | transfer from Quinnipiac (3 yrs eligibility remaining) |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Sidney Wilson SF | Bronx, NY | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 20, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Bryan Trimble Jr. SG | Kansas City, MO | Sunrise Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 12, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Boubacar Diakite SF | Bamako, Mali | Our Savior New American School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 13, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| 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. ||||||

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Greg Williams Jr. SG | Lafayette, LA | Lafayette Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 15, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Josh Roberts SF | Troy, AL | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 8, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77 |||||||
| Marcellus Earlington PF | Ramsey, NJ | Don Bosco Prep | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Feb 28, 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Preseason

In a preseason poll of Big East coaches, the Red Storm was picked to finish in sixth place in the Big East. Sophomore guards Marcus LoVett and Shamorie Ponds were named to the preseason All-Big East second team.

## 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 pm, ESPN3 | | American International | W 84–52 | | 21 – Ponds | 14 – Clark | 7 – Simon | Carnesecca Arena (3,869) Queens, NY |
| Nov 5, 2017* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus | | at Rutgers Disaster Relief Charity Exhibition | L 78–80 | | 25 – Ponds | 7 – Tied | 6 – Ponds | Louis Brown Athletic Center (1,551) Piscataway, NJ |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, FCS | | New Orleans | W 77–61 | 1–0 | 23 – Lovett | 7 – Ponds | 6 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (4,921) Queens, NY |
| Nov 14, 2017* 6:30 pm, FS2 | | Central Connecticut | W 80–55 | 2–0 | 21 – Ponds | 11 – Simon | 4 – Tied | Carnesecca Arena (4,043) Queens, NY |
| Nov 16, 2017* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Nebraska Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 79–56 | 3–0 | 22 – Ponds | 12 – Simon | 5 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (4,652) Queens, NY |
| Nov 20, 2017* 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Molloy | W 71–43 | 4–0 | 14 – Tied | 11 – Simon | 9 – Simon | Carnesecca Arena (4,424) Queens, NY |
| Nov 23, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Oregon State AdvoCare Invitational quarterfinals | W 82–77 | 5–0 | 26 – Ponds | 6 – Tied | 6 – Ponds | HP Field House (2,712) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 24, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPNews | | vs. Missouri AdvoCare Invitational semifinals | L 82–90 | 5–1 | 31 – Ponds | 9 – Simon | 8 – Simon | HP Field House (2,367) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Nov 26, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. UCF Advocare Invitational 3rd place game | W 46–43 | 6–1 | 12 – Lovett | 10 – Ponds | 4 – Ponds | HP Field House (1,712) Lake Buena Vista, FL |
| Dec 2, 2017* 4:30 pm, FS1 | | Sacred Heart | W 90–55 | 7–1 | 22 – Ponds | 11 – Owens | 7 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (4,643) Queens, NY |
| Dec 5, 2017* 11:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Grand Canyon Valley of the Sun Shootout | W 68–60 | 8–1 | 28 – Ponds | 11 – Simon | 4 – Ponds | Talking Stick Resort Arena (8,907) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 8, 2017* 8:00 pm, P12N | | vs. No. 16 Arizona State Basketball Hall of Fame Classic | L 70–82 | 8–2 | 18 – Ponds | 8 – Ahmed | 7 – Ponds | Staples Center (6,456) Los Angeles, CA |
| Dec 17, 2017* 4:30 pm, FS1 | | Iona Madison Square Garden Holiday Festival | W 69–59 | 9–2 | 16 – Ponds | 11 – Ahmed | 3 – Simon | Madison Square Garden (9,515) New York, NY |
| Dec 20, 2017* 4:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Saint Joseph's Basketball Hall of Fame Holiday Showcase | W 77–73 | 10–2 | 28 – Ponds | 11 – Simon | 9 – Simon | Mohegan Sun Arena (5,518) Uncasville, CT |
| Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm, FSN | | Providence | L 72–94 | 10–3 (0–1) | 20 – Clark | 8 – Clark | 6 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Dec 31, 2017 5:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 23 Seton Hall | L 70–75 | 10–4 (0–2) | 19 – Owens | 14 – Owens | 10 – Simon | Prudential Center (8,456) Newark, NJ |
| Jan 3, 2018 8:00 pm, FS1 | | at Creighton | L 71–78 | 10–5 (0–3) | 21 – Ahmed | 5 – Tied | 6 – Simon | CenturyLink Center (16,167) Omaha, NE |
| Jan 6, 2018 2:00 pm, FSN | | DePaul | L 74–91 | 10–6 (0–4) | 21 – Ahmed | 7 – Tied | 6 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Jan 9, 2018 6:30 pm, FS1 | | Georgetown | L 66–69 | 10–7 (0–5) | 17 – Ponds | 7 – Clark | 6 – Ponds | Madison Square Garden (9,406) New York, NY |
| Jan 13, 2018 8:00 pm, FBN | | No. 1 Villanova | L 71–78 | 10–8 (0–6) | 37 – Ponds | 7 – Tied | 3 – Simon | Madison Square Garden (17,123) New York, NY |
| Jan 17, 2018 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 11 Xavier | L 82–88 | 10–9 (0–7) | 28 – Simon | 6 – Owens | 6 – Simon | Cintas Center (10,224) Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 20, 2018 12:00 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown | L 89–93 $^{2OT}$ | 10–10 (0–8) | 33 – Ponds | 10 – Simon | 8 – Ponds | Capital One Arena (8,976) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 23, 2018 8:30 pm, FS1 | | Creighton | L 63–68 | 10–11 (0–9) | 17 – Simon | 9 – Simon | 7 – Simon | Carnesecca Arena (4,771) Queens, NY |
| Jan 27, 2018 2:30 pm, FS1 | | at Butler | L 45–70 | 10–12 (0–10) | 13 – Owens | 9 – Owens | 5 – Simon | Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,129) Indianapolis, IN |
| Jan 30, 2018 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | No. 6 Xavier | L 68–73 | 10–13 (0–11) | 31 – Ponds | 10 – Ahmed | 5 – Ponds | Carnesecca Arena (5,344) Queens, NY |
| Feb 3, 2018* 12:00 pm, FOX | | No. 4 Duke The Garf | W 81–77 | 11–13 | 33 – Ponds | 7 – Ponds | 7 – Simon | Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York, NY |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 1 Villanova | W 79–75 | 12–13 (1–11) | 26 – Ponds | 10 – Simon | 7 – Simon | Wells Fargo Center (10,900) Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 10, 2018 12:00 pm, FSN | | Marquette | W 86–78 | 13–13 (2–11) | 44 – Ponds | 11 – Simon | 6 – Simon | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Feb 14, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at DePaul | W 77–76 | 14–13 (3–11) | 26 – Ponds | 6 – Owens | 10 – Ponds | Wintrust Arena (4,690) Chicago, IL |
| Feb 21, 2018 8:30 pm, FSN | | at Marquette | L 73–85 | 14–14 (3–12) | 19 – Tied | 7 – Ponds | 6 – Tied | BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,624) Milwaukee, WI |
| Feb 24, 2018 12:00 pm, FOX | | Seton Hall | L 74–81 $^{OT}$ | 14–15 (3–13) | 25 – Ponds | 10 – Clark II | 6 – Ponds | Madison Square Garden (18,840) New York, NY |
| Feb 28, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | Butler | W 75–68 $^{2OT}$ | 15–15 (4–13) | 24 – Simon | 10 – Simon | 5 – Simon | Carnesecca Arena (5,602) Queens, NY |
| Mar 3, 2018 12:00 pm, FSN | | at Providence | L 57–61 | 15–16 (4–14) | 14 – Clark | 7 – Ahmed | 9 – Simon | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,627) Providence, RI |
| Big East tournament |||||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 7:00 pm, FS1 | (9) | vs. (8) Georgetown First round | W 88–77 | 16–16 | 26 – Ponds | 10 – Simon | 6 – Simon | Madison Square Garden (16,866) New York, NY |
| Mar 8, 2018 12:00 pm, FS1 | (9) | vs. (1) No. 3 Xavier Quarterfinals | L 60–88 | 16–17 | 18 – Clark | 7 – Ponds | 3 – Ponds | Madison Square Garden (17,647) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||