# 2017–18 Colorado State Rams men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Colorado State Rams men's basketball team represented Colorado State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Larry Eustachy in his sixth season. The Rams played their home games at Moby Arena on CSU's main campus in Fort Collins, Colorado as members of the Mountain West Conference.
On February 3, 2018, prior to their game against Nevada, Eustachy was placed on administrative leave amid an internal investigation by Colorado State of Eustachy's conduct with players and other staff members. Eustachy had previously been reprimanded by the university in 2017 for the same type of behavior from a 2014 university led investigation. On February 8, players boycotted practice because of the lack of communication from the athletic department as to the situation. On the same day, it was reported that Eustachy would be fired by the school.
The Rams were initially led by assistant coach Steve Barnes for the first 2 games of Eustachy's absence. However, prior to the team's home game against San Jose State on February 10, he was also placed on administrative leave. Assistant coach Jase Herl took over as interim head coach for the rest of the season.
On February 26, Eustachy officially resigned from Colorado State.
The Rams finished the season 11–21, 4–14 in Mountain West play to finish in tenth place. They lost in the first round of the Mountain West tournament to Utah State.
On March 22, Drake head coach and former CSU assistant coach Niko Medved was hired as the new head coach of the Rams.

## Previous season

The Rams finished the 2016–17 season 24–12, 13–5 in Mountain West play to finish in second place. They defeated Air Force and San Diego State to advance to the championship game of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Nevada. They were invited to the 2017 National Invitation Tournament where they defeated the College of Charleston in the first round before losing in the second round to Cal State Bakersfield.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Kimani Jackson | 0 | F | 6'8" | 223 | RS Junior | Arlington, TX | Graduate transferred to Nicholls State |
| Devocio Butler | 1 | G | 6'5" | 205 | Junior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Texas Southern |
| Emmanuel Omogbo | 2 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Senior | Hyattsville, MD | Graduated |
| Gian Clavell | 3 | G | 6'4" | 185 | RS Senior | Caguas, PR | Graduated |
| Kevin Little | 4 | G | 6'0" | 160 | Junior | Wyandanch, NY | Transferred to UT Martin |
| Kevin Dorsey | 5 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Sophomore | Waldorf, MD | Transferred to Indian Hills CC |
| Alex Tarkanian | 12 | G | 5'11" | 167 | RS Freshman | Las Vegas, NV | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Braiden Koelliker | 33 | F/C | 6'8" | 225 | Sophomore | Kaysville, UT | Transferred to Chaminade |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Alonzo Tyson | 0 | F | 6'8" | 190 | Junior | Fayetteville, NC | Junior college transferred from Cape Fear CC |
| Raquan Mitchell | 3 | G | 6'2" | | RS Sophomore | Miami, FL | Junior college transferred from South Plains College |
| Deion James | 20 | F | 6'8" | 195 | Junior | Tucson, AZ | Junior college transferred from Pima CC |
| Kris Martin | 30 | G | 6'6" | 186 | Junior | Frisco, TX | Transferred from Oral Roberts. Under NCAA transfer rules, Martin 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 |
| Logan Ryan PF | Canton, MI | International Sports Academy of Naples | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – ||||||
| 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: "Colorado State Commit List for 2017". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016. "ESPN – Colorado State Rams Basketball Recruiting 2017". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 24, 2016. ||||||

## Preseason

In a vote by conference media at the Mountain West media day, the Rams were picked to finish in fifth place in the Mountain West.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 3, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Colorado Mesa | W 86–75 | | Moby Arena (2,845) Fort Collins, CO |
| Nov 5, 2017* 5:00 pm | | Northern Colorado Puerto Rico relief fund exhibition game | W 83–79 | | Moby Arena (1,079) Fort Collins, CO |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Sacramento State | W 72–61 | 1–0 | Moby Arena (3,797) Fort Collins, CO |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Winthrop Jamaica Classic Montego Bay campus-site game | W 80–76 | 2–0 | Moby Arena (2,697) Fort Collins, CO |
| Nov 17, 2017* 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Tulane Jamaica Classic Montego Bay | L 53–80 | 2–1 | Montego Bay Convention Center (235) Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Nov 19, 2017* 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Florida State Jamaica Classic Montego Bay | L 73–90 | 2–2 | Montego Bay Convention Center (278) Montego Bay, Jamaica |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at New Mexico State | L 76–89 | 2–3 | Pan American Center (3,883) Las Cruces, NM |
| Nov 24, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Northwestern State Jamaica Classic Montego Bay campus-site game | W 72–60 | 3–3 | Moby Arena (2,819) Fort Collins, CO |
| Nov 28, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State MW–MVC Challenge | L 67–77 | 3–4 | JQH Arena (4,895) Springfield, MO |
| Dec 2, 2017* 11:00 am, ATTSNRM | | Colorado | W 72–63 | 4–4 | Moby Arena (5,217) Fort Collins, CO |
| Dec 5, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at Arkansas | L 66–92 | 4–5 | Bud Walton Arena (13,634) Fayetteville, AR |
| Dec 9, 2017* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at Oregon | L 65–95 | 4–6 | Matthew Knight Arena (7,153) Eugene, OR |
| Dec 17, 2017* 3:00 pm | | Texas State | W 66–58 | 5–6 | Moby Arena (2,737) Fort Collins, CO |
| Dec 17, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Arkansas–Fort Smith | W 87–73 | 6–6 | Moby Arena (2,370) Fort Collins, CO |
| Dec 23, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Long Beach State | W 68–66 | 7–6 | Moby Arena (2,752) Fort Collins, CO |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| Dec 27, 2017 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Boise State | L 71–93 | 7–7 (0–1) | Taco Bell Arena (7,538) Boise, ID |
| Dec 30, 2017 3:00 pm | | at San Jose State | W 59–52 | 8–7 (1–1) | Event Center Arena (1,385) San Jose, CA |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | San Diego State | L 68–77 | 8–8 (1–2) | Moby Arena (3,020) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:30 pm, CBSSN | | Fresno State | L 79–82 $^{OT}$ | 8–9 (1–3) | Moby Arena (3,541) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Utah State | W 84–75 | 9–9 (2–3) | Smith Spectrum (6,144) Logan, UT |
| Jan 13, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Wyoming Border War | W 78–73 | 10–9 (3–3) | Arena-Auditorium (7,014) Laramie, WY |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | Air Force | L 71–76 | 10–10 (3–4) | Moby Arena (3,216) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 20, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | UNLV | L 74–79 | 10–11 (3–5) | Moby Arena (4,383) Fort Collins, CO |
| Jan 24, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at San Diego State | L 78–97 | 10–12 (3–6) | Viejas Arena (11,144) San Diego, CA |
| Jan 27, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at New Mexico | L 65–80 | 10–13 (3–7) | Dreamstyle Arena (12,438) Albuquerque, NM |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | Wyoming Border War | L 86–91 $^{2OT}$ | 10–14 (3–8) | Moby Arena (4,177) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb 3, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Nevada | L 67–76 | 10–15 (3–9) | Moby Arena (3,978) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb 7, 2018 8:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | at Air Force | L 73–78 | 10–16 (3–10) | Clune Arena (2,556) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm | | San Jose State | W 90–79 | 11–16 (4–10) | Moby Arena (2,984) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb 17, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Fresno State | L 65–86 | 11–17 (4–11) | Save Mart Center (6,882) Fresno, CA |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Boise State | L 54–87 | 11–18 (4–12) | Moby Arena (2,850) Fort Collins, CO |
| Feb 25, 2018 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | at No. 20 Nevada | L 83–92 | 11–19 (4–13) | Lawlor Events Center (10,273) Reno, NV |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm, ATTSNRM | | New Mexico | L 87–108 | 11–20 (4–14) | Moby Arena (2,917) Fort Collins, CO |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 2:30 pm, Stadium | (10) | vs. (7) Utah State First round | L 65–76 | 11–21 | Thomas & Mack Center (4,994) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||
Source