# 2017–18 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

The 2017–18 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina Upstate during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by first-year head coach Kyle Perry, played their home games at the G. B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Perry was initially named interim coach upon head coach Eddie Payne's retirement on October 3, 2017, due to health concerns, but had the interim tag removed on October 20 and was named full-time head coach. They finished the season 7–25, 2–12 in ASUN play to finish in last place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Florida Gulf Coast.
After the season, USC Upstate fired Perry on March 1, less than five months after being named full time head coach of the Spartans. On March 30, the school hired former Tulane head coach Dave Dickerson for the job.
This season marked the final season for USC Upstate as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference, as the school announced on November 15, 2017, that they will be moving to the Big South Conference for the 2018–19 season.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2016–17 season 17–16, 7–7 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Kennesaw State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Furman.
The season marked Eddie Payne's 15th and final season as head coach at USC Upstate as he announced his retirement on October 3, 2017.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Tim Hart | 5 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Freshman | Plano, TX | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Josh Cuthbertson | 10 | F | 6'5" | 185 | Senior | New Bern, NC | Graduated |
| Philip Whittington | 15 | F | 6'9" | 215 | Sophomore | Columbus, GA | Transferred to Kent State |
| Blake Edwards | 21 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Sophomore | Chapin, SC | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Nick Kornieck | 25 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Freshman | Henderson, NV | Transferred to Doane |
| Michael Buchanan | 44 | C | 7'0" | 285 | Senior | Las Vegas, NV | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Patrick Welch | 15 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Junior | Pembroke, NH | Junior college transferred from South Georgia Technical College |

### 2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Austin Nelson SF | Hendersonville, NC | North Henderson High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Cory Kaplan SF | Melbourne, FL | Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Yeskin Walker-Williams SF | Houston, TX | Manvel High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Isaiah Anderson C | Richmond, VA | John Marshall High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Avery Diggs C | Brandon, FL | Clearwater Academy International | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 260 lb (120 kg) |
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 27, 2017. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, BTN Plus | | at No. 15 Minnesota | L 77–92 | 0–1 | Williams Arena (10,836) Minneapolis, MN |
| Nov 12, 2017* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Allen | W 85–66 | 1–1 | G. B. Hodge Center (653) Spartanburg, SC |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Georgia | L 65–74 | 1–2 | Stegeman Coliseum (5,369) Athens, GA |
| Nov 18, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Charleston Southern | L 72–82 | 1–3 | G. B. Hodge Center (528) Spartanburg, SC |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Paine | W 79–59 | 2–3 | G. B. Hodge Center Spartanburg, SC |
| Nov 24, 2017* 5:00 pm | | vs. Bowling Green Creek Classic | L 74–83 | 2–4 | Gore Arena (1,083) Buies Creek, NC |
| Nov 25, 2017* 5:00 pm | | vs. Abilene Christian Creek Classic | W 88–78 | 3–4 | Gore Arena (1,208) Buies Creek, NC |
| Nov 26, 2017* 4:00 pm | | at Campbell Creek Classic | L 74–93 | 3–5 | Gore Arena (1,019) Buies Creek, NC |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at UNC Asheville | L 70–82 | 3–6 | Kimmel Arena (1,436) Asheville, NC |
| Dec 2, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Gardner–Webb | L 66–87 | 3–7 | Paul Porter Arena (725) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Dec 5, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kansas State | L 49–86 | 3–8 | Bramlage Coliseum (6,911) Manhattan, KS |
| Dec 9, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Denver | L 69–84 | 3–9 | Magness Arena (951) Denver, CO |
| Dec 16, 2017* 4:00 pm | | at Jacksonville State | L 61–77 | 3–10 | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,222) Jacksonville, AL |
| Dec 18, 2017* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | Coastal Georgia | W 83–75 | 4–10 | G. B. Hodge Center (723) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 20, 2017* 9:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 25 Creighton | L 62–116 | 4–11 | CenturyLink Center (15,366) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 30, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Greenville | W 80–59 | 5–11 | G. B. Hodge Center (366) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 2, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UMKC | L 77–79 | 5–12 | G. B. Hodge Center (837) Spartanburg, SC |
| Atlantic Sun Conference regular season ||||||
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at NJIT | L 87–98 | 5–13 (0–1) | Wellness and Events Center (618) Newark, NJ |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 58–75 | 5–14 (0–2) | Alico Arena (3,633) Fort Myers, FL |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stetson | L 69–87 | 5–15 (0–3) | Edmunds Center (543) DeLand, FL |
| Jan 18, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville | W 91–85 | 6–15 (1–3) | G. B. Hodge Center (833) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida | L 80–100 | 6–16 (1–4) | G. B. Hodge Center (749) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | L 78–92 | 6–17 (1–5) | Allen Arena (1,007) Nashville, TN |
| Jan 27, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | L 80–81 | 6–18 (1–6) | G. B. Hodge Center (704) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 29, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | L 106–110 $^{2OT}$ | 6–19 (1–7) | G. B. Hodge Center (837) Spartanburg, SC |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kennesaw State | L 69–93 | 6–20 (1–8) | KSU Convocation Center (1,171) Kennesaw, GA |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stetson | W 91–79 | 7–20 (2–8) | G. B. Hodge Center (837) Spartanburg, SC |
| Feb 10, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Gulf Coast | L 71–88 | 7–21 (2–9) | G. B. Hodge Center (833) Spartanburg, SC |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Florida | L 100–109 | 7–22 (2–10) | UNF Arena (1,606) Jacksonville, FL |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Jacksonville | L 70–82 | 7–23 (2–11) | Swisher Gymnasium (889) Jacksonville, FL |
| Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | NJIT | L 67–76 | 7–24 (2–12) | G. B. Hodge Center (833) Spartanburg, SC |
| Atlantic Sun tournament ||||||
| Feb 26, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (8) | at (1) Florida Gulf Coast Quarterfinals | L 76–96 | 7–25 | Alico Arena (2,832) Fort Myers, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||