2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball season

The 2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in early March.

Middle Tennessee claimed the outright regular season championship with a win over Western Kentucky on March 1, 2018. Old Dominion finished in second place in the regular season, one game behind the Blue Raiders.

Middle Tennessee's Nick King was named C-USA Player of the Year and UTSA's Steve Henson was named the Coach of the Year.

The C-USA tournament was held from March 7 through 10, 2018 at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Marshall defeated Western Kentucky to win the tournament championship for the first time. As a result, the Thundering Herd received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. No other C-USA school received an NCAA Tournament bid. The Herd went 1–1 in the Tournament. Middle Tennessee and Western Kentucky received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament. The teams combined go 4–2 in the NIT, with Western Kentucky advancing to the semifinals. North Texas and UTSA received bids to the CBI and CIT respectively.

Head coaches

Coaching changes On March 5, 2017, North Texas fired head coach Tony Benford after five years without a winning season. On March 13, the school hired Arkansas State head coach Grant McCasland to the same role.

On March 21, 2017, Rice head coach Mike Rhoades resigned to become the head coach at VCU. He finished at Rice with a three-year record of 47–52. On March 23, the school promoted assistant coach Scott Pera to head coach.

On November 27, 2017 UTEP dropped to 1–5 on the season, head coach Tim Floyd announced that he was retiring effective immediately. The school had previously announced a new athletic director, Jim Senter, a week prior, but Floyd said that had nothing to do with his decision. Assistant Phil Johnson was named interim head coach of the Miners the next day.

On December 14, 2017, Charlotte head coach Mark Price was fired after a 3–6 start to the season and was replaced by Houston Fancher. Fancher was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.

Coaches Team Head coach Previous job Year at school Overall record C-USA record C-USA championships NCAA TournamentsCharlotteHouston Fancher(interim)Charlotte(asst.)03–172–16 00FIUAnthony EvansNorfolk State565–94 33–5500Florida AtlanticMichael CurryPhiladelphia 76ers(asst.)439–84 19–5300Louisiana TechEric KonkolMiami(asst.)363–36 33–2100MarshallDan D'AntoniLos Angeles Lakers(asst.)473–63 41–31 11Middle TennesseeKermit DavisLSU(asst.)16332–188 68–2022North TexasGrant McCaslandArkansas State120–188–1000Old DominionJeff JonesAmerican5114–58 61–27 00RiceScott PeraRice(asst.)17–24 4–14 00Southern MissDoc SadlerIowa State(asst.)438–81 21–50 00UABRobert EhsanUAB(asst.)237–2919–1700UTEPPhil Johnson (interim)UTEP(asst.)010–15 6–12 00UTSASteve HensonOklahoma(asst.)334–3318–1800WKURick StansburyTexas A&M(asst.)242–2823–1300 Notes: All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. Year at school includes 2017–18 season. Overall and C-USA records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2017–18 season.

Preseason

Preseason Coaches Poll Source RankTeam 1. Middle Tennessee (8) 2. UAB (4) 3. Louisiana Tech (2) 4. Old Dominion 5. UTEP 6. Western Kentucky 7. Marshall 8. Charlotte 9. UTSA 10. Southern Miss 11. North Texas 12. Florida Atlantic 13. Rice 14. FIU () first place votes

Preseason All-C-USA Team Source Recipient SchoolDaquan BraceyLa TechWilliam Lee UABJon ElmoreMarshallJustin Johnson WKUChris Cokely UABJon DavisCharlotteAhmad CaverOld DominionGiddy PottsMiddle TennesseeJacobi BoykinsLa TechOmega HarrisUTEP

Conference schedules

Conference matrix This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.   CharlotteFIUFAULaTechMarshallMTSUUNTODURiceUSMUABUTEPUTSAWKUvs. Charlotte – 2–01–11–02–01–00–12–01–01–01–01–01–02–0vs. FIU0–2 – 1–10–11–01–01–12–01–10–11–01–00–11–0vs. Florida Atlantic1–11–1 – 1–01–01–01–12–01–11–01–00–10–11–0vs. Louisiana Tech0–11–00–1 – 1–02–00–11–00–11–11–11–12–01–0vs. Marshall0–20–10–10–1 – 0–20–12–00–10–11–10–11–02–0vs. Middle Tennessee0–10–10–10–22–0 – 0–10–10–10–20–20–10–10–2vs. North Texas1–01–11–11–01–01–0 – 1–00–21–00–11–10–21–0vs. Old Dominion0–20–20–20–10–21–00–1 – 0–10–10–10–10–12–0vs. Rice0–11–11–11–01–01–02–01–0 – 1–01–01–12–01–0vs. Southern Miss0–11–00–11–11–02–00–11–00–1 – 2–01–11–11–0vs. UAB0–10–10–11–11–12–01–01–00–10–2 – 0–11–01–1vs. UTEP0–10–11–01–11–01–01–11–01–11–11–0 – 2–01–0vs. UTSA0–11–01–00–20–11–02–01–00–21–10–10–2 – 0–1vs. WKU0–20–10–10–10–22–00–10–20–10–11–10–11–0 – Total2–168–106–127–1112–616–28–1015–34–147–1110–86–1211–714–4

Players of the Week Throughout the conference regular season, the C-USA offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday. Week Player of the week Freshman of the week November 13, 2017 Jon Elmore, Marshall Keaton Wallace, UTSA November 20, 2017 Nick King, Middle Tennessee Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA November 27, 2017 Chris Cokley, UAB Jake Ohmer, Western Kentucky December 4, 2017 Jon Elmore, Marshall Keaton Wallace, UTSA December 11, 2017 Nick King, Middle Tennessee Keaton Wallace, UTSA December 18, 2017 Ajdin Penava, Marshall Taveion Hollingsworth, Western Kentucky December 26, 2017 Nick King, Middle Tennessee Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA January 2, 2018 Roosevelt Smart, North Texas Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA January 8, 2018 Darius Thompson, Western Kentucky Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA January 16, 2018 Roosevelt Smart, North Texas Zack Byrant, UAB January 22, 2018 C. J. Burks, Marshall Anthony Duruji, Louisiana Tech January 29, 2018 Ronald Delph, FAU Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA February 7, 2018 Brian Beard, FIU Jhivvan Jackson, UTSAFebruary 12, 2018Nick King, Middle TennesseeTaveion Hollingsworth, Western KentuckyFebruary 19, 2018C. J. Burks, MarshallJhivvan Jackson, UTSAFebruary 26, 2018Jon Elmore, MarshallNajja Hunter, RiceMarch 4, 2018Jon Davis, Charlotte Trey Porter, Old DominionZack Bryant, UAB

All-C-USA honors and awards Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches. Honor Recipient Player of the YearNick King, Middle Tennessee Coach of the YearSteve Henson, UTSA Defensive Player of the YearAjdin Penava, Marshall Freshman of the YearJhivvan Jackson, UTSA Newcomer of the YearNick King, Middle TennesseeSixth Man of the YearDeon Lyle, UTSA All-C-USA First Team Jon Elmore, Marshall Nick King, Middle Tennessee Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion Chris Cokley, UAB Justin Johnson, WKU All-C-USA Second Team C. J. Burks, Marshall Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee Roosevelt Smart, North Texas Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA Darius Thompson, WKU All-C-USA Third Team Brian Beard, FIU Ronald Delph, FAU Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech Ajdin Penava, Marshall B. J. Stith, Old Dominion All-C-USA Defensive Team Brian Beard, FIU Ajdin Penava, Marshall Tyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion William Lee, UAB All-C-USA Freshman Team Anthony Duruji, Louisiana Tech Zack Bryant, UAB Jhivvan Jackson, UTSA Keaton Wallace, UTSA Taveion Hollingsworth, WKU

Postseason

C-USA Tournament

Only the top 12 conference teams were eligible for the tournament. SessionGameMatchupScoreTelevisionFirst Round – Wednesday, March 711No. 8 FIU vs. No. 9 Southern Miss68–69Stadium2No. 5 UTSA vs. No. 12 UTEP 71–583No. 7 North Texas vs. No. 10 Louisiana Tech62–684No. 6 UAB vs. No. 11 Florida Atlantic83–72Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 825No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 9 Southern Miss68–71OTStadium6No. 4 Marshall vs. No. 5 UTSA95–817No. 2 Old Dominion vs. No. 10 Louisiana Tech62–588No. 3 Western Kentucky vs. No. 6 UAB98–70Semifinals – Friday, March 939No. 4 Marshall vs. No. 9 Southern Miss85–75CBSSN10No. 2 Old Dominion vs. No. 3 Western Kentucky49–57Championship – Saturday, March 10411No. 3 Western Kentucky vs. No. 4 Marshall66–67CBSSN

NCAA tournament

Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship13EastMarshallN/Adefeated (4) Wichita State 81–75 eliminated by (5) West Virginia 71–94

National Invitation Tournament

Seed Bracket School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Finals3BaylorMiddle Tennesseedefeated (6) Vermont 91–64eliminated by (2) Louisville 68–844USCWestern Kentuckydefeated (5) Boston College 79–62defeated (1) USC 79–75defeated (2) Oklahoma State 92–84eliminated by (2) Utah 64–69W–L (%): Total:

References