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

Notes:

Preseason Coaches Poll

Source
RankTeam
1.Middle Tennessee '
2.UAB '
3.Louisiana Tech
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
RecipientSchool
Daquan BraceyLa Tech
William LeeUAB
Jon ElmoreMarshall
Justin JohnsonWKU
Chris CokelyUAB
Jon DavisCharlotte
Ahmad CaverOld Dominion
Giddy PottsMiddle Tennessee
Jacobi BoykinsLa Tech
Omega HarrisUTEP

Conference schedules

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

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.
WeekPlayer of the weekFreshman of the week
November 13, 2017Jon Elmore, MarshallKeaton Wallace, UTSA
November 20, 2017Nick King, Middle TennesseeJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
November 27, 2017Chris Cokley, UABJake Ohmer, Western Kentucky
December 4, 2017Jon Elmore, MarshallKeaton Wallace, UTSA
December 11, 2017Nick King, Middle TennesseeKeaton Wallace, UTSA
December 18, 2017Ajdin Penava, MarshallTaveion Hollingsworth, Western Kentucky
December 26, 2017Nick King, Middle TennesseeJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
January 2, 2018Roosevelt Smart, North TexasJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
January 8, 2018Darius Thompson, Western KentuckyJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
January 16, 2018Roosevelt Smart, North TexasZack Byrant, UAB
January 22, 2018C. J. Burks, MarshallAnthony Duruji, Louisiana Tech
January 29, 2018Ronald Delph, FAUJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
February 7, 2018Brian Beard, FIUJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
February 12, 2018Nick King, Middle TennesseeTaveion Hollingsworth, Western Kentucky
February 19, 2018C. J. Burks, MarshallJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
February 26, 2018Jon Elmore, MarshallNajja Hunter, Rice
March 4, 2018Jon Davis, Charlotte
Trey Porter, Old Dominion		Zack Bryant, UAB

All-C-USA honors and awards

Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches.
HonorRecipient
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 Tennessee
Sixth Man of the YearDeon Lyle, UTSA
All-C-USA First TeamJon Elmore, Marshall
All-C-USA First TeamNick King, Middle Tennessee
All-C-USA First TeamAhmad Caver, Old Dominion
All-C-USA First TeamChris Cokley, UAB
All-C-USA First TeamJustin Johnson, WKU
All-C-USA Second TeamC. J. Burks, Marshall
All-C-USA Second TeamGiddy Potts, Middle Tennessee
All-C-USA Second TeamRoosevelt Smart, North Texas
All-C-USA Second TeamJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
All-C-USA Second TeamDarius Thompson, WKU
All-C-USA Third TeamBrian Beard, FIU
All-C-USA Third TeamRonald Delph, FAU
All-C-USA Third TeamJacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech
All-C-USA Third TeamAjdin Penava, Marshall
All-C-USA Third TeamB. J. Stith, Old Dominion
All-C-USA Defensive TeamBrian Beard, FIU
All-C-USA Defensive TeamAjdin Penava, Marshall
All-C-USA Defensive TeamTyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee
All-C-USA Defensive TeamAhmad Caver, Old Dominion
All-C-USA Defensive TeamWilliam Lee, UAB
All-C-USA Freshman TeamAnthony Duruji, Louisiana Tech
All-C-USA Freshman TeamZack Bryant, UAB
All-C-USA Freshman TeamJhivvan Jackson, UTSA
All-C-USA Freshman TeamKeaton Wallace, UTSA
All-C-USA Freshman TeamTaveion Hollingsworth, WKU
All-C-USA Freshman Team-
All-C-USA Freshman Team-
All-C-USA Freshman Team-
All-C-USA Freshman Team-
All-C-USA Freshman Team-

Postseason

C-USA Tournament

Only the top 12 conference teams were eligible for the tournament.

NCAA tournament

SeedRegionSchoolFirst FourFirst RoundSecond RoundSweet 16Elite EightFinal FourChampionship
13EastMarshallN/Adefeated Wichita State 81–75eliminated by West Virginia 71–94

National Invitation Tournament

SeedBracketSchoolFirst roundSecond roundQuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinals
3BaylorMiddle Tennesseedefeated Vermont 91–64eliminated by Louisville 68–84
4USCWestern Kentuckydefeated Boston College 79–62defeated USC 79–75defeated Oklahoma State 92–84eliminated by Utah 64–69
W–L : Total: