2017–18 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2017–18 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the University of California, Riverside during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by interim head coach Justin Bell, played their home games at the Student Recreation Center Arena in Riverside, California, as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 9–22, 4–12 in Big West play to finish in a tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed in the Big West tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to UC Davis.

2017–18 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record9–22 (4–12 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaStudent Recreation Center Arena
2017–18 Big West men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
UC Davis12–4 .75022–11  .667
UC Santa Barbara11–5 .68823–9  .719
UC Irvine11–5 .68818–17  .514
Cal State Fullerton †10–6 .62520–12  .625
Long Beach State9–7 .56315–18  .455
Hawai'i8–8 .50017–13  .567
Cal Poly4–12 .2509–22  .290
UC Riverside4–12 .2509–22  .290
Cal State Northridge3–13 .1886–24  .200
† 2018 Big West tournament winner

On January 1, 2018, three days before conference play was to start, head coach Dennis Cutts, who was in his fifth season at UC Riverside, was fired after posting a 5–9 record to start the season.[1] Associate head coach Justin Bell was named interim head coach.[2] On March 14, the school hired TCU assistant coach David Patrick as head coach.[3][4]

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2016–17 season 7–21, 5–11 in Big West play to finish in eighth place. As the No. 8 seed in the Big West tournament, they were defeated by UC Irvine in the quarterfinals.

Offseason

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure
Gentrey Thomas0G6'4"195SeniorEast Preston, NSGraduated
Malik Thames11G6'2"165SeniorSacramento, CAGraduated
Secean Johnson20F6'5"215SeniorPhiladelphia, PAGraduated

Incoming transfers
NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious school
Ryker Pierce31G/F6'5"205RS SophomoreRexburg, IDJunior college transferred from Cowley CC

2017 incoming recruits
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Alec Hickman
PG		 San Juan Capistrano, CA JSerra Catholic High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) May 17, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Ajani Kennedy
PF		 Moreno Valley, CA Rancho Verde High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Feb 2, 2017 
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 December 4, 2017.

Roster
2017–18 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 0 Alec Hickman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) FrJSerra Catholic HS Riverside, California
G 1 DJ Sylvester 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS SoMorse HS Victorville, California
G 3 Chance Murray 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS SrFrederick K.C. Price III Schools
Arizona State		 Los Angeles, California
G 4 Marcus Berkley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS FrMiddlebrooks Academy Garden Grove, California
G 5 Jayvon Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) RS JrKing Drew HS
El Camino-Compton College		 Los Angeles, California
F 10 Ajani Kennedy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrRancho Verde HS Moreno Valley, California
C 12 Idy Diallo 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)245 lb (111 kg) RS JrCathedral HS
Boston College		 Dakar, Senegal
F 13 Eric Rwahwire 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS SoSaddleback Valley Christian School Toronto, Canada
F 14 Brandon Rosser 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SrTemecula Valley HS
Central Arizona College		 Temecula, California
G 15 Dikymbe Martin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)170 lb (77 kg) SoJohn W. North HS Riverside, California
F 21 Alex Larsson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)260 lb (118 kg) SrSödertälje Knights Södertälje, Sweden
G 22 Dominick Pickett (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)210 lb (95 kg) RS FrRancho Verde HS Moreno Valley, California
G 24 Koh Flippin (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)165 lb (75 kg) JrNorth Torrance HS Torrance, California
F 25 James Jackson (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)235 lb (107 kg) SrMonte Vista HS
Northwest Kansas Technical College		 Spring Valley, California
G 31 Ryker Pierce 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS JrMadison HS
Cowley College		 Rexburg, Idaho
C 32 Menno Dijkstra 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrCanarias Basketball Academy
Oakley College		 Standdaarbuiten, Netherlands
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: November 21, 2017

Schedule and results
Date
time, TV		 Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Quebec Tour
Aug 2, 2017*
4:00 pm		 at Université Laval W 73–68  1–0
  
Quebec City, QC
Aug 3, 2017*
4:00 pm		 at UQAM W 79–39  2–0
  
Quebec City, QC
Aug 5, 2017*
10:00 am		 at QC United W 63–48  3–0
  
Quebec City, QC
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2017*
2:00 pm		 Stanislaus State W 81–65 
Student Recreation Center Arena 
Riverside, CA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
9:00 pm, P12N		 at California W 74–66  1–0
 Haas Pavilion (7,083)
Berkeley, CA
Nov 15, 2017*
7:00 pm		 at Loyola Marymount L 64–76  1–1
 Gersten Pavilion (891)
Los Angeles, CA
Nov 18, 2017*
4:00 pm		 Portland State L 82–94  1–2
 Student Recreation Center Arena 
Riverside, CA
Nov 22, 2017*
7:00 pm		 Western New Mexico W 75–57  2–2
 Student Recreation Center Arena (363)
Riverside, CA
Nov 26, 2017*
1:00 pm, FS1		 at Michigan L 42–87  2–3
 Crisler Center (9,841)
Ann Arbor, MI
Nov 30, 2017*
7:00 pm		 Pacific L 55–57  2–4
 Student Recreation Center Arena (372)
Riverside, CA
Dec 2, 2017*
6:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Grand Canyon L 56–68  2–5
 GCU Arena (6,844)
Phoenix, AZ
Dec 5, 2017*
7:00 pm		 at Pepperdine L 59–70  2–6
 Firestone Fieldhouse (942)
Malibu, CA
Dec 8, 2017*
7:00 pm		 Air Force W 67–48  3–6
 Student Recreation Center Arena (899)
Riverside, CA
Dec 17, 2017*
12:00 pm		 at Montana L 61–77  3–7
 Dahlberg Arena (2,817)
Missoula, MT
Dec 20, 2017*
7:00 pm		 Valparaiso W 73–60  4–7
 Student Recreation Center Arena (454)
Riverside, CA
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm		 UC Merced W 91–46  5–7
 Student Recreation Center Arena (460)
Riverside, CA
Dec 28, 2017*
6:00 pm		 at Utah Valley L 82–90  5–8
 UCCU Center (2,936)
Orem, UT
Dec 30, 2017*
1:00 pm		 at Seattle L 71–95  5–9
 Connolly Center (833)
Seattle, WA
Big West regular season
Jan 3, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Cal State Fullerton L 65–68  5–10
(0–1)		 Titan Gym (878)
Fullerton, CA
Jan 6, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPNU		 at UC Santa Barbara L 57–65  5–11
(0–2)		 The Thunderdome (1,882)
Santa Barbara, CA
Jan 11, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 UC Davis L 65–75  5–12
(0–3)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (870)
Riverside, CA
Jan 13, 2018
6:00 pm		 Long Beach State L 68–75  5–13
(0–4)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (567)
Riverside, CA
Jan 17, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 Cal State Northridge L 57–66  5–14
(0–5)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (507)
Riverside, CA
Jan 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3		 at UC Irvine L 40–79  5–15
(0–6)		 Bren Events Center (1,361)
Irvine, CA
Jan 27, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPN3		 UC Santa Barbara L 69–76  5–16
(0–7)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (569)
Riverside, CA
Jan 31, 2018
7:00 pm		 at Cal Poly L 68–71  5–17
(0–8)		 Robert A. Mott Athletics Center (1,217)
San Luis Obispo, CA
Feb 7, 2018
9:00 pm		 at Hawaii W 64–60  6–17
(1–8)		 Stan Sheriff Center (5,206)
Honolulu, HI
Feb 10, 2018
5:00 pm		 UC Irvine L 52–62  6–18
(1–9)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (504)
Riverside, CA
Feb 14, 2018
6:00 pm, ESPN3		 at Cal State Northridge W 69–62  7–18
(2–9)		 Matadome (615)
Northridge, CA
Feb 17, 2018
7:30 pm, Prime Ticket		 Hawaii L 69–74 OT 7–19
(2–10)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (465)
Riverside, CA
Feb 21, 2018
7:00 pm		 Cal State Fullerton W 69–65  8–19
(3–10)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (582)
Riverside, CA
Feb 24, 2018
5:00 pm		 at UC Davis L 63–64  8–20
(3–11)		 The Pavilion (2,704)
Davis, CA
Mar 1, 2018
7:00 pm		 Cal Poly W 72–63  9–20
(4–11)		 Student Recreation Center Arena (350)
Riverside, CA
Mar 3, 2018
7:30 pm		 at Long Beach State L 59–77  9–21
(4–12)		 Walter Pyramid (2,930)
Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
Mar 8, 2018
12:00 pm, FS West		 (8) vs. (1) UC Davis
Quarterfinals		 L 66–70  9–22
 Honda Center 
Anaheim, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time..

Source:[5]

References
  1. "UC Riverside fires head coach Dennis Cutts". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  2. Alexander, Jim (January 1, 2018). "Dennis Cutts fired as UCR men's basketball coach". The Press-Enterprise. Riverside, CA. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  3. "TCU loses associate head coach to UC-Riverside". SportsDay. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  4. "Alexander: UC Riverside basketball finally makes David Patrick's hiring official". Press Enterprise. March 15, 2018. Retrieved March 21, 2018.
  5. "The Official Athletics Site of University of California - Riverside - 2017-18 Men's Basketball Schedule". Gohighlanders.com. Retrieved November 21, 2017.
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