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
Seasons
2017–18 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
UC Davis 12 4   .750 22 11   .667
UC Santa Barbara 11 5   .688 23 9   .719
UC Irvine 11 5   .688 18 17   .514
Cal State Fullerton 10 6   .625 20 12   .625
Long Beach State 9 7   .563 15 18   .455
Hawai'i 8 8   .500 17 13   .567
Cal Poly 4 12   .250 9 22   .290
UC Riverside 4 12   .250 9 22   .290
Cal State Northridge 3 13   .188 6 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

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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

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Gentrey Thomas 0 G 6'4" 195 Senior East Preston, NS Graduated
Malik Thames 11 G 6'2" 165 Senior Sacramento, CA Graduated
Secean Johnson 20 F 6'5" 215 Senior Philadelphia, PA Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school
Ryker Pierce 31 G/F 6'5" 205 RS Sophomore Rexburg, ID Junior college transferred from Cowley CC

2017 incoming recruits

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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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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

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2017–18 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Alec Hickman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr JSerra Catholic HS Riverside, California
G 1 DJ Sylvester 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS So Morse HS Victorville, California
G 3 Chance Murray 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Frederick 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 Fr Middlebrooks Academy Garden Grove, California
G 5 Jayvon Brown 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr King Drew HS
El Camino-Compton College
Los Angeles, California
F 10 Ajani Kennedy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Rancho Verde HS Moreno Valley, California
C 12 Idy Diallo 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) RS Jr Cathedral HS
Boston College
Dakar, Senegal
F 13 Eric Rwahwire 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Saddleback Valley Christian School Toronto, Canada
F 14 Brandon Rosser 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Temecula Valley HS
Central Arizona College
Temecula, California
G 15 Dikymbe Martin 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So John W. North HS Riverside, California
F 21 Alex Larsson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Södertälje Knights Södertälje, Sweden
G 22 Dominick Pickett (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Rancho Verde HS Moreno Valley, California
G 24 Koh Flippin (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr North Torrance HS Torrance, California
F 25 James Jackson (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Monte 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 Jr Madison HS
Cowley College
Rexburg, Idaho
C 32 Menno Dijkstra 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Canarias 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

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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

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  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.