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
2017–18 record9–22 (4–12 Big West)
Head coachDennis Cutts (First 14 games)
Justin Bell (interim)
Assistant coaches
Home arenaStudent Recreation Center Arena
2017–18 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
UC Davis124 .750  2211  .667
UC Santa Barbara115 .688  239  .719
UC Irvine115 .688  1817  .514
Cal State Fullerton106 .625  2012  .625
Long Beach State97 .563  1518  .455
Hawaii88 .500  1713  .567
Cal Poly412 .250  922  .290
UC Riverside412 .250  922  .290
Cal State Northridge313 .188  624  .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 2017-12-04.

    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]

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    See also

    • 2017–18 UC Riverside Highlanders women's basketball team

    References

    1. "UC Riverside fires head coach Dennis Cutts". Mid-Major Madness. Retrieved 2018-01-02.
    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. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
    4. "Alexander: UC Riverside basketball finally makes David Patrick's hiring official". Press Enterprise. 2018-03-15. Retrieved 2018-03-21.
    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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