2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 6
Record31–5 (16–2 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Larry Davis (12th season)
  • Antwon Jackson (6th season)
  • Darren Savino (8th season)
Home arenaBB&T Arena
Seasons
2017–18 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Cincinnati † 16 – 2   .889 31 – 5   .861
No. 21 Houston 14 – 4   .778 27 – 8   .771
No. 16 Wichita State 14 – 4   .778 25 – 8   .758
Tulsa 12 – 6   .667 19 – 12   .613
Memphis 10 – 8   .556 21 – 13   .618
UCF 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
Temple 8 – 10   .444 17 – 16   .515
UConn 7 – 11   .389 14 – 18   .438
SMU 6 – 12   .333 17 – 16   .515
Tulane 5 – 13   .278 14 – 17   .452
East Carolina 4 – 14   .222 10 – 20   .333
South Florida 3 – 15   .167 10 – 22   .313
† 2018 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll


The 2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at the BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Kentucky due to renovations at their home arena, Fifth Third Arena.[1] The Bearcats were led by 12th-year head coach Mick Cronin and are members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 31–5, 16–2 in AAC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated SMU, Memphis, and Houston to win the AAC tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the South region, they defeated Georgia State in the First Round before being upset by Nevada in the Second Round. In their loss to Nevada, they were up 22 before losing 75-73, tying the second largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history.

Previous season

The Bearcats finished the 2016–17 season 30–6, 16–2 to finish in second place in AAC play. They beat Tulsa[2] and UConn[3] in the AAC tournament before losing to SMU in the championship game.[4] The Bearcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. In the NCAA Tournament, they defeated No. 11 Kansas State in the First Round 75–61[5] before losing to No. 3 UCLA 79–67 in the Second Round.[6]

Offseason

Departing players

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Troy Caupain 10 G 6'4" 210 Senior Midlothian, Virginia Graduated
Kevin Johnson 25 G 6'3" 185 Senior Cincinnati, Ohio Graduated
Zack Tobler 45 F 6'5" 225 Senior Fort Mitchell, Kentucky Walk-on; graduated
Quadri Moore 0 F 6'8" 230 Junior Linden, New Jersey Transferred to Northwestern Oklahoma State[7][8]

Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Trevor Moore
SG 		Houston, Texas South Kent Prep 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jun 29, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 79
Eliel Nsoseme
C 		Kinshasa, DR Congo The RISE Centre Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Aug 21, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Keith Williams
SG 		Brooklyn, New York Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oct 4, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 80
Mamoudou Diarra
SF 		Bamako, Mali 22ft Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Apr 28, 2017 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 79
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:

  • "Cincinnati 2017 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 29, 2016.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 29, 2016.

Cincinnati will also add Preferred Walk-on Sam Martin a 5'10" PG from Summit Country Day School in Cincinnati, Ohio.[9]

Preseason

At the conference's annual media day, the Bearcats were narrowly picked to win the AAC receiving seven of the 12 first-place votes.[10] Gary Clark, Jacob Evans, and Kyle Washington were named to the preseason All-AAC second team.[10]

Roster

2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G/F 1 Jacob Evans 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr St. Michael the Archangel High School Baton Rouge, Louisiana
G 2 Keith Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Bishop Loughlin Memorial High School Brooklyn, New York
G 3 Justin Jenifer 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Milford Mill Academy Baltimore, Maryland
G 5 Trevor Moore 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr South Kent Prep Houston, Texas
F 11 Gary Clark (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Clayton High School Clayton, North Carolina
F 13 Trevon Scott 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So McIntosh County Academy Darien, Georgia
F 14 Jackson Bart (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Oral Roberts Bartlesville, Oklahoma
G 15 Cane Broome 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Sacred Heart East Hartford, Connecticut
F 20 Mamoudou Diarra Current redshirt 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr 22ft Academy Bamako, Mali
C 22 Eliel Nsoseme 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr The RISE Centre Academy Kinshasa, DR Congo
F 24 Kyle Washington (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr NC State Champlin, Minnesota
G 31 Sam Martin (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Summit Country Day School Cincinnati, Ohio
G 32 John Koz (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Bay High School Cleveland, Ohio
C 33 Nysier Brooks 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Advanced Prep International Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 34 Jarron Cumberland 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) So Wilmington High School Wilmington, Ohio
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: September 30, 2017

Depth chart

Pos. Starting 5 Bench 1 Bench 2
C Kyle Washington Nysier Brooks Eliel Nsoseme
PF Gary Clark Trevon Scott Mamoudou Diarra
SF Jacob Evans Keith Williams Jackson Bart
SG Jarron Cumberland Trevor Moore John Koz
PG Justin Jenifer Cane Broome Sam Martin

Source[11]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2017*
7:00pm 		No. 12 vs. Bellarmine W 89–61 
 15 – Washington   5 – 3 tied   4 – Broome  Freedom Hall (4,135)
Louisville, KY
November 5, 2017*
2:00pm, BearcatsTV 		No. 12 Embry-Riddle W 101–68 
 27 – Cumberland   8 – Clark   9 – Jenifer  BB&T Arena (3,589)
Highland Heights, KY
Non-conference regular season
November 10, 2017*
12:00pm, FSOH/ESPN3 		No. 12 Savannah State W 107–77  1–0
  19 – Evans   11 – Clark   5 – 3 tied  BB&T Arena (6,610)
Highland Heights, KY
November 13, 2017*
7:00pm, ESPN3 		No. 12 Western Carolina W 102–51  2–0
  20 – Cumberland   8 – Brooks   6 – Evans  BB&T Arena (7,051)
Highland Heights, KY
November 16, 2017*
7:00pm, FSOH/ESPN3 		No. 12 Coppin State W 97–54  3–0
  19 – Cumberland   9 – Tied   4 – Evans  BB&T Arena (7,158)
Highland Heights, KY
November 20, 2017*
7:30pm, FloHoops 		No. 12 vs. Buffalo
Cayman Islands Classic Quarterfinals 		W 73–67  4–0
  24 – Clark   14 – Clark   5 – Jenifer  John Gray Gymnasium (1,200)
George Town, Cayman Islands
November 21, 2017*
7:30pm, FloHoops 		No. 12 vs. Richmond
Cayman Islands Classic Semifinals 		W 75–48  5–0
  13 – Broome   8 – Tied   7 – Clark  John Gray Gymnasium (1,400)
George Town, Cayman Islands
November 22, 2017*
7:30pm, FloHoops 		No. 12 vs. Wyoming
Cayman Islands Classic Championship 		W 78–53  6–0
  17 – Clark   11 – Washington   5 – Evans  John Gray Gymnasium (1,530)
George Town, Cayman Islands
November 27, 2017*
7:00pm, ESPNU 		No. 11 Alabama State W 83–51  7–0
  14 – Clark   7 – Tied   4 – Tied  BB&T Arena (7,012)
Highland Heights, KY
December 2, 2017*
12:00pm, FS1 		No. 11 at No. 21 Xavier
Crosstown Shootout 		L 76–89  7–1
  23 – Evans   7 – Tied   4 – Jenifer  Cintas Center (10,817)
Cincinnati, OH
December 9, 2017*
6:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 17 vs. No. 5 Florida
Never Forget Tribute Classic 		L 60–66  7–2
  15 – Broome   13 – Clark   2 – Cumberland  Prudential Center (9,112)
Newark, NJ
December 12, 2017*
7:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 25 Mississippi State W 66–50  8–2
  24 – Evans   13 – Clark   4 – Tied  BB&T Arena (8,128)
Highland Heights, KY
December 16, 2017*
3:30pm, CBS 		No. 25 at UCLA W 77–63  9–2
  19 – Washington   11 – Clark   5 – Cumberland  Pauley Pavilion (10,018)
Los Angeles, CA
December 19, 2017*
7:00pm, ESPN3 		No. 20 Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 77–49  10–2
  17 – Broome   7 – Evans   3 – 3 tied  BB&T Arena (5,812)
Highland Heights, KY
December 21, 2017*
7:00pm, ESPN3 		No. 20 Cleveland State W 81–62  11–2
  18 – Clark   9 – Washington   7 – Jenifer  BB&T Arena (7,988)
Highland Heights, KY
AAC Regular Season
December 31, 2017
4:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 21 Memphis
Rivalry 		W 82–48  12–2
(1–0) 		 15 – Cumberland   10 – Clark   6 – Evans  BB&T Arena (8,143)
Highland Heights, KY
January 4, 2018
9:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 19 at Temple W 55–53  13–2
(2–0) 		 18 – Washington   7 – Brooks   4 – Evans  Liacouras Center (4,274)
Philadelphia, PA
January 7, 2018
6:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 19 SMU W 76–56  14–2
(3–0) 		 18 – Tied   8 – Tied   4 – 3 tied  BB&T Arena (9,109)
Highland Heights, KY
January 13, 2018
7:00pm, ESPNews 		No. 14 at South Florida W 78–55  15–2
(4–0) 		 18 – Cumberland   10 – Clark   4 – Tied  USF Sun Dome (3,609)
Tampa, FL
January 16, 2018
7:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 12 at UCF W 49–38  16–2
(5–0) 		 17 – Clark   14 – Clark   3 – Cumberland  CFE Arena (7,565)
Orlando, FL
January 20, 2018
4:00pm, ESPNews 		No. 12 East Carolina W 86–60  17–2
(6–0) 		 17 – Tied   14 – Clark   6 – Broome  BB&T Arena (8,879)
Highland Heights, KY
January 24, 2018
9:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 9 Temple W 75–42  18–2
(7–0) 		 17 – Clark   10 – Clark   5 – Evans  BB&T Arena (8,924)
Highland Heights, KY
January 27, 2018
6:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 9 at Memphis
Rivalry 		W 62–48  19–2
(8–0) 		 18 – Clark   10 – Washington   6 – Broome  FedEx Forum (12,223)
Memphis, TN
January 31, 2018
7:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 8 Houston W 80–70  20–2
(9–0) 		 19 – Washington   10 – Clark   5 – Evans  BB&T Arena (8,885)
Highland Heights, KY
February 3, 2018
12:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 8 at UConn W 65–57  21–2
(10–0) 		 19 – Evans   11 – Washington   3 – Tied  Gampel Pavilion (9,170)
Storrs, CT
February 6, 2018
7:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 6 UCF W 77–40  22–2
(11–0) 		 14 – Moore   8 – Scott   5 – Broome  BB&T Arena (8,673)
Highland Heights, KY
February 11, 2018
4:00pm, ESPN 		No. 6 at SMU W 76–51  23–2
(12–0) 		 17 – Washington   8 – Washington   5 – Jenifer  Moody Coliseum (6,935)
University Park, TX
February 15, 2018
7:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 5 at Houston L 62–67  23–3
(12–1) 		 16 – Evans   7 – Clark   2 – Tied  H&PE Arena (5,363)
Houston, TX
February 18, 2018
4:00pm, ESPN 		No. 5 No. 19 Wichita State L 72–76  23–4
(12–2) 		 18 – Cumberland   8 – Clark   3 – Tied  BB&T Arena (9,523)
Highland Heights, KY
February 22, 2018
7:00pm, ESPN 		No. 11 UConn W 77–52  24–4
(13–2) 		 17 – Clark   9 – Scott   5 – Evans  BB&T Arena (8,217)
Highland Heights, KY
February 25, 2018
12:00pm, CBSSN 		No. 11 Tulsa W 82–74  25–4
(14–2) 		 17 – Tied   7 – Scott   8 – Cumberland  BB&T Arena (8,911)
Highland Heights, KY
March 1, 2018
9:00pm, ESPN2 		No. 10 at Tulane W 78–49  26–4
(15–2) 		 16 – Washington   9 – Clark   5 – Cumberland  Devlin Fieldhouse (2,824)
New Orleans, LA
March 4, 2018
12:00pm, CBS 		No. 10 at No. 11 Wichita State W 62–61  27–4
(16–2) 		 19 – Evans   7 – Tied   2 – Tied  Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
Wichita, KS
AAC Tournament
March 9, 2018
12:00pm, ESPN2 		(1) No. 8 vs. (9) SMU
Quarterfinals 		W 61–51  28–4
  15 – Washington   9 – Clark   8 – Cumberland  Amway Center (8,491)
Orlando, FL
March 10, 2018
1:00pm, CBS 		(1) No. 8 vs. (5) Memphis
Semifinals/Rivalry 		W 70–60  29–4
  18 – Cumberland   12 – Clark   5 – Tied  Amway Center (8,644)
Orlando, FL
March 11, 2018
3:30pm, CBS 		(1) No. 8 vs. (3) No. 21 Houston
Championship 		W 56–55  30–4
  20 – Clark   12 – Clark   3 – Evans  Amway Center (8,670)
Orlando, FL
NCAA tournament
March 16, 2018*
2:00pm, TBS 		(2 S) No. 6 vs. (15 S) Georgia State
First Round 		W 68–53  31–4
  27 – Cumberland   13 – Clark   5 – Jenifer  Bridgestone Arena (17,552)
Nashville, TN
March 18, 2018*
6:10pm, TNT 		(2 S) No. 6 vs. (7 S) No. 24 Nevada
Second Round 		L 73–75  31–5
  19 – Evans   11 – Washington   3 – 2 tied  Bridgestone Arena (17,552)
Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[12][13]

Awards and milestones

All-American

  • Honorable Mention: Gary Clark

American Athletic Conference honors

All-AAC Awards

  • Player of the Year: Gary Clark
  • Defensive Player of the Year: Gary Clark
  • Sportsmanship Award: Gary Clark

All-AAC First Team

  • Gary Clark
  • Jacob Evans

All-AAC Honorable Mention

  • Kyle Washington

Player of the Week

  • Week 3: Gary Clark[14]
  • Week 6: Jacob Evans[15]
  • Week 9: Jacob Evans[16]
  • Week 11: Gary Clark[17]
  • Week 12: Gary Clark[18]

Weekly Honor Roll

  • Week 2: Jarron Cumberland
  • Week 6: Gary Clark
  • Week 8: Jarron Cumberland
  • Week 10: Jarron Cumberland
  • Week 13: Jacob Evans
  • Week 14: Kyle Washington
  • Week 16: Gary Clark
  • Week 17: Jacob Evans

Rankings

Main article: 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
RV = Received votes ( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415161718Final
AP12121211172520211914129865111086Not released
Coaches131313918RV22222013118865 (1)111081012

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

  1. ^ Watkins, Steve. "UC picks temporary basketball home for Fifth Third Arena renovation". www.bizjournals.com. Retrieved April 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "No. 15 Cincinnati eases past Tulsa in AAC quarterfinals". Spokesman.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  3. ^ "Bearcats defeat Connecticut to advance to AAC Championship Game". Down The Drive. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  4. ^ "Cincinnati loses to SMU in the AAC title game, 71–56 and land sixth seed in the South Region". InsideTheBearcats.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  5. ^ "Kansas State vs. Cincinnati – Game Recap – March 17, 2017 – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  6. ^ MARSHALL, JOHN (March 19, 2017). "UCLA beats Cincinnati 79–67 to earn Sweet 16 trip". Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Groeschen, Tom. "UC basketball player Moore to transfer". Cincinnati.com. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
  8. ^ Moore, Quadri [@theofficial_q] (January 9, 2018). "Thankful to be attending Northwestern Oklahoma State University and to be given a second chance to hoop again" (Tweet). Retrieved May 5, 2020 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Groeschen, Tom. "UC basketball adds former Summit CD star". Cincinnati.com. Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "Cincinnati Selected as 2017–18 American Men's Basketball Preseason Favorite". Retrieved October 24, 2017.
  11. ^ "2017-18 Cincinnati Bearcats Roster and Stats".
  12. ^ "Cincinnati Bearcats Basketball 2017–18 Schedule – Bearcats Home and Away – ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  13. ^ "University of Cincinnati Official Athletic Site". www.gobearcats.com. Retrieved November 2, 2017.
  14. ^ "Clark, White Jr. Earn Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  15. ^ "Cincinnati's Evans, SMU's Chargois Earn Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  16. ^ "Cincinnati's Evans, UCF's DeJesus Collect Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  17. ^ "SMU's Milton Cincinnati's Clark, ECU's Williams Earn Weekly Accolades". Retrieved January 30, 2018.
  18. ^ "Cincinnati's Clark, Houston's White Jr. Earn Weekly Honors". Retrieved January 30, 2018.