2017–18 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team represented the Marshall University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Thundering Herd, led by fourth-year head coach Dan D'Antoni, played their home games at the Cam Henderson Center as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 25–11, 12–6 in C-USA play to finish in fourth place. They defeated UTSA, Southern Miss, and Western Kentucky to become champions of the C-USA tournament. They received C-USA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where, as a No. 13 seed, they upset Wichita State in the first round before losing to West Virginia in the second round.

2017–18 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceConference USA
Record25–11 (12–6 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCam Henderson Center
Seasons
2017–18 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee 16 2   .889 25 8   .758
Old Dominion 15 3   .833 25 7   .781
Western Kentucky 14 4   .778 27 11   .711
Marshall 12 6   .667 25 11   .694
UTSA 11 7   .611 20 15   .571
UAB 10 8   .556 20 13   .606
North Texas 8 10   .444 20 18   .526
FIU 8 10   .444 14 18   .438
Southern Miss 7 11   .389 16 18   .471
Louisiana Tech 7 11   .389 17 16   .515
Florida Atlantic 6 12   .333 12 19   .387
UTEP 6 12   .333 11 20   .355
Rice 4 14   .222 7 24   .226
Charlotte 2 16   .111 6 23   .207
2018 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season edit

The Thundering Herd finished the 2016–17 season 20–15, 10–8 in C-USA play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Florida Atlantic, Old Dominion, and Louisiana Tech to advance to the championship game of the C-USA tournament. There they lost to top-seeded Middle Tennessee. Despite finishing with 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Offseason edit

Departures edit

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Ky're Allison 5 G 6'2" 181 Freshman Portsmouth, Ohio Transferred to Sinclair Community College
Stevie Browning 2 G 6'3" 188 RS Senior Logan, West Virginia Graduated
Jacob Kilgore 4 F 6'5" 191 Sophomore Huntington, West Virginia Walk-on; did not return
Austin Loop 35 G 6'4" 210 RS Senior South Webster, Ohio Graduated
Aleksa Nikolić 21 G 6'6.5" 221 RS Sophomore Pančevo, Serbia Graduated; did not return
Ryan Taylor 25 F 6'5" 249 RS Senior Indianapolis, Indiana Graduated
Terrence Thompson 1 F 6'7" 217 Junior Durham, North Carolina Graduate transferred to Wake Forest

Incoming transfers edit

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Dani Koljanin 1 F 6'8" 219 Junior Pula, Croatia Junior college transferred from Monroe College

2017 recruiting class edit

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jarrod West
PG
Clarksburg, West Virginia Notre Dame High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Sep 15, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Darius George
SF
Staunton, Virginia Robert E. Lee High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 19, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Tanner Robinette
PF
Honaker, Virginia Hargrave Military Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sep 26, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN: 
Iran Bennett
C
North Carolina Hargrave Military Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 290 lb (130 kg) Oct 17, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247Sports:     ESPN: 
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NR   Rivals: NR  ESPN: NR
  • 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:

  • "Marshall Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  • "2017 Marshall Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  • "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 4, 2017.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 4, 2017.

Roster edit

2017–18 Marshall Thundering Herd men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Christian Thieneman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Trinity Louisville, Kentucky
F 1 Dani Koljanin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Monroe Pula, Croatia
F 3 Jannson Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Fr Newnan Newnan, Georgia
G 4 Christian Villers (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Ashland Ashland, Kentucky
G 5 Marcus Reed (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Riverside Charleston, West Virginia
F 11 Ajdin Penava 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Fifth High School Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
G 12 Ot Elmore 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 197 lb (89 kg) RS Sr Texas–Rio Grande Valley Charleston, West Virginia
G 13 Jarrod West 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 179 lb (81 kg) Fr Notre Dame HS Clarksburg, West Virginia
G 14 C.J. Burks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Hedgesville Martinsburg, West Virginia
F 21 Darius George 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Robert E. Lee Staunton, Virginia
G 23 Rondale Watson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Wake Forest Lewisburg, West Virginia
G 24 Will Fenton (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Fayetteville Fayetteville, West Virginia
G/F 32 Phil Bledsoe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Wheeling Park Wheeling, West Virginia
G 33 Jon Elmore 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr VMI Charleston, West Virginia
F 50 Milan Mijović 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Sr Secondary Vocational School Belgrade, Serbia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 11/11/2017

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 29, 2017*
4:00 pm
West Virginia Tech W 99–81 
Cam Henderson Center (4,820)
Huntington, WV
Nov 5, 2017*
7:00 pm
West Virginia Wesleyan W 95–76 
Cam Henderson Center (4,559)
Huntington, WV
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
8:00 pm
UT Martin
Global Sports Invitational
W 102–91 OT 1–0
Cam Henderson Center (5,754)
Huntington, WV
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm
Southern
Global Sports Invitational
W 83–74  2–0
Cam Henderson Center (4,674)
Huntington, WV
Nov 16, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Morehead State L 83–86  2–1
Ellis Johnson Arena (3,857)
Morehead, KY
Nov 19, 2017*
5:00 pm, BTN+
at Illinois
Global Sports Invitational
L 74–91  2–2
State Farm Center (10,022)
Champaign, IL
Nov 22, 2017*
8:00 pm
North Carolina Central
Global Sports Invitational
W 92–84  3–2
Cam Henderson Center (4,572)
Huntington, WV
Nov 26, 2017*
4:00 pm
Concord W 106–70  4–2
Cam Henderson Center (4,654)
Huntington, WV
Nov 29, 2017*
7:00 pm
at William & Mary L 104–114  4–3
Kaplan Arena (1,727)
Williamsburg, VA
Dec 2, 2017*
7:00 pm
Akron W 86–64  5–3
Cam Henderson Center (5,104)
Huntington, WV
Dec 5, 2017*
7:00 pm
Chattanooga W 70–66  6–3
Cam Henderson Center (4,811)
Huntington, WV
Dec 9, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Toledo W 93–87  7–3
Savage Arena (4,369)
Toledo, OH
Dec 16, 2017*
8:00 pm
Ohio W 99–96 OT 8–3
Cam Henderson Center (5,117)
Huntington, WV
Dec 19, 2017*
6:30 pm, FS1
at No. 9 Xavier L 77–81  8–4
Cintas Center (10,431)
Cincinnati, OH
Dec 22, 2017*
7:00 pm
Eastern Kentucky W 91–71  9–4
Cam Henderson Center (5,218)
Huntington, WV
Conference USA regular season
Dec 28, 2017
7:00 pm
Southern Miss W 85–66  10–4
(1–0)
Cam Henderson Center (5,537)
Huntington, WV
Dec 30, 2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Louisiana Tech W 78–65  11–4
(2–0)
Cam Henderson Center (5,683)
Huntington, WV
Jan 6, 2018
7:00 pm, STADIUM
Western Kentucky L 87–112  11–5
(2–1)
Cam Henderson Center (6,826)
Huntington, WV
Jan 11, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Charlotte W 91–83  12–5
(3–1)
Dale F. Halton Arena (4,640)
Charlotte, NC
Jan 13, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Old Dominion L 76–82  12–6
(3–2)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,287)
Norfolk, VA
Jan 18, 2018
8:00 pm, beIN
Middle Tennessee W 73–63  13–6
(4–2)
Cam Henderson Center (5,320)
Huntington, WV
Jan 20, 2018
7:00 pm
UAB W 86–78 OT 14–6
(5–2)
Cam Henderson Center (6,740)
Huntington, WV
Jan 27, 2018
7:00 pm, STADIUM
at Western Kentucky L 74–85  14–7
(5–3)
E. A. Diddle Arena (7,362)
Bowling Green, KY
Feb 1, 2018
8:00 pm, beIN
at UTSA L 77–81  14–8
(5–4)
Convocation Center (1,042)
San Antonio, TX
Feb 3, 2018
9:00 pm
at UTEP W 74–65  15–8
(6–4)
Don Haskins Center (6,061)
El Paso, TX
Feb 8, 2018
8:00 pm
FIU W 76–66  16–8
(7–4)
Cam Henderson Center (5,078)
Huntington, WV
Feb 10, 2018
7:00 pm
Florida Atlantic W 79–68  17–8
(8–4)
Cam Henderson Center (5,761)
Huntington, WV
Feb 15, 2018
8:00 pm
at Rice W 93–80  18–8
(9–4)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,694)
Houston, TX
Feb 17, 2018
6:00 pm
at North Texas W 74–72  19–8
(10–4)
The Super Pit (4,115)
Denton, TX
Feb 22, 2018
7:00 pm, STADIUM
Old Dominion L 79–84  19–9
(10–5)
Cam Henderson Center (5,829)
Huntington, WV
Feb 24, 2018
7:00 pm
Charlotte W 103–75  20–9
(11–5)
Cam Henderson Center (6,575)
Huntington, WV
Mar 1, 2018
8:00 pm, beIN
at UAB L 77–91  20–10
(11–6)
Bartow Arena (3,156)
Birmingham, AL
Mar 3, 2018
7:00 pm, STADIUM
at No. 24 Middle Tennessee W 76–67  21–10
(12–6)
Murphy Center (10,050)
Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA tournament
Mar 8, 2018
7:30 pm, STADIUM
(4) vs. (5) UTSA
Quarterfinals
W 95–81  22–10
The Ford Center at The Star (2,531)
Frisco, TX
Mar 9, 2018
1:30 pm, CBSSN
(4) vs. (9) Southern Miss
Semifinals
W 85–75  23–10
The Ford Center at The Star 
Frisco, TX
Mar 10, 2018
8:30 pm, CBSSN
(4) vs. (3) Western Kentucky
Championship
W 67–66  24–10
The Ford Center at The Star 
Frisco, TX
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 2018*
1:30 pm, TNT
(13 E) vs. (4 E) No. 16 Wichita State
First Round
W 81–75  25–10
Viejas Arena (10,892)
San Diego, CA
Mar 18, 2018*
9:40 pm, TBS
(13 E) vs. (5 E) No. 15 West Virginia
Second Round/Rivalry
L 71–94  25–11
Viejas Arena (11,628)
San Diego, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[1][2]

References edit