2017–18 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team represented the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Vaqueros, led by second-year head coach Lew Hill, played their home games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse as members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 15–18, 6–8 in WAC play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament to Seattle. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to New Orleans.

2017–18 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball
CBI, First round
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
Record15–18 (6–8 WAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jai Steadman
  • Kenya Crandell
  • Luke Mackay
Captains
  • Nick Dixon
  • Lew Stallworth
  • Mike Hoffman
Home arenaUTRGV Fieldhouse
Seasons
2017–18 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
New Mexico State 12 2   .857 28 6   .824
Utah Valley 10 4   .714 23 11   .676
Grand Canyon 9 5   .643 22 12   .647
Seattle 8 6   .571 20 14   .588
Texas–Rio Grande Valley 6 8   .429 15 18   .455
Cal State Bakersfield 5 9   .357 12 18   .400
UMKC 5 9   .357 10 22   .313
Chicago State 1 13   .071 3 29   .094
2018 WAC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Vaqueros finished the 2016–17 season 10–22, 2–12 in WAC play to finish in seventh place. Due to Grand Canyon's ineligibility for postseason play, they received the No. 6 seed in the WAC tournament where they lost in the quarterfinals to UMKC.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Mike Nwabuzor 0 G 6'2" 190 Junior Bellflower, CA Graduate transferred to New Mexico Highlands
Solomon Yon 2 G 6'0" 175 RS Sophomore Denver, CO Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Walter Jones 5 G 6'4" 200 Sophomore Newbern, AL Transferred to Alabama A&M
Adrean Johnson 15 F 6'9" 235 Freshman Red Oak, TX Transferred to Paris JC
Clarke Cooper 30 G 6'0" 155 Freshman Houston, TX Walk-on; transferred to New Mexico Military Institute
Gage Loy 35 F 6'9" 210 Junior Wichita, KS Graduate transferred to Rogers State
Antonio Green 55 G 6'2" 165 Sophomore Tupelo, MS Transferred to Middle Tennessee

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Terry Winn 3 F 6'7" 230 RS Junior Monroe, LA Transferred from UTEP. Under NCAA transfer rules, Winn will have to sit out in the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of eligibility left.
Johnny Crnogorac 20 C 7'1" 220 RS Junior Sydney, Australia Junior college transferred from SW Tennessee 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
Greg Bowie II
SG
San Antonio, TX ATHLOS Leadership Academy 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 160 lb (73 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Javon Levi
PG
Killeen, TX Shoemaker High School 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) N/A Oct 27, 2016 
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 7, 2017.

Roster

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2017–18 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Greg Bowie 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Athlos Leadership Academy San Antonio, TX
F 3 Terry Winn 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Westwind Preparatory Academy
UTEP
Monroe, LA
G 4 Nick Dixon (C) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Proviso West
Morton College
Hillside, IL
G 10 Moe McDonald (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr IMG Academy
Highland CC
McAllen, TX
F 11 Lesley Varner II 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Cedar Hill Dallas, TX
G 12 Nick Mora (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 167 lb (76 kg) So Weslaco Weslaco, TX
G 13 Lew Stallworth (C) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr William S. Hart
UTEP
Santa Clarita, CA
G 14 Javon Levi 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Shoemaker Killeen, TX
C 20 Johnny Crnograc 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Marshall Academy
SW Tennessee CC
Sydney, Australia
F 21 Mike Hoffman (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Nolan Catholic
Lafayette
Burleson, TX
G 22 Jordan Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr St. Pius X
Midland College
Houston, TX
F 23 Dan Kimasa 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Tampa Bay Christian Academy Kigali City, Rwanda
G 24 Marlon Williams (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Fr United Laredo, TX
G 25 Xavier McDaniel Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Hammond Columbia, SC
F 32 Adonis Rwabigwi 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Tampa Prep
Furman
Kigali City, Rwanda
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: Oct 23, 2017

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm
Nicholls State L 106–111  0–1
UTRGV Fieldhouse (924)
Edinburg, TX
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm
Bethune–Cookman W 92–74  1–1
UTRGV Fieldhouse (523)
Edinburg, TX
Nov 15, 2017*
7:00 pm
at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
South Texas Showdown
W 82–75 OT 2–1
American Bank Center (1,437)
Corpus Christi, TX
Nov 18, 2017*
4:30 pm
at Texas State L 58–75  2–2
Strahan Coliseum (1,467)
San Marcos, TX
Nov 20, 2017*
7:00 pm
at North Texas W 75–63  3–2
The Super Pit (1,892)
Denton, TX
Nov 22, 2017*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Georgia Tech L 68–78  3–3
McCamish Pavilion (4,504)
Atlanta, GA
Nov 25, 2017*
7:00 pm
Grambling State L 76–82  3–4
UTRGV Fieldhouse (478)
Edinburg, TX
Nov 28, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at SMU L 64–95  3–5
Moody Coliseum (6,326)
University Park, TX
Nov 30, 2017*
7:00 pm, SECN
at No. 9 Texas A&M L 60–78  3–6
Reed Arena (7,121)
College Station, TX
Dec 2, 2017*
2:00 pm
at Rice W 69–67  4–6
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,548)
Houston, TX
Dec 6, 2017*
7:00 pm
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi
South Texas Showdown
W 82–78  5–6
UTRGV Fieldhouse (764)
Edinburg, TX
Dec 9, 2017*
7:00 pm
UC Irvine W 73–59  6–6
UTRGV Fieldhouse (602)
Edinburg, TX
Dec 16, 2017*
7:00 pm
Texas–Arlington L 65–86  6–7
UTRGV Fieldhouse (774)
Edinburg, TX
Dec 22, 2017*
12:00 pm, FSOK
at Oklahoma State L 83–102  6–8
Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,287)
Stillwater, OK
Dec 30, 2017*
7:00 pm
Hampton W 80–69  7–8
UTRGV Fieldhouse (546)
Edinburg, TX
Jan 2, 2018*
7:00 pm
Our Lady of the Lake W 96–75  8–8
UTRGV Fieldhouse (536)
Edinburg, TX
Jan 6, 2018
7:00 pm
at UMKC W 73–61  9–8
(1–0)
Municipal Auditorium (955)
Kansas City, MO
Jan 11, 2018
9:00 pm, ESPN3
at Cal State Bakersfield W 87–74  10–8
(2–0)
Icardo Center (2,603)
Bakersfield, CA
Jan 13, 2018
8:00 pm, ESPN3
at Grand Canyon L 71–84  10–9
(2–1)
GCU Arena (7,222)
Phoenix, AZ
Jan 18, 2018
7:00 pm
Utah Valley L 76–84  10–10
(2–2)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (828)
Edinburg, TX
Jan 20, 2018
7:00 pm
Seattle L 76–79 OT 10–11
(2–3)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,155)
Edinburg, TX
Jan 27, 2018
7:00 pm
at Chicago State W 87–81  11–11
(3–3)
Jones Convocation Center (463)
Chicago, IL
Jan 30, 2018*
7:00 pm
Wayland Baptist W 86–50  12–11
UTRGV Fieldhouse (725)
Edinburg, TX
Feb 3, 2018
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at New Mexico State L 67–90  12–12
(3–4)
Pan American Center (5,115)
Las Cruces, NM
Feb 8, 2018
7:00 pm
Grand Canyon W 83–81  13–12
(4–4)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,038)
Edinburg, TX
Feb 10, 2018
7:00 pm
Cal State Bakersfield W 68–66  14–12
(5–4)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,175)
Edinburg, TX
Feb 15, 2018
9:00 pm
at Seattle L 68–85  14–13
(5–5)
Connolly Center (999)
Seattle, WA
Feb 17, 2018
8:00 pm
at Utah Valley L 72–84  14–14
(5–6)
UCCU Center (4,271)
Orem, UT
Feb 22, 2018
7:00 pm
UMKC L 59–83  14–15
(5–7)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,163)
Edinburg, TX
Feb 24, 2018
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Chicago State W 83–75  15–15
(6–7)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,088)
Edinburg, TX
Mar 3, 2018
7:00 pm
New Mexico State L 71–86  15–16
(6–8)
UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,203)
Edinburg, TX
WAC tournament
Mar 8, 2018
10:30 pm, ESPN3
(5) vs. (4) Seattle
Quarterfinals
L 60–77  15–17
Orleans Arena (1,349)
Paradise, NV
CBI
Mar 14, 2018*
7:00 pm
at New Orleans
First round
L 74–77  15–18
Lakefront Arena (741)
New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Source[1][2].

See also

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References

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