2017–18 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team represented Saint Louis University in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Travis Ford in his second season at Saint Louis. The team played their home games at Chaifetz Arena as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 9–9 in A-10 play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the A-10 Tournament, they defeated George Washington in the second round before losing to Davidson in the quarterfinals.

2017–18 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
2017–18 record	17–16 (9–9 A-10)
Head coach	Travis Ford (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Will Bailey Van Macon Corey Tate
Home arena	Chaifetz Arena

2017–18 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Rhode Island	15	–	3		.833			26	–	8		.765
St. Bonaventure	14	–	4		.778			26	–	8		.765
Davidson †	13	–	5		.722			21	–	12		.636
Saint Joseph's	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
VCU	9	–	9		.500			18	–	15		.545
Saint Louis	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
George Mason	9	–	9		.500			16	–	17		.485
Richmond	9	–	9		.500			12	–	20		.375
Dayton	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Duquesne	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
George Washington	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
La Salle	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
Massachusetts	5	–	13		.278			13	–	20		.394
Fordham	4	–	14		.222			9	–	22		.290
† 2018 A10 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Billikens finished the 2016–17 season 11–21, 5–13 in A-10 play to finish in 11th place. They received the No. 11 seed in the A-10 Tournament where they defeated Duquesne in the first round[1][2] to advance to the second round where they lost to George Washington.[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Matt Neufeld	13	C	6'11"	220	Junior	Victoria, BC	Transferred to UC Davis
Zeke Moore	23	G	6'6"	175	Sophomore	St. Louis, MO	Transferred to Tulsa
Austin Gillman	25	C	6'10"	220	Junior	Oakville, MO	Voluntarily Withdrawn
Mike Crawford	32	F	6'4"	200	Senior	Tipton, IN	Graduated
Reggie Agbeko	35	F	6'7"	240	Senior	Buffalo, NY	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Rashed Anthony	25	F	6'9"	235	Senior	Orangeburg, SC	Transferred from Seton Hall. Graduate Transfer, eligible immediately.
Luis Santos	42	C	6'9"	266	Junior	Bronx, NY	Transferred from South Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Santos will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jordan Goodwin #12 SG	Belleville, IL	Althoff Catholic High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Aug 12, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 85
Hasahn French #15 PF	Middletown, NY	Commonwealth Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Oct 24, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 83
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:

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Carte'Are Gordon PF	St. Louis, MO	Webster Groves High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	Aug 26, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 91
Fred Thatch SG	Sikeston, MO	Sikeston High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jan 12, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: 79
Mickey Pearson SF	Elizabethtown, KY	John Hardin High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Oct 14, 2017 - released June 19, 2018[4]
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Demarius Jacobs SG	Chicago, IL	Hillcrest Prep Academy	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Feb 25, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: N/A
Ingvi Gudmundsson SG	Grindavík, Iceland	Fjölbrautaskóli Suðurnesja	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	N/A	Apr 11, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
KC Hankton SF	Charlotte, NC	United Faith Christian Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	May 31, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
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:

Preseason

In a poll of the league's head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Billikens were picked to finish in seventh place in the A-10.[5]

Title IX Investigation

On September 24, 2017, three women alleged sexual assault by four players.[6][7] A Title IX investigation was opened on September 26, 2017. When exhibition season opened and during the season, Ty Graves, Adonys Henriquez and Jermaine Bishop were not on the bench during games and the team plays with eight scholarship players. January 19, 2018 the university announces that the four players were informed of the Title IX findings and given suspensions ranging from 18 to 24 months, with one player being expelled.[8] The players appeal the decision and the team continues to play with the same roster as the start of the season. February 6, 2013, Graves announced he was leaving the school and it is reported that Henriquez signed with an agent [9] and that Jermaine Bishop had practiced through the end of the week. February 13, 2018, the university announces it has concluded its Title IX investigation and all parties have been notified of the final decisions, which were determined by the Appeal Panel. Jordan Goodwin was suspended for the remainder of the season and was no longer enrolled in the school as he was found to be in violation of university policy.[10] February 15, 2018, Graves announces he is transferring to North Carolina Central University.[11] March 1, 2018, Club San Lazaro of the Dominican Republic announced they have signed Henriquez to a professional contract.[12] May 22, 2018, Goodwin re-enrolled at SLU.[13] June 6, 2018, Bishop announced he was transferring to Norfolk State.[14]

Roster

2017–18 Saint Louis Billikens men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Jordan Goodwin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Althoff Catholic Centreville, Il C 1 D. J. Foreman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Massanutten Academy Rutgers Spring Valley, NY G 2 Ty Graves (S) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS So High Point Christian Academy Boston College Greensboro, NC G 3 Javon Bess 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Gahanna Lincoln Michigan State Columbus, OH G 5 Davell Roby 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr White Station Memphis, TN G 10 Adonys Henriquez (S) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Jr Orlando Christian Prep Central Florida Orlando, FL G 11 Jermaine Bishop (S) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS So Holy Cross Queens, NY F 20 Jalen Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So University Laboratory School Baton Rouge, LA G 21 Markos Psimitis (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Experimental Harris-Stowe Mytilene, Greece F 22 Hasahn French 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Commonwealth Academy Middletown, NY G 24 Aaron Hines 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Parkway North John Wood CC St. Louis, MO C 25 Rashed Anthony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) GS Flora MacDonald Academy Seton Hall Orangeburg, SC G 31 Jack Raboin (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Mattoon High School Lake Land College Mattoon, IL F 33 Elliott Welmer   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Bridgton Academy Columbus, IN C 42 Luis Santos (I)  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Sunrise Christian Academy South Florida Santiago, Dominican Republic	Head coach Travis Ford (Kentucky) Assistant coach(es) Will Bailey (Alabama–Birmingham) Van Macon (Southampton) Corey Tate (Missouri) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Source[15]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2017* 7:00 pm		Harris-Stowe	W 69–51		Chaifetz Arena  St. Louis, MO
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Seattle 2K Sports Classic	W 62–46	1–0	Chaifetz Arena (7,256) St. Louis, MO
Nov 13, 2017* 7:30 pm		Rockhurst	W 74–50	2–0	Chaifetz Arena (5,009) St. Louis, MO
Nov 16, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN2		vs. Virginia Tech 2K Sports Classic semifinal	W 77–71	3–0	Madison Square Garden (6,104) New York City, NY
Nov 17, 2017* 6:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Providence 2K Sports Classic championship	L 63–90	3–1	Madison Square Garden (6,173) New York City, NY
Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Detroit 2K Sports Classic	L 70–72	3–2	Chaifetz Arena (6,026) St. Louis, MO
Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Western Michigan	L 51–65	3–3	Chaifetz Arena (5,081) St. Louis, MO
Dec 2, 2017* 1:00 pm, FS1		at Butler	L 45–75	3–4	Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,963) Indianapolis, IN
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Southern Illinois	W 74–69	4–4	Chaifetz Arena (5,633) St. Louis, MO
Dec 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium		Houston	L 58–77	4–5	Chaifetz Arena (6,014) St. Louis, MO
Dec 12, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSMW		Murray State	W 69–55	5–5	Chaifetz Arena (4,971) St. Louis, MO
Dec 16, 2017* 9:30 pm, P12N		vs. Oregon State Dam City Classic	L 60–63	5–6	Moda Center (8,110) Portland, OR
Dec 19, 2017* 7:30 pm		Campbell	W 74–66	6–6	Chaifetz Arena (5,017) St. Louis, MO
Dec 22, 2017* 6:00 pm, FSMW		Southeast Missouri State	W 78–48	7–6	Chaifetz Arena (8,021) St. Louis, MO
A-10 regular season
Dec 30, 2017 1:00 pm		at La Salle	L 60–83	7–7 (0–1)	Tom Gola Arena (1,437) Philadelphia, PA
Jan 3, 2018 6:00 pm		at Davidson	L 51–54	7–8 (0–2)	John M. Belk Arena (3,140) Davidson, NC
Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW		Richmond	W 69–62	8–8 (1–2)	Chaifetz Arena (7,291) St. Louis, MO
Jan 9, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN		Rhode Island	L 65–72	8–9 (1–3)	Chaifetz Arena (5,179) St. Louis, MO
Jan 13, 2018 1:30 pm, NBCSN		at George Mason	L 81–86	8–10 (1–4)	EagleBank Arena (3,284) Fairfax, VA
Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm		Duquesne	W 76–63	9–10 (2–4)	Chaifetz Arena (5,227) St. Louis, MO
Jan 20, 2018 1:00 pm, Stadium		at Massachusetts	W 66–47	10–10 (3–4)	Mullins Center (4,121) Amherst, MA
Jan 23, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN		VCU	L 74–75 ^OT	10–11 (3–5)	Chaifetz Arena (5,649) St. Louis, MO
Jan 27, 2018 3:00 pm, CBSSN		Dayton	W 75–65	11–11 (4–5)	Chaifetz Arena (8,552) St. Louis, MO
Jan 31, 2018 6:00 pm		at Saint Joseph's	W 60–59	12–11 (5–5)	Hagan Arena (3,143) Philadelphia, PA
Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW+		Fordham	W 73–50	13–11 (6–5)	Chaifetz Arena (7,312) St. Louis, MO
Feb 7, 2018 6:00 pm		at St. Bonaventure	L 56–79	13–12 (6–6)	Reilly Center (3,448) Olean, NY
Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW		La Salle	W 70–62	14–12 (7–6)	Chaifetz Arena (5,229) St. Louis, MO
Feb 17, 2018 5:00 pm, FSMW		at Richmond	W 72–66	15–12 (8–6)	Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA
Feb 20, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Dayton	L 50–53	15–13 (8–7)	UD Arena (12,577) Dayton, OH
Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW		George Washington	W 62–53	16–13 (9–7)	Chaifetz Arena (6,238) St. Louis, MO
Feb 28, 2018 6:00 pm, Stadium		at Duquesne	L 69–76	16–14 (9–8)	Palumbo Center (2,272) Pittsburgh, PA
Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, FSMW		St. Bonaventure	L 56–64	16–15 (9–9)	Chaifetz Arena (8,542) St. Louis, MO
A-10 Tournament
Mar 8, 2018 7:30 pm, NBCSN	(6)	vs. (11) George Washington Second round	W 70–63	17–15	Capital One Arena (6,514) Washington, D.C.
Mar 9, 2018 7:30 pm, NBCSN	(6)	vs. (3) Davidson Quarterfinals	L 60–78	17–16	Capital One Arena (7,664) Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

1. "Duquesne stunned by Saint Louis in first round of A10 tournament". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
2. "Saint Louis Hits Final Second Shot to Knock Off Duquesne in #A10MBB First Round". Atlantic10.com. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
3. http://www.washingtontimes.com, The Washington Times. "George Washington pulls ahead of Saint Louis late in A-10 tourney win". The Washington Times. Retrieved 2017-07-26.
4. "Billikens Ink Three In Early Signing Period". slubillikens.com. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
5. "Rhode Island Picked to Win A-10 Men's Basketball". Atlantic 10 Conference. Atlantic10.com. October 17, 2017. Retrieved October 17, 2017.
6. "3 women report sexual assaults by SLU student-athletes: St. Louis police investigating". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
7. "Timeline of SLU's Title IX investigaiton". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
8. "3 SLU basketball players suspended, 1 expelled after sexual assault investigation". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-01-20.
9. "3 Ty Graves announces withdrawal from SLU; Henriquez has agent". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-02-06.
10. "3 Final shoe drops in SLU probe; Goodwin suspended for rest of season". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2018-02-14.
11. @forevertygraves (15 February 2018). "I'm excited and honored to be continuing my basketball career at North Carolina Central University. I would like to Thank Coach Levelle Moton for the opportunity. GO EAGLES!!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
12. @ClubSanLazaroRD (1 March 2018). "San Lázaro adquiere servicios york dominican Adonys Henríquez #TeamLazareño #JuventudLazareña" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
13. @studurando (22 May 2018). "Jordan Goodwin is officially re-enrolled at St. Louis University and moving back to campus today" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
14. @Maine_real11 (6 June 2018). "Thanks to all the schools who've reached out to me throughout the transfer process, but I'm excited to continue my basketball career at Norfolk State University. I would like to thank @NSUCoachJones and his staff for the opportunity!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. "Men's Basketball – 2017–18 Roster". SLU Billikens. Saint Louis University.