2017–18 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team

2017–18 Idaho Vandals men's basketball
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record22–9 (14–4 Big Sky)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCowan Spectrum, Memorial Gym
Seasons
2017–18 Big Sky men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Montana † 16 – 2   .889 26 – 8   .765
Idaho 14 – 4   .778 22 – 9   .710
Weber State 13 – 5   .722 20 – 11   .645
Eastern Washington 13 – 5   .722 20 – 15   .571
Northern Colorado 11 – 7   .611 26 – 12   .684
Idaho State 9 – 9   .500 14 – 16   .467
Portland State 9 – 9   .500 20 – 14   .588
Montana State 6 – 12   .333 13 – 19   .406
North Dakota 6 – 12   .333 12 – 20   .375
Southern Utah 5 – 13   .278 13 – 19   .406
Sacramento State 4 – 14   .222 7 – 25   .219
Northern Arizona 2 – 16   .111 5 – 27   .156
† Conference tournament winner

The 2017–18 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team represented the University of Idaho during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Vandals, led by tenth-year head coach Don Verlin, played their home games at the Cowan Spectrum, with a few early season games at Memorial Gym, in Moscow, Idaho as members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 22–9, 14–4 in Big Sky play to finish in second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament to Southern Utah.

Previous season

The Vandals finished the 2016–17 season 19–14, 12–6 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for third place. Big Sky tournament. They defeated Montana in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky tournament before losing in the semifinals to North Dakota. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Stephen F. Austin before losing in the second round to Texas State.

Offseason

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure
Nick Blair 0 F 6'5" 205 Sophomore Las Vegas, NV Transferred to UNLV
Myles Franklin 2 G 6'0" 171 RS Freshman Castaic, CA Transferred to Allan Hancock College
Jake Straughan 5 G 6'1" 175 RS Sophomore Colton, WA Graduate transferred to Fresno Pacific
Pat Ingram 13 G 6'2" 201 Senior Indianapolis, IN Graduated
Tyler Brimhall 24 G 6'4" 185 RS Freshman Logan, UT Transferred to North Idaho College
George Nahshon 25 G 6'2" 165 Senior Clarkston, WA Graduated
Ty Egbert 41 F 6'9" 195 Senior Coulee Dam, WA Graduated

2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Scott Blakney
PF 		Prosser, WA Prosser High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sep 6, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jared Rodriguez
SF 		Glendale, AZ Mountain Ridge High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) N/A Oct 19, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Losini Kamara
SG 		Brooklyn Park, MN Park Center High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Oct 19, 2016 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Geno West
SG 		Portland, OR Jefferson High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Mar 14, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Garrett Kingman
SG 		Gig Harbor, WA Peninsula High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) N/A Mar 14, 2017 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Cassius Smits-Francisco
PF 		Netherlands Cactus Shadows High School 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) N/A Apr 27, 2017 
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 November 10, 2017.

Preseason

In separate preseason polls of league coaches and media, the Vandals were picked to win the Big Sky championship.[1] Senior guard Victor Sanders was named to the preseason All-Big Sky team.[2]

Roster

2017–18 Idaho Vandals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Perrion Callandret 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Sr Bothell HS Bothell, WA
G 3 Losini Kamara 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Park Center HS Brooklyn Park, MN
F 4 Brayon Blake 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Garfield HS
College of Southern Idaho 		Seattle, WA
G 11 Victor Sanders 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Jefferson HS Portland, OR
G/F 12 Chance Garvin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Lake Roosevelt HS Coulee Dam, WA
G 13 Geno West 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Jefferson HS Portland, OR
G 14 Chad Sherwood (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr West Albany HS Albany, OR
F 20 Jared Rodriguez 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Mountain Ridge HS Glendale, AZ
F 21 Arkadiy Mkrtuchyan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Columbia Christian HS Portland, OR
G/F 22 Garrett Kingman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Peninsula HS/Elite Prep Gig Harbor, WA
F 23 Nate Sherwood 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Jr West Albany HS Albany, OR
G 25 Trevon Allen 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Clarkston HS Lapwai, ID
F/C 31 Cassius Smits-Francisco 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Cactus Shadows HS Cave Creek, AZ
F 34 Scott Blakney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Prosser HS Prosser, WA
F 44 Jordan Scott 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Lewis-Palmer HS Colorado Springs, CO
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 28, 2017*
11:00 am 		at Oregon
Charity Exhibition for Oregon Wildfire Fund 		L 57–81 
Matthew Knight Arena 
Eugene, OR
Nov 5, 2017*
4:00 pm 		Lewis–Clark State W 84–59 
Memorial Gym (909)
Moscow, ID
Non-conference regular season
Nov 10, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Nevada L 64–88  0–1
 Lawlor Events Center (8,457)
Reno, NV
Nov 13, 2017*
7:00 pm 		George Fox W 101–62  1–1
 Memorial Gym (687)
Moscow, ID
Nov 18, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Sam Houston State W 63–54  2–1
 Memorial Gym (1,187)
Moscow, ID
Nov 22, 2017*
6:30 pm 		vs. Santa Clara
Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals 		W 69–59  3–1
 Alaska Airlines Center (2,303)
Anchorage, AK
Nov 22, 2017*
9:00 pm 		vs. Cal State Bakersfield
Great Alaska Shootout semifinals 		L 62–64  3–2
 Alaska Airlines Center (3,082)
Anchorage, AK
Nov 24, 2017*
6:30 pm 		vs. Cal Poly
Great Alaska Shootout 3rd place game 		W 75–66  4–2
 Alaska Airlines Arena (3,460)
Anchorage, AK
Dec 3, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Nicholls State W 79–68  5–2
 Stopher Gym (253)
Thibodaux, LA
Dec 6, 2017*
7:00 pm, SWX 		Washington State
Battle of the Palouse 		W 91–64  6–2
 Cowan Spectrum (4,329)
Moscow, ID
Dec 9, 2017*
7:00 pm 		at Cal State Bakersfield L 55–66  6–3
 Icardo Center (2,633)
Bakersfield, CA
Dec 15, 2017*
7:00 pm 		Simon Fraser L 54–73  7–3
 Cowan Spectrum (719)
Moscow, ID
Dec 18, 2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3 		at Western Michigan W 83–52  8–3
 University Arena (1,645)
Kalamazoo, MI
Dec 21, 2017*
6:30 pm, Pluto TV 		vs. UC Irvine
Boise Showcase 		L 59–67  8–4
 CenturyLink Arena (4,096)
Boise, ID
Big Sky regular season
Dec 29, 2017
5:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at North Dakota W 74–57  9–4
(1–0) 		Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,597)
Grand Forks, ND
Dec 31, 2017
1:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Northern Colorado L 77–81  9–5
(1–1) 		Bank of Colorado Arena (960)
Greeley, CO
Jan 4, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Sacramento State W 69–68  10–5
(2–1) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,829)
Moscow, ID
Jan 6, 2018
7:00 pm, ELVN 		Portland State L 72–73  10–6
(2–2) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,012)
Moscow, ID
Jan 12, 2018
7:30 pm, Pluto TV 		at Eastern Washington W 58–51  11–6
(3–2) 		Reese Court (2,334)
Cheney, WA
Jan 18, 2018
5:30 pm, Pluto TV 		at Southern Utah W 80–76  12–6
(4–2) 		America First Events Center (3,578)
Cedar City, UT
Jan 20, 2018
4:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Northern Arizona W 84–80  13–6
(5–2) 		Walkup Skydome (832)
Flagstaff, AZ
Jan 25, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Northern Colorado L 63–80  13–7
(5–3) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,122)
Moscow, ID
Jan 27, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		North Dakota W 96–71  14–7
(6–3) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,818)
Moscow, ID
Feb 1, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Portland State W 97–88  15–7
(7–3) 		Pamplin Sports Center (710)
Portland, OR
Feb 3, 2018
7:05 pm, Pluto TV 		at Sacramento State W 81–58  16–7
(8–3) 		Hornets Nest (675)
Sacramento, CA
Feb 9, 2018
7:30 pm, Pluto TV 		Eastern Washington W 66–64  17–7
(9–3) 		Cowan Spectrum (3,192)
Moscow, ID
Feb 15, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Montana State W 88–78  18–7
(10–3) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,019)
Moscow, ID
Feb 17, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Montana W 79–77 OT 19–7
(11–3) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,839)
Moscow, ID
Feb 22, 2018
6:00 pm, Pluto TV 		at Idaho State L 83–86  19–8
(11–4) 		Reed Gym (1,976)
Pocatello, ID
Feb 24, 2018
6:00 pm, ELVN 		at Weber State W 68–62  20–8
(12–4) 		Dee Events Center (7,513)
Ogden, UT
Mar 1, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Northern Arizona W 66–52  21–8
(13–4) 		Cowan Spectrum (1,269)
Moscow, ID
Mar 3, 2018
7:00 pm, Pluto TV 		Southern Utah W 78–76  22–8
(14–4) 		Cowan Spectrum (3,219)
Moscow, ID
Big Sky tournament
Mar 8, 2018
5:30 pm, ELVN 		(2) vs. (10) Southern Utah L 78–92  22–9
 Reno Events Center (1,078)
Reno, NV
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

  1. ^ "Idaho Favored to win Big Sky Men's Basketball Championship". Retrieved November 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Hall Recognized as Preseason MVP". Retrieved November 10, 2017.