2017–18 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2017–18 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team represented Oral Roberts University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The Golden Eagles were led by first-year head coach Paul Mills and played their home games at the Mabee Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma as members of The Summit League . They finished the season 11–21, 5–9 in Summit League play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament to Denver .
Previous season
The Golden Eagles finished the season 8–22, 4–12 in Summit League play to finish in last place. As a result, they failed to qualify for The Summit League tournament .
On April 10, 2017, the school fired all-time winningest coach Scott Sutton after 18 years.[ 1] He finished with an overall record of 328–247.[ 2] On April 28, the school hired Baylor assistant Paul Mills as the new head coach.[ 3]
Preseason
In a poll of league coaches, media, and sports information directors, the Golden Eagles were picked to finish in seventh place.[ 4] Senior center Albert Owens was named to the preseason All-Summit First Team and sophomore forward Emmanuel Nzekwesi was named to the Second Team.[ 4]
Roster
2017–18 Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
1
James Conley
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Jr
Derby, Kansas
G
2
Austin Ruder
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Sr
Nixa, Missouri
G
3
Jontray Harris
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
188 lb (85 kg)
RS Jr
Austin, Texas
G
10
Sam Kearns
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
So
San Antonio , Texas
G
12
Josiah Showman
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
So
Tulsa, Oklahoma
G
20
Spencer Sutton
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
215 lb (98 kg)
RS Fr
Tulsa, Oklahoma
F
23
Emmanuel Nzekwesi
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
So
Trophy Club, Texas
G
24
R.J. Fuqua
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Fr
Tulsa, Oklahoma
F
25
Javan White
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
230 lb (104 kg)
RS So
Ames, Iowa
F
32
Kellen Manek
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
227 lb (103 kg)
RS Fr
Harrah, Oklahoma
F
33
Emir Ahmedic
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
RS Fr
Kladanj , Bosnia and Herzegovina
C
44
Albert Owens
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
Sr
Cedar Hill, Texas
F
52
Chris Miller
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
255 lb (116 kg)
So
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
[ 5] Roster
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 10, 2017 *7:00 pm
Avila
W 86–72
1–0
Mabee Center (2,521)Tulsa, OK
Nov 13, 2017 *7:00 pm
at Tulsa Mayor's Cup
L 71–90
1–1
Reynolds Center (4,437)Tulsa, OK
Nov 16, 2017 *7:00 pm, FSOK+
at Oklahoma State Legends Classic
L 48–91
1–2
Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,268)Stillwater, OK
Nov 20, 2017 *7:00 pm
vs. Montana Legends Classic
L 64–69
1–3
Firestone Fieldhouse (1,682)Malibu, CA
Nov 21, 2017 *9:30 pm
vs. Pepperdine Legends Classic
L 76–80
1–4
Firestone Fieldhouse (1,239)Malibu, CA
Nov 24, 2017 *2:00 pm, BTN+
at Penn State Legends Classic
L 48–86
1–5
Bryce Jordan Center (4,463)University Park, PA
Nov 27, 2017 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
Oakland
L 86–93 OT
1–6
Mabee Center (1,754)Tulsa, OK
Nov 29, 2017 *7:00 pm, FSKC
at Kansas State
L 68–77
1–7
Bramlage Coliseum (7,273)Manhattan, KS
Dec 2, 2017 *3:00 pm
at Little Rock
W 74–66 2OT
2–7
Jack Stephens Center (2,111)Little Rock, AR
Dec 5, 2017 *9:00 pm
at UNLV
L 66–92
2–8
MGM Grand Garden Arena (6,713)Paradise, NV
Dec 8, 2017 *7:00 pm
Southern Nazarene
L 60–68
2–9
Mabee Center (2,152)Tulsa, OK
Dec 10, 2017 *3:00 pm
Missouri State
W 73–66
3–9
Mabee Center (2,331)Tulsa, OK
Dec 16, 2017 *7:15 pm, ESPN3
at Florida Gulf Coast
W 83–64
4–9
Alico Arena (3,316)Fort Myers, FL
Dec 19, 2017 *7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Arkansas
L 69–104
4–10
Bud Walton Arena (13,945)Fayetteville, AR
Dec 21, 2017 *7:00 pm, BTN+
at Minnesota
L 63–77
4–11
Williams Arena (11,234)Minneapolis, MN
Dec 30, 2017 7:00 pm
Omaha
W 93–74
5–11 (1–0)
Mabee Center (2,167)Tulsa, OK
Jan 4, 2018 7:00 pm
Fort Wayne
W 76–60
6–11 (2–0)
Mabee Center (2,219)Tulsa, OK
Jan 6, 2018 7:00 pm
Western Illinois
W 81–66
7–11 (3–0)
Mabee Center (2,146)Tulsa, OK
Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
at South Dakota State
L 75–78
7–12 (3–1)
Frost Arena (2,221)Brookings, SD
Jan 13, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3
at North Dakota State
L 64–82
7–13 (3–2)
Scheels Center (3,625)Fargo, ND
Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
at South Dakota
L 70–82
7–14 (3–3)
Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,351)Vermillion, SD
Jan 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
Denver
L 64–73
7–15 (3–4)
Mabee Center (5,023)Tulsa, OK
Jan 23, 2018 *7:00 pm
East Texas Baptist
W 93–66
8–15
Mabee Center (2,036)Tulsa, OK
Jan 27, 2018 *4:00 pm
Nebraska Christian
W 105–74
9–15
Mabee Center (2,442)Tulsa, OK
Feb 1, 2018 6:00 pm
at Fort Wayne
L 75–85
9–16 (3–5)
Memorial Coliseum (1,481)Fort Wayne, IN
Feb 3, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3
at Western Illinois
L 56–82
9–17 (3–6)
Western Hall (712)Macomb, IL
Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
North Dakota State
W 67–66 OT
10–17 (4–6)
Mabee Center (2,366)Tulsa, OK
Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
South Dakota State
L 75–85
10–18 (4–7)
Mabee Center (2,568)Tulsa, OK
Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3
South Dakota
L 67–85
10–19 (4–8)
Mabee Center (2,027)Tulsa, OK
Feb 18, 2018 2:00 pm, ALT2
at Denver
L 65–66
10–20 (4–9)
Magness Arena (1,247)Denver, CO
Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm
at Omaha
W 83–75
11–20 (5–9)
Baxter Arena (1,899)Omaha, NE
Summit League tournament
Mar 4, 2018 8:30 pm, ESPN3
(6)
vs. (3) Denver Quarterfinals
L 88–90 2OT
11–21
Premier Center (5,692)Sioux Falls, SD
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Central Time
Source
[ 6] .
References
^ "Oral Roberts fires coach Sutton after 18 years" . ESPN.com . Retrieved April 11, 2017 .
^ "Oral Roberts Fires Scott Sutton" . KDLT . April 10, 2017. Archived from the original on April 12, 2017. Retrieved April 11, 2017 .
^ Haisten, Bill (April 28, 2017). "ORU confirms hiring of Baylor assistant Paul Mills as Golden Eagle basketball coach" . Tulsa World . Retrieved July 18, 2017 .
^ a b "South Dakota State Tabbed #SummitMBB Preseason Favorite" . The Summit League . October 5, 2017. Retrieved November 2, 2017 .
^
|accessdate=November 1, 2017
^ "ORU Men's Basketball Schedule/Results" . Archived from the original on November 1, 2017. Retrieved November 1, 2017 .