2017–18 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team represented Radford University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by seventh-year head coach Mike Jones, played their home games at the Dedmon Center in Radford, Virginia as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 23–13, 12–6 in Big South play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Longwood, Winthrop, and Liberty to become champions of the Big South tournament. The received the Big South's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated LIU Brooklyn in the First Four before losing in the first round to the eventual national champion Villanova.

2017–18 Radford Highlanders men's basketball
Big South tournament champions Las Vegas Classic Visitors Bracket champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Big South Conference
Record	23–13 (12–6 Big South)
Head coach	Mike Jones (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Ron Jirsa David Boyden Donny Lind
Home arena	Dedmon Center

2017–18 Big South men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UNC Asheville	13	–	5		.722			21	–	13		.618
Radford †	12	–	6		.667			23	–	13		.639
Winthrop	12	–	6		.667			19	–	12		.613
Campbell	10	–	8		.556			18	–	16		.529
Liberty	9	–	9		.500			22	–	15		.595
Charleston Southern	9	–	9		.500			15	–	16		.484
High Point	9	–	9		.500			14	–	16		.467
Gardner–Webb	9	–	9		.500			14	–	18		.438
Presbyterian	4	–	14		.222			11	–	21		.344
Longwood	3	–	15		.167			7	–	26		.212
† 2018 Big South tournament winner

Previous season

The Highlanders finished the season 14–18, 8–10 in Big South play to finish in a sixth place. They received the No. 6 seed in the Big South tournament where they defeated Liberty in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Campbell.

Roster

2017–18 Radford Highlanders men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 1 Carlik Jones 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr Cincinnati, Ohio F 2 Tristan Owens 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Orlando, Florida G 3 Christian Bradford 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Columbus, Georgia G 4 Devin Cooper 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS So Charlotte, North Carolina G 5 Donald Hicks 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Chesapeake, Virginia G 10 Caleb Tanner 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Floyd, Virginia G 11 Travis Fields Jr. 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) So Portsmouth, Virginia G 12 John Caldwell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Spartanburg, South Carolina F 13 Leroy Butts IV 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Washington, D.C. G 14 Justin Cousin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Sr Burlington, North Carolina F 15 Devonnte Holland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Martinsville, Virginia G 23 Anias Saunders 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Culpeper, Virginia F 24 Ed Polite, Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Lanham, Maryland C 32 Randy Phillips 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Jackson, Mississippi C 45 Darius Bolstad 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Virginia Beach, Virginia	Head coach Mike Jones (Howard) Assistant coach(es) Ron Jirsa (Gettysburg) David Boyden (Western Kentucky) Donny Lind (Loyola (MD)) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: October 25, 2017

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2017* 7:00 pm		West Virginia State	W 106–81		Dedmon Center (422) Radford, VA
Non-conference Regular season
Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm		Georgia Southwestern	W 72–63	1–0	Dedmon Center (1,632) Radford, VA
Nov 12, 2017* 2:30 pm, BTN		at Ohio State	L 72–82	1–1	Value City Arena (10,425) Columbus, OH
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at East Carolina	W 73–66	2–1	Williams Arena (3,384) Greenville, NC
Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Elon	L 74–77	2–2	Alumni Gym (1,490) Elon, NC
Nov 25, 2017* 4:00 pm		James Madison	W 69–68	3–2	Dedmon Center (1,314) Radford, VA
Nov 28, 2017* 9:00 pm, SECN		at Vanderbilt	L 62–74	3–3	Memorial Gymnasium (8,027) Nashville, TN
Dec 2, 2017* 1:00 pm		at VMI	W 63–50	4–3	Cameron Hall (2,681) Lexington, VA
Dec 6, 2017* 6:00 pm, ACCN Extra		at Virginia Tech Rivalry	L 68–95	4–4	Cassell Coliseum (7,265) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 9, 2017* 4:00 pm		Erskine	W 76–49	5–4	Dedmon Center (1,292) Radford, VA
Dec 17, 2017* 6:00 pm, ATTSNRM		at Nevada Las Vegas Classic	L 62–77	5–5	Lawlor Events Center (7,272) Reno, NV
Dec 19, 2017* 10:00 pm		at San Francisco Las Vegas Classic	L 41–52	5–6	War Memorial Gymnasium (1,004) San Francisco, CA
Dec 22, 2017* 3:00 pm		vs. North Carolina A&T Las Vegas Classic	W 66–60	6–6	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
Dec 23, 2017* 5:30 pm		vs. UC Davis Las Vegas Classic	W 72–62	7–6	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
Big South Conference regular season
Dec 30, 2017 4:00 pm		at Presbyterian	W 78–62	8–6 (1–0)	Templeton Center (301) Clinton, SC
Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm		Winthrop	W 85–79	9–6 (2–0)	Dedmon Center (634) Radford, VA
Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm		UNC Asheville	W 90–70	10–6 (3–0)	Dedmon Center (981) Radford, VA
Jan 9, 2018 7:30 pm		at Charleston Southern	W 64–61	11–6 (4–0)	CSU Field House (711) North Charleston, SC
Jan 12, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Gardner–Webb	L 54–59	11–7 (4–1)	Paul Porter Arena (1,244) Boiling Springs, NC
Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Liberty	W 59–57 OT	12–7 (5–1)	Dedmon Center (1,493) Radford, VA
Jan 18, 2018 7:00 pm		Longwood	W 70–63	13–7 (6–1)	Dedmon Center (1,551) Radford, VA
Jan 21, 2018 2:00 pm		at Campbell	L 56–59	13–8 (6–2)	Gore Arena (1,392) Buies Creek, NC
Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm		at High Point	W 78–76 OT	14–8 (7–2)	Millis Athletic Center (894) High Point, NC
Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm		Charleston Southern	L 81–84 OT	14–9 (7–3)	Dedmon Center (1,707) Radford, VA
Feb 1, 2018 7:00 pm		Gardner–Webb	W 70–66	15–9 (8–3)	Dedmon Center (2,041) Radford, VA
Feb 3, 2018 2:00 pm		at Winthrop	L 57–75	15–10 (8–4)	Winthrop Coliseum (1,980) Rock Hill, SC
Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm		High Point	L 60–61	15–11 (8–5)	Dedmon Center (1,033) Radford, VA
Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm		at UNC Asheville	L 64–66	15–12 (8–6)	Kimmel Arena (2,012) Asheville, NC
Feb 15, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU		Campbell	W 72–53	16–12 (9–6)	Dedmon Center (2,012) Radford, VA
Feb 18, 2018 3:00 pm		Presbyterian	W 74–68 OT	17–12 (10–6)	Dedmon Center (1,184) Radford, VA
Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm		at Liberty	W 63–50	18–12 (11–6)	Vines Center (2,669) Lynchburg, VA
Feb 24, 2018 2:00 pm		at Longwood	W 70–47	19–12 (12–6)	Willett Hall (1,384) Farmville, VA
Big South tournament
Mar 1, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3	(2)	vs. (10) Longwood Quarterfinals	W 59–53	20–12	Kimmel Arena (1,159) Asheville, NC
Mar 2, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(2)	vs. (3) Winthrop Semifinals	W 61–52	21–12	Kimmel Arena (2,318) Asheville, NC
Mar 4, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN	(2)	(5) Liberty Championship	W 55–52	22–12	Dedmon Center (3,859) Radford, VA
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 2018 6:40 pm, truTV	(16 E)	vs. (16 E) LIU Brooklyn First Four	W 71–61	23–12	UD Arena (12,336) Dayton, OH
Mar 15, 2018 6:50 pm, TNT	(16 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 2 Villanova First Round	L 61–87	23–13	PPG Paints Arena (18,715) Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Source. All times are in Eastern Time.