2017–18 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team represented Georgia State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Ron Hunter, who was in his seventh season at Georgia State. The Panthers played their home games at the GSU Sports Arena in Atlanta, Georgia as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 24–11, 12–6 in Sun Belt play to finish the regular season in second place. The Panthers defeated Troy, Georgia Southern, and UT Arlington to become champions of the Sun Belt Tournament. As a result, they received the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As the No. 15 seed in the West region, they lost to Cincinnati in the First Round.

2017–18 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, First Round
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
2017–18 record24–11 (12–6 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Sharman White (2nd season)
  • Ray McCallum (2nd season)
  • Claude Pardue (7th season)
Home arenaGSU Sports Arena
2017–18 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Louisiana162 .889  277  .794
Georgia State126 .667  2411  .686
Georgia Southern117 .611  2112  .636
Texas–Arlington108 .556  2113  .618
Louisiana–Monroe99 .500  1616  .500
Troy99 .500  1617  .485
Appalachian State99 .500  1518  .455
Coastal Carolina810 .444  1418  .438
South Alabama711 .389  1418  .438
Texas State711 .389  1518  .455
Arkansas State612 .333  1121  .344
Little Rock414 .222  725  .219
2018 Sun Belt Conference Tournament winner

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2016–17 season 20–13, 12–6 in Sun Belt play to finish in second place. They lost in the semifinals of the Sun Belt Tournament to Troy before receiving an invitation to the CIT, where they lost to Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Jeremy Hollowell1G6'3"160SeniorAtlanta, GAGraduated
Isaiah Dennis4G6'0"190SeniorMcDonough, GAGraduated
Austin Donaldson10G6'1"185SophomoreJonesboro, GATransferred out
Justin Seymour20G6'3"215SeniorAtlanta, GAIneligible/Graduated
Willie Clayton21F6'8"245Redshirt SeniorThomasville, GAGraduated
Carter Cagle34G6'4"200JuniorGainesville, GAGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Damon Wilson1G6'5"195JuniorAtlanta, GAPittsburgh. Under NCAA transfer rules, Wilson will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season, using a redshirt, leaving two years of eligibility remaining.

2017 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Denis Alibegovic
G
Downers Grove, IL Downers Grove South 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Apr 26, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Kane Williams
G
Douglasville, GA South Paulding 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Oct 19, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Josh Linder
F
Kathleen, GA Veterans 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sep 8, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Matt Chism
G
Dawsonville, GA Dawson Christian 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 14, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN: N/A   ESPN grade: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NA   Rivals: NA  ESPN: NA
  • 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:

  • "Georgia State Panthers". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-06-29.
  • "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 2017-06-29.

    Roster

    2017–18 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 0 Nile Felton (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)175 lb (79 kg) RS SoUnion Atlanta, GA
    G 1 Damon Wilson  6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)295 lb (134 kg) JrOur Savior New American / Pittsburgh New York, NY
    G 2 Malik Benlevi (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrJenkins Savannah, GA
    G 10 Denis Alibegovic 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) FrDowners Grove South Downers Grove, IL
    G 11 Isaiah Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)170 lb (77 kg) SrBuford / Samford Buford, GA
    G 12 Kane Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrSouth Paulding Douglasville, GA
    F 14 Chris Clerkly 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)210 lb (95 kg) SoPerry Perry, GA
    G 15 D'Marcus Simonds 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)200 lb (91 kg) SoGainesville Gainesville, GA
    F 20 Josh Linder 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrVeterans Kathleen, GA
    F 23 Jordan Session (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) SrEagle's Landing McDonough, GA
    G 24 Devin Mitchell 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrCollins Hill / Alabama Suwanee, GA
    G 30 Jeff Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)190 lb (86 kg) RS JrNorwalk Norwalk, OH
    G 35 Matt Chism (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg) FrDawson Christian Academy Dawsonville, GA
    F 50 Jordan Tyson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS JrWalnut Hills / St. Bonaventure Cincinnati, OH
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

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

    Source[1]

    Preseason

    • Georgia State was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference preseason coaches poll.
    • Sophomore, D'Marcus Simonds, was named to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team.
    • On November 6, 2017, D'Marcus Simonds was named to the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award preseason watchlist.[2]

    Regular season

    • During the November 10th game vs. Carver Bible College, D'Marcus Simonds became the first player in Georgia State history to earn a triple-double, scoring 20 points while adding 10 assists and 10 rebounds.[3]
    • On November 20, in a 68–50 win over Eastern Washington, Ron Hunter earned the 400th win of his career.[4]
    • D'Marcus Simonds was named to the Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award mid-season watchlist.[5]
    • On January 20, in an 83–66 win over Georgia Southern, Isaiah Williams scored his 1,000th career point.[6]
    • In a win at Little Rock on February 3, Devin Mitchell set a new scoring record for the Jack Stephens Center with his career-high 38 points.[7]
    • On March 5, D'Marcus Simonds was named Sun Belt Player of the Year, along with All-Sun Belt First Team honors. And junior, Devin Mitchell, was named to the All-Sun Belt Third Team.[8]

    Post season

    • On March 10, in GSU's semifinal win over Georgia Southern, Simonds scored his 689th point– breaking R. J. Hunter's single-season scoring record.[9]
    • After the 2018 Sun Belt Tournament, D'Marcus Simonds was named the Tournament MVP.[10]
    • D'Marcus Simonds and Isaiah Williams were named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament team.[10]
    • Sophomore, Simonds, was named the Georgia Men's College Co-Player of the Year.[11]
    • Simonds earned AP All-America Honorable Mention.[12]
    • Simonds was named to the Lou Henson All-America team and a finalist for the Lou Henson Award.[13]
    • Coach Ron Hunter was awarded the Gene Bartow Award.[14]

    Sun Belt Tournament

    The Georgia State Men's Basketball team celebrates winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament

    After locking in the second seed in the Sun Belt Tournament, the Panthers' performance dipped in the last part of their regular season– dropping four of their final six games.[15][16] Able to shake free of that trend, Georgia State would beat Troy handily in the second round, 73–51, after losing to them twice in the regular season. In their semifinal game, the Panthers were once again pitted against in-state foe, Georgia Southern. The teams split their regular season contests– each winning at home. On this neutral court, GSU would defeat the Eagles 73–67 and eliminate their rival from the SBC Tournament for the second time in four years.[9] This rivalry game wouldn't end without some theatrics– with less than a minute to play, Georgia Southern cut State's lead to just three points. The Panthers held the ball while the shot clock ran down to two seconds, at which point the Eagles were called for a kicked ball off of an attempted Georgia State pass. As a result, the shot clock would reset to 20 seconds– with just 23 seconds left on the game clock. The Panthers called a time out, where Coach Hunter said he reminded his team of the new shot clock differential and instructed them to hold the ball until fouled should they successfully inbound the ball.[17] Once play resumed, the inbound pass was received by junior Devin Mitchell, who would later claim he thought Coach Hunter was talking about the game clock, and therefore still thought only two seconds remained on the shot clock, leading him to immediately turn around and shoot the ball from outside of the three-point arc and sink an unnecessary three-pointer.[18] This mishap would ice the game, sending the Panthers to the SBC Tournament finals. Meanwhile, top-seeded (and regular season champions) Louisiana dropped their semifinal game to 5th seed UT-Arlington, sending the Mavericks, a team Georgia State lost to just five games earlier, to face the Panthers in the finals.[19] The Panthers would handle UT-Arlington in the finals with relative ease, beating them 74–61, with the help of D'Marcus Simonds' game-high 27 points. Their SBC Tournament victory would give the Panthers the Sun Belt Conferences' automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Selected as a 15-seed, Georgia State was matched with the 2nd-seeded Cincinnati Bearcats for their opening game in Nashville, TN.[20][21]

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    October 28, 2017*
    12:00 pm
    at Georgia Tech
    A-Town Showdown
    W 65–58 
     30  Simonds  7  Tied  4  I. Williams  McCamish Pavilion (2,112)
    Atlanta, GA
    November 2, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Lees-McRae W 100–64 
     25  Thomas  7  Session  4  Tied  GSU Sports Arena 
    Atlanta, GA
    November 6, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Coker W 99–65 
     31  Simonds  11  Session  8  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena 
    Atlanta, GA
    Non-conference regular season
    November 10, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Carver Bible W 90–50  1–0
     20  Simonds  10  Simonds  10  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (1,349)
    Atlanta, GA
    November 14, 2017*
    8:00 pm
    at Rice
    MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game
    W 75–54  2–0
     18  Thomas  7  Simonds  7  Simonds  Tudor Fieldhouse (1,208)
    Houston, TX
    November 17, 2017*
    7:00 pm, SECN+
    at Ole Miss
    MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game
    L 72–77  2–1
     29  Simonds  9  Thomas  5  Simonds  The Pavilion at Ole Miss (6,835)
    Oxford, MS
    November 20, 2017*
    4:30 pm
    vs. Eastern Washington
    MGM Resorts Main Event Middleweight semis
    W 68–50  3–1
     23  Mitchell  7  Benlevi  3  Simonds  T-Mobile Arena 
    Paradise, NV
    November 22, 2017*
    4:30 pm
    vs. Prairie View A&M
    MGM Resorts Main Event Middleweight finals
    L 56–71  3–2
     17  Benlevi  6  Benlevi  2  Simonds  T-Mobile Arena 
    Paradise, NV
    November 26, 2017*
    12:00 pm, ESPN3
    Tulane W 70–59  4–2
     17  Benlevi  10  Tied  7  K. Williams  GSU Sports Arena (971)
    Atlanta, GA
    November 29, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    Alabama A&M W 63–53  5–2
     15  Simonds  10  Simonds  5  Simonds  Elmore Gymnasium (1,979)
    Huntsville, AL
    December 4, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Liberty L 74–77 OT 5–3
     35  Simonds  7  Thomas  5  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (1,074)
    Atlanta, GA
    December 9, 2017*
    2:00 pm, ESPN3
    Montana W 71–68  6–3
     15  Tied  8  Thomas  3  Tied  GSU Sports Arena (1,224)
    Atlanta, GA
    December 12, 2017*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Point W 90–70  7–3
     33  Simonds  9  Benlevi  5  Mitchell  GSU Sports Arena (914)
    Atlanta, GA
    December 16, 2017*
    7:00 pm, Spectrum Sports
    at Dayton L 83–88 OT 7–4
     28  Mitchell  7  Session  5  Benlevi  UD Arena (13,005)
    Dayton, OH
    December 20, 2017*
    7:00 pm
    at UMass W 71–63  8–4
     24  Simonds  9  Simonds  5  K. Williams  Mullins Center (2,004)
    Amherst, MA
    December 23, 2017*
    1:00p pm, ESPN3
    at Chattanooga W 71–48  9–4
     21  Simonds  7  Benlevi  6  Simonds  McKenzie Arena (2,108)
    Chattanooga, TN
    Sun Belt Conference regular season
    December 29, 2017
    8:00 pm
    at South Alabama L 64–86  9–5
    (0–2)
     27  Simonds  6  Benlevi  3  Benlevi  Mitchell Center (1,788)
    Mobile, AL
    December 31, 2017
    4:15 pm, ESPN3
    at Troy L 66–68  9–6
    (0–2)
     17  Simonds  6  Simonds  6  Simonds  Trojan Arena (1,835)
    Troy, AL
    January 4, 2018
    7:15 pm, ESPN3
    Little Rock L 64–73  10–6
    (1–2)
     19  Simonds  9  Session  6  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (970)
    Atlanta, GA
    January 6, 2018
    2:15 pm, ESPN3
    Arkansas State W 79–75  11–6
    (2–2)
     33  Simonds  9  Simonds  3  I. Williams  GSU Sports Arena (1,187)
    Atlanta, GA
    January 11, 2018
    7:30 pm
    at Appalachian State W 71–58  12–6
    (3–2)
     22  Thomas  8  Thomas  5  Simonds  Holmes Center (701)
    Boone, NC
    January 13, 2018
    3:30 pm
    at Coastal Carolina W 72–58  13–6
    (4–2)
     15  Mitchell  11  Benlevi  4  3 tied  HTC Center (1,502)
    Conway, SC
    January 20, 2018
    2:15 pm, ESPN3
    Georgia Southern
    Modern Day Hate
    W 83–66  14–6
    (5–2)
     24  Simonds  10  Simonds  6  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (3,854)
    Atlanta, GA
    January 25, 2018
    7:15 pm, ESPN3
    UT Arlington W 81–75  15–6
    (6–2)
     29  Simonds  13  Session  5  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (1,567)
    Atlanta, GA
    January 27, 2018
    2:15 pm, ESPN3
    Texas State W 54–50  16–6
    (7–2)
     20  Simonds  11  Session  3  3 tied  GSU Sports Arena (1,236)
    Atlanta, GA
    February 1, 2018
    8:30 pm, ESPN3
    at Arkansas State W 77–66  17–6
    (8–2)
     21  Simonds  10  Benlevi  6  Simonds  First National Bank Arena (2,792)
    Jonesboro, AR
    February 3, 2018
    6:00 pm
    at Little Rock W 81–51  18–6
    (9–2)
     38  Mitchell  9  Session  8  Simonds  Jack Stephens Center (2,373)
    Little Rock, AR
    February 8, 2018
    7:15 pm, ESPN3
    Louisiana W 106–92  19–6
    (10–2)
     22  Tied  12  Benlevi  8  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (2,065)
    Atlanta, GA
    February 10, 2018
    2:15 pm, ESPN3
    Louisiana–Monroe L 82–90 OT 19–7
    (10–3)
     39  Simonds  12  Simonds  5  Simonds  GSU Sports Arena (1,807)
    Atlanta, GA
    February 17, 2018
    9:00 pm, ESPN2
    at Georgia Southern
    Modern Day Hate
    L 80–85  19–8
    (10–4)
     21  Simonds  12  Benlevi  3  Tied  Hanner Fieldhouse (3,897)
    Statesboro, GA
    February 22, 2018
    8:30 pm
    at Texas State W 77–50  20–8
    (11–4)
     19  Simonds  7  Benlevi  5  Mitchell  Strahan Coliseum (2,054)
    San Marcos, TX
    February 24, 2018
    5:15 pm, ESPN3
    at UT Arlington L 81–89  20–9
    (11–5)
     25  Mitchell  7  Thomas  5  Simonds  College Park Center (2,803)
    Arlington, TX
    March 1, 2018
    7:15 pm, ESPN3
    Troy L 70–83  20–10
    (11–6)
     27  Simonds  8  Tied  2  3 tied  GSU Sports Arena (1,793)
    Atlanta, GA
    March 3, 2018
    2:15 pm, ESPN3
    South Alabama W 90–75  21–10
    (12–6)
     23  I. Williams  8  K. Williams  4  K. Williams  GSU Sports Arena (1,649)
    Atlanta, GA
    Sun Belt Tournament
    March 9, 2018
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    (2) vs. (7) Troy
    Quarterfinals
    W 73–51  22–10
     19  Thomas  8  Tied  7  Simonds  Lakefront Arena 
    New Orleans, LA
    March 10, 2018
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    (2) vs. (3) Georgia Southern
    Semifinals
    W 73–67  23–10
     16  Session  9  Session  4  K. Williams  Lakefront Arena 
    New Orleans, LA
    March 11, 2018
    2:00 pm, ESPN2
    (2) vs. (4) UT Arlington
    Championship game
    W 74–61  24–10
     27  Simonds  7  Session  4  Simonds  Lakefront Arena 
    New Orleans, LA
    NCAA Tournament
    March 16, 2018*
    2:00 pm, TBS
    (15 S) vs. (2 S) No. 6 Cincinnati
    First Round
    L 53–68  24–11
     24  Simonds  6  Benlevi  1  3 tied  Bridgestone Arena (17,552)
    Nashville, TN
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South.
    All times are in Eastern Time.

    [22]

    References

    1. "M Basketball – 2017–18 Roster". Georgia State Athletics. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
    2. "The Preseason Watch List". Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
    3. Holmes, Mike. "Simonds Records Triple-Double; Panthers Cruise to 90-50 Win". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
    4. Holmes, Mike. "Panthers Top EWU 68-50; Hunter Earns 400th Career Win". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
    5. Holmes, Mike. "Simonds Named to Lou Henson Mid-Season Watch List". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 18 January 2018.
    6. Holmes, Mike. "Panthers Top In-State Foe Georgia Southern 83-66". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
    7. Holmes, Mike. "Mitchell's 38 Points Lead Panthers to 81–51 Win". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
    8. Holmes, Mike. "Simonds Named Sun Belt POTY; Mitchell Earns Third Team". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
    9. Holmes, Mike. "Panthers Top Eagles 73-67, Advance To SBC Championship Game". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    10. "Sun Belt Men's Basketball Tournament Awards". RealGM.com. RealGM. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    11. "The Atlanta Tipoff Club Recognizes Top Talent With 2018 Georgia College Players and Coaches of the Year". AtlTipoffClub.com. Atlanta Tipoff Club. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
    12. Holmes, Mike. "D'Marcus Simonds Named AP All-America". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
    13. Holmes, Mike. "Hunter, Simonds Named Finalists for Top Awards". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
    14. Holmes, Mike. "Ron Hunter Named Winner of Gene Bartow Award". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
    15. "BRACKET". CBSSports.com. CBS. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    16. "Men's Basketball - 2017-18 Schedule". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    17. McQuade, Alec. "GSU Panthers 1 win away from NCAA tournament thanks to a really dumb shot". 11alive. NBC. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    18. Bradley, Mark. "Thanks to the greatest bad shot ever, Georgia State is dancing". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Communications. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    19. "Texas-Arlington vs. Georgia State odds: Sun Belt championship game picks from Vegas legend on 41-25 run". CBSSports.com. CBS. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    20. Holmes, Mike. "Panthers Win Sun Belt Championship; Top UTA 74-61". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    21. Moore, Ben. "Georgia State to Face Cincinnati in NCAA Tournament". PantherTalk.com. 247Sports. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
    22. "Men's Basketball - 2017-18 Schedule". GeorgiaStateSports.com. Georgia State University. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
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