The 2017–18 VMI Keydets basketball team represented the

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

in the

2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 2, 2018. Practices offici ...

. The Keydets were led by third-year head coach Dan Earl and played their home games out of Cameron Hall in

Lexington, Virginia Lexington is an Independent city (United States)#Virginia, independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,320. It is the county seat of Rockbridge County, Virg ...

, their home since 1981, as members of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...

. They finished the season 9–21, 4–14 in SoCon play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the first round of the SoCon tournament to

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

Previous season

The Keydets finished the 2016–17 season with an overall record of 6–24, and a 3–15 mark in SoCon play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the SoCon tournament to Samford. They lost their three leading scorers and rebounders in QJ Peterson, Julian Eleby, and Trey Chapman.

Preseason

Departures

VMI experienced noticeable roster turnover from the previous year, losing their three starting seniors as well as several other players to transfer. This included the Keydets' leading scorer and rebounder, QJ Peterson, who averaged nearly 20 points per game. Overall, VMI lost 71% of their point production, over half of their rebounding, and 63% of their assists to either graduation or transfer.

Coaching changes

The offseason saw the departure of two VMI assistant coaches. On April 7, 2017,

Rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

head coach Scott Pera announced the hiring of Chris Kreider as an assistant coach. Kreider had been with the Keydets for the previous two seasons under head coach Dan Earl. Five days later, on April 12, 2017, it was announced that Jason Slay, who had also been in his second year with the program, was given an assistant coaching position at Youngstown State. In May, Earl announced the hiring of VMI basketball standout Austin Kenon as an assistant. Kenon played for VMI and ranks first in program history with 349 made three-pointers. Also that month, Earl added Kevin Carroll to the coaching staff, who had previously been the head coach at Division II

Maryville University Maryville University of St. Louis is a private university in Town and Country, Missouri, United States. It was founded on April 6, 1872, by the Society of the Sacred Heart and offers more than 90 degree programs at the undergraduate and graduate ...

for seven seasons.

Roster

Ref:

Depth chart

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Southern Conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Southern Conference tournament

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 VMI Keydets basketball team VMI Keydets basketball seasons VMI VMI Keydets bask VMI Keydets bask