# 2017–18 Florida A&M Rattlers basketball team

The 2017–18 Florida A&M Rattlers men's basketball team represented Florida A&M University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rattlers, led by first-year head coach Robert McCullum, played their home games at the Teaching Gym in Tallahassee, Florida as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 9–25, 7–9 in MEAC play to finish in a tie three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 9 seed in the MEAC tournament, they defeated Howard before losing to Hampton in the quarterfinals,

## Previous season

The Rattlers finished the 2016–17 season 7–23, 5–11 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the MEAC tournament to South Carolina State.
On March 17, 2017, it was announced that head coach Byron Samuels' contract would not be renewed. He finished at Florida A&M with a three-year record of 17–71. On May 16, the school named Oregon assistant Robert McCullum as their new head coach. McCullum had previous head coaching jobs at Western Michigan and South Florida.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 06, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Johnson (FL) | W 107–71 | | Teaching Gym Tallahassee, FL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3/YurView | | at Grand Canyon | L 51–67 | 0–1 | GCU Arena (7,202) Phoenix, AZ |
| Nov 11, 2017* 8:00 pm, Stadium | | at UNLV | L 66–108 | 0–2 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,457) Paradise, NV |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at No. 11 Miami (FL) | L 59–90 | 0–3 | Watsco Center (6,735) Coral Gables, FL |
| Nov 18, 2017* 4:00 pm | | at Mississippi State Hoops in the Heartland | L 48–79 | 0–4 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,132) Starkville, MS |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Albany State | W 77–59 | 1–4 | Teaching Gym (1,378) Tallahassee, FL |
| Nov 22, 2017* 8:00 pm, MidcoSN/ESPN3 | | at North Dakota State Hoops In The Heartland | L 66–80 | 1–5 | Scheels Center (2,723) Fargo, ND |
| Nov 24, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Green Bay Hoops In The Heartland | L 50–57 | 1–6 | Resch Center (2,239) Green Bay, WI |
| Nov 26, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Stephen F. Austin Hoops In The Heartland | L 51–67 | 1–7 | William R. Johnson Coliseum (1,691) Nacogdoches, TX |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, LHN | | at Texas | L 58–82 | 1–8 | Frank Erwin Center (8,511) Austin, TX |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Murray State | L 59–80 | 1–9 | CFSB Center (3,021) Murray, KY |
| Dec 9, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Mercer | L 64–82 | 1–10 | Hawkins Arena (3,527) Macon, GA |
| Dec 11, 2017* 7:00 pm | | North Florida | L 89–101 | 1–11 | Teaching Gym (1,389) Tallahassee, FL |
| Dec 14, 2017* 6:30 pm | | at Southern | L 50–68 | 1–12 | F. G. Clark Center (421) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec 17, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Georgia Tech | L 51–67 | 1–13 | McCamish Pavilion (5,156) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 21, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Fordham | L 69–79 | 1–14 | Rose Hill Gymnasium (847) Bronx, NY |
| Dec 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | L 54–75 | 1–15 | Worthen Arena (2,902) Muncie, IN |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2018 8:00 pm | | Howard | W 84–76 | 2–15 (1–0) | Teaching Gym (1,492) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Morgan State | L 68–87 | 2–16 (1–1) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,021) Baltimore, MD |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Coppin State | L 78–79 $^{2OT}$ | 2–17 (1–2) | Physical Education Complex (327) Baltimore, MD |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Bethune–Cookman | L 81–99 | 2–18 (1–3) | Moore Gymnasium (904) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Jan 15, 2018 8:00 pm | | Delaware State | W 94–89 $^{OT}$ | 3–18 (2–3) | Teaching Gym (2,487) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 27, 2018 yes | | at Hampton | W 75–71 | 4–18 (3–3) | Hampton Convocation Center (5,234) Hampton, VA |
| Jan 29, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Norfolk State | L 71–80 | 4–19 (3–4) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,319) Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 31, 2018 8:00 pm | | Savannah State | L 100–107 | 4–20 (3–5) | Teaching Gym (2,479) Tallahassee, FL |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Howard | L 80–83 $^{OT}$ | 4–21 (3–6) | Burr Gymnasium (2,152) Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 5, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | L 61–62 | 4–22 (3–7) | Hytche Athletic Center (2,077) Princess Anne, MD |
| Feb 10, 2018 6:00 pm | | North Carolina Central | W 65–56 | 5–22 (4–7) | Teaching Gym (1,879) Tallahassee, FL |
| Feb 12, 2018 8:00 pm | | Morgan State | L 48–74 | 5–23 (4–8) | Teaching Gym Tallahassee, FL |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Delaware State | L 63–66 | 6–23 (5–8) | Memorial Hall (854) Dover, DE |
| Feb 24, 2018 6:00 pm | | North Carolina A&T | W 83–77 | 7–23 (6–8) | Teaching Gym (1,458) Tallahassee, FL |
| Feb 26, 2018 8:00 pm | | South Carolina State | W 76–74 | 8–23 (7–8) | Teaching Gym (1,918) Tallahassee, FL |
| Mar 1, 2018 8:00 pm | | Bethune–Cookman | L 77–89 | 8–24 (7–9) | Teaching Gym (5,217) Tallahassee, FL |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 4:00 pm | (9) | vs. (8) Howard First round | W 88–78 | 9–24 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| Mar 7, 2018 6:00 pm | (9) | vs. (1) Hampton Quarterfinals | L 71–75 | 9–25 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||