# 2017–18 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by 15th-year head coach Steve Hawkins, played their home games at University Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 17–15, 9–9 in MAC play to finish fourth in the West Division. As the No. 8 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the first round of the conference tournament to Akron.

## Previous season

The Broncos finished the 2016–17 season 16–16, 11–7 in MAC play to tie for first in the West Division. As the No. 5 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to Ball State. They declined invitations from both the CollegeInsider.com and College Basketball Invitational postseason tournaments.

## Offseason
### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| T. J. Clifford PF | Downers Grove, IL | Downers Grove South High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Jul 9, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Michael Flowers PG | Southfield, MI | Southfield High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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: "2017 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 29, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Lourdes | W 106–51 | | University Arena (1,375) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 4, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Kalamazoo | W 87–62 | | University Arena (1,503) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 11, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Siena Heights | W 103–72 | 1–0 | University Arena (1,871) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 13, 2017* 8:00 pm, SECN | | at South Carolina Puerto Rico Tip-Off non-bracket game | W 78–60 | 1–1 | Colonial Life Arena (12,136) Columbia, SC |
| November 16, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPNews | | vs. Tulsa Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals | W 81–74 | 1–2 | HTC Center (704) Conway, SC |
| November 17, 2017* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Appalachian State Puerto Rico Tip-Off consolation 2nd round | W 86–67 | 2–2 | HTC Center (1,827) Conway, SC |
| November 19, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. South Carolina Puerto Rico Tip-Off 5th place game | W 79–66 | 2–3 | HTC Center (1,774) Conway, SC |
| November 25, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwood | W 88–59 | 3–3 | University Arena (1,879) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 28, 2017* 8:00 pm, FSMW | | at Saint Louis | W 65–51 | 4–3 | Chaifetz Arena (5,081) St. Louis, MO |
| December 2, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Oakland | W 78–73 | 4–4 | University Arena (2,418) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cleveland State | W 78–67 | 5–4 | University Arena (1,923) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Detroit | W 87–79 | 6–4 | Calihan Hall (1,307) Detroit, MI |
| December 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Idaho | W 83–52 | 6–5 | University Arena (1,645) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 22, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Milwaukee | W 66–63 | 7–5 | UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,115) Milwaukee, WI |
| December 30, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chicago State | W 92–71 | 8–5 | University Arena (2,364) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| January 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | W 87–75 | 9–5 (1–0) | University Arena (2,110) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 6, 2018 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | W 67–62 | 10–5 (2–0) | Millett Hall (3,809) Oxford, OH |
| January 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | W 84–61 | 10–6 (2–1) | Savage Arena (3,594) Toledo, OH |
| January 13, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 73–58 | 11–6 (3–1) | University Arena (2,733) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | W 73–71 | 11–7 (3–2) | MAC Center (2,585) Kent, OH |
| January 19, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Buffalo | W 84–74 | 11–8 (3–3) | University Arena (2,548) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toledo | W 85–81 | 11–9 (3–4) | University Arena (2,014) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 27, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 79–72 | 12–9 (4–4) | University Arena (3,116) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 71–57 | 13–9 (5–4) | Convocation Center (2,422) Ypsilanti, MI |
| February 2, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Buffalo | W 92–86 | 13–10 (5–5) | Alumni Arena (6,670) Amherst, NY |
| February 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | W 68–64 | 14–10 (6–5) | University Arena (1,878) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 10, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | W 69–60 | 15–10 (7–5) | University Arena (2,707) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 13, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | W 83–81 | 15–11 (7–6) | Stroh Center (1,421) Bowling Green, OH |
| February 17, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | L 67–75 | 15–12 (7–7) | Convocation Center (1,743) DeKalb, IL |
| February 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 83–81 $^{OT}$ | 16–12 (8–7) | University Arena (2,895) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Ball State | W 87–80 | 17–12 (9–7) | Worthen Arena (5,924) Muncie, IN |
| February 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 58–74 | 17–13 (9–8) | University Arena (2,610) Kalamazoo, MI |
| March 3, 2018 11:00 am | | vs. Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 84–71 | 17–14 (9–9) | Riepma Arena (150) Midland, MI |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| March 5, 2018 7:45 pm, ESPN3 | (6) | (11) Akron First round | W 79–78 | 17–15 | University Arena (897) Kalamazoo, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Zone. ||||||