# 2017–18 Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball team

The 2017–18 Northwestern Wildcats women's basketball team represented Northwestern University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by 10th-year head coach Joe McKeown. They played 15 of their 16 home games, including an exhibition game, at Beardsley Gym on the nearby campus of Evanston Township High School, along with a home game at Allstate Arena while their home arena, Welsh-Ryan Arena, undergoes renovations. They were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 12–20, 4–12 in Big Ten play to finish in 11th place. They defeated Wisconsin in the first round of the Big Ten women's tournament before losing to Iowa.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 20–11, 8–8 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They defeated Iowa in the second round of the Big Ten women's tournament before losing to Ohio State. Despite having 20 wins, they were not invited to a postseason tournament first time since 2013.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 05, 2017* 2:00 pm | | UMSL | W 59–40 | | Beardsley Gym (250) Evanston, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Chicago State | W 63–36 | 1–0 | Jones Convocation Center (250) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Oakland | W 88–70 | 2–0 | Beardsley Gym (572) Evanston, IL |
| Nov 18, 2017* 2:00 pm | | at UT Martin | W 71–63 | 3–0 | Skyhawk Arena (1,409) Martin, TN |
| Nov 22, 2017* 1:00 pm | | Santa Clara | W 57–47 | 4–0 | Beardsley Gym (628) Evanston, IL |
| Nov 24, 2017* 5:00 pm | | vs. Chattanooga Challenge in Music City | L 44–61 | 4–1 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (552) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 25, 2017* 5:00 pm | | vs. Auburn Challenge in Music City | W 49–48 | 5–1 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (426) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 26, 2017* 2:00 pm | | vs. Georgetown Challenge in Music City | L 54–55 | 5–2 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (217) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 30, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at Syracuse ACC–Big Ten Women's Challenge | L 74–81 | 5-3 | Carrier Dome (1,167) Syracuse, NY |
| Dec 03, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Milwaukee | L 57–66 | 5–4 | Beardsley Gym (662) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 10, 2017* 12:00 pm | | Stony Brook | W 68–36 | 6–4 | Beardsley Gym (654) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | | DePaul | L 63–92 | 6–5 | Beardsley Gym (636) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 16, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | L 59–90 | 6–6 | JQH Arena (2,121) Springfield, MO |
| Dec 19, 2017* 11:00 am | | No. 21 Green Bay | L 57–63 | 6–7 | Allstate Arena (4,142) Rosemont, IL |
| Dec 22, 2017* 4:00 pm | | Eastern Illinois | W 74–40 | 7–7 | Beardsley Gym (650) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm | | Minnesota | L 63–90 | 7–8 (0–1) | Beardsley Gym (703) Evanston, IL |
| Dec 31, 2017 2:00 pm | | at Illinois | W 74–59 | 8–8 (1–1) | State Farm Center (1,412) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 03, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Michigan State | L 51–81 | 8–9 (1–2) | Breslin Center (6,079) East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 07, 2018 2:00 pm | | Nebraska | L 59–69 | 8–10 (1–3) | Beardsley Gym (850) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm | | Wisconsin | W 69–60 | 9–10 (2–3) | Beardsley Gym (652) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 18, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Purdue | L 60–63 | 9–11 (2–4) | Mackey Arena (5,795) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 21, 2018 4:30 pm, BTN | | at Wisconsin | L 48–56 | 9–12 (2–5) | Kohl Center (5,110) Madison, WI |
| Jan 25, 2018 6:00 pm | | No. 14 Maryland | L 65–68 | 9–13 (2–6) | Beardsley Gym (704) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 28, 2018 2:00 pm | | No. 16 Michigan | L 59–80 | 9–14 (2–7) | Beardsley Gym (1,258) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 04, 2018 11:00 am, BTN | | at Indiana | L 73–78 | 9–15 (2–8) | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (3,786) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 08, 2018 6:00 pm | | at No. 21 Michigan | L 63–84 | 9–16 (2–9) | Crisler Center (2,264) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 11, 2018 2:00 pm | | Iowa | L 61–70 | 9–17 (2–10) | Beardsley Gym (1,363) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 14, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Penn State | L 59–67 | 9–18 (2–11) | Bryce Jordan Center (2,409) University Park, PA |
| Feb 18, 2018 2:00 pm | | Illinois | W 68–61 | 10–18 (3–11) | Beardsley Gym (856) Evanston, IL |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:00 pm | | at No. 14 Ohio State | L 54–88 | 10–19 (3–12) | Value City Arena (4,774) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 25, 2018 2:00 pm | | Rutgers | W 63–50 | 11–19 (4–12) | Beardsley Gym (957) Evanston, IL |
| Big Ten Women's Tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 2018 1:30 pm, RSN | (12) | vs. (13) Wisconsin First Round | W 68–63 | 12–19 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 01, 2018 1:30 pm, RSN | (12) | vs. (5) Iowa Second Round | L 45–55 | 12–20 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Legend :
| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| (RV) | Received Votes |