# 2017–18 Southeastern Louisiana Lions basketball team

The 2017–18 Southeastern Louisiana Lions basketball team represented Southeastern Louisiana University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Lions, led by fourth-year head coach Jay Ladner, played their home games at the University Center in Hammond, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 22–12, 15–3 in Southland play to finish in a tie for the Southland regular season championship with Nicholls State. As the No. 1 seed in the Southland tournament, they defeated Sam Houston State in the semifinals before losing in the championship game to Stephen F. Austin. As a regular season champion, and No. 1 seed in their conference tournament, who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Saint Mary's.

## Previous season

The Lions finished the 2016–17 season 16–16, 9–9 in Southland play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the first round of the Southland tournament to Lamar.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | vs. Jackson State | W 57–51 | | Gulfport High School Gulfport, MS |
| Nov 7, 2017* 7:00 pm | | William Carey | W 80–71 | | University Center Hammond, LA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Centenary | W 99–67 | 1–0 | University Center (717) Hammond, LA |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, CST/ESPN3 | | at Tulane | L 66–89 | 1–1 | Devlin Fieldhouse (1,316) New Orleans, LA |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Louisiana–Monroe | L 75–86 | 1–2 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum (1,602) Monroe, LA |
| Nov 19, 2017* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | L 50–83 | 1–3 | Athletics-Recreation Center (2,651) Valparaiso, IN |
| Nov 21, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | W 70–66 | 2–3 | MAC Center (1,827) Kent, OH |
| Nov 24, 2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. Samford Savannah Invitational | W 77–71 | 3–3 | Pete Hanna Center (561) Homewood, AL |
| Nov 25, 2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. Mississippi Valley State Savannah Invitational | W 73–59 | 4–3 | Pete Hanna Center (137) Birmingham AL |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, CST/ESPN3 | | Loyola New Orleans | W 80–53 | 5–3 | University Center (754) Hammond, LA |
| Dec 12, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UCF | L 53–61 | 5–4 | CFE Arena (3,449) Orlando, FL |
| Dec 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Southern-New Orleans | W 106–77 | 6–4 | University Center (525) Hammond, LA |
| Dec 16, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Grambling State | L 67–68 | 6–5 | University Center (425) Hammond, LA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Louisiana | L 74–82 | 6–6 | Cajundome (3,323) Lafayette, LA |
| Dec 21, 2017* 6:00 pm, ACC Extra | | at Notre Dame | L 50–86 | 6–7 | Joyce Center (7,134) Notre Dame, IN |
| Southland regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm | | Stephen F. Austin | W 73–62 | 7–7 (1–0) | University Center (693) Hammond, LA |
| Dec 31, 2017 3:00 pm | | at Central Arkansas | W 73–69 | 8–7 (2–0) | Farris Center (731) Conway, AR |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Abilene Christian | W 72–70 | 9–7 (3–0) | Moody Coliseum (1,106) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lamar | W 63–58 | 10–7 (4–0) | Montagne Center (1,297) Beaumont, TX |
| Jan 13, 2018 5:00 pm | | McNeese State | L 62–71 | 10–8 (4–1) | University Center (744) Hammond, LA |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm | | Houston Baptist | W 85–69 | 11–8 (5–1) | University Center (762) Hammond, LA |
| Jan 20, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwestern State | W 85–58 | 12–8 (6–1) | University Center (868) Hammond, LA |
| Jan 24, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Sam Houston State | L 65–75 | 12–9 (6–2) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,238) Huntsville, TX |
| Jan 27, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Nicholls State | W 67–63 | 13–9 (7–2) | Stopher Gymnasium (1,131) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, ELVN/ESPN3 | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 67–54 | 13–10 (7–3) | University Center (1,023) Hammond, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 5:00 pm | | Central Arkansas | W 89–84 | 14–10 (8–3) | University Center (769) Hammond, LA |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Incarnate Word | W 86–68 | 15–10 (9–3) | McDermott Convocation Center (601) San Antonio, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 3:30 pm | | at McNeese State | W 74–67 | 16–10 (10–3) | Burton Coliseum (617) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm | | New Orleans | W 71–64 | 17–10 (11–3) | University Center (816) Hammond, LA |
| Feb 17, 2018 5:00 pm | | Abilene Christian | W 68–54 | 18–10 (12–3) | University Center (1,011) Hammond, LA |
| Feb 24, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Northwestern State | W 86–62 | 19–10 (13–3) | Prather Coliseum (1,344) Natchitoches, LA |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm | | at New Orleans | W 68–64 | 20–10 (14–3) | Lakefront Arena (1,182) New Orleans, LA |
| Mar 3, 2018 5:00 pm | | Nicholls State | W 69–57 | 21–10 (15–3) | University Center (1,774) Hammond, LA |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (4) Sam Houston State Semifinals | W 89–79 | 22–10 | Leonard E. Merrell Center (2,545) Katy, TX |
| Mar 10, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (3) Stehphen F. Austin Championship game | L 55–59 | 22–11 | Leonard E. Merrell Center (3,279) Katy, TX |
| NIT ||||||
| Mar 13, 2018* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | (8) | at (1) No. 25 Saint Mary's First round - Saint Mary's Bracket | L 45–89 | 22–12 | McKeon Pavilion (1,249) Moraga, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||