# 2017–18 Northern State Wolves men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Northern State Wolves men's basketball team represented Northern State University in the 2017-18 NCAA Division II men's basketball season. The Wolves were led by eighth year head coach Paul Sather and played their home games at Wachs Arena in Aberdeen, South Dakota. They competed as members of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. After winning the NSIC tournament, the Wolves received an automatic bid into the 2018 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament. They were berthed with the #2 seed in the regional tournament and beat Minnesota State by a score of 90–83 to win the Central Region Tournament and move on to the Elite Eight. The Elite Eight was held in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The Wolves beat East Stroudsburg and Queens to move on the National Championship game where they lost to the Ferris State Bulldogs by a score of 69–71.

## Previous season

During the previous season, the Wolves finished with a record of 22–8 (17–5 NSIC) and tied for second in the conference.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 10, 2017* 11:00 a.m. | Washburn | W 69–57 | 1–0 | MWSU Auditorium (250) St. Joseph, MO |
| November 12, 2017* 12:00 a.m. | Northwest Missouri State | L 60–71 | 1–1 | MWSU Auditorium (403) St. Joseph, MO |
| November 15, 2017* 7:30 p.m. | Southwest Minnesota State | W 81–68 | 2–1 | R/A Facility (1443) Marshall, MN |
| November 17, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | Jamestown | W 67–60 | 3–1 | Wachs Arena (3022) Aberdeen, SD |
| November 20, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | Black Hills State | W 68–46 | 4–1 | Wachs Arena (2457) Aberdeen, SD |
| November 25, 2017* 12:30 p.m. | Missouri Southern | W 81–68 | 5–1 | Sanford Pentagon (827) Sioux Falls, SD |
| November 26, 2017* 5:30 p.m. | NYIT | W 79–51 | 6–1 | Sanford Pentagon (142) Sioux Falls, SD |
| NSIC regular season ||||||
| December 1, 2017 8:00 p.m. | Minot State | W 86–60 | 7–1 (1–0) | Minot State Dome (671) Minot, ND |
| December 2, 2017 6:00 p.m. | UMary | W 75–66 | 8–1 (2–0) | McDowell Activity Center (849) Bismarck, ND |
| December 8, 2017 8:00 p.m. | Bemidji State | W 75–54 | 9–1 (3–0) | Wachs Arena (3320) Aberdeen, SD |
| December 9, 2017 6:00 p.m. | Minnesota Crookston | W 76–64 | 10–1 (4–0) | Wachs Arena (2977) Aberdeen, SD |
| December 15, 2017 8:00 p.m. | MSU Moorhead | W 95–74 | 11–1 (5–0) | Wachs Arena (5390) Aberdeen, SD |
| December 19, 2017 8:00 p.m. | MSU Moorhead | W 89–70 | 12–1 (6–0) | Nemzek Fieldhouse (1102) Moorhead, MN |
| December 30, 2017 6:00 p.m. | Concordia–St. Paul | W 84–71 | 13–1 (7–0) | Gangelhoff Center (742) St. Paul, MN |
| December 31, 2017 4:00 p.m. | Minnesota State | W 87–84 | 14–1 (8–0) | Taylor Center (972) Mankato, MN |
| January 5, 2018 8:00 p.m. | UMary | W 71–55 | 15–1 (9–0) | Wachs Arena (3471) Aberdeen, SD |
| January 6, 2018 6:00 p.m. | Minot State | W 75–56 | 16–1 (10–0) | Wachs Arena (3381) Aberdeen, SD |
| January 12, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Wayne State | W 71–69 | 17–1 (11–0) | Wachs Arena (3711) Aberdeen, SD |
| January 13, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Augustana | W 89–78 | 18–1 (12–0) | Wachs Arena (3711) Aberdeen, SD |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| January 15, 2018* 8:00 p.m. | Presentation College | W 111–73 | 19–1 | Wachs Arena (2481) Aberdeen, SD |
| NSIC regular season ||||||
| January 19, 2018 8:00 p.m. | St. Cloud State | L 61–76 | 19–2 (12–1) | Halenbeck Hall (1327) St. Cloud, MN |
| January 20, 2018 6:00 p.m. | Minnesota Duluth | W 92–71 | 20–2 (13–1) | Romano Gymnasium (808) Duluth, MN |
| January 26, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Sioux Falls | W 97–76 | 21–2 (14–1) | Wachs Arena (5523) Aberdeen, SD |
| January 27, 2018 6:00 p.m. | Southwest Minnesota State | L 57–64 | 21–3 (14–2) | Wachs Arena (5844) Aberdeen, SD |
| February 2, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Upper Iowa | W 93–80 | 22–3 (15–2) | Dorman Memorial Gymnasium Fayette, IA |
| February 3, 2018 6:00 p.m. | Winona State | W 82–64 | 23–3 (16–2) | McCown Gymnasium (1012) Winona, MN |
| February 9, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Minnesota Crookston | W 81–50 | 24–3 (17–2) | Lysaker Gymnasium (799) Crookston, MN |
| February 10, 2018 6:00 p.m. | Bemidji State | W 104–76 | 25–3 (18–2) | BSU Gymnasium (448) Bemidji, MN |
| February 16, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Minnesota Duluth | W 65–46 | 26–3 (19–2) | Wachs Arena (3597) Aberdeen, SD |
| February 17, 2018 6:00 p.m. | St. Cloud State | W 83–63 | 27–3 (20–2) | Wachs Arena (4107) Aberdeen, SD |
| NSIC Tournament ||||||
| February 21, 2018 8:00 p.m. | Concordia–St. Paul | W 80–52 | 28–3 | Wachs Arena (1411) Aberdeen, SD |
| February 24, 2018 12:00 p.m. | Minnesota Duluth | W 75–62 | 29–3 | Sanford Pentagon (512) Sioux Falls, SD |
| February 26, 2018 12:00 p.m. | Minnesota State | W 79–78 | 30–3 | Sanford Pentagon (553) Sioux Falls, SD |
| February 27, 2018 5:00 p.m. | Southwest Minnesota State | W 81–75 | 31–3 | Sanford Pentagon (1652) Sioux Falls, SD |
| NCAA Central Regional ||||||
| March 10, 2018 2:15 p.m. | Washburn | W 91–75 | 32–3 | Bearcat Arena (790) Maryville, MO |
| March 11, 2018 5:00 p.m. | St. Cloud State | W 68–61 | 33–3 | Bearcat Arena (609) Maryville, MO |
| March 13, 2018 7:00 p.m. | Minnesota State | W 90–83 | 34–3 | Bearcat Arena (839) Maryville, MO |
| Elite Eight ||||||
| March 20, 2018 8:30 p.m. | East Stroudsburg | W 79–71 | 35–3 | Sanford Pentagon (3167) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 22, 2018 8:30 p.m. | Queens | W 105–99 | 36–3 | Sanford Pentagon (3197) Sioux Falls, SD |
| March 24, 2018 2:00 p.m. | Ferris State | L 69–71 | 36–4 | Sanford Pentagon (3538) Sioux Falls, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||