# 2017–18 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Davidson Wildcats men's basketball team represented Davidson College during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by 29th-year head coach Bob McKillop and played their home games at the John M. Belk Arena in Davidson, North Carolina as fourth-year members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 13–5 in the A-10 to finish in third place. In the A-10 tournament they defeated Saint Louis, St. Bonaventure, and Rhode Island to be A-10 Tournament champions. They received the A-10's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Kentucky.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 17–15, 8–10 in A-10 play to finish in ninth place. In the A-10 tournament, they defeated La Salle and Dayton to advance to the tournament semifinals where they lost to Rhode Island.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jack Gibbs | 12 | G | 6'0" | 195 | Senior | Westerville, OH | Graduated |
| Kamau Faines | 13 | G | 6'2" | 200 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Manu Giamoukis | 31 | G | 6'1" | 200 | Senior | Thessaloniki, Greece | Graduated |
| Connor Perkey | 34 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Andrew McAuliffe | 40 | F | 6'8" | 260 | Senior | Northbrook, IL | Graduated |

### 2017 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kellan Grady #42 PG | West Roxbury, MA | Northfield Mt. Hermon School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Apr 12, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 81 ||||||
| Carter Collins PG | Chapel Hill, NC | East Chapel Hill High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | N/A | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| Luke Frampton SG | Poca, WV | Poca High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 27, 2017. ||||||
Source

## Preseason

In a poll of the league's head coaches and select media members at the conference's media day, the Wildcats were picked to finish in sixth place in the A-10. Senior forward Peyton Aldridge was named to the conference's preseason first team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 3, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Hampden–Sydney | W 106–55 | | John M. Belk Arena (2,864) Davidson, NC |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Charleston Southern | W 110–62 | 1–0 | John M. Belk Arena (3,705) Davidson, NC |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | UNC Wilmington | W 108–81 | 2–0 | John M. Belk Arena (3,252) Davidson, NC |
| Nov 21, 2017* 10:00 pm, ATTSN | | at Nevada | L 68–81 | 2–1 | Lawlor Events Center (8,225) Reno, NV |
| Nov 25, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Appalachian State | L 62–79 | 2–2 | Holmes Center (1,216) Boone, NC |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, Stadium | | at Charlotte | W 85–70 | 3–2 | Dale F. Halton Arena (4,418) Charlotte, NC |
| Dec 1, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 13 North Carolina Charlotte Showcase | L 75–85 | 3–3 | Spectrum Center (11,395) Charlotte, NC |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm | | VMI | W 74–51 | 4–3 | John M. Belk Arena Davidson, NC |
| Dec 16, 2017* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at No. 16 Virginia | L 60–80 | 4–4 | John Paul Jones Arena (13,910) Charlottesville, VA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 11:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. New Mexico State Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals | L 68–69 | 4–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (7,669) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 24, 2017* 12:30 am, ESPNU | | at Hawaii Diamond Head Classic consolation round | L 71–79 | 4–6 | Stan Sheriff Center (5,946) Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 25, 2017* 12:30pm, ESPNU | | vs. Akron Diamond Head Classic 7th place game | W 91–78 | 5–6 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,698) Honolulu, HI |
| A-10 regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 4:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Richmond | L 58–69 | 5–7 (0–1) | Robins Center (6,560) Richmond, VA |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm | | Saint Louis | W 54–51 | 6–7 (1–1) | John M. Belk Arena (3,140) Davidson, NC |
| Jan 7, 2018 12:00 pm, NBCSN | | at George Mason | W 86–59 | 7–7 (2–1) | EagleBank Arena (3,023) Fairfax, VA |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | George Washington | W 72–45 | 8–7 (3–1) | John M. Belk Arena (3,310) Davidson, NC |
| Jan 14, 2018 3:00 pm, NBCSN | | at Fordham | W 75–45 | 9–7 (4–1) | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,734) Bronx, NY |
| Jan 19, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | St. Bonaventure | W 83–73 | 10–7 (5–1) | John M. Belk Arena (4,305) Davidson, NC |
| Jan 23, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Dayton | L 64–65 | 10–8 (5–2) | UD Arena (13,173) Dayton, OH |
| Jan 28, 2018 2:00 pm, NBCSN | | Richmond | L 63–66 | 10–9 (5–3) | John M. Belk Arena (4,412) Davidson, NC |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium | | La Salle | W 84–65 | 11–9 (6–3) | John M. Belk Arena (3,248) Davidson, NC |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | at George Washington | W 87–58 | 12–9 (7–3) | Charles E. Smith Center (4,018) Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 6, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Saint Joseph's | W 91–62 | 13–9 (8–3) | John M. Belk Arena (3,134) Davidson, NC |
| Feb 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 18 Rhode Island | L 59–72 | 13–10 (8–4) | Ryan Center (7,743) Kingston, RI |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at VCU | W 74–63 | 14–10 (9–4) | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Feb 17, 2018 7:00 pm | | Massachusetts | W 83–78 | 15–10 (10–4) | John M. Belk Arena (4,202) Davidson, NC |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm | | Fordham | W 76–52 | 16–10 (11–4) | John M. Belk Arena (3,212) Davidson, NC |
| Feb 24, 2018 12:00 pm | | at Duquesne | W 71–60 | 17–10 (12–4) | Palumbo Center (2,555) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 27, 2018 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at St. Bonaventure | L 113–117 $^{3OT}$ | 17–11 (12–5) | Reilly Center (4,865) Olean, NY |
| Mar 2, 2018 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 17 Rhode Island | W 63–61 | 18–11 (13–5) | John M. Belk Arena (4,442) Davidson, NC |
| A-10 tournament ||||||
| Mar 9, 2018 8:30 pm, NBCSN | (3) | vs. (6) Saint Louis Quarterfinals | W 78–60 | 19–11 | Capital One Arena (7,664) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 10, 2018 3:30 pm, CBSSN | (3) | vs. (2) Saint Bonaventure Semifinals | W 83–70 | 20–11 | Capital One Arena (8,756) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 11, 2018 1:00 pm, CBS | (3) | vs. (1) No. 25 Rhode Island Championship | W 58–57 | 21–11 | Capital One Arena (7,643) Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 2018* 7:10 pm, CBS | (12 S) | vs. (5 S) No. 18 Kentucky First Round | L 73–78 | 21–12 | Taco Bell Arena (11,673) Boise, ID |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||