# 2017–18 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by fifth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 19–13, 10–8 to finish in third place in the MAC West division. They lost in the quarterfinals of the MAC tournament to Kent State.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2016–17 season 21–13, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in a tie for the West Division championship. They lost to Akron in the semifinals of the MAC tournament. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost to Fort Wayne in the first round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 6, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Saint Francis (IN) | W 91–67 | | Worthen Arena (1,536) Muncie, IN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, Spectrum Sports | | at Dayton | W 78–77 | 0–1 | UD Arena (13,350) Dayton, OH |
| Nov 15, 2017* 8:00 pm, FSOK+ | | at Oklahoma | W 108–69 | 0–2 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,242) Norman, OK |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stony Brook | W 87–76 | 1–2 | Worthen Arena (3,502) Muncie, IN |
| Nov 19, 2017* 9:00 pm, P12N | | at Oregon | L 71–95 | 1–3 | Matthew Knight Arena (6,916) Eugene, OR |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Bucknell | L 83–87 | 1–4 | Sojka Pavilion (2,217) Lewisburg, PA |
| Nov 25, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | W 93–85 | 2–4 | Hulman Center (3,274) Terre Haute, IN |
| Nov 28, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Oakland City | W 81–57 | 3–4 | Worthen Arena (2,410) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 2, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | W 83–64 | 4–4 | Worthen Arena (3,505) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at No. 9 Notre Dame | W 80–77 | 5–4 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,891) South Bend, IN |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 71–70 | 6–4 | Worthen Arena (5,009) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida | W 79–65 | 7–4 | Worthen Arena (3,018) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jackson State | W 70–54 | 8–4 | Worthen Arena (3,129) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida A&M | W 76–54 | 9–4 | Worthen Arena (2,902) Muncie, IN |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 72–62 | 10–4 (1–0) | Worthen Arena (3,025) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 6, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | L 63–83 | 10–5 (1–1) | Worthen Arena (3,622) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 9, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | W 75–68 | 11–5 (2–1) | Worthen Arena (4,892) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | L 58–73 | 11–6 (2–2) | University Arena (5,421) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Jan 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | W 82–76 | 12–6 (3–2) | Worthen Arena (3,702) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 20, 2018 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | L 53–71 | 12–7 (3–3) | Millett Hall (1,023) Oxford, OH |
| Jan 23, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kent State | L 80–88 $^{OT}$ | 12–8 (3–4) | MAC Center (2,430) Kent, OH |
| Jan 27, 2018 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Akron | W 111–106 $^{2OT}$ | 13–8 (4–4) | Worthen Arena (3,867) Muncie, IN |
| Jan 30, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | W 75–63 | 14–8 (5–4) | Savage Arena (4,227) Toledo, OH |
| Feb 3, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan | L 41–58 | 14–9 (5–5) | Convocation Center (1,517) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Feb 6, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 59–56 | 15–9 (6–5) | Worthen Arena (3,245) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 9, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Kent State | W 87–68 | 16–9 (7–5) | Worthen Arena (4,105) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 13, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Akron | W 90–77 | 17–9 (8–5) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,543) Akron, OH |
| Feb 17, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toledo | W 99–71 | 18–9 (9–5) | Worthen Arena (4,824) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 77–68 | 19–9 (10–5) | Worthen Arena (3,745) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 23, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Western Michigan | L 80–87 | 19–10 (10–6) | Worthen Arena (5,924) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | L 51–75 | 19–11 (10–7) | McGuirk Arena (1,913) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Mar 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | L 65–66 | 19–12 (10–8) | Convocation Center (1,007) DeKalb, IL |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) Kent State Quarterfinals | L 73–76 | 19–13 | Quicken Loans Arena (2,023) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||