# 2017–18 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team represented Canisius College during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Griffins, led by second-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon, played their home games at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 21–11, 15–3 in MAAC play to finish in a share for the MAAC regular season title with Rider. It was their first conference regular season title since 1994. As the No. 2 seed at the MAAC tournament, they were upset by in the quarterfinals by No. 7 seed Quinnipiac. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they lost in the first round to Jacksonville State.

## Previous season

The Golden Griffins finished the 2016–17 season 18–16, 10–10 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Marist in the first round of the MAAC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Saint Peter's. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Samford.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | L 75–80 | 0–1 | Alumni Arena (3,279) Amherst, NY |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Air Force Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase | L 79–93 | 0–2 | Clune Arena (1,002) Colorado Springs, CO |
| Nov 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Youngstown State | W 104–84 | 1–2 | Koessler Athletic Center (1,245) Buffalo, NY |
| Nov 21, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Tennessee State | L 52–60 | 1–3 | Gentry Complex (801) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 24, 2017* 11:30 pm | | vs. Texas State Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase | W 68–62 | 2–3 | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,349) Stockton, CA |
| Nov 25, 2017* 11:30 pm | | vs. Arkansas–Pine Bluff Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase | W 81–58 | 3–3 | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,325) Stockton, CA |
| Nov 26, 2017* 6:00 pm | | at Pacific Men Against Breast Cancer Showcase | L 58–80 | 3–4 | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,150) Stockton, CA |
| Dec 2, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Dartmouth | W 73–60 | 4–4 | Koessler Athletic Center (906) Buffalo, NY |
| Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | St. Bonaventure | L 65–73 | 4–5 | Koessler Athletic Center (2,196) Buffalo, NY |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 58–65 | 4–6 | Ford Center (3,363) Evansville, IN |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Albany | L 65–68 | 4–7 | SEFCU Arena (2,441) Albany, NY |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Elon | W 67–51 | 5–7 | Koessler Athletic Center (805) Buffalo, NY |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Robert Morris | W 76–62 | 6–7 | Palumbo Center (843) Pittsburgh, PA |
| MAAC regular season ||||||
| Dec 29, 2017 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Rider | W 77–76 | 7–7 (1–0) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,049) Buffalo, NY |
| Dec 31, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Iona | W 85–78 | 8–7 (2–0) | Koessler Athletic Center (969) Buffalo, NY |
| Jan 5, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Quinnipiac | W 82–74 | 9–7 (3–0) | TD Bank Sports Center (1,355) Hamden, CT |
| Jan 7, 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Siena | L 62–65 | 9–8 (3–1) | Times Union Center (6,114) Albany, NY |
| Jan 12, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Saint Peter's | W 70–58 | 10–8 (4–1) | Koessler Athletic Center (764) Buffalo, NY |
| Jan 14, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Monmouth | W 94–79 | 11–8 (5–1) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,136) Buffalo, NY |
| Jan 19, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Manhattan | W 68–59 | 12–8 (6–1) | Draddy Gymnasium (1,344) Riverdale, NY |
| Jan 21, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Iona | W 84–82 | 13–8 (7–1) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,567) New Rochelle, NY |
| Jan 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Niagara Battle of the Bridge | L 89–105 | 13–9 (7–2) | Koessler Athletic Center (2,196) Buffalo, NY |
| Feb 2, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Marist | W 73–67 | 14–9 (8–2) | McCann Field House (1,147) Poughkeepsie, NY |
| Feb 4, 2018 2:00 pm | | at Saint Peter's | W 73–58 | 15–9 (9–2) | Yanitelli Center (454) Jersey City, NJ |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Siena | W 89–65 | 16–9 (10–2) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,512) Buffalo, NY |
| Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Quinnipiac | W 71–64 | 17–9 (11–2) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,239) Buffalo, NY |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fairfield | W 81–63 | 18–9 (12–2) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,011) Buffalo, NY |
| Feb 16, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Monmouth | W 78–60 | 19–9 (13–2) | OceanFirst Bank Center (2,854) West Long Branch, NJ |
| Feb 18, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Rider | L 82–83 | 19–10 (13–3) | Alumni Gymnasium (1,650) Lawrenceville, NJ |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Niagara Battle of the Bridge | W 95–88 | 20–10 (14–3) | Gallagher Center (2,311) Lewiston, NY |
| Feb 25, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Marist | W 98–74 | 21–10 (15–3) | Koessler Athletic Center (2,033) Buffalo, NY |
| MAAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 2, 2018 9:30 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (7) Quinnipiac Quarterfinals | L 69–72 | 21–11 | Times Union Center (2,096) Albany, NY |
| CBI ||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville State First round | L 78–80 $^{OT}$ | 21–12 | Koessler Athletic Center (870) Buffalo, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||