# 2017–18 Central Arkansas Bears basketball team

The 2017–18 Central Arkansas Bears basketball team represented the University of Central Arkansas during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by fourth-year head coach Russ Pennell and played their home games at the Farris Center in Conway, Arkansas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 18–17, 10–8 in Southland play to finish in seventh place. They defeated Lamar in the first round of the Southland tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Stephen F. Austin. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Seattle before losing in the quarterfinals to Jacksonville State.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2016–17 season 8–24, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Southland tournament to Sam Houston State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| 10 Nov 2017* 12:00 pm, FSSW | | at No. 24 Baylor | L 66–107 | 0–1 | Ferrell Center (7,791) Waco, TX |
| 12 Nov 2017* 4:00 pm | | University of the Ozarks | W 99–51 | 1–1 | Farris Center (685) Conway, AR |
| 15 Nov 2017* 10:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 23 UCLA | L 101–106 $^{OT}$ | 1–2 | Pauley Pavilion (6,782) Los Angeles, CA |
| 19 Nov 2017* 1:00 pm | | Alcorn State | W 102–76 | 2–2 | Farris Center (542) Conway, AR |
| 21 Nov 2017* 6:50 pm | | at South Carolina State | W 73–64 | 3–2 | SHM Memorial Center (254) Orangeburg, SC |
| 25 Nov 2017* 11:00 pm | | at Tulsa | L 72–92 | 3–3 | Reynolds Center (3,259) Tulsa, OK |
| 27 Nov 2017* 7:00 pm | | Morehead State | W 82–78 | 4–3 | Farris Center (715) Conway, AR |
| 29 Nov 2017* 6:30 pm | | at Little Rock | L 65–71 | 4–4 | Jack Stephens Center (3,189) Little Rock, AR |
| 4 Dec 2017* 9:00 pm | | at San Francisco | L 76–78 | 4–5 | War Memorial Gym (1,087) San Francisco, CA |
| 6 Dec 2017* 9:00 pm, P12N | | at California | W 96–69 | 5–5 | Haas Pavilion (7,813) Berkeley, CA |
| 9 Dec 2017* 7:00 pm | | Little Rock | W 69–54 | 6–5 | Farris Center (2,412) Conway, AR |
| 17 Dec 2017* 1:00 pm | | at Morehead State | L 94–98 $^{OT}$ | 6–6 | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,208) Morehead, KY |
| 20 Dec 2017* 10:00 pm, P12N | | at Oregon | L 82–96 | 6–7 | Matthew Knight Arena (6,908) Eugene, OR |
| Southland regular season ||||||
| 28 Dec 2017 1:00 pm | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 81–69 | 7–7 (1–0) | Farris Center (548) Conway, AR |
| 31 Dec 2017 3:00 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana | L 69–73 | 7–7 (1–1) | Farris Center (731) Conway, AR |
| 3 Jan 2018 6:30 pm | | at Sam Houston State | L 76–82 | 7–9 (1–2) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (599) Huntsville, TX |
| 6 Jan 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lamar | W 100–91 $^{2OT}$ | 8–9 (2–2) | Montagne Center (1,478) Beaumont, TX |
| 10 Jan 2018 7:00 pm | | Incarnate Word | W 92–76 | 9–9 (3–2) | Farris Center (1,156) Conway, AR |
| 13 Jan 2018 4:00 pm | | at Nicholls State | L 79–86 | 9–10 (3–3) | Stopher Gymnasium (315) Thibodaux, LA |
| 17 Jan 2018 7:00 pm | | at New Orleans | W 81–57 | 10–10 (4–3) | Lakefront Arena (471) New Orleans, LA |
| 20 Jan 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Abilene Christian | L 63–80 | 10–11 (4–4) | Farris Center (1,317) Conway, AR |
| 24 Jan 2018 7:00 pm | | Stephen F. Austin | W 100–92 | 11–11 (5–4) | Farris Center (2,225) Conway, AR |
| 27 Jan 2018 3:00 pm | | at Northwestern State | W 95–78 | 12–11 (6–4) | Prather Coliseum (1,920) Natchitoches, LA |
| 3 Feb 2018 5:00 pm | | at Southeastern Louisiana | W 89–84 | 12–12 (6–5) | University Center (769) Hammond, LA |
| 7 Feb 2018 7:00 pm | | at Houston Baptist | W 100–80 | 13–12 (7–5) | Sharp Gymnasium (532) Houston, TX |
| 14 Feb 2018 7:00 pm | | McNeese State | L 72–76 | 13–13 (7–6) | Farris Center (873) Conway, AR |
| 17 Feb 2018 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Nicholls State | L 83–87 | 13–14 (7–7) | Farris Center (2,912) Conway, AR |
| 21 Feb 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 62–97 | 13–15 (7–8) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,012) Nacogdoches, TX |
| 24 Feb 2018 4:00 pm | | at Abilene Christian | W 74–72 | 14–15 (8–8) | Moody Coliseum (1,450) Abilene, TX |
| 28 Feb 2018 7:00 pm | | Sam Houston State | W 88–70 | 15–15 (9–8) | Farris Center (1,312) Conway, AR |
| 3 Mar 2018 3:00 pm | | Northwestern State | W 61–58 | 16–15 (10–8) | Farris Center (1,835) Conway, AR |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| 7 Mar 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | vs. (6) Lamar First round | W 67–57 | 17–15 | Leonard E. Merrill Center (970) Katy, TX |
| 8 Mar 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | vs. (3) Stephen F. Austin Quarterfinals | L 64–86 | 17–16 | Leonard E. Merrill Center (1,839) Katy, TX |
| CBI ||||||
| 14 Mar 2018* 9:00 pm | | at Seattle First round | W 92–90 $^{OT}$ | 18–16 | Connolly Center (639) Seattle, WA |
| 19 Mar 2018* 5:30 pm | | Jacksonville State Quarterfinals | L 59–80 | 18–17 | Farris Center (2,570) Conway, AR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||