# 2017–18 Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by third-year head coach Dan McHale, played their home games at McBrayer Arena within Alumni Coliseum as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 5–13 in OVC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They failed to make the OVC tournament for the third consecutive season.
On February 26, 2018, the school fired Dan McHale as head coach after three seasons. He finished at EKU with a three-year record of 38–55. On March 23, NC State assistant A.W. Hamilton was hired as the new head coach of the Colonels.

## Previous season

The Colonels finished the season 12–19, 5–11 in OVC play to finish in last place in the East Division. They failed to qualify for the Ohio Valley tournament.

## Preseason

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors, Eastern Kentucky was picked to finish fourth. Asante Gist was named to the preseason All-OVC team.
After five years of divisional play in the OVC, the conference eliminated divisions for the 2017–18 season. Additionally, for the first time, each conference team will play 18 conference games.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| Nov 3, 2017* 7:00 pm | Georgetown College | W 91–69 | | McBrayer Arena (2,300) Richmond, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm | at Rice MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game | W 73–72 | 1–0 | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,001) Houston, TX |
| Nov 13, 2017* 6:30 pm, SECN+ | at Ole Miss MGM Resorts Main Event campus-site game | L 75–85 | 1–1 | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,042) Oxford, MS |
| Nov 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | Kentucky State | W 97–66 | 2–1 | McBrayer Arena (3,100) Richmond, KY |
| Nov 20, 2017* 2:00 pm | vs. Prairie View A&M MGM Resorts Main Event Middleweight semifinals | L 70–80 | 2–2 | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| Nov 22, 2017* 2:00 pm | vs. Eastern Washington MGM Resorts Main Event Middleweight 3rd place game | L 62–83 | 2–3 | T-Mobile Arena Paradise, NV |
| Nov 25, 2017* 5:00 pm | Asbury | W 99–71 | 3–3 | McBrayer Arena (1,150) Richmond, KY |
| Nov 29, 2017* 8:00 pm, Stadium | at WKU | L 51–83 | 3–4 | E.A. Diddle Arena (5,532) Bowling Green, KY |
| Dec 2, 2017* 6:00 pm | Jacksonville | W 70–65 $^{OT}$ | 4–4 | McBrayer Arena (1,310) Richmond, KY |
| Dec 5, 2017* 10:00 pm, P12N | at Oregon State | L 62–74 | 4–5 | Gill Coliseum (3,571) Corvallis, OR |
| Dec 10, 2017* 6:00 pm, CW Cincinnati | at Northern Kentucky | L 63–91 | 4–6 | BB&T Arena (3,622) Highland Heights, KY |
| Dec 15, 2017* 7:30 pm | at Charleston Southern | W 70–65 | 5–6 | CSU Field House (556) North Charleston, SC |
| Dec 18, 2017* 6:00 pm | Norfolk State | W 83–66 | 6–6 | McBrayer Arena (1,210) Richmond, KY |
| Dec 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | at Marshall | L 71–91 | 6–7 | Cam Henderson Center (5,218) Huntington, WV |
| Ohio Valley Conference regular season |||||
| Dec 28, 2017 8:30 pm | at Jacksonville State | L 58–76 | 6–8 (0–1) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,137) Jacksonville, AL |
| Dec 30, 2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | at Tennessee Tech | L 69–77 | 6–9 (0–2) | Eblen Center (2,596) Cookeville, TN |
| Jan 4, 2018 8:00 pm | SIU Edwardsville | L 82–85 | 6–10 (0–3) | McBrayer Arena (1,120) Richmond, KY |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | Eastern Illinois | L 53–54 | 6–11 (0–4) | McBrayer Arena (1,200) Richmond, KY |
| Jan 11, 2018 8:30 pm | at UT Martin | W 78–70 | 7–11 (1–4) | Skyhawk Arena (1,576) Martin, TN |
| Jan 13, 2018 5:15 pm | at Southeast Missouri State | W 91–86 | 8–11 (2–4) | Show Me Center (1,206) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Jan 18, 2018 8:00 pm | Tennessee Tech | L 67–70 | 8–12 (2–5) | McBrayer Arena (1,590) Richmond, KY |
| Jan 20, 2018 7:00 pm | Jacksonville State | L 60–68 | 8–13 (2–6) | McBrayer Arena (60–68) Richmond, KY |
| Jan 25, 2018 8:30 pm | at Austin Peay | L 84–90 | 8–14 (2–7) | Dunn Center (2,326) Clarksville, TN |
| Jan 27, 2018 8:00 pm | at Murray State | L 73–88 | 8–15 (2–8) | CFSB Center (4,070) Murray, KY |
| Feb 1, 2018 8:00 pm | Belmont | L 63–98 | 8–16 (2–9) | McBrayer Arena (1,620) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 3, 2018 7:00 pm | Tennessee State | L 60–73 | 8–17 (2–10) | McBrayer Arena (1,680) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 8, 2018 8:00 pm | UT Martin | L 69–70 | 8–18 (2–11) | McBrayer Arena (1,120) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm | Morehead State | W 75–73 | 9–18 (3–11) | McBrayer Arena (2,620) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 15, 2018 8:00 pm | at Belmont | L 73–84 | 9–19 (3–12) | Curb Event Center (2,812) Nashville, TN |
| Feb 17, 2018 8:30 pm | at Tennessee State | W 72–59 | 10–19 (4–12) | Gentry Complex (2,255) Nashville, TN |
| Feb 22, 2018 8:00 pm | Southeast Missouri State | W 91–88 | 11–19 (5–12) | McBrayer Arena (1,840) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 24, 2018 2:00 pm | at Morehead State | L 66–70 | 11–20 (5–13) | Ellis Johnson Arena (3,947) Morehead, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||
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