# 2017–18 New Orleans Privateers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 New Orleans Privateers men's basketball team represented the University of New Orleans during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Privateers were led by seventh-year head coach Mark Slessinger and played their home games at Lakefront Arena as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 11–7 in Southland play to finish in a tie for fifth place. As the No. 5 seed in the Southland tournament, they defeated Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in the first round before losing to Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Texas–Rio Grande Valley in the first round and received a second round bye before losing in the quarterfinals to Campbell.

## Previous season

The Privateers finished the 2016–17 season 20–12, 13–5 in Southland play to win the regular season Southland championship. They defeated Sam Houston State and Texas A&M–Corpus Christi to win the Southland Conference tournament. As a result, they earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the First Four to Mount St. Mary's.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 25, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Huntingdon | W 94–71 | | Lakefront Arena (652) New Orleans, LA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 6:00 pm, FCS | | at St. John's | L 61–77 | 0–1 | Carnesecca Arena (4,921) Queens, NY |
| Nov 13, 2017* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Oakland | L 68–87 | 0–2 | Athletics Center O'rena (2,944) Rochester, MI |
| Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Memphis | L 52–63 | 0–3 | FedEx Forum (7,224) Memphis, TN |
| Nov 24, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Spring Hill | W 74–67 | 1–3 | Lakefront Arena (532) New Orleans, LA |
| Nov 26, 2017* 3:05 pm | | at South Alabama | L 52–55 | 1–4 | Mitchell Center (1,548) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Houston | L 66–75 | 1–5 | H&PE Arena (2,586) Houston, TX |
| Dec 2, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Williams Baptist | W 87–70 | 2–5 | Lakefront Arena (302) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 13, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at SMU | L 66–79 | 2–6 | Moody Coliseum (6,512) Dallas, TX |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Louisiana | L 65–87 | 2–7 | Cajundome (3,445) Lafayette, LA |
| Dec 18, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Oklahoma Panhandle State | W 107–59 | 3–7 | Lakefront Arena (418) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at UAB | L 67–74 | 3–8 | Bartow Arena (3,229) Birmingham, AL |
| Southland regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 2018 7:00 pm | | Abilene Christian | W 77–74 | 4–8 (1–0) | Lakefront Arena (528) New Orleans, LA |
| Dec 30, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Houston Baptist | W 64–57 | 5–8 (2–0) | Sharp Gym (602) Houston, TX |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm | | Lamar | W 72–62 | 6–8 (3–0) | Lakefront Arena (513) New Orleans, LA |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:30 pm | | at McNeese State | W 82–75 $^{OT}$ | 7–8 (4–0) | Burton Coliseum (913) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 68–78 | 7–9 (4–1) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (4,173) Nacogdoches, TX |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:15 pm | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 61–55 | 8–9 (5–1) | Lakefront Arena (731) New Orleans, LA |
| Jan 17, 2018 7:00 pm | | Central Arkansas | L 57–81 | 8–10 (5–2) | Lakefront Arena (471) New Orleans, LA |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:15 pm | | Incarnate Word | W 74–70 | 9–10 (6–2) | Lakefront Arena (1,407) New Orleans, LA |
| Jan 24, 2018 6:30 pm | | at Northwestern State | W 73–67 | 10–10 (7–2) | Prather Coliseum (1,522) Natchitoches, LA |
| Jan 27, 2018 3:00 pm | | at Incarnate Word | W 68–58 | 11–10 (8–2) | McDermott Convocation Center (1,394) San Antonio, TX |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm | | Northwestern State | W 82–64 | 12–10 (9–2) | Lakefront Arena (731) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:15 pm | | Nicholls State | L 64–81 | 12–11 (9–3) | Lakefront Arena (2,103) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 62–53 | 13–11 (10–3) | American Bank Center (3,317) Corpus Christi, TX |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 64–71 | 13–12 (10–4) | University Center (816) Hammond, LA |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:15 pm | | McNeese State | W 90–74 | 14–12 (11–4) | Lakefront Arena (1,571) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:30 pm | | at Sam Houston State | L 54–57 | 14–13 (11–5) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,043) Huntsville, TX |
| Feb 24, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Nicholls State | L 64–78 | 14–14 (11–6) | Stopher Gymnasium (1,007) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana | L 64–68 | 14–15 (11–7) | Lakefront Arena (1,182) New Orleans, LA |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (5) | vs. (8) Texas A&M–Corpus Christi First round | W 83–76 | 15–15 | Merrell Center (970) Katy, TX |
| Mar 8, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (5) | vs. (4) Sam Houston State Quarterfinals | L 63–85 | 15–16 | Merrell Center (1,839) Katy, TX |
| CBI ||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Texas–Rio Grande Valley First round | W 77–74 | 16–16 | Lakefront Arena (741) New Orleans, LA |
| Mar 19, 2018* 6:00 pm | | at Campbell Quarterfinals | L 69–71 | 16–17 | Gore Arena (1,316) Buies Creek, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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