# 2017–18 Furman Paladins men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Furman Paladins men's basketball team represented Furman University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Paladins, led by first-year head coach Bob Richey, played their home games at Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina as members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 23–10, 13–5 in SoCon play to finish in third place. They defeated Western Carolina in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament before losing in the semifinals to East Tennessee State. Despite having 23 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Previous season

The Paladins finished the 2016–17 season 23–12, 14–4 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for the SoCon regular season championship. They lost to Samford in the quarterfinals SoCon tournament. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated USC Upstate and Campbell before losing in the semifinals to Saint Peter's.
On March 26, 2017, head coach Niko Medved resigned to become the head coach at Drake. He finished at Furman with a four-year record of 62–70. Assistant coach Bob Richey was named the interim head coach for the CIT semifinal, and was named full-time head coach on April 10.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Bob Jones | W 101–48 | 1–0 | Timmons Arena (1,688) Greenville, SC |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Elon | W 76–67 | 2–0 | Timmons Arena (1,531) Greenville, SC |
| Nov 18, 2017* 2:00 pm, FS2 | | at Butler Phil Knight Invitational | L 65–82 | 2–1 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,827) Indianapolis, IN |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at No. 1 Duke Phil Knight Invitational | L 63–92 | 2–2 | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Nov 24, 2017* 1:00 pm | | vs. New Hampshire Phil Knight Invitational sub-regional | W 78–64 | 3–2 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (400) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 25, 2017* 2:30 pm | | vs. Northeastern Phil Knight Invitational sub-regional | W 78–67 | 4–2 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (400) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Winthrop | L 74–93 | 4–3 | Timmons Arena (1,351) Greenville, SC |
| Dec 2, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Tennessee Tech | W 64–50 | 5–3 | Timmons Arena (1,002) Greenville, SC |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Asheville | W 83–72 | 6–3 | Timmons Arena (1,002) Greenville, SC |
| Dec 9, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Carolina State | W 101–72 | 7–3 | Timmons Arena (1,325) Greenville, SC |
| Dec 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Montreat | W 103–47 | 8–3 | Timmons Arena (1,325) Greenville, SC |
| Dec 17, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at UNC Wilmington | W 90–84 | 9–3 | Trask Coliseum (4,236) Wilmington, NC |
| Dec 20, 2017* 9:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 21 Tennessee | L 61–66 | 9–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,095) Knoxville, TN |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at VMI | W 87–57 | 10–4 (1–0) | Cameron Hall (637) Lexington, VA |
| Jan 4, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | The Citadel | W 107–67 | 11–4 (2–0) | Timmons Arena (1,509) Greenville, SC |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Mercer | W 74–71 | 12–4 (3–0) | Timmons Arena (2,002) Greenville, SC |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Chattanooga | W 73–55 | 13–4 (4–0) | McKenzie Arena (2,471) Chattanooga, TN |
| Jan 13, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wofford | L 70–79 | 13–5 (4–1) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (3,400) Spartanburg, SC |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | East Tennessee State | L 61–62 | 13–6 (4–2) | Timmons Arena (1,806) Greenville, SC |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Samford | W 78–67 | 14–6 (5–2) | Timmons Arena (2,211) Greenville, SC |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UNC Greensboro | L 61–71 | 14–7 (5–3) | Greensboro Coliseum (2,604) Greensboro, NC |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Carolina | W 100–66 | 15–7 (6–3) | Timmons Arena (1,812) Greenville, SC |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Mercer | W 85–73 | 16–7 (7–3) | Hawkins Arena (2,772) Macon, GA |
| Feb 3, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at The Citadel | L 92–100 $^{OT}$ | 16–8 (7–4) | McAlister Field House (983) Charleston, SC |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Greensboro | L 67–80 | 16–9 (7–5) | Timmons Arena (1,560) Greenville, SC |
| Feb 10, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Wofford | W 76–52 | 17–9 (8–5) | Timmons Arena (2,552) Greenville, SC |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chattanooga | W 75–56 | 18–9 (9–5) | Timmons Arena (1,511) Greenville, SC |
| Feb 17, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Samford | W 94–79 | 19–9 (10–5) | Pete Hanna Center (1,990) Homewood, AL |
| Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | VMI | W 76–54 | 20–9 (11–5) | Timmons Arena (1,403) Greenville, SC |
| Feb 23, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Western Carolina | W 78–55 | 21–9 (12–5) | Ramsey Center (1,386) Cullowhee, NC |
| Feb 25, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at East Tennessee State | W 79–76 | 22–9 (13–5) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (5,908) Johnson City, TN |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (6) Western Carolina Quarterfinals | W 97–73 | 23–9 | U.S. Cellular Center (5,431) Asheville, NC |
| Mar 4, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | (3) | vs. (2) East Tennessee State Semifinals | L 52–63 | 23–10 | U.S. Cellular Center (5,546) Asheville, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||