# 2017–18 UT Arlington Mavericks men's basketball team

The 2017–18 UT Arlington Mavericks men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at Arlington during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mavericks, led by 12th-year head coach Scott Cross, played their home games at the College Park Center as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 10–8 in Sun Belt play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Appalachian State and Louisiana to advance to the championship game of the Sun Belt tournament where they lost to Georgia State. Despite having 21 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.
On March 26, 2018, Cross was fired after 12 seasons at UT Arlington, along with his entire staff, with UTA's Athletic Director citing a change in the program's leadership. On April 6, the school hired former Texas Tech assistant Chris Ogden as head coach.

## Previous season

The Mavericks finished the 2016–17 season 27–9, 14–4 in Sun Belt play to win the Sun Belt regular season championship. In the Sun Belt tournament, they defeated Coastal Carolina before losing in the semifinals to Texas State. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. There they defeated BYU and Akron before losing in the quarterfinals to Cal State Bakersfield.

## Offseason

Incoming transfers :
| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Deon Barrett | G | 5'10" (1.78 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | Sophomore | Lancaster, Texas | Lancaster H.S. Transferred from UTEP |
| Edric Dennis | G | 6'3" (1.91 m) | 188 lb (85 kg) | Junior | Dallas, Texas | Desoto H.S. Transferred from Jackson State |
Under NCAA transfer rules, Barrett and Dennis will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Barrett will have three seasons of eligibility remaining, while Dennis will have two seasons.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 28, 2017* 12:00 pm | | at Oklahoma Charity Exhibition for Hurricane Harvey Recovery | W 99–84 | — | 27 – Hervey | 13 – Hervey | 12 – Neal | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Loyola Marymount Homecoming | W 85–80 | 1–0 | 28 – Hervey | 8 – Hervey | 11 – Neal | College Park Center (4,379) Arlington, TX |
| Nov 18, 2017* 8:30 pm, BYUtv/ESPN3 | | at BYU Barclays Center Classic | W 89–75 | 2–0 | 23 – Hervey | 9 – Hervey | 10 – Neal | Marriott Center (13,636) Provo, UT |
| Nov 21, 2017* 8:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 25 Alabama Barclays Center Classic | L 76–77 | 2–1 | 24 – Hervey | 6 – Tied | 12 – Neal | Coleman Coliseum (11,737) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Nov 24, 2017* 6:00 pm | | vs. Western Carolina Barclays Center Classic | W 89–65 | 3–1 | 30 – Hamilton | 15 – Hamilton | 10 – Neal | Gallagher Center (842) Lewiston, NY |
| Nov 25, 2017* 6:00 pm | | vs. Niagara Barclays Center Classic | W 95–90 | 4–1 | 27 – Hervey | 10 – Tied | 15 – Neal | Gallagher Center (809) Lewiston, NY |
| Nov 27, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UT Dallas | W 73–53 | 5–1 | 20 – Hamilton | 12 – Hamilton | 13 – Neal | College Park Center (1,694) Arlington, TX |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Rice | W 69–49 | 6–1 | 29 – Hervey | 11 – Hervey | 8 – Neal | College Park Center (1,649) Arlington, TX |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Texas | W 65–60 | 7–1 | 23 – Hervey | 9 – Hamilton | 3 – Neal | College Park Center (2,728) Arlington, TX |
| Dec 7, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | L 58–62 | 7–2 | 17 – Hervey | 15 – Hamilton | 7 – Neal | McLeod Center (3,630) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Dec 9, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Gulf Coast | L 78–85 | 7–3 | 25 – Hervey | 10 – Hervey | 5 – Neal | College Park Center (2,635) Arlington, TX |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at UT Rio Grande Valley | W 86–65 | 8–3 | 30 – Hervey | 16 – Hervey | 8 – Bryant | UTRGV Fieldhouse (774) Edinburg, TX |
| Dec 18, 2017* 7:00 pm, FS1 | | at No. 25 Creighton | L 81–90 | 8–4 | 24 – Hervey | 11 – Hervey | 8 – Neal | CenturyLink Center Omaha (15,564) Omaha, NE |
| Dec 21, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cal Poly | W 77–56 | 9–4 | 25 – Hervey | 10 – Hervey | 7 – Neal | College Park Center Arlington, TX |
| Sun Belt Conference regular season |||||||||
| Dec 29, 2017 7:30 pm | | at Coastal Carolina | L 65–90 | 9–5 (0–1) | 17 – Wilson | 9 – Hamilton | 6 – Neal | HTC Center (1,223) Conway, SC |
| Dec 31, 2017 1:30 pm | | at Appalachian State | L 76–80 | 9–6 (0–2) | 27 – Neal | 8 – Tied | 3 – Neal | Holmes Center (891) Boone, NC |
| Jan 4, 2018 7:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Troy | W 86–76 | 10–6 (1–2) | 21 – Neal | 10 – Wilson | 7 – Neal | College Park Center (1,868) Arlington, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3 | | South Alabama | W 91–67 | 11–6 (2–2) | 19 – Wilson | 12 – Hamilton | 5 – Neal | College Park Center (1,914) Arlington, TX |
| Jan 11, 2018 7:00 pm, l | | at Little Rock | L 65–77 | 11–7 (2–3) | 21 – Hervey | 11 – Hamilton | 5 – Neal | Jack Stephens Center (2,091) Little Rock, AR |
| Jan 13, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Arkansas State | W 97–71 | 12–7 (3–3) | 19 – Hamilton | 8 – Hamilton | 7 – Hawkins | First National Bank Arena (2,461) Jonesboro, AR |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Louisiana | L 65–77 | 12–8 (3–4) | 25 – Hervey | 9 – Hervey | 4 – Neal | College Park Center (2,384) Arlington, TX |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 71–55 | 13–8 (4–4) | 21 – Hervey | 11 – Hamilton | 8 – Neal | College Park Center (2,138) Arlington, TX |
| Jan 25, 2018 6:15 pm, ESPN3 | | at Georgia State | L 75–81 | 13–9 (4–5) | 22 – Hervey | 13 – Hervey | 8 – Neal | GSU Sports Arena (1,567) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 27, 2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Georgia Southern | L 59–74 | 13–10 (4–6) | 29 – Hervey | 11 – Kabadyundi | 4 – Neal | Hanner Fieldhouse (2,511) Statesboro, GA |
| Feb 1, 2017 7:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Appalachian State | W 89–77 | 14–10 (5–6) | 38 – Neal | 14 – Hervey | 6 – Neal | College Park Center (2,330) Arlington, TX |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Coastal Carolina | W 87–80 | 15–10 (6–6) | 20 – Tied | 13 – Hamilton | 6 – Hawkins | College Park Center (2,011) Arlington, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Texas State | W 70–68 $^{OT}$ | 16–10 (7–6) | 33 – Hervey | 12 – Hamilton | 5 – Neal | College Park Center (2,602) Arlington, TX |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Louisiana–Monroe | L 71–84 | 16–11 (7–7) | 35 – Neal | 6 – Hamilton | 5 – Hervey | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,439) Monroe, LA |
| Feb 17, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Louisiana | L 79–100 | 16–12 (7–8) | 26 – Neal | 9 – Hervey | 4 – Neal | Cajundome (5,104) Lafayette, LA |
| Feb 22, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia Southern | W 83–63 | 17–12 (8–8) | 23 – Wilson | 9 – Hervey | 8 – Neal | College Park Center (2,099) Arlington, TX |
| Feb 24, 2018 4:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia State | W 89–81 | 18–12 (9–8) | 24 – Neal | 12 – Hervey | 7 – Neal | College Park Center (2,803) Arlington, TX |
| Mar 2, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas State | W 85–82 | 19–12 (10–8) | 22 – Tied | 11 – Hamilton | 10 – Neal | Strahan Coliseum (3,356) San Marcos, TX |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| Mar 9, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) Appalachian State Quarterfinals | W 84–68 | 20–12 | 37 – Neal | 9 – Hamilton | 3 – Tied | Lakefront Arena New Orleans, LA |
| Mar 10, 2018 11:30 am, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (1) Louisiana Semifinals | W 71–68 | 21–12 | 18 – Neal | 11 – Hervey | 5 – Neal | Lakefront Arena New Orleans, LA |
| Mar 11, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | vs. (2) Georgia State Championship | L 61–74 | 21–13 | 23 – Hamilton | 14 – Hamilton | 3 – Neal | Lakefront Arena New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||