# 2017–18 Sam Houston State Bearkats men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Sam Houston State Bearkats men's basketball team represented Sam Houston State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bearkats, led by eighth-year head coach Jason Hooten, played their home games at the Bernard Johnson Coliseum in Huntsville, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 21–15, 12–6 in Southland play to finish in fourth place. They defeated New Orleans in the quarterfinals of the Southland tournament before losing in the semifinals to Southeastern Louisiana. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where, after a first round bye, they defeated Eastern Michigan in the second round and UTSA in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to Northern Colorado.

## Previous season

The Bearkats finished the 2016–17 season 1–13, 10–8 in Southland play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Central Arkansas and Houston Baptist to advance to the semifinals of the Southland tournament where they lost to New Orleans. Despite having 21 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11, 2017* 6:30 pm | | UT Tyler | W 91–51 | 1–0 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (821) Huntsville, TX |
| Nov 14, 2017* 6:30 pm | | Hardin-Simmons | W 72–56 | 2–0 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (805) Huntsville, TX |
| Nov 18, 2017* 9:00 pm | | at Idaho | L 54–63 | 2–1 | Memorial Gym (1,187) Moscow, ID |
| Nov 22, 2017* 5:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. Central Michigan Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals | L 60–71 | 2–2 | Alaska Airlines Center (1,579) Anchorage, AK |
| Nov 23, 2017* 8:30 pm, FloSports | | vs. College of Charleston Great Alaska Shootout consolation round | L 49–59 | 2–3 | Alaska Airlines Center Anchorage, AK |
| Nov 25, 2017* 3:00 pm, FloSports | | vs. Santa Clara Great Alaska Shootout 7th place game | W 73–59 | 3–3 | Alaska Airlines Arena (1,823) Seattle, WA |
| Nov 28, 2017* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Schreiner | W 81–55 | 4–3 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (873) Huntsville, TX |
| Nov 30, 2017* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | St. Thomas | W 77–54 | 5–3 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (727) Huntsville, TX |
| Dec 4, 2017* 7:00 pm, FSSW | | at No. 23 Baylor | L 56–84 | 5–4 | Ferrell Center (5,015) Waco, TX |
| Dec 13, 2017* 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 69–82 | 5–5 | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (5,054) Oxford, MS |
| Dec 15, 2017* 6:30 pm | | Little Rock | W 57–55 | 6–5 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (636) Huntsville, TX |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, SECN | | at LSU | L 58–80 | 6–6 | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (8,151) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 12:00 pm | | Utah Valley | L 64–75 | 6–7 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (610) Huntsville, TX |
| Southland regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 7:30 pm | | at Abilene Christian | L 72–75 | 6–8 (0–1) | Moody Coliseum (1,125) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 3, 2018 6:30 pm | | Central Arkansas | W 82–76 | 7–8 (1–1) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (599) Huntsville, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:00 pm | | at Incarnate Word | W 85–74 | 8–8 (2–1) | McDermott Convocation Center (1,052) San Antonio, TX |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 82–50 | 9–8 (3–1) | American Bank Center (1,722) Corpus Christi, TX |
| Jan 13, 2018 6:15 pm | | Houston Baptist | W 81–68 | 10–8 (4–1) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (946) Huntsville, TX |
| Jan 17, 2018 6:30 pm | | Northwestern State | W 75–52 | 11–8 (5–1) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,075) Huntsville, TX |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lamar | L 77–84 $^{OT}$ | 11–9 (5–2) | Montagne Center (1,500) Beaumont, TX |
| Jan 24, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 75–65 | 12–9 (6–2) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,238) Huntsville, TX |
| Jan 27, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 66–82 | 12–10 (6–3) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (7,081) Nacogdoches, TX |
| Jan 30, 2018 6:30 pm | | at McNeese State | W 67–57 | 13–10 (7–3) | Burton Coliseum (902) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 6:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Abilene Christian | W 84–77 | 14–10 (8–3) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,078) Huntsville, TX |
| Feb 7, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 66–64 | 15–10 (9–3) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,123) Huntsville, TX |
| Feb 10, 2018 6:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Lamar | W 71–69 | 16–10 (10–3) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,166) Huntsville, TX |
| Feb 14, 2018 8:15 pm | | at Nicholls State | L 72–73 | 16–11 (10–4) | Stopher Gymnasium (505) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 17, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Houston Baptist | W 86–78 | 17–11 (11–4) | Sharp Gymnasium (918) Houston, TX |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:30 pm | | New Orleans | W 57–54 | 18–111 (12–4) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (1,043) Huntsville, TX |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Central Arkansas | L 70–88 | 18–12 (12–5) | Farris Center (1,312) Conway, AR |
| Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stephen F. Austin | L 53–65 | 18–13 (12–6) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (2,043) Huntsville, TX |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) New Orleans Quarterfinals | W 85–63 | 19–13 | Leonard E. Merrell Center (1,839) Katy, TX |
| Mar 9, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (1) Southeastern Louisiana Semifinals | L 79–89 | 19–14 | Leonard E. Merrell Center (2,545) Katy, TX |
| CIT ||||||
| Mar 19, 2018* 6:30 pm | | Eastern Michigan Second round | W 69–62 | 20–14 | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (322) Huntsville, TX |
| Mar 22, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at UTSA Quarterfinals | W 76–69 | 21–14 | Convocation Center (1,352) San Antonio, TX |
| Mar 28, 2018* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Northern Colorado Semifinals | L 80–99 | 21–15 | Bank of Colorado Arena (2,019) Greeley, CO |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||