# 2017–18 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2017–18 UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Asheville during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by fifth-year head coach Nick McDevitt, played their home games at Kimmel Arena as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 13–5 in Big South play to win the Big South regular season championship. They defeated Charleston Southern in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament before being upset in the semifinals by Liberty. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to USC.
On March 24, 2018, head coach Nick McDevitt accepted the head coaching job at Middle Tennessee. He finished at UNC Asheville with a five-year record of 98–65.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 23–10, 15–3 in Big South play to finish in a tie for the Big South regular season championship. They were upset in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament by Campbell. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to UT Martin.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:30 pm | | at Rhode Island NIT Season Tip-Off | L 60–84 | 0–1 | Ryan Center (6,367) Kingston, RI |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Lees–McRae | W 92–60 | 1–1 | Kimmel Arena (1,024) Asheville, NC |
| Nov 17, 2017* 8:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Vanderbilt NIT Season Tip-Off | L 76–79 | 1–2 | Memorial Gymnasium (8,048) Nashville, TN |
| Nov 19, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Austin Peay NIT Season Tip-Off | W 82–79 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | Dunn Center (2,017) Clarksville, TN |
| Nov 22, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Monmouth NIT Season Tip-Off | W 62–51 | 3–2 | Kimmel Arena (1,008) Asheville, NC |
| Nov 26, 2017* 4:30 pm, WMYA | | Wofford | W 85–65 | 4–2 | Kimmel Arena (1,323) Asheville, NC |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, WMYA | | USC Upstate | W 82–70 | 5–2 | Kimmel Arena (1,436) Asheville, NC |
| Dec 3, 2017* 3:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Clemson | L 52–83 | 5–3 | Littlejohn Coliseum (5,932) Clemson, SC |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Furman | L 72–83 | 5–4 | Timmons Arena (1,389) Greenville, SC |
| Dec 10, 2017* 3:30 pm | | Milligan | W 97–60 | 6–4 | Kimmel Arena (1,081) Asheville, NC |
| Dec 17, 2017* 4:30 pm | | vs. Western Carolina Mountain Invitational | L 72–76 | 6–5 | U.S. Cellular Center (1,423) Asheville, NC |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UNC Greensboro | W 67–60 | 7–5 | Greensboro Coliseum (2,172) Greensboro, NC |
| Dec 22, 2017* 10:00 pm, TheW.tv | | at Saint Mary's | L 69–95 | 7–6 | McKeon Pavilion (3,221) Moraga, CA |
| Big South Conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2017 2:00 pm, WMYA | | Campbell | W 85–79 | 8–6 (1–0) | Kimmel Arena (1,598) Asheville, NC |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm | | at High Point | L 74–84 | 8–7 (1–1) | Millis Athletic Center (1,121) High Point, NC |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Radford | L 70–90 | 8–8 (1–2) | Dedmon Center (981) Radford, VA |
| Jan 9, 2018 7:00 pm | | Longwood | W 90–80 | 9–8 (2–2) | Kimmel Arena (1,312) Asheville, NC |
| Jan 12, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Presbyterian | W 76–56 | 10–8 (3–2) | Templeton Center (462) Clinton, SC |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Charleston Southern | W 83–73 | 11–8 (4–2) | Kimmel Arena (1,723) Asheville, NC |
| Jan 18, 2018 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Winthrop | L 58–85 | 11–9 (4–3) | Winthrop Coliseum (3,347) Rock Hill, SC |
| Jan 21, 2018 2:00 pm, Stadium | | at Liberty | W 84–68 | 12–9 (5–3) | Vines Center (2,426) Lynchburg, VA |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, WMYA | | Gardner–Webb | W 65–60 | 13–9 (6–3) | Kimmel Arena (1,712) Asheville, NC |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | High Point | W 84–77 | 14–9 (7–3) | Kimmel Arena (2,104) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Campbell | W 64–57 | 15–9 (8–3) | Gore Arena (1,921) Buies Creek, NC |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:30 pm | | Presbyterian | W 75–61 | 16–9 (9–3) | Kimmel Arena (2,608) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 7, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Longwood | W 78–73 | 17–9 (10–3) | Willett Hall (1,473) Farmville, VA |
| Feb 10, 2018 2:00 pm | | Radford | W 66–64 | 18–9 (11–3) | Kimmel Arena (2,012) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm | | Liberty | L 69–82 $^{OT}$ | 18–10 (11–4) | Kimmel Arena (1,719) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 18, 2018 5:30 pm | | at Charleston Southern | W 85–80 $^{OT}$ | 19–10 (12–4) | CSU Field House (722) North Charleston, SC |
| Feb 22, 2018 7:00 pm | | Winthrop | W 89–75 | 20–10 (13–4) | Kimmel Arena (2,978) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 24, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Gardner–Webb | L 61–72 | 20–11 (13–5) | Paul Porter Arena (1,581) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| Mar 1, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (8) Charleston Southern Quarterfinals | W 71–66 | 21–11 | Kimmel Arena (2,276) Asheville, NC |
| Mar 2, 2018 8:30 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | (5) Liberty Semifinals | L 64–69 | 21–12 | Kimmel Arena (2,318) Asheville, NC |
| NIT ||||||
| Mar 13, 2018* 11:00 pm, ESPN2 | (8) | at (1) USC First round – USC Bracket | L 98–103 $^{2OT}$ | 21–13 | Galen Center (1,614) Los Angeles, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||