# 2017–18 McNeese State Cowboys basketball team

The 2017–18 McNeese State Cowboys basketball team represented McNeese State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cowboys were led by 12th-year head coach Dave Simmons and played their home games at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, Louisiana as members of the Southland Conference. The Cowboys finished the season 11–17, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament.
On March 5, 2018, the school announced that Dave Simmons would not return as head coach after 12 seasons at McNeese State. On March 15, the school hired BYU assistant Heath Schroyer as head coach.

## Previous season

The Cowboys finished the 2016–17 season 7–22, 4–14 in Southland play to finish in last place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Houston | L 53–81 | 0–1 | H&PE Arena (3,241) Houston,TX |
| Nov 13, 2017* 7:00 pm | Ecclesia | W 101–54 | 1–1 | Burton Coliseum (732) Lake Charles, LA |
| Nov 17, 2017* 9:30 pm | at San Diego State | L 52–83 | 1–2 | Viejas Arena (10,702) San Diego, CA |
| Nov 19, 2017* 5:00 pm | at Loyola Marymount | W 86–82 $^{OT}$ | 1–3 | Gersten Pavilion (718) Los Angeles, CA |
| Nov 25, 2017* 3:00 pm | Southern-New Orleans | W 103–79 | 2–3 | Burton Coliseum (783) Lake Charles, LA |
| Nov 28, 2017* 7:00 pm | at Louisiana | L 78–89 | 2–4 | Cajundome (3,489) Lafayette, LA |
| Dec 9, 2017* 5:00 pm | at North Texas | L 47–85 | 2–5 | The Super Pit (1,612) Denton, TX |
| Dec 14, 2017* 6:00 pm | at North Carolina Central | L 71–77 | 2–6 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (377) Durham, NC |
| Dec 16, 2017* 1:00 pm, ACC Extra | at Pittsburgh | L 51–72 | 2–7 | Petersen Events Center (2,830) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm | Texas College | W 84–68 | 3–7 | Burton Coliseum (729) Lake Charles, LA |
| Southland regular season |||||
| Dec 28, 2017 6:30 pm | Incarnate Word | W 85–62 | 4–7 (1–0) | Burton Coliseum (743) Lake Charles, LA |
| Dec 30, 2017 3:30 pm | Northwestern State | W 72–63 | 5–7 (2–0) | Burton Coliseum (997) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm | at Abilene Christian | L 74–79 | 5–8 (2–1) | Moody Coliseum (1,183) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 6, 2018 3:30 pm | New Orleans | L 75–85 $^{OT}$ | 5–9 (2–2) | Burton Coliseum (913) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm | at Nicholls State | L 80–85 | 5–10 (2–3) | Stopher Gymnasium (266) Thibodaux, LA |
| Jan 13, 2018 5:00 pm | at Southeastern Louisiana | W 71–62 | 6–10 (3–3) | University Center (744) Hammond, LA |
| Jan 20, 2018 7:00 pm | at Houston Baptist | W 86–81 | 7–10 (4–3) | Sharp Gymnasium (962) Houston, TX |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | at Lamar | L 80–86 | 7–11 (4–4) | Montagne Center (2,196) Beaumont, TX |
| Jan 30, 2018 6:30 pm | Sam Houston State | W 67–57 | 7–12 (4–5) | Burton Coliseum (902) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 3, 2018 3:30 pm | at Northwestern State | W 75–62 | 8–12 (5–5) | Prather Coliseum (1,315) Natchitoches, LA |
| Feb 8, 2018 6:30 pm, ELVN | Stephen F. Austin | L 95–99 | 8–13 (5–6) | Burton Coliseum (647) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 10, 2018 3:30 pm | Southeastern Louisiana | L 67–74 | 8–14 (5–7) | Burton Coliseum (617) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 14, 2018 7:00 pm | at Central Arkansas | W 76–72 | 9–14 (6–7) | Farris Center (873) Conway, AR |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:15 pm | at New Orleans | L 74–90 | 9–15 (6–8) | Lakefront Arena (1,571) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 21, 2018 6:30 pm | Nicholls State | L 79–96 | 9–16 (6–9) | Burton Coliseum (807) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 24, 2018 3:30 pm | Houston Baptist | W 88–79 | 10–16 (7–9) | Burton Coliseum (717) Lake Charles, LA |
| Feb 28, 2018 7:00 pm | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | L 70–82 | 10–17 (7–10) | American Bank Center (1,235) Corpus Christi, TX |
| Mar 3, 2018 3:30 pm | Lamar | W 69–60 | 11–17 (8–10) | Burton Coliseum (940) Lake Charles, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||