# 2017–18 Mercer Bears men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Mercer Bears men's basketball team represented Mercer University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by tenth-year head coach Bob Hoffman, played their home games at Hawkins Arena on the university's Macon, Georgia campus as fourth-year members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 19–15, 11–7 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to Wofford. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Grand Canyon in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to North Texas.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2016–17 season 15–17, 9–9 in SoCon play to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SoCon tournament to East Tennessee State.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UCF | L 79–88 | 0–1 | CFE Arena (6,167) Orlando, FL |
| Nov 12, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toccoa Falls | W 110–43 | 1–1 | Hawkins Arena (2,381) Macon, GA |
| Nov 14, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jackson State | W 86–58 | 2–1 | Hawkins Arena (2,742) Macon, GA |
| Nov 17, 2017* 12:00 pm | | at Liberty Paradise Jam quarterfinals | W 63–48 | 3–1 | Vines Center (1,022) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 18, 2017* 6:00 pm | | vs. Drexel Paradise Jam semifinals | W 78–59 | 4–1 | Vines Center (534) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 19, 2017* 8:30 pm | | vs. Colorado Paradise Jam championship | L 70–79 | 4–2 | Vines Center (568) Lynchburg, VA |
| Nov 26, 2017* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Hiwassee | W 90–53 | 5–2 | Hawkins Arena (2,344) Macon, GA |
| Nov 29, 2017* 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | L 60–84 | 5–3 | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,642) Knoxville, TN |
| Dec 2, 2017* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Memphis | L 81–83 $^{2OT}$ | 5–4 | FedExForum (4,113) Memphis, TN |
| Dec 9, 2017* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida A&M | W 82–64 | 6–4 | Hawkins Arena (3,226) Macon, GA |
| Dec 17, 2017* 4:30 pm | | at La Salle | L 85–95 | 6–5 | Tom Gola Arena (1,251) Philadelphia, PA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 9:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Alabama Rocket City Classic | L 79–80 | 6–6 | Von Braun Center (4,799) Huntsville, AL |
| Dec 28, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | W 89–56 | 7–6 | Hawkins Arena (3,513) Macon, GA |
| SoCon regular season ||||||
| Dec 31, 2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | East Tennessee State | L 55–74 | 7–7 (0–1) | Hawkins Arena (3,069) Macon, GA |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Furman | L 71–74 | 7–8 (0–2) | Timmons Arena (2,002) Greenville, SC |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Carolina | L 56–58 | 7–9 (0–3) | Ramsey Center (834) Cullowhee, NC |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Samford | W 81–50 | 8–9 (1–3) | Hawkins Arena (3,527) Macon, GA |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, Stadium | | Chattanooga | W 75–71 $^{OT}$ | 9–9 (2–3) | Hawkins Arena (3,476) Macon, GA |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at VMI | W 62–56 | 10–9 (3–3) | Cameron Hall (961) Lexington, VA |
| Jan 20, 2018 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UNC Greensboro | L 66–70 $^{OT}$ | 10–10 (3–4) | Greensboro Coliseum (2,874) Greensboro, NC |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm | | at East Tennessee State | L 75–84 | 10–11 (3–5) | Freedom Hall Civic Center (4,770) Johnson City, TN |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | The Citadel | L 74–76 | 10–12 (3–6) | Hawkins Arena (2,972) Macon, GA |
| Feb 1, 2018 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Furman | L 73–85 | 10–13 (3–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,772) Macon, GA |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Wofford | W 73–65 | 11–13 (4–7) | Hawkins Arena (3,267) Macon, GA |
| Feb 10, 2018 5:00 pm | | at Chattanooga | W 84–75 | 12–13 (5–7) | McKenzie Arena (4,380) Chattanooga, TN |
| Feb 12, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Samford | W 74–69 | 13–13 (6–7) | Pete Hanna Center (1,365) Homewood, AL |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | VMI | W 82–58 | 14–13 (7–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,702) Macon, GA |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Greensboro | W 77–74 | 15–13 (8–7) | Hawkins Arena (2,899) Macon, GA |
| Feb 20, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Western Carolina | W 81–64 | 16–13 (9–7) | Hawkins Arena (3,572) Macon, GA |
| Feb 23, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at The Citadel | W 83–70 | 17–13 (10–7) | McAlister Field House (737) Charleston, SC |
| Feb 25, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wofford | W 69–68 | 18–13 (11–7) | Jerry Richardson Indoor Stadium (1,930) Spartanburg, SC |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 2018 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) Wofford Quarterfinals | L 53–73 | 18–14 | U.S. Cellular Center (4,863) Asheville, NC |
| CBI ||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 10:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Grand Canyon First round | W 78–73 | 19–14 | GCU Arena (5,941) Phoenix, AZ |
| Mar 19, 2018* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Texas Quarterfinals | L 67–96 | 19–15 | The Super Pit (1,145) Denton, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||