# 2017–18 Maine Black Bears men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Maine Black Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Maine during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Black Bears, led by fourth-year head coach Bob Walsh, played their home games at Cross Insurance Center in Bangor, Maine as members of the America East Conference. They finished the season 6–26, 3–13 in America East play to finish in eighth place. They lost to Vermont in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament.
On March 5, the school parted ways with head coach Bob Walsh and within hours hired Richard Barron, who was previously head coach Maine's women's basketball team from 2011 to 2017.

## Previous season

The Black Bears finished the 2016–17 season 7–25, 3–13 in America East play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to Vermont.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Austin Howard | 2 | G | 6'1" | 177 | Junior | Lexington, KY | Graduate transferred to College of Charleston |
| Ryan Bernstein | 3 | G | 6'0" | 183 | Sophomore | Bronx, NY | Walk-on; transferred to Kent State |
| Marko Pirovic | 4 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Senior | Bolton, ON | Graduated |
| Wesley Myers | 10 | G | 6'2" | 186 | RS Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduate transferred to South Carolina |
| C. J. Ward | 12 | G | 5'11" | 170 | Junior | Plymouth, MA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| JaQuan McKennon | 23 | G | 5'10" | 190 | Sophomore | Queens, NY | Transferred |
| Troy Reid-Knight | 31 | G | 6'0" | 217 | Senior | Vaughan, ON | Graduated |
| Garet Beal | 55 | G/F | 6'6" | 237 | Senior | Beals, ME | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Isaiah White | 14 | G | 6'6" | 180 | RS Sophomore | Ellicott City, MD | Junior college transferree from Harford Community College |

### 2017 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Miks Antoms PF | Riga, Latvia | Lee Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Apr 7, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 22, 2017. ||||||

## Preseason

In a poll of the conference's nine head coaches (who were not allowed to pick their own team) at the America East media day, the Black Bears were picked to finish last in America East play.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 28, 2017* 3:00 pm | | Husson | W 84–63 | | Cross Insurance Center (2,481) Bangor, ME |
| Nov 5, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Saint Joseph's (ME) | W 66–54 | | Memorial Gym (631) Orono, ME |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Boston College Hall of Fame Tip Off | L 65–85 | 0–1 | Conte Forum (4,522) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Nov 14, 2017* 8:00 pm, FSSW+ | | at Texas Tech Hall of Fame Tip Off | L 44–83 | 0–2 | United Supermarkets Arena (6,317) Lubbock, TX |
| Nov 18, 2017* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. South Alabama Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket semifinals | L 46–68 | 0–3 | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 19, 2017* 12:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Sacred Heart Hall of Fame Tip Off Springfield Bracket third place game | L 68–69 $^{OT}$ | 0–4 | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 22, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Boston University | L 69–78 | 0–5 | Cross Insurance Center (874) Bangor, ME |
| Nov 26, 2017* 2:00 pm | | at Quinnipiac | W 78–72 | 1–5 | TD Bank Sports Center (1,103) Hamden, CT |
| Nov 28, 2017* 8:45 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown | L 55–76 | 1–6 | Capital One Arena (4,029) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 2, 2017* 2:00 pm | | at Fordham | L 66–67 $^{OT}$ | 1–7 | Rose Hill Gymnasium (1,421) The Bronx, NY |
| Dec 5, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Maine–Presque Isle | W 75–55 | 2–7 | Cross Insurance Center (1,964) Bangor, ME |
| Dec 8, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Dartmouth | L 66–73 | 2–8 | Cross Insurance Center (539) Bangor, ME |
| Dec 10, 2017* 2:00 pm | | Maine–Machias | W 104–51 | 3–8 | Cross Insurance Center (602) Bangor, ME |
| Dec 17, 2017* 4:30 pm | | at Saint Joseph's | L 59–72 | 3–9 | Hagan Arena (3,551) Philadelphia, PA |
| Dec 20, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Central Connecticut | L 57–84 | 3–10 | William H. Detrick Gymnasium (1,379) New Britain, CT |
| Dec 22, 2017* 4:00 pm | | at Massachusetts | L 63–74 | 3–11 | William D. Mullins Memorial Center (1,481) Amherst, MA |
| Dec 30, 2017* 2:00 pm | | at Columbia | L 71–83 | 3–12 | Levien Gymnasium (1,376) New York City, NY |
| America East regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stony Brook | L 70–71 | 3–13 (0–1) | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (2,262) Stony Brook, NY |
| Jan 6, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Binghamton | W 76–73 | 4–13 (1–1) | Binghamton University Events Center (2,295) Vestal, NY |
| Jan 10, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UMBC | L 67–72 | 4–14 (1–2) | Cross Insurance Center (906) Bangor, ME |
| Jan 13, 2018 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Albany | L 66–84 | 4–15 (1–3) | Cross Insurance Center (842) Bangor, ME |
| Jan 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Vermont | L 62–83 | 4–16 (1–4) | Patrick Gym (2,405) Burlington, VT |
| Jan 18, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Hartford | L 68–86 | 4–17 (1–5) | Cross Insurance Center (903) Bangor, ME |
| Jan 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | New Hampshire | W 69–68 | 5–17 (2–5) | Cross Insurance Center (1,103) Bangor, ME |
| Jan 27, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UMBC | L 74–86 | 5–18 (2–6) | Retriever Activities Center (808) Catonsville, MD |
| Jan 31, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UMass Lowell | L 64–88 | 5–19 (2–7) | Cross Insurance Center (1,506) Bangor, ME |
| Feb 3, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Binghamton | W 81–79 $^{OT}$ | 6–19 (3–7) | Cross Insurance Center (1,045) Bangor, ME |
| Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at New Hampshire | L 56–71 | 6–20 (3–8) | Lundholm Gym (522) Durham, NH |
| Feb 11, 2018 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stony Brook | L 61–64 | 6–21 (3–9) | Cross Insurance Center (1,153) Bangor, ME |
| Feb 15, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Hartford | L 63–67 | 6–22 (3–10) | Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (2,633) Hartford, CT |
| Feb 21, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UMass Lowell | L 76–88 | 6–23 (3–11) | Tsongas Center (2,214) Lowell, MA |
| Feb 24, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Albany | L 79–89 | 6–24 (3–12) | SEFCU Arena (2,496) Albany, NY |
| Feb 27, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Vermont | L 62–74 | 6–25 (3–13) | Cross Insurance Center (907) Bangor, ME |
| America East tournament ||||||
| Mar 3, 2018 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (8) | at (1) Vermont Quarterfinals | L 60–75 | 6–26 | Patrick Gym (3,266) Burlington, VT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
Source