# 2017–18 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats men's basketball team represented Bethune-Cookman University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats, led by first-year head coach Ryan Ridder, played their home games at the Moore Gymnasium in Daytona Beach, Florida as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. With a win over Florida A&M on March 1, 2018, the Wildcats earned a share of the MEAC regular season championship. They finished the season 18–14, 2–4 in MEAC play, finishing in a three-way tie for first. Due to tie-breaking procedures, they received the No. 2 seed in the MEAC tournament, where they lost to Morgan State in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2016–17 season 10–22, 6–10 in MEAC play to finish in tenth place. They defeated Delaware State before losing in the quarterfinals of the MEAC tournament to North Carolina Central.
On March 20, 2017, it was announced that head coach Gravelle Craig's contract would not be renewed. He finished at Bethune–Cookman with a six-year record of 74–123. The Wildcats hired Ryan Ridder from Daytona State of the NJCAA as the new head coach on March 31.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 8:00 pm | | Johnson (FL) | W 108–66 | 1–0 | Moore Gymnasium (804) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Nov 13, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at Texas–Rio Grande Valley | L 74–92 | 1–1 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (523) Edinburg, TX |
| Nov 16, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at North Texas Ramblin' Wreck Showcase | L 78–90 | 1–2 | The Super Pit (2,013) Denton, TX |
| Nov 19, 2017* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Georgia Tech Ramblin' Wreck Showcase | L 62–65 | 1–3 | McCamish Pavilion (5,154) Atlanta, GA |
| Nov 21, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Grambling State | W 87–78 | 2–3 | Moore Gymnasium (616) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Nov 25, 2017* 4:00 pm | | Florida College | W 95–67 | 3–3 | Moore Gymnasium (401) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Nov 30, 2017* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Jacksonville | W 77–66 | 4–3 | Swisher Gymnasium (878) Jacksonville, FL |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at Florida Atlantic | L 75–93 | 4–4 | FAU Arena (881) Boca Raton, FL |
| Dec 8, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Boston University | L 87–90 | 4–5 | Moore Gymnasium (816) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Dec 12, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Cal Poly | W 67–53 | 5–5 | Moore Gymnasium (704) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Dec 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | at South Florida | L 63–83 | 5–6 | USF Sun Dome (2,019) Tampa, FL |
| Dec 16, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kennesaw State | L 74–81 | 5–7 | KSU Convocation Center (708) Kennesaw, GA |
| Dec 19, 2017* 10:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington | L 55–106 | 5–8 | Alaska Airlines Arena (4,452) Seattle, WA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 9:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington State | L 58–86 | 5–9 | Beasley Coliseum (2,178) Pullman, WA |
| Jan 3, 2018 7:30 pm | | South Carolina State | W 86–80 | 6–9 (1–0) | Moore Gymnasium (612) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Howard | W 92–87 | 7–9 (2–0) | Charles E. Smith Center (478) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 89–84 | 8–9 (3–0) | Hytche Athletic Center (887) Princess Anne, MD |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm | | Florida A&M | W 99–81 | 9–9 (4–0) | Moore Gymnasium (904) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Jan 15, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stetson | W 74–62 | 10–9 | Edmunds Center (732) DeLand, FL |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Delaware State | W 85–78 | 11–9 (5–0) | Memorial Hall (678) Dover, DE |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:000 pm | | at Norfolk State | L 70–71 | 11–10 (5–1) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,327) Norfolk, VA |
| Jan 29, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Hampton | L 69–80 | 11–11 (5–2) | Hampton Convocation Center (4.613) Hampton, VA |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | Coppin State | W 80–60 | 12–11 (6–2) | Moore Gymnasium (814) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Feb 5, 2018 7:30 pm | | Norfolk State | L 79–83 | 12–12 (6–3) | Moore Gymnasium (809) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Feb 10, 2018 4:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 87–67 | 13–12 (7–3) | Moore Gymnasium (902) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:30 pm | | North Carolina Central | W 99–81 | 14–12 (8–3) | Moore Gymnasium (876) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Coppin State | W 89–85 | 15–12 (9–3) | Physical Education Complex (2,230) Baltimore, MD |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Morgan State | W 96–95 $^{OT}$ | 16–12 (10–3) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (2,379) Baltimore, MD |
| Feb 24, 2018 4:00 pm | | Savannah State | W 121–92 | 17–12 (11–3) | Moore Gymnasium (898) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Feb 26, 2018 7:30 pm | | North Carolina A&T | L 80–86 | 17–13 (11–4) | Moore Gymnasium (943) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Florida A&M | W 89–77 | 18–13 (12–4) | Lawson Center (5,217) Tallahassee, FL |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (7) Morgan State Quarterfinals | L 77–78 | 18–14 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||