# 2017–18 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team

The 2017–18 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by ninth-year head coach LeVelle Moton, played their home games at McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 19–16, 9–7 in MEAC play to finish sixth place. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Coppin State, Savannah State, and Morgan State to advance to the championship game against Hampton. There they defeated the Pirates to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament for the second consecutive year. As a No. 16 seed, they lost in the First Four to Texas Southern.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2016–17 season 25–9, 13–2 in MEAC play to win the MEAC regular season championship. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Bethune–Cookman, Maryland Eastern Shore, and Norfolk State to win the tournament championship. As a result, they earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a No. 16 seed, they lost in the First Four to fellow No. 16 seed UC Davis.

## 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 UIC | L 55–65 | 0–1 | UIC Pavilion (2,788) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 13, 2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 55–68 | 0–2 | Ford Center (6,048) Evansville, IN |
| Nov 15, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at UT Martin Global Sports Invitational | L 57–74 | 0–3 | Skyhawk Arena (1,274) Martin, TN |
| Nov 17, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Warren Wilson | W 101–76 | 1–3 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (648) Durham, NC |
| Nov 19, 2017* 4:00 pm | | Southern Global Sports Invitational | W 80–67 | 2–3 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (803) Durham, NC |
| Nov 22, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at Marshall Global Sports Invitational | L 84–92 | 2–4 | Cam Henderson Center (4,572) Huntington, WV |
| Nov 24, 2017* 8:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Illinois Global Sports Invitational | L 73–86 | 2–5 | State Farm Center (11,004) Champaign, IL |
| Nov 26, 2017* 3:00 pm | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 77–70 | 3–5 | Show Me Center (645) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Nov 30, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Christendom | W 116–38 | 4–5 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (826) Durham, NC |
| Dec 2, 2017* 7:00 pm | | Southeast Missouri State | L 77–86 | 4–6 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (873) Durham, NC |
| Dec 9, 2017* 4:00 pm | | at George Mason | L 65–77 | 4–7 | EagleBank Arena (3,489) Fairfax, VA |
| Dec 11, 2017* 9:00 pm | | at Grand Canyon | L 59–64 | 4–8 | GCU Arena (6,276) Phoenix, AZ |
| Dec 14, 2017* 7:00 pm | | McNeese State | W 77–71 | 5–8 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (377) Durham, NC |
| Dec 30, 2017* 2:00 pm | | St. Andrews | W 75–55 | 6–8 | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (431) Durham, NC |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Delaware State | W 65–62 | 7–8 (1–0) | Memorial Hall (249) Dover, DE |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | Norfolk State | W 64–63 | 8–8 (2–0) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,386) Durham, NC |
| Jan 13, 2018 4:00 pm | | Coppin State | W 81–61 | 9–8 (3–0) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,889) Durham, NC |
| Jan 15, 2018 4:00 pm | | Morgan State | W 77–63 | 10–8 (4–0) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,377) Durham, NC |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm, UStream | | at Howard | L 78–84 $^{OT}$ | 10–9 (4–1) | Charles E. Smith Center (852) Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 22, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 63–60 | 11–9 (5–1) | Hytche Athletic Center (979) Princess Anne, MD |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm | | at North Carolina A&T | L 64–70 | 11–10 (5–2) | Corbett Sports Center (5,700) Greensboro, NC |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | Delaware State | W 72–61 | 12–10 (6–2) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,623) Durham, NC |
| Feb 5, 2018 7:00 pm | | Hampton | L 70–86 | 12–11 (6–3) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,474) Durham, NC |
| Feb 10, 2018 6:00 pm | | at Florida A&M | L 56–65 | 12–12 (6–4) | Lawson Center (1,879) Tallahassee, FL |
| Feb 12, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Bethune–Cookman | L 81–99 | 12–13 (6–5) | Moore Gymnasium (876) Daytona Beach, FL |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 77–49 | 13–13 (7–5) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,322) Durham, NC |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:00 pm | | Howard | W 83–66 | 14–13 (8–5) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,622) Durham, NC |
| Feb 24, 2018 4:00 pm | | at South Carolina State | L 79–102 | 14–14 (8–6) | SHM Memorial Center (655) Orangeburg, SC |
| Feb 26, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Savannah State | L 75–85 | 14–15 (8–7) | Tiger Arena (1,990) Savannah, GA |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:30 pm | | North Carolina A&T | W 70–59 | 15–15 (9–7) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (3,036) Durham, NC |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2018 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (11) Coppin State First round | W 60–48 | 16–15 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| Mar 8, 2018 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (3) Savannah State Quarterfinals | W 58–56 | 17–15 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| Mar 9, 2018 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | (6) | vs. (7) Morgan State Semifinals | W 79–70 | 18–15 | Norfolk Scope (9,002) Norfolk, VA |
| Mar 10, 2018 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | (6) | vs. (1) Hampton Championship | W 71–63 | 19–15 | Norfolk Scope (6,036) Norfolk, VA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 2018* 6:40 pm, truTV | (16 W) | vs. (16 W) Texas Southern First Four | L 46–64 | 19–16 | UD Arena (12,732) Dayton, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||