# 2017–18 Delaware State Hornets men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Delaware State Hornets men's basketball team represented Delaware State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hornets, led by fourth-year head coach Keith Walker, played their home games at Memorial Hall in Dover, Delaware as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.
The Hornets finished 4–28, 2–14 in the MEAC play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the MEAC tournament to North Carolina A&T. They lost every game on the road and on a neutral court, with both of their non-conference victories coming against non-Division I schools. They had the dubious distinction of finishing the season 351st in RPI out of the 351 teams in the NCAA.
On February 22, 2018, head coach Keith Walker was fired and associate head coach Keith Johnson was named interim head coach for the remainder of the season. On July 26, 5 months after Walker was fired, the school hired UMBC assistant Eric Skeeters for the head coaching job.

## Previous season

The Hornets finished the 2016–17 season 10–22, 7–9 in MEAC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. They lost in the first round of the MEAC tournament to Bethune–Cookman.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 10, 2017* 7:30 pm | | Cairn | W 71–50 | 1–0 | Memorial Hall (1,010) Dover, DE |
| Nov 13, 2017* 8:00 pm, FS2 | | at DePaul | L 57–81 | 1–1 | Wintrust Arena (4,527) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm, CN81 | | at Fort Wayne Adolph Rupp Classic | L 71–85 | 1–2 | Memorial Coliseum (1,353) Fort Wayne, IN |
| Nov 16, 2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at UIC Adolph Rupp Classic | L 55–95 | 1–3 | UIC Pavilion (1,537) Chicago, IL |
| Nov 20, 2017* 7:00 pm, 3,562 | | at East Tennessee State Adolph Rupp Classic | L 57–81 | 1–4 | Freedom Hall Civic Center (3,562) Johnson City, TN |
| Nov 25, 2017* 4:00 pm | | Georgian Court | W 68–55 | 2–4 | Memorial Hall (348) Dover, DE |
| Nov 27, 2017* 8:00 pm | | at Troy Adolph Rupp Classic | L 64–95 | 2–5 | Trojan Arena (1,201) Troy, AL |
| Nov 29, 2017* 8:00 pm | | Binghamton | L 64–85 | 2–6 | Memorial Hall (735) Dover, DE |
| Dec 2, 2017* 5:00 pm | | at East Carolina | L 57–63 | 2–7 | Williams Arena (3,195) Greenville, NC |
| Dec 6, 2017* 6:30 pm | | UMBC | L 60–81 | 2–8 | Memorial Hall (847) Dover, DE |
| Dec 09, 2017* 12:00 pm | | at Duquesne | L 48–97 | 2–9 | Palumbo Center (1,213) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 17, 2017* 8:00 pm | | Delaware Route 1 Rivalry | L 59–68 $^{OT}$ | 2–10 | Memorial Hall (527) Dover, DE |
| Dec 19, 2017* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Pittsburgh | L 68–74 | 2–11 | Petersen Events Center (2,372) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 22, 2017* 8:00 pm, BTN Plus | | at Nebraska | L 68–85 | 2–12 | Pinnacle Bank Arena (10,431) Lincoln, NE |
| Dec 27, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Penn | L 52–105 | 2–13 | Palestra (2,011) Philadelphia, PA |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 3, 2018 7:30 pm | | North Carolina Central | L 62–65 | 2–14 (0–1) | Memorial Hall (249) Dover, DE |
| Jan 6, 2018 4:00 pm | | South Carolina State | L 60–63 | 2–15 (0–2) | Memorial Hall (319) Dover, DE |
| Jan 8, 2018 7:30 pm | | North Carolina A&T | L 66–76 | 2–16 (0–3) | Memorial Hall (536) Dover, DE |
| Jan 12, 2018 7:00 pm | | at Hampton | L 56–78 | 2–17 (0–4) | Hampton Convocation Center (4,123) Hampton, VA |
| Jan 15, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Florida A&M | L 89–94 $^{2OT}$ | 2–18 (0–5) | Lawson Center (2,487) Tallahassee, FL |
| Jan 20, 2018 4:00 pm | | Bethune–Cookman | L 78–85 | 2–19 (0–6) | Memorial Hall (678) Dover, DE |
| Jan 22, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Morgan State | L 47–61 | 2–20 (0–7) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (3,286) Baltimore, MD |
| Jan 27, 2018 4:00 pm | | Savannah State | L 86–106 | 2–21 (0–8) | Memorial Hall (537) Dover, DE |
| Feb 3, 2018 4:00 pm | | at North Carolina Central | L 61–72 | 2–22 (0–9) | McDougald–McLendon Gymnasium (1,623) Durham, NC |
| Feb 5, 2018 7:30 pm, Lock TV | | at North Carolina A&T | L 51–54 | 2–23 (0–10) | Corbett Sports Center (1,094) Greensboro, NC |
| Feb 12, 2018 8:00 pm | | at Norfolk State | L 58–93 | 2–24 (0–11) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (1,736) Norfolk, VA |
| Feb 17, 2018 4:00 pm | | Florida A&M | L 63–66 | 2–25 (0–12) | Memorial Hall (854) Dover, DE |
| Feb 19, 2018 7:30 pm | | Coppin State | W 69–51 | 3–25 (1–12) | Memorial Hall (874) Dover, DE |
| Feb 24, 2018 4:00 pm | | at Howard | L 74–93 | 3–26 (1–13) | Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 26, 2018 7:30 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | L 47–59 | 3–27 (1–14) | Hytche Athletic Center (2,205) Princess Anne, MD |
| Mar 1, 2018 7:30 pm | | Morgan State | W 87–80 | 4–27 (2–14) | Memorial Hall (997) Dover, DE |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 2018 6:30 pm | (13) | vs. (4) North Carolina A&T First round | L 61–62 | 4–28 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||