The 2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...

in the

2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 10, 2017. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season ended with the Final Four in San Antonio on April 2, 2018. Practices officially began on September 29 ...

. The team played its home games at the

BB&T Arena Truist Arena, formerly The Bank of Kentucky Center and BB&T Arena, is a 10,000-seat multi-purpose arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky, on the campus of Northern Kentucky University. The arena was topped off on June 21, 2007, and the first event ...

on the campus of

Northern Kentucky University Northern Kentucky University is a public university in Highland Heights, Kentucky. It is primarily an undergraduate institution with over 14,000 students; over 12,000 are undergraduate students and nearly 2,000 are graduate students. Northern ...

Highland Heights, Kentucky Highland Heights is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,923 at the 2010 U.S. census. Highland Heights is home to Northern Kentucky University and General Cable, a Fortune 500 company wh ...

due to renovations at their home arena,

Fifth Third Arena Fifth Third Arena is an indoor arena in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. The arena opened in 1989 and is located on the campus of the University of Cincinnati. It primarily serves as the home venue for the Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball, wo ...

. The Bearcats were led by 12th-year head coach Mick Cronin and are members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

. They finished the season 31–5, 16–2 in AAC play to win the regular season championship. They defeated SMU,

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

, and

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

to win the AAC tournament and received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 2 seed in the South region, they defeated Georgia State in the First Round before being upset by

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

in the Second Round. In their loss to Nevada, they were up 22 before losing 75-73 tying the second largest comeback in terms of deficit in NCAA Tournament history. The other being in the 2001 Final Four where 3 seed Maryland was up 22 to eventual champion and former ACC rival Duke before losing 95-84. The largest being in the 2012 first four when 14 seed Iona was up 25 to BYU before losing 78-72. However both these teams had their leads in the first half whereas Cincinnati was up 22 with 11:34 to go.

Previous season

The Bearcats finished the 2016–17 season 30–6, 16–2 to finish in second place in AAC play. They beat

Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

and

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

in the AAC tournament before losing to SMU in the championship game. The Bearcats received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. In the NCAA Tournament, they defeated No. 11

Kansas State Kansas State University (KSU, Kansas State, or K-State) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Manhattan, Kansas, United States. It was opened as the state's land-grant college in 1863 and was the first public instit ...

in the First Round 75–61 before losing to No. 3

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

79–67 in the Second Round.

Offseason

Departing players

Recruiting class of 2017

Cincinnati will also add Preferred Walk-on Sam Martin a 5'10" PG from Summit Country Day School in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

Preseason

At the conference's annual media day, the Bearcats were narrowly picked to win the AAC receiving seven of the 12 first-place votes. Gary Clark, Jacob Evans, and Kyle Washington were named to the preseason All-AAC second team.

Roster

Depth chart

Source

Schedule and results

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Awards and milestones

All-American

*Honorable Mention: Gary Clark

American Athletic Conference honors

All-AAC Awards

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year (POY) . In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is he ...

: Gary Clark *Defensive Player of the Year: Gary Clark *Sportsmanship Award: Gary Clark

All-AAC First Team

*Gary Clark *Jacob Evans

All-AAC Honorable Mention

*Kyle Washington

Player of the Week

*Week 3: Gary Clark *Week 6: Jacob Evans *Week 9: Jacob Evans *Week 11: Gary Clark *Week 12: Gary Clark

Weekly Honor Roll

*Week 2: Jarron Cumberland *Week 6: Gary Clark *Week 8: Jarron Cumberland *Week 10: Jarron Cumberland *Week 13: Jacob Evans *Week 14: Kyle Washington *Week 16: Gary Clark *Week 17: Jacob Evans

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball seasons

Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball The Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball program represents the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio. The school's team competes in NCAA Division I as part of the American Athletic Conference though they will move to the Big 12 conferen ...