The 2017–18 UMBC Retrievers men's basketball team represented the

University of Maryland, Baltimore County The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

during 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 2 ...

. The Retrievers, led by second-year head coach

Ryan Odom Robert Ryan Odom (born July 11, 1974) is an American men's college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the VCU Rams men's basketball team. He was previously the head coach of the Lenoir–Rhyne Bears, the UMBC Retrievers, and the ...

as members of the

America East Conference The America East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I founded in 1979, whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference has nine core members including eight public research u ...

, started the season playing their home games at the

Retriever Activities Center Retriever Activities Center is a 4,024-seat multi-purpose arena in Catonsville, Maryland. The arena opened in 1973. It was home to the UMBC Retrievers basketball and volleyball teams, which represent the University of Maryland, Baltimore County ...

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

, but moved to the new

UMBC Event Center The Chesapeake Employers Insurance Arena (formerly the UMBC Event Center) is a basketball arena, concert and multi-purpose event venue on the campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) in Catonsville, Maryland. It is the home ...

during the season. The new arena opened on February 3, 2018. UMBC beat

UMass Lowell The University of Massachusetts Lowell (UMass Lowell and UML) is a public research university in Lowell, Massachusetts, with a satellite campus in Haverhill, Massachusetts. It is the northernmost member of the University of Massachusetts public ...

and

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

to advance to the championship of the America East tournament where they defeated

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

. As a result, the Retrievers received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 16 seed in the South region, they defeated the No. 1 overall seed

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

by 20 points, becoming the first 16th-seeded team to beat a No. 1 seed. The win is considered one of the biggest upsets in NCAA Tournament history and sports history depending on seedings or point spreads. The Retrievers lost to

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 second round.

Previous season

The Retrievers finished the 2016–17 season 21–13, 9–7 in America East play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the America East tournament to

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. They received an invitation to the

CollegeInsider.com Tournament The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was an American men's college basketball postseason tournament founded by Collegeinsider.com. The tournament was oriented toward schools that did not get selected for the NCAA Division I men's ba ...

where they defeated Fairfield, Saint Francis (PA), and

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

to advance to the semifinals. In the semifinals, they lost to Texas A&M–Corpus Christi.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

2017 incoming recruits

Preseason

In a poll by the conference's nine head coaches (who were not allowed to pick their own team) at the America East media day, the Retrievers were picked to finish third in the America East. Senior Jairus Lyles was named to the preseason All-America East team.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, America East regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, America East tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament UMBC Retrievers men's basketball schedule
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 UMBC Retrievers men's basketball team

UMBC The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...

UMBC Retrievers men's basketball seasons 2017 in sports in Maryland 2018 in sports in Maryland