The 2017–18 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented

Butler University Butler University is a private university in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Founded in 1855 and named after founder Ovid Butler, the university has over 60 major academic fields of study within six colleges in the arts, business, communic ...

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 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, on April 2, 2018. Practices offici ...

. They were coached by

LaVall Jordan LaVall Jurrant Jordan (born April 16, 1979) is an American college basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach at DePaul Blue Demons men's basketball, DePaul University. He previously served as the head coach at Butler Bulldogs men's ba ...

, in his first year as head coach of his alma mater. The Bulldogs played their home games at

Hinkle Fieldhouse Hinkle Fieldhouse (named Butler Fieldhouse from 1928 until 1966) is a basketball arena on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. Completed in early 1928, it was the largest basketball arena in the United States until 1950. Th ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

as members of the

Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...

. They finished the season 21–14, 9–9 in Big East play to finish a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big East tournament, they defeated

Seton Hall Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

before losing to Villanova in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region. There they defeated

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

in the first round before losing to

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

in the second round.

Previous season

The

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is a stocky, muscular dog of medium size, with a large head, thick folds of skin around the face and shoulders and a rel ...

finished the 2016–17 season 25–9, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in second place. They lost to Xavier in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament. The team received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 4 seed in the South Region. They defeated No. 13 Winthrop and No. 12

Middle Tennessee Middle Tennessee is one of the three Grand Divisions of Tennessee that composes roughly the central portion of the state. It is delineated according to state law as 41 of the state's 95 counties. Middle Tennessee contains the state's capital an ...

to advance to the Sweet 16. In the Sweet 16, they lost to eventual National Champion

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. On June 9, 2017, head coach

Chris Holtmann Christopher Adam Holtmann (born November 11, 1971) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at DePaul University. Holtmann grew up in Nicholasville, Kentucky, and started his college playing career in-state at Br ...

left the school to become the head coach at

Ohio State The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one of the largest universities by enrollme ...

. On June 12, the school hired

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

head coach and Butler alum LaVall Jordan as head coach.

Off season

Departures

2017 recruiting class

Butler originally signed five recruits in its 2017 class which was hailed as the best recruiting class in Butler history. Following Chris Holtmann's departure, however, top-rated recruited

Kyle Young Kyle Young (born January 5, 1998) is an American former basketball player. He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. Early life Young was raised in Jackson Township, Ohio and went to high school at Jac ...

was released from his letter of intent and followed Holtmann to Ohio State. On October 8, 2017, Cooper Neese announced he would be transferring to

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

before the season began.

Preseason

In a poll of Big East coaches at the conference's media day, the Bulldogs were picked to finish in eight place in the Big East. Senior forward Kelan Martin was named to the preseason All-Big East First Team.

Roster

Schedule and results

* , - !colspan=12 style=, Spain Exhibition Trip , - !colspan=12 style=, Exhibition , - !colspan=12 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Big East regular season , - , - !colspan=9 style=", Big East tournament , - !colspan=12 style=, NCAA tournament

Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball Team

Butler A butler is a person who works in a house serving and is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments, with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantries, pantr ...

Butler Bulldogs men's basketball seasons