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

University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati, informally Cincy) is a public university, public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1819 and had an enrollment of over 53,000 students in 2024, making it the ...

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 ...

. 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 9,400-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, United States. Established in 1968, it is the youngest of Kentucky's eight public universities. The university has seven constituent colleges in arts and science ...

Highland Heights, Kentucky Highland Heights is a home rule-class city in Campbell County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 6,662 at the 2020 census. Highland Heights is home to Northern Kentucky University and General Cable, a Fortune 500 company whose pre ...

due to renovations at their home arena,

Fifth Third Arena Fifth Third Arena is an indoor arena in Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the con ...

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

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. 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 * Mem ...

, and

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

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 Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the second large ...

in the First Round before being upset by

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

in the Second Round. In their loss to Nevada, they were up 22 before losing 75–73, tying the second largest comeback in NCAA Tournament history.

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-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

and

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

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 inst ...

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, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

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 The Summit Country Day School is a private, Roman Catholic, PreK–12 co-educational school located in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 2021, enrollment is 1,055 students from ages 18 months through 12th grade. Although located within the Archdiocese of Ci ...

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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 The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

*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. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

: 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 ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

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 Big 12 Conference. The Bearcats are currently coached by Wes Miller. Wit ...