The 2017–18 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school the ...

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

. The Bruins were led by fifth-year head coach

Steve Alford Stephen Todd Alford (born November 23, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and former professional player who is the head coach for the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball, Nevada Wolf Pack of the Mountain West Conference (MWC). ...

and played their home games at

Pauley Pavilion Edwin W. Pauley Pavilion, commonly known as Pauley Pavilion, is an indoor arena located in the Westwood Village district of Los Angeles, California, on the campus of UCLA. It is home to the UCLA Bruins men's and women's basketball teams. Th ...

as members in the

Pac-12 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

. They finished the season 21–12, 11–7 in Pac-12 play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. The Bruins opened their new practice facility, the Mo Ostin Basketball Center. They defeated

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they lost 65–58 in the

First Four The First Four is a play-in round of the NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball tournaments. It consists of two games contested between the four lowest-ranked teams in the field (usually the four lowest-ranked conference champions), an ...

to St. Bonaventure for the Bonnies' first tournament win in 48 years. It was the first time in UCLA's history that they had been relegated to a First Four play-in game. It was the first time in the school's four tournament appearances under Alford that they did not advance to the Sweet 16.

Previous season

The Bruins finished the 2016–17 season 31–5 overall; and 15–3 in the conference. During the season, UCLA was invited and participated in the

Wooden Legacy The Vegas Showdown, formerly known as the Wooden Legacy, is an annual early-season men's college basketball competition that began in 2013. It was formerly named in honor of basketball coach John Wooden, whose UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA B ...

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

. UCLA defeated

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

, and

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

to earn 1st place. UCLA also defeated

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 ...

in the

CBS Sports Classic The CBS Sports Classic is an annual American men's college basketball event that began in 2014. Four teams take part annually in the event. From the inception of the classic through 2024, Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio State, and UCLA each partici ...

Paradise, Nevada Paradise is an Unincorporated towns in Nevada, unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in Clark County, Nevada, United States, adjacent to the city of Las Vegas. It was formed on December 8, 1950. Its population was 191,238 at the ...

. In the postseason, UCLA defeated

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

but lost to

in the semifinals of the 2017 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament in Paradise, Nevada. The Bruins were invited and participated in the

2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 20 ...

, where they defeated

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio, United States. The university includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio located in Ashtabula, Burton, East Liverpool, Jackson Township, New Philadelphia, ...

and

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 ...

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

but lost to

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

in the Sweet Sixteen.

Off-season

Departures

2017 recruiting class

Roster

China incident

At the start of the regular season, three of UCLA's players, Jalen Hill, Cody Riley, and LiAngelo Ball, were arrested in China for allegedly shoplifting before their game against

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. The arrested players were confined to their hotel for several days until the charges were dropped and the players were allowed to leave the country. The players involved were suspended indefinitely from the team after their return to campus, with LiAngelo eventually withdrawing from UCLA on December 4, 2017. He would go on to play professionally overseas in Lithuania with his younger brother LaMelo. On December 22, 2017, UCLA announced that the other two suspended players, Riley and Hill, would remain suspended for the whole season, but would be allowed to rejoin practices and team activities on December 26.

Schedule and results

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Rankings

*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings

Honors

Preseason award watchlists

Pac-12 Player of the Week

Aaron Holiday Aaron Shawn Holiday (born September 30, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the UCLA Bruins men's basketball, UCLA Bruins, wher ...

(December 26) *Aaron Holiday (February 19) *Aaron Holiday (March 5)

Postseason awards

, Third-team

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 ...

- ''

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' *Aaron Holiday, First-team All-Pac-12 *Aaron Holiday, Pac-12 All-Defensive Team * Thomas Welsh, Second-team All-Pac-12

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2017-18 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team UCLA Bruins men's basketball seasons

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 ...

UCLA Bruins basketball, men UCLA Bruins basketball, men