2017–18 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by sixth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 12–19, 7–11 in OVC play to finish in eighth place. They defeated Tennessee State in the first round of the OVC tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Austin Peay.

2017–18 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	12–19 (7–11 OVC)
Head coach	Jay Spoonhour (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Rand Chappell J.R. Renolds Rob Holloway
Home arena	Lantz Arena

2017–18 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Murray State †	16	–	2		.889			26	–	6		.813
Belmont	15	–	3		.833			24	–	9		.727
Austin Peay	12	–	6		.667			19	–	15		.559
Jacksonville State	11	–	7		.611			23	–	13		.639
Tennessee Tech	10	–	8		.556			19	–	14		.576
Tennessee State	10	–	8		.556			15	–	15		.500
Southeast Missouri State*	8	–	10		.444			14	–	17		.452
Eastern Illinois	7	–	11		.389			12	–	19		.387
SIU Edwardsville	5	–	13		.278			9	–	21		.300
UT Martin	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Eastern Kentucky	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Morehead State	4	–	14		.222			8	–	21		.276
*ineligible for postseason due to APR violations
† 2018 OVC tournament winner

Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2016–17 season 14–15, 6–10 in OVC play to finish in fifth place in the West Division. They failed to qualify for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament.

Preseason

After five years of divisional play in the OVC, the conference eliminated divisions for the 2017–18 season. Additionally, for the first time, each conference team will play 18 conference games.

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors, Eastern Illinois was picked to finish sixth in the OVC.

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 3, 2017* 7:00 pm		Illinois Hurricane Relief Benefit	W 80–67		Lantz Arena  Charleston, IL
Nov 6, 2017* 7:30 pm		Southern Indiana	L 92–95		Lantz Arena (687) Charleston, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 11, 2017* 7:30 pm, BTN+		at Nebraska	L 68–72	0–1	Pinnacle Bank Arena (11,104) Lincoln, NE
Nov 15, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Western Illinois	L 54–56	0–2	Western Hall (645) Macomb, IL
Nov 17, 2017* 7:30 pm		IUPUI	W 80–79	1–2	Lantz Arena (769) Charleston, IL
Nov 20, 2017* 9:30 pm		at San Diego State	L 63–94	1–3	Viejas Arena (9,821) San Diego, CA
Nov 24, 2017* 7:30 pm		Fontbonne	W 95–44	2–3	Lantz Arena (544) Charleston, IL
Nov 27, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Marquette	L 83–86 OT	2–4	BMO Harris Bradley Center (11,647) Milwaukee, WI
Dec 1, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Bradley	L 56–67	2–5	Carver Arena (5,275) Peoria, IL
Dec 6, 2017* 7:00 pm		at Green Bay	L 57–59	2–6	Resch Center (1,925) Green Bay, WI
Dec 16, 2017* 3:05 pm		at South Alabama	L 52–63	2–7	Mitchell Center (1,901) Mobile, AL
Dec 19, 2017* 7:30 pm		Western Illinois	W 78–77	3–7	Lantz Arena (737) Charleston, IL
Dec 21, 2017* 1:30 pm		Saint Francis (IL)	W 74–38	4–7	Lantz Arena (600) Charleston, IL
Ohio Valley Conference regular season
Dec 28, 2017 7:00 pm		at Murray State	L 52–80	4–8 (0–1)	CFSB Center (2,846) Murray, KY
Dec 30, 2018 7:00 pm		at Austin Peay	L 54–70	4–9 (0–2)	Dunn Center (2,051) Clarksville, TN
Jan 4, 2018 5:00 pm		at Morehead State	W 61–52	5–9 (1–2)	Ellis Johnson Arena (1,855) Morehead, KY
Jan 6, 2018 3:00 pm		at Eastern Kentucky	W 54–53	6–9 (2–2)	McBrayer Arena (1,200) Richmond, KY
Jan 11, 2018 6:00 pm, CBSSN		Tennessee State	L 65–69	6–10 (2–3)	Lantz Arena (1,313) Charleston, IL
Jan 13, 2018 3:15 pm		Belmont	L 66–75	6–11 (2–4)	Lantz Arena (1,493) Charleston, IL
Jan 18, 2018 7:30 pm		UT Martin	W 80–60	7–11 (3–4)	Lantz Arena (1,245) Charleston, IL
Jan 20, 2018 3:15 pm		Southeast Missouri State	L 74–86	7–12 (3–5)	Lantz Arena (1,369) Charleston, IL
Jan 25, 2018 7:00 pm		at Belmont	L 59–81	7–13 (3–6)	Curb Event Center (1,954) Nashville, TN
Jan 27, 2018 7:30 pm		at Tennessee State	L 47–50	7–14 (3–7)	Gentry Complex (1,344) Nashville, TN
Feb 1, 2018 7:30 pm		Jacksonville State	L 56–75	7–15 (3–8)	Lantz Arena (1,643) Charleston, IL
Feb 3, 2018 3:15 pm		Tennessee Tech	W 79–71	8–15 (4–8)	Lantz Arena (1,831) Charleston, IL
Feb 8, 2018 7:00 pm		at SIU Edwardsville	W 78–74	9–15 (5–8)	Vadalabene Center (1,205) Edwardsville, IL
Feb 10, 2018 3:15 pm		Austin Peay	L 69–76	9–16 (5–9)	Lantz Arena (1,407) Charleston, IL
Feb 15, 2018 6:30 pm		at Southeast Missouri State	L 73–80	9–17 (5–10)	Show Me Center (825) Cape Girardeau, MO
Feb 17, 2018 6:00 pm		at UT Martin	W 64–57	10–17 (6–10)	Skyhawk Arena (1,469) Martin, TN
Feb 22, 2018 7:30 pm		Murray State	L 66–76	10–18 (6–11)	Lantz Arena (1,313) Charleston, IL
Feb 24, 2018 3:15 pm		SIU Edwardsville	W 68–56	11–18 (7–11)	Lantz Arena (1,550) Charleston, IL
Ohio Valley tournament
Feb 28, 2018 9:00 pm	(7)	vs. (6) Tennessee State First round	W 73–71	12–18	Ford Center (654) Evansville, IN
Mar 1, 2018 9:00 pm	(7)	vs. (3) Austin Peay Quarterfinals	L 66–73	12–19	Ford Center (914) Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

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