| Mode: | Basketball |
| Sex: | none |
| Year: | 2017–18 |
| Team: | Missouri State Bears |
| Conference: | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Short Conf: | MVC |
| Record: | 18–15 |
| Conf Record: | 7–11 |
| Hc Year: | 7th |
| Asst Coach1: | Corey Gipson |
| Asst Coach2: | Matt Sligh |
| Asst Coach3: | Keith Pickens |
The 2017–18 Missouri State Bears basketball team represented Missouri State University during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears, led by seventh-year head coach Paul Lusk, played their home games at JQH Arena in Springfield, Missouri as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. Despite being the preseason favorite in the MVC, the Bears finished the season 18–15, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they beat Valparaiso in the first round before losing to Southern Illinois in the quarterfinals.
On March 3, 2018, the school announced that head coach Paul Lusk had been fired.[1] [2] He finished at Missouri State with a seven-year record of 106–121. The school announced that former Tennessee State head coach Dana Ford had been named head coach of the Bears on March 21.[3]
The Bears finished the 2016–17 season 17–16, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 6 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals before losing to Wichita State in the semifinals.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Martin | 0 | F | 6'8" | 235 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Robin Thompson | 1 | F | 6'6" | 224 | RS Sophomore | Transferred to Maryville | ||
| Dequon Miller | 4 | G | 5'10" | 176 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Austin Ruder | 15 | G | 6'3" | 199 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Chris Kendrix | 33 | F | 6'5" | 185 | Junior | Graduate transferred to Minnesota State | ||
| Tyler McCullough | 50 | C | 6'11" | 252 | Senior | Graduated |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abdul-Hakim Fofana | 0 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Junior college transferred from Dakota College at Bottineau | ||
| Reggie Scurry | 2 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Junior | Junior college transferred from Northern Oklahoma College | ||
| James Miller | 23 | G | 6'4" | 185 | RS Senior | Transferred from Howard. Will be eligible to play immediately since Miller graduated from Howard. | ||
| Tanveer Bhullar | 34 | C | 7'2" | 285 | RS Senior | Transferred from New Mexico. Will be eligible to play immediately since Bhullar graduated from New Mexico State. |
In the conference's preseason poll, the Bears were picked to win the MVC, receiving 30 of 40 first place votes.[4] Senior forward Alize Johnson was named the preseason MVC Player of the Year.
|-!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| Missouri Valley regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| Missouri Valley tournamentSource[5] [6]