The 2017–18 Northern Kentucky Norse men's basketball team represented Northern Kentucky University (NKU) during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Norse, led by third-year head coach John Brannen, played their home games at BB&T Arena in Highland Heights, Kentucky as members of the Horizon League. They finished the season 22–10, 15–3 in Horizon League play to win the Horizon League regular season championship. They were upset in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League tournament by No. 8 seed Cleveland State. As a regular season league champion who failed to win their league tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Louisville.
The Norse shared their home arena, BB&T Arena, with the University of Cincinnati's men's basketball team during the season while Cincinnati's home arena, Fifth Third Arena, underwent renovations during the season.
Previous season The Norse finished the 2016–17 season 24–11, 13–6 in Horizon League play to finish in a tie for third place. As the No. 4 seed in the Horizon League tournament, they defeated Wright State, Youngstown State, and Milwaukee to win the Horizon League tournament. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament in the school's first year of eligibility after its transition to a Division I school. They lost in the first round to Kentucky.
Offseason
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Brandon Maxwell 2 G 6'2" 190 Sophomore Orlando, FL Transferred Blake Spellman 3 G 5'11" 180 Freshman Lee's Summit, MO Transferred to Central Missouri Brennan Gillis 13 F 6'7" 215 Sophomore Indianapolis, IN Left the team for personal reasons Matt Rosenwinkel 22 G 6'2" 230 Senior Rochelle, IL Walk-on; graduated Cole Murray 25 G 6'7" 210 Senior Delphi, IN Graduated
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Tyler Sharpe 15 G 6'1" 185 Sophomore Louisville, KY Transferred from Louisville. Under NCAA transfer rules, Sharpe will have to sit out for the 2017–18 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Recruiting class of 2017
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition
|-bs !colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style=| Horizon League regular season
!colspan=9 style=|Horizon League tournament
!colspan=9 style=|NIT
References