2017–18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball season
The 2017–18 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2017, followed by the start of the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play started in January and concluded in March 2018. 2017–18 was the 37th season of MAAC basketball.
On February 25, 2018, the last day of the MAAC regular season, both Rider and Canisius won their final game to claim a share of the MAAC Regular Season title. Rider and Canisius both split their regular season games, but Rider had a 1–0 record against third place Niagara and Canisius went 1–1, so Rider was awarded the No. 1 seed in the 2018 MAAC Tournament, while Canisius secured the No. 2 seed.
The 2018 MAAC Tournament was held from March 1–5, 2018 at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY. No. 4 seed Iona defeated No. 6 seed Fairfield 83–71 to win the tournament championship, their third consecutive. They joined former member La Salle University and Siena College as the only teams to ever win three consecutive tournament championships. No team has won four consecutive as of 2018. As a result, Iona received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. They earned a No. 15 seed and lost to No. 2 seed Duke 67–89 in the First Round. Rider, a conference champion who failed to win it's conference's tournament, received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament, which they lost, 86–99 at Oregon. Canisius was invited to play in the College Basketball Invitational, and lost at home to Jacksonville State 78–80OT in the first round. Niagara was invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, and lost at Eastern Michigan 65–83.
Head Coaches
Coaching changes
On March 7, 2017, head coach Tom Moore was fired. He finished at Quinnipiac with a ten-year record of 162–146. On March 27, Villanova assistant coach Baker Dunleavy was hired as the Bobcats next head coach.Coaches
Notes:- All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
- Year at school includes 2017–18 season.
- Overall and MAAC records are from time at current school and are before the beginning of the season.
- Previous jobs are head coaching jobs unless otherwise noted.
Preseason
Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | Iona ' |
| 2. | Manhattan ' |
| 3. | Monmouth |
| 4. | Fairfield |
| 5. | Niagara |
| 6. | Siena |
| 7. | Rider |
| 8. | Saint Peter's |
| 9. | Canisius |
| 10. | Marist |
| 11. | Quinnipiac |
first place votes
Preseason All-MAAC teams
† denotes unanimous selectionPreseason Player of the Year
MAAC Regular Season
Conference Matrix
This table summarizes the final head-to-head results between teams in conference play.Player of the week
Throughout the regular season, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference offices named player of the week and rookie of the week.| Week | Player of the week | Rookie of the week |
| November 13, 2017 | Tyler Nelson, Fairfield | Wassef Methnani, Fairfield |
| November 20, 2017 | Isaiah Reese, Canisius | Jordan Allen, Rider |
| November 27, 2017 | Matt Scott, Niagara | Jordan Allen, Rider |
| December 4, 2017 | Matt Scott, Niagara | Jordan Allen, Rider |
| December 11, 2017 | Kahlil Dukes, Niagara | Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac |
| December 18, 2017 | Matt Scott, Niagara | Roman Penn, Siena |
| December 26, 2017 | Austin Tilghman, Monmouth | Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac |
| January 2, 2018 | Jermaine Crumpton, Canisius | Takal Molson, Canisius |
| January 8, 2018 | Frederick Scott, Rider | Deion Hammond, Monmouth |
| January 15, 2018 | Kahlil Dukes, Niagara | Takal Molson, Canisius |
| January 22, 2018 | Isaiah Reese, Canisius | Aidas Kavaliauskas, Fairfield |
| January 29, 2018 | Austin Tilghman, Monmouth | Deion Hammond, Monmouth |
| February 5, 2018 | Tyler Nelson, Fairfield | Takal Molson, Canisius |
| February 12, 2018 | Dimencio Vaughn, Rider | Jordan Allen, Rider |
| February 19, 2018 | Dimencio Vaughn, Rider | Rich Kelly, Quinnipiac |
| February 26, 2018 | Isaiah Reese, Canisius | Takal Molson, Canisius |
Records against other conferences
2017–18 records against non-conference foes. Records shown for regular season only.Postseason
MAAC Tournament
- 2018 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Basketball Tournament, Times Union Center, Albany, New York
- denotes number of overtimes
NCAA Tournament
| Seed | Region | School | First Four | 1st Round |
| 15 | Midwest | Iona | L 67–89 vs. #2 Duke – |
National Invitation Tournament
| Seed | Bracket | School | 1st Round |
| 6 | Notre Dame | Rider | L 86–99 at #3 Oregon – |
College Basketball Invitational
| School | 1st Round |
| Canisius | L 78–80OT vs. Jacksonville State – |
CollegeInsider.com Tournament
| School | 1st Round |
| Niagara | L 65–83 at Eastern Michigan – |