2017 – 18 Cincinnati Bearcats men 's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2017 – 18 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The team played its home games at the BB&T Arena on the campus of Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights , Kentucky due to renovations at their home arena , Fifth Third Arena . The Bearcats were led by 12th-year head coach Mick Cronin and are members of the American Athletic Conference . They finished the season 31 – 5 , 16 – 2 in AAC play to win the regular season championship . They defeated SMU , Memphis , and Houston to win the AAC Tournament and received the conference 's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament . As the No. 2 seed in the West region , they defeated Georgia State in the First Round before being upset by Nevada in the Second Round
AAC Tournament
2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2017–18 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team