The 2017–18 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games in Lexington, Kentucky for the 42nd consecutive season at Rupp Arena, with a capacity of 23,500. The team, led by John Calipari in his ninth season as head coach, was a member of the Southeastern Conference. On January 22, 2018, following losses to South Carolina on the road, and to Florida at home, the Wildcats fell out of the AP rankings for the first time since March 2014.