2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball season
LeagueNCAA Division I
SportBasketball
Number of teams14
TV partner(s)CBS Sports Network, American Sports Network, beIN Sports, Campus Insiders, ESPN3
2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Regular season championsMiddle Tennessee
  Runners-upLouisiana Tech
Season MVPJaCorey Williams
Tournament
ChampionsMiddle Tennessee
  Runners-upMarshall
Finals MVPGiddy Potts
2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
Middle Tennessee †17–1 .94431–5  .861
Louisiana Tech14–4 .77823–10  .697
Old Dominion12–6 .66719–12  .613
UTEP12–6 .66715–17  .469
Rice11–7 .61123–12  .657
Marshall10–8 .55620–15  .571
UAB9–9 .50017–16  .515
Western Kentucky9–9 .50015–17  .469
UTSA8–10 .44414–19  .424
Charlotte7–11 .38913–17  .433
Florida Atlantic6–12 .33310–20  .333
Southern Miss6–12 .3339–22  .290
FIU3–15 .1677–24  .226
North Texas2–16 .1118–22  .267
† 2017 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in early March.

Middle Tennessee claimed the outright regular season championship with a win over UAB on February 26, 2017.[1] Louisiana Tech finished in second place in the regular season, three games behind the Blue Raiders.

Middle Tennessee's JaCorey Williams was named C-USA Player of the Year[2] and Kermit Davis was named the Coach of the Year.[3]

The C-USA tournament was held from March 8 through 11, 2017 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Middle Tennessee defeated Marshall to win the tournament championship for the second consecutive year. As a result, the Blue Raiders received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. No other C-USA school received an NCAA Tournament bid. Rice received a bid to the College Basketball Invitational tournament.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

On March 10, 2016, after 10 years with UTSA, head coach Brooks Thompson was fired.[4] He finished at UTSA with a record of 130–176. On April 1, the school hired Steve Henson as head coach.[5]

On March 17, 2016, WKU head coach Ray Harper resigned after three players were suspended by a university disciplinary committee.[6][7][8] He finished at WKU with a record of 90–62. On March 28, the school hired Rick Stansbury as head coach.[9]

UAB head coach Jerod Haase left UAB to accept the head coaching position at Stanford.[10] On April 4, 2016, the school hired Robert Ehsan, who had been an assistant under Haase at UAB, as head coach .[11]

Coaches

Team Head coach Previous job Year at school Overall record C-USA record C-USA championships NCAA Tournaments
Charlotte Mark Price Charlotte Bobcats
(asst.)		 2 27–36 16–20 0 0
FIU Anthony Evans Norfolk State 4 51–76 25–45 0 0
Florida Atlantic Michael Curry Philadelphia 76ers
(asst.)		 3 27–64 13–41 0 0
Louisiana Tech Eric Konkol Miami
(asst.)		 2 46–20 26–10 0 0
Marshall Dan D'Antoni Los Angeles Lakers
(asst.)		 3 48–52 29–25 0 0
Middle Tennessee Kermit Davis LSU
(asst.)		 15 307–179 52–18 2 2
North Texas Tony Benford Marquette
(assoc. head coach)		 5 62–95 23–49 0 0
Old Dominion Jeff Jones American 4 89–51 46–24 0 0
Rice Mike Rhoades VCU
(assoc. head coach)		 3 47–52 26–28 0 0
Southern Miss Doc Sadler Iowa State
(asst.)		 3 20–63 14–39 0 0
UAB Robert Ehsan UAB
(asst.)		 1 17–16 9–9 0 0
UTEP Tim Floyd USC 7 135–81 75–41 0 0
UTSA Steve Henson Oklahoma
(asst.)		 1 14–19 7–11 0 0
WKU Rick Stansbury Texas A&M
(asst.)		 1 15–17 9–9 0 0

Notes:

  • All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
  • Year at school includes 2016–17 season.
  • Overall and C-USA records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2016–17 season.

Preseason

Preseason Coaches Poll

Source[12]

Rank Team
1. UAB (10)
2. Middle Tennessee (4)
3. WKU
4. Marshall
5. Old Dominion
6. UTEP
7. Louisiana Tech
8. Charlotte
9. Rice
10. North Texas
11. FIU
12. Florida Atlantic
13. Southern Miss
14. UTSA

() first place votes

Preseason All-C-USA Team

Source[12]

Recipient School
Jeremy Combs North Texas
Chris Cokley UAB
Jon Elmore Marshall
Justin Johnson WKU
William Lee UAB
Erik McCree Louisiana Tech
Giddy Potts Middle Tennessee
Ryan Taylor Marshall
Reggie Upshaw Jr. Middle Tennessee

Conference schedules

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.

  Charlotte FIU FAU LaTech Marshall MTSU UNT ODU Rice USM UAB UTEP UTSA WKU
vs. Charlotte –0–1 1–0 1–02–01–00–21–12–00–11–0 1–0 0–1 1–1
vs. FIU 1–0–2–01–0 1–02–00–1 1–0 1–0 1–0 0–22–02–01–0
vs. Florida Atlantic 0–1 0–2–1–0 1–02–01–0 0–1 1–0 0–1 2–02–01–11–0
vs. Louisiana Tech 0–10–1 0–1 –0–1 1–00–20–11–10–21–0 0–21–10–1
vs. Marshall 0–20–10–11–0 –2–00–1 1–11–0 1–0 1–01–0 0–1 0–2
vs. Middle Tennessee 0–1 0–20–20–1 0–2–0–10–1 0–10–1 0–21–0 0–1 0–2
vs. North Texas 2–01–0 0–1 2–01–0 1–0–2–02–02–01–01–01–0 1–0
vs. Old Dominion 1–10–1 1–0 1–01–11–00–2–0–20–11–0 0–1 1–0 0–2
vs. Rice 0–20–1 0–1 1–10–1 1–00–22–0–0–21–01–0 1–0 1–0
vs. Southern Miss 1–00–1 1–0 2–00–1 1–00–21–02–0–1–0 1–11–11–0
vs. UAB 1–0 2–00–20–1 1–12–00–11–0 0–10–1 –1–0 1–0 1–1
vs. UTEP 0–1 0–20–22–00–1 0–10–1 1–0 0–1 1–10–1 –1–11–0
vs. UTSA 0–1 0–21–11–11–0 1–01–0 0–1 1–0 1–10–1 1–1–1–0
vs. WKU 1–10–10–11–0 2–02–00–1 2–00–1 0–1 1–10–1 0–1 –
Total 7–113–156–1214–410–817–12–1612–611–76–129–912–68–109–9

Players of the Week

Throughout the conference regular season, the C-USA offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.[13]

Week Player of the week Freshman of the week
November 14, 2016 Egor Koulechov, Rice DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech
November 21, 2016 Dominic Artis, UTEP Byron Frohnen, UTSA
November 28, 2016 JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee Jailyn Ingram, Florida Atlantic
December 5, 2016 Marcus Evans, Rice Najee Garvin, Charlotte
December 12, 2016 Jon Elmore, Marshall Deon Barrett, UTEP
December 19, 2016 JaCorey Williams (2), Middle Tennessee A. J. Lawson, North Texas
December 26, 2016 Stevie Browning, Marshall Byron Frohnen (2), UTSA
Jalen Harris, Louisiana Tech
January 2, 2017 Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee Quentin Jackson Jr., Charlotte
January 9, 2017 Ryan Taylor, Marshall Giovanni De Nicolao, UTSA
January 16, 2017 William Lee, UAB DaQuan Bracey (2), Louisiana Tech
January 23, 2017 Jon Davis, Charlotte DaQuan Bracey (3), Louisiana Tech
January 30, 2017 Matt Willms, UTEP Byron Frohnen (3), UTSA
February 6, 2017 Justin Johnson, WKU A. J. Lawson (2), North Texas
February 13, 2017 Marcus Evans (2), Rice Ryan Woolridge, North Texas
February 20, 2017 Paul Thomas, UTEP Ryan Woolridge (2), North Texas
February 27, 2017 Quinton Campbell, Southern Miss A.J. Lawson (3), North Texas
March 6, 2017 Egor Koulechov (2), Rice Jalen Harris (2), Louisiana Tech

All-C-USA honors and awards

Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches.[14][15]

Honor Recipient
Player of the Year JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee
Coach of the Year Kermit Davis, Middle Tennessee
Defensive Player of the Year William Lee, UAB
Freshman of the Year DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech
Newcomer of the Year JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee
Sixth Man of the Year Zoran Talley, Old Dominion
All-C-USA First Team Erik McCree, Louisiana Tech
Jon Elmore, Marshall
JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee
Marcus Evans, Rice
Egor Koulechov, Rice
All-C-USA Second Team Jon Davis, Charlotte
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee
William Lee, UAB
Dominic Artis, UTEP
Justin Johnson, WKU
All-C-USA Third Team Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech
Ryan Taylor, Marshall
Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee
Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion
Omega Harris, UTEP
All-C-USA Defensive Team Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech
Ryan Taylor, Marshall
Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee
Denzell Taylor, Old Dominion
William Lee, UAB
All-C-USA Freshman Team DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech
Jalen Harris, Louisiana Tech
Tyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee
A. J. Lawson, North Texas
Byron Frohnen, UTSA

Postseason

C-USA Tournament

Only the top 12 conference teams were eligible for the tournament.

Game Time* Matchup# Score Television Attendance
First round – Wednesday, March 8
1 11:30 am No. 8 Western Kentucky vs. No. 9 UTSA 52–56 Campus Insiders 3,207
2 2:00 pm No. 5 Rice vs. No. 12 Southern Miss 86–75
3 5:30 pm No. 7 UAB vs. No. 10 Charlotte 74–73 6,410
4 8:00 pm No. 6 Marshall vs. No. 11 Florida Atlantic 89–74
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 9
5 11:30 am No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 9 UTSA 86–70 ASN 3,654
6 2:00 pm No. 4 UTEP vs. No. 5 Rice 86–76
7 5:30 pm No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 7 UAB 69–57 4,005
8 8:00 pm No. 3 Old Dominion vs. No. 6 Marshall 63–64
Semifinals – Friday, March 10
9 11:30 am No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 4 UTEP 82–56 CBSSN 3,299
10 2:00 pm No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 6 Marshall 77–93
Championship Game – Saturday, March 11
11 7:30 pm No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 6 Marshall 83–72 CBSSN 3,956
*Game times in CT. Rankings denote tournament seed

NCAA tournament

Seed Region School First Four First Round Second Round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship
12 South Middle Tennessee N/A defeated (5) Minnesota 81–72 eliminated by (4) Butler 65–74

References

  1. ↑ "MBK: Middle Tennessee Claims C-USA Regular-Season Title". Conference USA. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ "MTSU's JaCorey Williams named Conference USA Player of the Year". DNJ. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Kermit Davis named Conference USA's Coach of the Year". DNJ. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ "UTSA fires coach Thompson after 10 seasons". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Steve Henson hired as seventh men's basketball coach at UTSA". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Ray Harper has resigned as WKU basketball coach".
  7. ↑ "WKU's Harper resigns as three players suspended". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  8. ↑ GREENWELL, ZACH. "Ransdell: Outcome of WKU players' hearing was 'primary reason' for Harper's resignation". Bowling Green Daily News. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ "It's official: WKU hires Stansbury as coach". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  10. ↑ "Jerod Haase leaves UAB after four seasons, heading to Stanford". AL.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  11. ↑ "UAB promotes assistant Ehsan to head coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  12. 1 2 "MBK: UAB Voted C-USA Preseason Favorite". www.conferenceusa.com. Retrieved January 17, 2017.
  13. ↑ "C-USA Notebook" (PDF).
  14. ↑ "C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED" (PDF).
  15. ↑ "C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL SPECIALTY AWARDS ANNOUNCED" (PDF).
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