2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball season
Sports season
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] 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] 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] Rick Stansbury as head coach.[ 9]
UAB head coach Jerod Haase left UAB to accept the head coaching position at Stanford .[ 10] Robert Ehsan , who had been an assistant under Haase at UAB, as head coach .[ 11]
Coaches
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
1–0
2–0
1–0
0–2
1–1
2–0
0–1
1–0
1–0
0–1
1–1
vs. FIU
1–0
–
2–0
1–0
1–0
2–0
0–1
1–0
1–0
1–0
0–2
2–0
2–0
1–0
vs. Florida Atlantic
0–1
0–2
–
1–0
1–0
2–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
0–1
2–0
2–0
1–1
1–0
vs. Louisiana Tech
0–1
0–1
0–1
–
0–1
1–0
0–2
0–1
1–1
0–2
1–0
0–2
1–1
0–1
vs. Marshall
0–2
0–1
0–1
1–0
–
2–0
0–1
1–1
1–0
1–0
1–0
1–0
0–1
0–2
vs. Middle Tennessee
0–1
0–2
0–2
0–1
0–2
–
0–1
0–1
0–1
0–1
0–2
1–0
0–1
0–2
vs. North Texas
2–0
1–0
0–1
2–0
1–0
1–0
–
2–0
2–0
2–0
1–0
1–0
1–0
1–0
vs. Old Dominion
1–1
0–1
1–0
1–0
1–1
1–0
0–2
–
0–2
0–1
1–0
0–1
1–0
0–2
vs. Rice
0–2
0–1
0–1
1–1
0–1
1–0
0–2
2–0
–
0–2
1–0
1–0
1–0
1–0
vs. Southern Miss
1–0
0–1
1–0
2–0
0–1
1–0
0–2
1–0
2–0
–
1–0
1–1
1–1
1–0
vs. UAB
1–0
2–0
0–2
0–1
1–1
2–0
0–1
1–0
0–1
0–1
–
1–0
1–0
1–1
vs. UTEP
0–1
0–2
0–2
2–0
0–1
0–1
0–1
1–0
0–1
1–1
0–1
–
1–1
1–0
vs. UTSA
0–1
0–2
1–1
1–1
1–0
1–0
1–0
0–1
1–0
1–1
0–1
1–1
–
1–0
vs. WKU
1–1
0–1
0–1
1–0
2–0
2–0
0–1
2–0
0–1
0–1
1–1
0–1
0–1
–
Total
7–11
3–15
6–12
14–4
10–8
17–1
2–16
12–6
11–7
6–12
9–9
12–6
8–10
9–9
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
^ "MBK: Middle Tennessee Claims C-USA Regular-Season Title" . Conference USA . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .^ "MTSU's JaCorey Williams named Conference USA Player of the Year" . DNJ . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .^ "Kermit Davis named Conference USA's Coach of the Year" . DNJ . Retrieved August 1, 2017 .^ "UTSA fires coach Thompson after 10 seasons" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 25, 2017 .^ "Steve Henson hired as seventh men's basketball coach at UTSA" . San Antonio Express-News . Retrieved January 25, 2017 .^ "Ray Harper has resigned as WKU basketball coach" .^ "WKU's Harper resigns as three players suspended" . The Courier-Journal . Retrieved January 25, 2017 .^ GREENWELL, ZACH. "Ransdell: Outcome of WKU players' hearing was 'primary reason' for Harper's resignation" . Bowling Green Daily News . Retrieved January 25, 2017 . ^ "It's official: WKU hires Stansbury as coach" . The Courier-Journal . Retrieved January 25, 2017 .^ "Jerod Haase leaves UAB after four seasons, heading to Stanford" . AL.com . Retrieved January 25, 2017 .^ "UAB promotes assistant Ehsan to head coach" . ESPN.com . Retrieved January 25, 2017 .^ a b "MBK: UAB Voted C-USA Preseason Favorite" . www.conferenceusa.com . Retrieved January 17, 2017 .^ "C-USA Notebook" (PDF) .^ "C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED" (PDF) .^ "C-USA MEN'S BASKETBALL SPECIALTY AWARDS ANNOUNCED" (PDF) .
Current teams Future teams Championships & awards Seasons
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