# 2016–17 Central Arkansas Bears basketball team

The 2016–17 Central Arkansas Bears basketball team represented the University of Central Arkansas during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by third-year head coach Russ Pennell and played their home games at the Farris Center in Conway, Arkansas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 8–24, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Southland tournament to Sam Houston State.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2015–16 season 7–21, 6–12 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. Due to APR penalties, they were not eligible for postseason play, including the Southland tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 29, 2016* 3:00 pm | | Southwest Baptist | W 90–55 | | Farris Center Conway, AR |
| Non-Conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+ | | at No. 9 Wisconsin Maui on the Mainland | L 47–79 | 0–1 | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Nov 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, FSOK+ | | at Oklahoma State Maui on the Mainland | L 90–102 | 0–2 | Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,911) Stillwater, OK |
| Nov 19, 2016* 7:30 pm | | vs. Chattanooga Maui on the Mainland | L 64–75 | 0–3 | Christl Arena (921) West Point, NY |
| Nov 20, 2016* 1:30 pm | | vs. Army Maui on the Mainland | W 81–76 | 1–3 | Christl Arena (670) West Point, NY |
| Nov 26, 2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | L 63–80 | 1–4 | University Arena (1,844) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Nov 29, 2016* 7:30 pm | | Little Rock | L 87–89 $^{OT}$ | 1–5 | Farris Center (2,643) Conway, AR |
| Dec 1, 2016* 6:30 pm | | at Southeast Missouri State | L 63–87 | 1–6 | Show Me Center (1,437) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dec 3, 2016* 3:00 pm, FS2 | | at No. 18 Butler | L 58–82 | 1–7 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,117) Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 10, 2016* 3:00 pm | | at Little Rock | L 59–70 | 1–8 | Jack Stephens Center (3,044) Little Rock, AR |
| Dec 13, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Michigan | L 53–97 | 1–9 | Crisler Center (9,486) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Dec 16, 2016* 7:00 pm | | Arkansas State | L 77–89 | 1–10 | Farris Center (1,942) Conway, AR |
| Dec 19, 2016* 7:30 pm | | at Morehead State | L 85–111 | 1–11 | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,505) Morehead, KY |
| Dec 22, 2016* 2:00 pm, P12N | | at Arizona State | L 62–98 | 1–12 | Wells Fargo Arena (4,479) Tempe, AZ |
| Southland Conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 31, 2016 4:00 pm | | Sam Houston State | W 67–65 | 2–12 (1–0) | Farris Center (612) Conway, AR |
| Jan 2, 2017 8:00 pm | | Lamar | L 75–78 | 2–13 (1–1) | Farris Center (635) Conway, AR |
| Jan 5, 2017 7:00 pm | | at Abilene Christian | W 81–76 | 3–13 (2–1) | Moody Coliseum (1,215) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 12, 2017 7:00 pm, ASN | | at Houston Baptist | W 89–78 | 4–13 (3–1) | Sharp Gym (597) Houston, TX |
| Jan 14, 2017 7:00 pm | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | L 81–88 | 4–14 (3–2) | American Bank Center (1,223) Corpus Christi, TX |
| Jan 18, 2017 7:00 pm | | at McNeese State | L 72–82 | 4–15 (3–3) | Burton Coliseum (307) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 21, 2017 4:00 pm | | New Orleans | L 63–81 | 4–16 (3–4) | Farris Center (429) Conway, AR |
| Jan 25, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 76–78 | 4–17 (3–5) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,612) Nacogdoches, TX |
| Jan 28, 2017 4:00 pm | | Incarnate Word | L 80–81 | 4–18 (3–6) | Farris Center (538) Conway, AR |
| Feb 2, 2017 7:00 pm | | Northwestern State | W 107–97 | 5–18 (4–6) | Farris Center (754) Conway, AR |
| Feb 4, 2017 4:00 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 68–66 | 6–18 (5–6) | Farris Center (742) Conway, AR |
| Feb 9, 2017 7:00 pm | | Abilene Christian | W 84–73 | 7–18 (6–6) | Farris Center (958) Conway, AR |
| Feb 11, 2017 4:00 pm | | Nicholls | W 106–83 | 8–18 (7–6) | Farris Center (1,845) Conway, AR |
| Feb 16, 2017 6:30 pm | | at Nicholls | L 89–96 $^{OT}$ | 8–19 (7–7) | Stopher Gym (601) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 18, 2017 4:00 pm | | at New Orleans | L 61–84 | 8–20 (7–8) | Lakefront Arena (812) New Orleans, LA |
| Feb 22, 2017 7:30 pm | | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 70–87 | 8–21 (7–9) | University Center (837) Hammond, LA |
| Feb 25, 2017 6:00 pm | | Stephen F. Austin | L 85–90 | 8–22 (7–10) | Farris Center (858) Conway, AR |
| Mar 4, 2017 3:00 pm | | at Northwestern State | L 83–97 | 8–23 (7–11) | Prather Coliseum (1,523) Natchitoches, LA |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| March 8, 2017 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | (8) | vs. (5) Sam Houston State First Round | L 69–77 | 8–24 | Merrell Center (1,127) Katy, TX |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. ||||||