# 2016–17 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Morehead State Eagles men's basketball team represented Morehead State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by interim head coach Preston Spradlin, played their home games at Ellis Johnson Arena in Morehead, Kentucky as members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. The Eagles finished the season 14–16, 10–6 in OVC play to finish in second place in the East Division. In the OVC tournament they lost to Murray State in the quarterfinals.
On November 22, 2016, Morehead State suspended head coach Sean Woods with pay while the school investigated complaints made against Woods. Assistant coach Preston Spradlin was named interim head coach. On December 15, two days after Woods was charged with misdemeanor battery in Indiana for allegedly assaulting two of his players during a game versus Evansville, it was announced that Woods had resigned. It was announced that Spradlin would continue as interim coach while the school conducted a nationwide search for a replacement. On March 16, 2017, Spradlin was named full-time head coach.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2015–16 season 23–14, 11–5 in OVC play to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the East Division. They defeated Murray State in the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to UT Martin. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Siena, Duquesne, and Ohio to advance to the best-of-three finals series against Nevada. In the finals, they lost the CIT championship two games to one.

## Preseason

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors, Morehead State was picked to finish third in the East Division of the OVC. Xavier Moon was selected to the All-OVC Preseason Team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/06/2016* 2:00 pm, OVC Digital Network | | Cincinnati Christian | W 106–63 | | Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:45 pm, OVC Digital Network | | Kentucky Christian | W 106–41 | 1–0 | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,865) Morehead, KY |
| 11/13/2016* 4:00 pm, OVC Digital Network | | Lipscomb | W 89–75 | 2–0 | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,783) Morehead, KY |
| 11/16/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Marshall | L 77–85 | 2–1 | Cam Henderson Center (5,872) Huntington, WV |
| 11/19/2016* 1:00 pm | | at Evansville | L 56–69 | 2–2 | Ford Center (3,836) Evansville, IN |
| 11/25/2016* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Pittsburgh | L 63–76 | 2–3 | Petersen Events Center (7,025) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 11/30/2016* 7:00 pm | | Northern Kentucky | L 79–84 | 2–4 | Ellis Johnson Arena (3,110) Morehead, KY |
| 12/03/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 15 Purdue | L 56–90 | 2–5 | Mackey Arena (13,611) West Lafayette, IN |
| 12/10/2016* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | L 84–98 | 2–6 | Allen Arena (1,302) Nashville, TN |
| 12/13/2016* 9:05 pm | | at Eastern Washington | L 86–88 | 2–7 | Reese Court (1,046) Cheney, WA |
| 12/17/2016* 2:00 pm | | East Tennessee State | L 68–78 | 2–8 | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,812) Morehead, KY |
| 12/19/2016* 7:30 pm | | Central Arkansas | W 111–85 | 3–8 | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,505) Morehead, KY |
| 12/22/2016* 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 76–85 | 3–9 | Humphrey Coliseum (8,328) Starkville, MS |
| 12/28/2016* 7:00 pm | | Asbury | W 120–77 | 4–9 | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,023) Morehead, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| 12/31/2016 7:00 pm | | at UT Martin | L 77–81 $^{OT}$ | 4–10 (0–1) | Skyhawk Arena (1,730) Martin, TN |
| 01/05/2017 7:45 pm | | Eastern Illinois | W 85–75 | 5–10 (1–1) | Ellis Johnson Arena (1,591) Morehead, KY |
| 01/07/2017 4:15 pm | | SIU Edwardsville | W 73–65 | 6–10 (2–1) | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,531) Morehead, KY |
| 01/12/2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Belmont | L 78–84 | 6–11 (2–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (3,244) Morehead, KY |
| 01/14/2017 7:45 pm | | Tennessee State | W 87–85 | 7–11 (3–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,858) Morehead, KY |
| 01/19/2017 8:00 pm | | at Austin Peay | W 89–82 | 8–11 (4–2) | Dunn Center (1,767) Clarksville, TN |
| 01/21/2017 7:45 pm | | Eastern Kentucky | W 80–54 | 9–11 (5–2) | Ellis Johnson Arena (5,789) Morehead, KY |
| 01/26/2017 7:00 pm | | at Tennessee Tech | L 73–76 | 9–12 (5–3) | Eblen Center (1,644) Cookeville, TN |
| 01/28/2017 12:00 pm, ASN | | at Jacksonville State | W 72–69 | 10–12 (6–3) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,021) Jacksonville, AL |
| 02/04/2017 5:15 pm | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 89–81 | 11–12 (7–3) | Show Me Center (2,919) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| 02/08/2017 7:00 pm | | Murray State | W 101–100 $^{OT}$ | 12–12 (8–3) | Ellis Johnson Arena (4,109) Morehead, KY |
| 02/11/2017 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Kentucky | W 67–62 | 13–12 (9–3) | McBrayer Arena (3,800) Richmond, VA |
| 02/16/2017 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Tennessee State | L 52–64 | 13–13 (9–4) | Gentry Complex (3,765) Nashville, TN |
| 02/18/2017 5:00 pm | | at Belmont | L 73–89 | 13–14 (9–5) | Curb Event Center (2,825) Nashville, TN |
| 02/23/2017 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | Tennessee Tech | W 73–68 | 14–14 (10–5) | Ellis Johnson Arena (3,383) Morehead, KY |
| 02/25/2017 4:15 pm | | Jacksonville State | L 61–70 | 14–15 (10–6) | Ellis Johnson Arena (734) Morehead, KY |
| Ohio Valley tournament ||||||
| 03/02/2017 9:30 pm | (3) | vs. (7) Murray State Quarterfinals | L 69–75 | 14–16 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (1,001) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||