# 2016–17 Florida A&M Rattlers basketball team

The 2016–17 Florida A&M Rattlers men's basketball team represented Florida A&M University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rattlers, led by third-year head coach Byron Samuels, played their home games at the Teaching Gym as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 7–23, 5–11 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the MEAC tournament to South Carolina State.
On March 17, 2017, it was announced that head coach Byron Samuels' contract would not be renewed. He finished at Florida A&M with a three-year record of 17–71. On May 16, the school named Oregon assistant Robert McCullum as their new head coach. McCullum had previous head coaching jobs at Western Michigan and South Florida.

## Previous season

The Rattlers finished the 2015–16 season 8–21, 4–12 record in MEAC play to finish last in the conference. They were ineligible for the postseason due to APR violations.

## Preseason

The Rattlers were picked to finish in last place in the preseason MEAC poll.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Florida | L 73–84 | 0–1 | USF Sun Dome (3,106) Tampa, FL |
| 11/15/2016* 7:00 pm | | Trinity Baptist | W 94–62 | 1–1 | Teaching Gym (897) Tallahassee, FL |
| 11/17/2016* 7:00 pm | | Johnson (FL) | W 100–91 | 2–1 | Teaching Gym Tallahassee, FL |
| 11/20/2016* 4:00 pm | | at Air Force Savannah Invitational | W 87–62 | 2–2 | Clune Arena (836) Colorado Springs, CO |
| 11/22/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at East Carolina Savannah Invitational | L 62–82 | 2–3 | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (3,341) Greenville, NC |
| 11/25/2016* 2:30 pm | | vs. Georgia Southern Savannah Invitational | L 72–83 | 2–4 | Savannah Civic Center (491) Savannah, GA |
| 11/26/2016* 12:00 pm | | vs. Stetson Savannah Invitational | L 90–98 | 2–5 | Savannah Civic Center Savannah, GA |
| 11/30/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | L 74–76 | 2–6 | Teaching Gym (579) Tallahassee, FL |
| 12/03/2016* 4:00 pm | | Southern | L 71–83 | 2–7 | Teaching Gym (1,017) Tallahassee, FL |
| 12/12/2016* 8:00 pm | | at Southeastern Louisiana | L 69–108 | 2–8 | University Center (488) Hammond, LA |
| 12/17/2016* 4:00 pm | | Jacksonville | L 72–75 | 2–9 | Teaching Gym (678) Tallahassee, FL |
| 12/22/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Samford | L 63–83 | 2–10 | Pete Hanna Center (1,069) Birmingham, AL |
| 12/23/2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 14 Wisconsin | L 37–90 | 2–11 | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| 01/04/2017 7:00 pm | | at Howard | W 78–66 | 3–11 (1–0) | Burr Gymnasium (534) Washington, D.C. |
| 01/07/2017 6:00 pm | | Coppin State | W 54–53 | 4–12 (2–0) | Teaching Gym (972) Tallahassee, FL |
| 01/10/2017 7:00 pm | | at Morgan State | L 59–62 | 4–12 (2–1) | Teaching Gym (1,317) Tallahassee, FL |
| 01/14/2017 6:00 pm | | at Savannah State | L 88–93 | 4–13 (2–2) | Tiger Arena (2,350) Savannah, GA |
| 01/16/2017 4:00 pm | | Bethune–Cookman | L 76–82 | 4–14 (2–3) | Teaching Gym (4,878) Tallahassee, FL |
| 01/23/2017 8:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | L 79–86 | 4–15 (2–4) | Teaching Gym (1,479) Tallahassee, FL |
| 01/28/2017 4:00 pm | | at Delaware State | L 68–81 | 5–15 (3–4) | Memorial Hall (1,279) Dover, DE |
| 01/30/2017 7:30 pm | | at Morgan State | L 60–77 | 5–16 (3–5) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,007) Baltimore, MD |
| 02/04/2017 6:00 pm | | Howard | W 71–62 | 6–16 (4–5) | Teaching Gym (2,179) Tallahassee, FL |
| 02/06/2017 8:00 pm | | Delaware State | L 77–80 $^{OT}$ | 6–17 (4–6) | Teaching Gym (2,278) Tallahassee, FL |
| 02/11/2017 4:00 pm | | at North Carolina A&T | W 83–77 | 7–17 (5–6) | Corbett Sports Center (1,286) Greensboro, NC |
| 02/13/2017 7:30 pm | | at North Carolina Central | L 73–78 | 7–18 (5–7) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (986) Durham, NC |
| 02/18/2017 6:00 pm | | Norfolk State | L 65–77 $^{2OT}$ | 7–19 (5–8) | Teaching Gym (1,245) Tallahassee, FL |
| 02/20/2017 8:00 pm | | Hampton | L 69–76 | 7–20 (5–9) | Teaching Gym (1,145) Tallahassee, FL |
| 02/25/2017 4:00 pm | | at South Carolina State | L 64–75 | 7–21 (5–10) | SHM Memorial Center (503) Orangeburg, SC |
| 03/02/2017 7:00 pm | | at Bethune–Cookman | L 59–69 | 7–22 (5–11) | Moore Gymnasium Daytona Beach, FL |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| 03/07/2017 6:00 pm | (10) | vs. (7) South Carolina State First Round | L 78–82 $^{OT}$ | 7–23 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||