# 2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals, led by fourth-year head coach James Whitford, played their home games at Worthen Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 11–7 in MAC play to finish in a tie for the West Division title. As the No. 4 seed in the MAC tournament they defeated Western Michigan in the quarterfinals to advance to the Semifinals where they lost to Akron. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Fort Wayne.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2015–16 season 21–14, 10–8 in MAC play to finish in a tie for the West Division championship. They lost to Miami (OH) in the first round of the MAC tournament. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Tennessee State and UT Martin to advance to the Quarterfinals before losing to Columbia.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Naiel Smith | 1 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduate transferred to Texas Wesleyan |
| Rocco Belcaster | 5 | F | 6'7" | 221 | RS Junior | Berwyn, IL | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Bo Calhoun | 12 | F | 6'6" | 245 | Senior | South Bend, IN | Graduated |
| Gill Bik | 21 | F | 6'7" | 227 | Senior | Toronto, ON | Graduated |
| Jeremiah Davis | 24 | F | 6'4" | 210 | RS Senior | Muncie, IN | Graduated |
| Nate Wells | 52 | C | 7'1" | 247 | RS Senior | Davenport, IA | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Jontrell Walker | 1 | G | 6'1" | 188 | Junior | Aurora, IL | Transferred from Incarnate Word. Under NCAA transfer rules, Walker will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Doudou Gueye | 35 | C | 6'10" | 250 | Senior | Dakar, Senegal | Transferred from South Carolina. Will eligible to play since Gueye graduated from South Carolina. |

## Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kyle Mallers #32 SF | Fort Wayne, IN | Carroll High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Oct 15, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Zach Hollywood SF | Bourbonnais, IL | Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | N/A | May 4, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2016. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ishmael El-Amin #41 PG | Minnetonka, MN | Hopkins High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 26, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 78 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 6, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | Indianapolis | W 76–64 | | Worthen Arena (1,119) Muncie, IN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 8:00 pm, FSMW | | at Saint Louis Men Who Speak Up Main Event | W 85–64 | 1–0 | Chaifetz Arena (7,165) St. Louis, MO |
| 11/15/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Indiana State | L 74–80 | 1–1 | Worthen Arena (3,845) Muncie, IN |
| 11/18/2016* 9:00 pm, SECN | | at Alabama Men Who Speak Up Main Event | L 59–77 | 1–2 | Coleman Coliseum (11,665) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 11/21/2016* 3:30 pm | | vs. Coppin State Men Who Speak Up Main Event | W 79–77 | 2–2 | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/23/2016* 3:30 pm | | vs. Southern Utah Men Who Speak Up Main Event | W 94–83 | 3–2 | MGM Grand Garden Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/27/2016* 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | L 73–79 | 3–3 | Athletics–Recreation Center (3,166) Valparaiso, IN |
| 11/29/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IU Kokomo | W 92–52 | 4–3 | Worthen Arena (3,039) Muncie, IN |
| 12/03/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | L 62–73 | 4–4 | Worthen Arena (2,994) Muncie, IN |
| 12/06/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bradley | W 80–63 | 5–4 | Worthen Arena (2,477) Muncie, IN |
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Kentucky | W 91–86 | 6–4 | Worthen Arena (2,623) Muncie, IN |
| 12/19/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Longwood | W 61–45 | 7–4 | Worthen Arena (2,115) Muncie, IN |
| 12/22/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Alabama State | W 73–48 | 8–4 | Worthen Arena (2,543) Muncie, IN |
| 12/29/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Florida | W 73–68 | 9–4 | UNF Arena (1,464) Jacksonville, FL |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| 01/03/2017 7:00 PM | | at Kent State | L 90–100 | 9–5 (0–1) | MAC Center (2,153) Kent, OH |
| 01/07/2017 1:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | L 71–76 | 9–6 (0–2) | Worthen Arena (2,645) Muncie, IN |
| 01/10/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 85–74 | 10–6 (1–2) | Worthen Arena (3,268) Muncie, IN |
| 01/14/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | W 92–77 | 11–6 (2–2) | Alumni Arena (3,007) Amherst, NY |
| 01/17/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan | W 98–83 | 12–6 (3–2) | Worthen Arena (3,044) Muncie, IN |
| 01/21/2017 2:30 PM, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | L 74–79 | 12–7 (3–3) | Stroh Center (2,953) Bowling Green, OH |
| 01/24/2017 9:00 PM, ASN | | at Eastern Michigan | W 88–80 | 13–7 (4–3) | Convocation Center (967) Ypsilanti, MI |
| 01/28/2017 1:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Western Michigan | W 84–78 | 14–7 (5–3) | Worthen Arena (4,298) Muncie, IN |
| 01/31/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Toledo | W 81–80 | 15–7 (6–3) | Worthen Arena (3,058) Muncie, IN |
| 02/04/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Buffalo | L 69–96 | 15–8 (6–4) | Worthen Arena (3,326) Muncie, IN |
| 02/07/2017 6:00 PM, ASN | | at Akron | L 63–65 | 15–9 (6–5) | James A. Rhodes Arena (3,105) Akron, OH |
| 02/10/2017 6:30 PM, CBSSN | | Ohio | L 77–79 | 15–10 (6–6) | Worthen Arena (3,123) Muncie, IN |
| 02/14/2017 8:00 PM, ASN | | at Northern Illinois | W 81–72 | 16–10 (7–6) | Convocation Center (759) DeKalb, IL |
| 02/18/2017 4:30 PM, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan | W 109–100 $^{OT}$ | 17–10 (8–6) | McGuirk Arena (5,412) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| 02/21/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan | W 79–72 | 18–10 (9–6) | Worthen Arena (3,088) Muncie, IN |
| 02/25/2017 2:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Western Michigan | L 55–80 | 18–11 (9–7) | University Arena (2,857) Kalamazoo, MI |
| 02/28/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | L 72–74 | 19–11 (10–7) | Savage Arena (3,958) Toledo, OH |
| 03/03/2017 7:00 PM, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 87–82 | 20–11 (11–7) | Worthen Arena (4,457) Muncie, IN |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2017 2:30 pm, BCSN/ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) Western Michigan Quarterfinals | W 66–63 | 21–11 | Quicken Loans Arena (2,245) Cleveland, OH |
| 03/10/2017 5:30 pm, CBSSN | (4) | vs. (1) Akron Semifinals | L 70–74 | 21–12 | Quicken Loans Arena (6,065) Cleveland, OH |
| CIT ||||||
| 03/15/2017* 7:00 pm, Facebook Live | | at Fort Wayne First Round Lou Henson Classic | L 80–88 | 21–13 | Gates Sports Center (1,479) Fort Wayne, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||