# 2016–17 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fifth-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 28–7, 17–1 in conference play, to finish in a tie for first place. As the number one seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in their quarterfinal game and Southern Illinois in their semifinal game before being beaten by Wichita State in the final.
Although not winning the conference tournament, the Redbirds held the tie-breaker for the regular season title and, as a result, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. They were awarded a number one seed where they defeated California–Irvine in their first round game before losing to Central Florida in their second round game.

## Previous season

The Redbirds finished the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 18–14, 12–6 in conference play, to finish in a tie for second place. They were the number three seed and were beaten by Indiana State in their quarterfinal game.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | # | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Comment |
| Quintin Brewer | 2 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Sr | Atlanta, GA | Graduation |
| DeVaughn Akoon–Purcell | 44 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Sr | Orlando, FL | Graduation |
| Justin McCloud | 15 | G | 6'4" | 198 | Sr | Bottineau, ND | Graduation |
| Nick Banyard | 0 | F | 6'8" | 225 | RS Jr | Flower Mound, TX | Graduation; (graduate transfer Central Florida) |
| Roland Griffin | 35 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Fr | Aurora, IL | Midland College |
| Elvis Harvey | 22 | F | 6'8" | 210 | Fr | South Bay, FL | Tallahassee Community College |

### Arrivals
#### Transfers

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Prior School |
| D J Clayton | F | 6'6" | 184 | Jr | Oakland, CA | Palm Beach State College |
| Milik Yarbrough | F | 6'6" | 230 | Jr | Zion, IL | Saint Louis |
| Phil Fayne | F | 6'9" | 200 | So | Elk Grove, CA | Western Nebraska Community College |
| Christian Romine | F/C | 6'9" | 220 | So | Mahomet, IL | Texas–El Paso |

#### Recruiting Class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Andre Washington PF | Fort Worth, TX | Arlington Heights High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Aug 18, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| Madison Williams SG | Augusta, GA | Academy of Richmond County | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jul 28, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A ||||||
| 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. ||||||

## Preseason

The Redbirds were picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. MiKyle McIntosh and Paris Lee were selected to the All-MVC preseason team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition Season |||||||||
| November 6, 2016* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Quincy | W 84–62 | | 21 – McIntosh | 9 – Washington | 4 – Evans | Redbird Arena (3,797) Normal, IL |
| Non-Conference Regular Season |||||||||
| November 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, OVC Digital Network | | at Murray State | L 70–73 | 0–1 | 18 – McIntosh | 15 – Hawkins | 4 – Tied | CFSB Center (4,321) Murray, KY |
| November 16, 2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fort Wayne | W 75–57 | 1–1 | 24 – Hawkins | 9 – Clayton | 6 – Lee | Redbird Arena (4,081) Normal, IL |
| November 21, 2016* 5:00 pm, FSMW/FSSW | | at TCU | L 71–80 | 1–2 | 20 – McIntosh | 9 – McIntosh | 7 – Lee | Ed and Rae Schollmaier Arena (5,938) Fort Worth, TX |
| November 27, 2016* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ferris State | W 81–67 | 2–2 | 22 – Fayne | 6 – Tied | 5 – Lee | Redbird Arena (3,704) Normal, IL |
| November 30, 2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | W 77–63 | 3–2 | 18 – Lee | 8 – Clayton | 6 – Lee | Redbird Arena (3,717) Normal, IL |
| December 3, 2016* 7:00 pm, CSNC+/ESPN3 | | New Mexico MW–MVC Challenge | W 79–74 | 4–2 | 18 – Lee | 10 – Fayne | 11 – Lee | Redbird Arena (6,056) Normal, IL |
| December 7, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Tulsa | L 68–70 | 4–3 | 18 – Lee | 7 – McIntosh | 6 – Lee | Donald W. Reynolds Center (3,478) Tulsa, OK |
| December 10, 2016* 2:00 pm, CSNC+/ESPN3 | | UT Martin | W 74–57 | 5–3 | 12 – Tied | 8 – Fayne | 5 – Lee | Redbird Arena (4,275) Normal, IL |
| December 18, 2016* 3:00 pm, CSNC+/ESPN3 | | Saint Joseph's | W 81–72 | 6–3 | 24 – Lee | 8 – Hawkins | 4 – Lee | Redbird Arena (3,924) Normal, IL |
| December 23, 2016* 12:30 am, ESPN2 | | at Hawaii Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic [Quarterfinal] | W 71–45 | 7–3 | 16 – Hawkins | 6 – Tied | 3 – Lee | Stan Sheriff Center (6,659) Honolulu, HI |
| December 23, 2016* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. San Francisco Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic [Semifinal] | L 58–66 | 7–4 | 20 – McIntosh | 12 – McIntosh | 4 – Lee | Stan Sheriff Center (6,053) Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2016* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Tulsa Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic [Third Place] | W 68–56 | 8–4 | 18 – Lee | 5 – Lee | 3 – Tied | Stan Sheriff Center (6,119) Honolulu, HI |
| Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season |||||||||
| December 29, 2017 7:00 pm, CSNC+/ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 62–50 | 9–4 (1–0) | 17 – Fayne | 8 – McIntosh | 7 – Lee | Redbird Arena (5,415) Normal, IL |
| January 1, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 68–61 | 10–4 (2–0) | 16 – Hawkins | 9 – McIntosh | 4 – Lee | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (1,678) Chicago, IL |
| January 4, 2017 8:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | Missouri State | W 74–71 $^{OT}$ | 11–4 (3–0) | 21 – McIntosh | 10 – Lee | 4 – McIntosh | Redbird Arena (4,107) Normal, IL |
| January 7, 2017 1:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | W 77–58 | 12–4 (4–0) | 31 – McIntosh | 11 – Fayne | 7 – Lee | Hulman Center (3,641) Terre Haute, IN |
| January 11, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 60–53 | 13–4 (5–0) | 13 – Clayton | 8 – Hawkins | 4 – Lee | SIU Arena (4,556) Carbondale, IL |
| January 14, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Wichita State | W 76–62 | 14–4 (6–0) | 20 – McIntosh | 8 – Tied | 6 – Lee | Redbird Arena (9,078) Normal, IL |
| January 18, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Bradley I–74 Rivalry | W 69–49 | 15–4 (7–0) | 20 – Hawkins | 10 – Tied | 5 – Lee | Carver Arena (7,170) Peoria, IL |
| January 21, 2017 7:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | Drake | W 72–58 | 16–4 (8–0) | 19 – Hawkins | 9 – McIntosh | 5 – Lee | Redbird Arena (8,123) Normal, IL |
| January 25, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Indiana State | W 71–66 | 17–4 (9–0) | 19 – Tied | 12 – Hawkins | 6 – Lee | Redbird Arena (5,738) Normal, IL |
| January 29, 2017 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | W 69–59 | 18–4 (10–0) | 16 – Fayne | 10 – Fayne | 6 – Lee | Ford Center (5,428) Evansville, IN |
| February 1, 2017 8:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | Northern Iowa | W 57–51 | 19–4 (11–0) | 18 – Lee | 10 – Fayne | 5 – Lee | Redbird Arena (5,732) Normal, IL |
| February 4, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Wichita State | L 45–86 | 19–5 (11–1) | 9 – Fayne | 8 – Ndaiye | 3 – Lee | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| February 7, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Drake | W 80–53 | 20–5 (12–1) | 26 – Lee | 8 – Fayne | 4 – Evans | The Knapp Center (2,812) Des Moines, IA |
| February 11, 2017 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Bradley I–74 Rivalry | W 64–50 | 21–5 (13–1) | 14 – Lee | 9 – Ndaiye | 4 – Tied | Redbird Arena (9,380) Normal, IL |
| February 15, 2017 8:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | W 67–66 | 22–5 (14–1) | 19 – Hawkins | 8 – Fayne | 6 – Lee | JQH Arena (3,875) Springfield, MO |
| February 19, 2017 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | Loyola–Chicago | W 65–63 | 23–5 (15–1) | 16 – Hawkins | 11 – Hawkins | 9 – Lee | Redbird Arena (8,052) Normal, IL |
| February 22, 2017 6:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 50–46 | 24–5 (16–1) | 16 – Wills | 15 – Fayne | 3 – Tied | Redbird Arena (6,545) Normal, IL |
| February 25, 2017 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Northern Iowa | W 63–42 | 25–5 (17–1) | 15 – McIntsoh | 8 – Lee | 4 – Lee | McLeod Center (5,677) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Missouri Valley Conference Tournament |||||||||
| March 3, 2017* 12:00 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (8) Evansville Arch Madness [Quarterfinal] | W 80–69 | 26–5 | 19 – Hawkins | 5 – Tied | 7 – Lee | Scottrade Center (8,648) St. Louis, MO |
| March 4, 2017* 2:30 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (4) Southern Illinois Arch Madness [Semifinal] | W 63–50 | 27–5 | 15 – McIntosh | 11 – Fayne | 5 – Lee | Scottrade Center (12,124) St. Louis, MO |
| March 5, 2017* 1:00 pm, CBS | (1) | vs. (2) No. 21 Wichita State Arch Madness [Final] | L 51–71 | 27–6 | 18 – Lee | 7 – Tied | 2 – Lee | Scottrade Center (11,744) St. Louis, MO |
| National Invitation Tournament |||||||||
| March 15, 2017 8:30 pm, ESPNU | (1) | (8) UC Irvine First Round – Illinois State Bracket | W 85–71 | 28–6 | 22 – Hawkins | 8 – McIntosh | 7 – Lee | Redbird Arena (5,124) Normal, IL |
| March 20, 2017 6:00 pm, ESPN | (1) | (4) UCF Second Round – Illinois State Bracket | L 62–63 | 28–7 | 15 – Hawkins | 5 – Tied | 5 – McIntosh | Redbird Arena (7,984) Normal, IL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Standard Time. |||||||||
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