# 2016–17 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Northern Colorado Bears men's basketball team represented the University of Northern Colorado during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by first-year head coach Jeff Linder and played their home games at Bank of Colorado Arena in Greeley, Colorado. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 11–18, 7–11 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for eighth place. On October 8, 2016, the school self-imposed a postseason ban amid an ongoing NCAA investigation.

## Previous season

The Bears finished the 2015–16 season 10–21, 7–11 in Big Sky play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Portland State in the first round of the Big Sky tournament.
On April 21, 2016, the school fired head coach B. J. Hill amid an NCAA investigation into "serious and concerning" allegations of violations within the program. On May 1, the school hired Jeff Linder as head coach.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Cameron Michael | 2 | G | 6'5" | 185 | Junior | Loveland, CO | Retired from basketball due to a concussion injury |
| Jamal Evans | 5 | F | 6'7" | 205 | Junior | St. Petersburg, FL | Transferred |
| Miles Seward | 15 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Freshman | Toronto, ON | Transferred to Harcum College |
| Kenny Lesley | 40 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Freshman | Elsberry, MO | Transferred to Moberly Area CC |
| Dallas Anglin | 55 | G | 6'1" | 185 | RS Junior | Montclair, NJ | Left the team for personal reasons |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Gerad Davis | 1 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Junior | Las Vegas, NV | Junior college transferred from Casper College |
| D. J. Davis | 3 | G | 6'6" | 195 | Junior | Lakewood, CO | Junior college transferred from Otero JC |
| Andre Spight | 11 | G | 6'3" | 175 | Senior | Pasadena, CA | Transferred from Arizona State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Spight will not play for the 2016–17 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |

## 2016 incoming recruits

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Michael Ranson SG | Pueblo, CO | Central High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 18, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Kyle Carey SG | London, England | Myerscough College | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 23, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Roberto Vercellino SF | Torino, Italy | Liceo Scientifico Statale A.B. Sabin | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 26, 2016 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Kai Edwards PF | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Canarias Basketball Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Apr 14, 2016 |
| 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 September 24, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/02/2016* 7:00 pm | Johnson & Wales | W 91–67 | | Bank of Colorado Arena (563) Greeley, CO |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/12/2016* 5:30 pm, FS2 | at Butler | L 52–89 | 0–1 | Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,836) Indianapolis, IN |
| 11/16/2016* 7:00 pm | Colorado Christian | W 94–73 | 1–1 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,008) Greeley, CO |
| 11/19/2016* 8:00 pm | at Santa Clara Las Vegas Invitational | L 72–88 | 1–2 | Leavey Center (1,331) Santa Clara, CA |
| 11/21/2016* 7:00 pm, P12N | at No. 8 Arizona Las Vegas Invitational | L 55–71 | 1–3 | McKale Center (14,397) Tucson, AZ |
| 11/24/2016* 3:00 pm | vs. Sacred Heart Las Vegas Invitational visitors' semifinal | W 81–59 | 2–3 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/25/2016* 3:00 pm | vs. Bucknell Las Vegas Invitational visitors' championship | L 63–75 | 2–4 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/29/2016* 6:00 pm | at Oklahoma | L 66–87 | 2–5 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,579) Norman, OK |
| 12/03/2016* 2:00 pm | Northern New Mexico | W 97–73 | 3–5 | Bank of Colorado Arena (989) Greeley, CO |
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm | at Colorado State | L 64–81 | 3–6 | Moby Arena (3,114) Fort Collins, CO |
| 12/17/2016* 1:00 pm | at Denver | L 70–73 | 3–7 | Magness Arena (3,421) Denver, CO |
| 12/20/2016* 6:00 pm | UC Riverside | W 77–61 | 4–7 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,232) Greeley, CO |
| Big Sky regular season |||||
| 12/29/2016 8:00 pm | at Sacramento State | W 69–53 | 5–7 (1–0) | Hornets Nest (593) Sacramento, CA |
| 12/31/2016 3:00 pm | at Portland State | W 73–59 | 6–7 (2–0) | Peter Stott Center (506) Portland, OR |
| 01/05/2017 7:00 pm | Southern Utah | L 76–78 | 6–8 (2–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena (833) Greeley, CO |
| 01/07/2017 7:00 pm | Northern Arizona | W 83–79 | 7–8 (3–1) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,018) Greeley, CO |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm | at Montana | L 68–89 | 7–9 (3–2) | Dahlberg Arena (3,438) Missoula, MT |
| 01/14/2017 2:00 pm | at Montana State | L 53–68 | 7–10 (3–3) | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,313) Bozeman, MT |
| 01/19/2017 7:00 pm | Idaho State | L 69–73 | 7–11 (3–4) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,865) Greeley, CO |
| 01/21/2017 7:00 pm | Weber State | L 69–74 | 7–12 (3–5) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,915) Greeley, CO |
| 01/26/2017 7:00 pm | at Northern Arizona | L 50–63 | 7–13 (3–6) | Dee Events Center (1,713) Ogden, UT |
| 01/28/2017 2:00 pm | at Southern Utah | W 89–71 | 8–13 (4–6) | Centrum Arena (1,802) Cedar City, UT |
| 02/04/2017 6:00 pm | at North Dakota | W 87–77 $^{OT}$ | 8–14 (4–7) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,352) Grand Forks, ND |
| 02/09/2017 7:00 pm | Idaho | L 76–88 | 8–15 (4–8) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,059) Greeley, CO |
| 02/11/2017 2:00 pm | Eastern Washington | L 44–70 | 8–16 (4–9) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,057) Greeley, CO |
| 02/16/2017 7:00 pm | at Weber State | L 63–69 | 8–17 (4–10) | Dee Events Center (6,641) Ogden, UT |
| 02/18/2017 7:00 pm | at Idaho State | W 87–81 | 9–17 (5–10) | Holt Arena (1,436) Pocatello, ID |
| 02/25/2017 7:00 pm | North Dakota | L 81–84 $^{OT}$ | 9–18 (5–11) | Bank of Colorado Arena (2,132) Greeley, CO |
| 03/02/2017 7:00 pm | Portland State | L 84–87 | 10–18 (6–11) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,282) Greeley, CO |
| 03/04/2017 2:00 pm | Sacramento State | W 70–67 | 11–18 (7–11) | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,305) Greeley, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Mountain Time. |||||