# 2016–17 UAB Blazers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 UAB Blazers basketball team represented the University of Alabama at Birmingham during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blazers, led by first-year head coach Robert Ehsan, played their home games at the Bartow Arena as members of Conference USA. They finished the season 17–16, 9–9 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Charlotte in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to Louisiana Tech.

## Previous season

The Blazers finished the 2015–16 season 26–7, 16–2 in C-USA play to win the regular season championship. They lost in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament to WKU. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to BYU.
Following the season, head coach Jerod Haase left UAB to accept the head coaching position at Stanford. On April 4, 2016, the school hired Robert Ehsan, who had been an assistant under Haase at UAB, as head coach .

## Preseason

The Blazers were picked to finish in first place in the preseason Conference USA poll. Chris Cokley and William Lee were selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Robert Brown | 4 | G | 6'5" | 195 | Senior | Clermont, FL | Graduated |
| Lionel Love | 45 | G | 6'3" | 165 | Sophomore | Huntsville, AL | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |

## Incoming recruits

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Nate Darling SG | Hyattsville, Maryland | DeMatha Catholic HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 65 ||||||
| Javien Williams SG | Birmingham, Alabama | Woodlawn HS | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) |
| 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. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 3* 7:30 pm | | Lindenwood | W 92–69 | | Bartow Arena Birmingham, AL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 11* 7:00 pm | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff CBE Hall of Fame Classic | W 86–66 | 1–0 | Bartow Arena (4,289) Birmingham, AL |
| November 14* 7:00 pm | | Furman CBE Hall of Fame Classic | L 74–84 | 1–1 | Bartow Arena (3,682) Birmingham, AL |
| November 17* 7:00 pm | | Troy | W 74–51 | 2–1 | Bartow Arena (4,656) Birmingham, AL |
| November 21* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 5 Kansas CBE Hall of Fame Classic semifinals | L 63–83 | 2–2 | Sprint Center (10,071) Kansas City, MO |
| November 22* 6:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. George Washington CBE Hall of Fame Classic 3rd place game | W 81–74 | 3–2 | Sprint Center (3,527) Kansas City, MO |
| November 27* 4:00 pm | | vs. No. 15 Saint Mary's | L 63–76 | 3–3 | Orleans Arena (862) Las Vegas, NV |
| November 29* 7:00 pm | | Alabama A&M | W 75–45 | 4–3 | Bartow Arena (3,719) Birmingham, AL |
| December 3* 7:30 pm, beIN | | Auburn Rivalry | L 70–74 | 4–4 | Bartow Arena (8,728) Birmingham, AL |
| December 7* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stephen F. Austin | W 84–73 | 5–4 | William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,650) Nacogdoches, TX |
| December 10* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Memphis | L 55–62 | 5–5 | FedEx Forum (9,424) Memphis, TN |
| December 18* 4:00 pm | | Southern | W 75–74 $^{OT}$ | 6–5 | Bartow Arena (3,436) Birmingham, AL |
| December 21* 7:00 pm, LHN | | at Texas | L 60–96 | 6–6 | Frank Erwin Center (9,106) Austin, TX |
| December 28* 5:00 pm | | Miles College | W 98–66 | 7–6 | Bartow Arena (3,572) Birmingham, AL |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| January 1 3:00 pm, CI | | at Middle Tennessee | L 49–60 | 7–7 (0–1) | Murphy Center (4,227) Murfreesboro, TN |
| January 5 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Texas | W 54–52 | 8–7 (1–1) | The Super Pit (1,603) Denton, TX |
| January 7 7:00 pm | | at Rice | W 88–81 $^{OT}$ | 9–7 (2–1) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,001) Houston, TX |
| January 12 7:00 pm, CI | | WKU | W 72–54 | 10–7 (3–1) | Bartow Arena (3,745) Birmingham, AL |
| January 14 1:00 pm | | Marshall | W 94–78 | 11–7 (4–1) | Bartow Arena (3,275) Birmingham, AL |
| January 19 7:00 pm, beIN | | at Florida Atlantic | W 80–78 | 12–7 (5–1) | FAU Arena (1,706) Boca Raton, FL |
| January 21 6:00 pm | | at FIU | L 85–94 | 12–8 (5–2) | FIU Arena (1,263) Miami, FL |
| January 26 8:00 pm, ASN | | Louisiana Tech | W 79–70 | 13–8 (6–2) | Bartow Arena (3,642) Birmingham, AL |
| January 28 7:00 pm | | Southern Miss | W 87–43 | 14–8 (7–2) | Bartow Arena (4,915) Birmingham, AL |
| February 2 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UTEP | L 59–63 | 14–9 (7–3) | Don Haskins Center (6,248) El Paso, TX |
| February 4 3:00 pm | | at UTSA | L 67–82 | 14–10 (7–4) | Convocation Center (1,145) San Antonio, TX |
| February 9 7:00 pm, CI | | Charlotte | W 82–69 | 15–10 (8–4) | Bartow Arena (3,841) Birmingham, AL |
| February 11 7:00 pm, ASN | | Old Dominion Bartow Classic | L 62–83 | 15–11 (8–5) | Bartow Arena (4,185) Birmingham, AL |
| February 16 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Marshall | L 59–74 | 15–12 (8–6) | Cam Henderson Center (5,637) Huntington, WV |
| February 18 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at WKU | L 64–76 | 15–13 (8–7) | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,553) Bowling Green, KY |
| February 26 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | Middle Tennessee | L 64–66 | 15–14 (8–8) | Bartow Arena (3,371) Birmingham, AL |
| March 2 7:00 pm | | Florida Atlantic | W 79–59 | 16–14 (9–8) | Bartow Arena (3,209) Birmingham, AL |
| March 4 7:00 pm | | FIU | L 56–68 | 16–15 (9–9) | Bartow Arena (3,881) Birmingham, AL |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| March 8 5:30 pm, CI | (7) | vs. (10) Charlotte First round | W 74–73 | 17–15 | Legacy Arena (6,410) Birmingham, AL |
| March 9 5:30 pm, ASN | (7) | (2) Louisiana Tech Quarterfinals | L 57–69 | 17–16 | Legacy Arena (4,005) Birmingham, AL |
| *Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||