# 2016–17 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Oklahoma Sooners basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Sooners were led by Lon Kruger in his sixth season. They played their home games at the Lloyd Noble Center in Norman, Oklahoma as a member of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 5–13 in Big 12 play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Big 12 tournament to TCU.

## Previous season

The Sooners finished the 2015–16 season 29–8, 12–6 in Big 12 play to finish in third place in conference. They defeated Oklahoma State in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament before losing to West Virginia in the semifinals. The Sooners received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Cal State Bakersfield, VCU, Texas A&M, and Oregon to advance to the Final Four for the fifth time in school history. At the Final Four, they lost in the national semifinal to the eventual champion Villanova by 44 points, the largest margin in Final Four history.
Following the season, senior guard and player of the year winner Buddy Hield graduated and was selected as the sixth overall pick in the NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ryan Spangler | 00 | F | 6'8" | 234 | RS Senior | Bridge Creek, OK | Graduated |
| Dinjiyl Walker | 2 | G | 6'1" | 203 | Senior | Vaughan, ON | Graduated |
| Isaiah Cousins | 11 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Senior | Mount Vernon, NY | Graduated/2016 NBA draft |
| Bola Alade | 14 | G | 6'4" | 193 | RS Freshman | Plano, TX | Walk-on; transferred to Texas–San Antonio |
| Buddy Hield | 24 | G | 6'3" | 214 | Senior | Eight Mile Rock, Bahamas | Graduated/2016 NBA draft |
| Akolda Manyang | 30 | C | 7'0" | 243 | Junior | Rochester, MN | Dismissed from the team due to felony assault; transferred to Utah Valley |
| Austin Mankin | 41 | F | 6'7" | 210 | Junior | Coppell, TX | Graduate transferred to Harding |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Darrion Strong | 0 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Junior college transfer from Coffeyville Community College |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Kameron McGusty #10 SG | Katy, TX | Sunrise Christian Academy (KS) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 20, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kristian Doolittle #17 PF | Edmond, OK | Edmond Memorial High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Dec 2, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Matt Freeman PF | Auckland, New Zealand | Westlake High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Aug 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Jordan Shepherd PG | Asheville, NC | Asheville Christian Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Aug 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: 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: "Oklahoma 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "2016 Oklahoma Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. ||||||

### 2017 Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Trae Young #4 PG | Norman, OK | Norman North High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 16, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 93 |||||||
| Brady Manek #30 PF | Harrah, OK | Harrah High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 235 lb (107 kg) | Oct 22, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Hannes Polla C | Lathi, Finland | Helsinki Basketball Academy (FI) | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | Sep 8, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |||||||
| 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: "Oklahoma 2017 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "2017 Oklahoma Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/08/2016* 7:00 pm, SSTV | | Washburn | W 84–64 | | Lloyd Noble Center (7,789) Norman, OK |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2016* 4:00 pm, SSTV | | Northwestern State | W 97–61 | 1–0 | Lloyd Noble Center (8,456) Norman, OK |
| 11/17/2016* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Tulane Tire Pros Invitational quarterfinals | W 89–70 | 2–0 | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| 11/18/2016* 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Northern Iowa Tire Pros Invitational semifinals | L 67–73 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| 11/20/2016* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Clemson Tire Pros Invitational 3rd place game | W 70–64 | 3–1 | HP Field House Orlando, FL |
| 11/25/2016* 2:00 pm, SSTV | | Abilene Christian | W 72–64 | 4–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (9,303) Norman, OK |
| 11/29/2016* 7:00 pm, SSTV | | Northern Colorado | W 87–67 | 5–1 | Lloyd Noble Center (7,579) Norman, OK |
| 12/03/2016* 12:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 17 Wisconsin | L 70–90 | 5–2 | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| 12/07/2016* 7:00 pm, SSTV | | Oral Roberts | W 92–66 | 6–2 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, OK |
| 12/10/2016* 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Wichita State All-College Basketball Classic | L 73–76 | 6–3 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (11,157) Oklahoma City, OK |
| 12/17/2016* 11:30 am, CBS | | Memphis | L 94–99 $^{OT}$ | 6–4 | Lloyd Noble Center (9,081) Norman, OK |
| 12/21/2016* 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Auburn Basketball Hall of Fame's Birthday of Basketball | L 70–74 | 6–5 | Mohegan Sun Arena (3,462) Uncasville, CT |
| 12/30/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 4 Baylor | L 50–76 | 6–6 (0–1) | Lloyd Noble Center (10,254) Norman, OK |
| 01/03/2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at TCU | L 57–60 | 6–7 (0–2) | Schollmaier Arena (5,576) Fort Worth, TX |
| 01/07/2017 2:00 pm, ESPNews | | at Kansas State | L 64–75 | 6–8 (0–3) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,295) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/10/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 2 Kansas | L 70–81 | 6–9 (0–4) | Lloyd Noble Center (9,788) Norman, OK |
| 01/14/2017 7:30 pm, ESPNU | | Texas Tech | W 84–75 | 7–9 (1–4) | Lloyd Noble Center (8,601) Norman, OK |
| 01/18/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 7 West Virginia | W 89–87 $^{OT}$ | 8–9 (2–4) | WVU Coliseum (11,895) Morgantown, WV |
| 01/21/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN | | Iowa State | L 87–92 | 8–10 (2–5) | Lloyd Noble Center (9,673) Norman, OK |
| 01/23/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at Texas | L 83–84 | 8–11 (2–6) | Frank Erwin Center (10,898) Austin, TX |
| 01/28/2017* 1:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 25 Florida Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 52–84 | 8–12 | Lloyd Noble Center (10,859) Norman, OK |
| 01/30/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | | Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | L 66–68 | 8–13 (2–7) | Lloyd Noble Center (10,103) Norman, OK |
| 02/04/2017 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Texas Tech | L 69–77 | 8–14 (2–8) | United Supermarkets Arena (10,194) Lubbock, TX |
| 02/08/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 13 West Virginia | L 50–61 | 8–15 (2–9) | Lloyd Noble Center (8,608) Norman, OK |
| 02/11/2017 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Iowa State | L 64–80 | 8–16 (2–10) | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| 02/14/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Texas | W 70–66 | 9–16 (3–10) | Lloyd Noble Center (7,545) Norman, OK |
| 02/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | L 92–96 | 9–17 (3–11) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611) Stillwater, OK |
| 02/21/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 9 Baylor | L 54–60 | 9–18 (3–12) | Ferrell Center (6,135) Waco, TX |
| 02/25/2017 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | Kansas State | W 81–51 | 10–18 (4–12) | Lloyd Noble Center (10,181) Norman, OK |
| 02/27/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 1 Kansas | L 67-77 | 10–19 (4–13) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 03/04/2017 2:00 pm, ESPNews | | TCU | W 73–68 | 11–19 (5–13) | Lloyd Noble Center (9,526) Norman, OK |
| Big 12 tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2017 6:00 pm, ESPNU | (9) | vs. (8) TCU First round | L 63–82 | 11–20 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
x- Sooner Sports Television (SSTV) is aired locally on Fox Sports. However the contract allows games to air on various affiliates. Those affiliates are FSSW, FSSW+, FSOK, FSOK+, and FCS Atlantic, Central, and Pacific.