# 2016–17 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Bruce Pearl, in his third season at Auburn. The team played their home games at the Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 18–14, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in 11th place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Missouri.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the season 11–20, 5–13 in SEC play to finish in 13th place. They lost to Tennessee in the first round of the SEC tournament.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kareem Canty | 1 | G | 6'1" | 185 | RS Junior | Harlem, NY | Declare for 2016 NBA draft |
| Cinmeon Bowers | 5 | F | 6'7" | 250 | Senior | Racine, WI | Graduated |
| Tyler Harris | 12 | F | 6'10" | 228 | RS Senior | Dix Hills, NY | Graduated |
| Tahj Shamsid-Deen | 13 | G | 5'9" | 175 | Junior | Decatur, GA | Retired from basketball due to past injuries |
| Jonathan Walker | 20 | G | 6'3" | 197 | Senior | Madison, WI | Walk-on; graduated |
| Zach Allison | 22 | G | 6'2" | 166 | Freshman | Pelham, AL | Walk-on; transferred to Wallace State CC |
| Jordon Granger | 25 | F | 6'8" | 220 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | Graduated |
| Cole Stockton | 42 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Senior | Auburn, AL | Walk-on; graduated |
| New Williams | 44 | G | 6'2 | 175 | Sophomore | Inglewood, CA | Left team mid-season |
| Trayvon Reed | 50 | C | 7'2" | 245 | Sophomore | Mobile, AL | Transferred to Texas Southern |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| LaRon Smith | 12 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Senior | Palm Bay, FL | Transferred from Bethune-Cookman. Will be eligible to play immediately due to graduating from Bethune-Cookman. |
| DeSean Murray | 13 | F | 6'5" | 225 | Junior | Stanley, NC | Transferred from Presbyterian. Under NCAA transfer rules, Murray will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Ronnie Johnson | 35 | G | 6'0" | 180 | RS Senior | Indianapolis, IN | Transferred from Houston. Will be eligible to play immediately due to graduating from Houston. |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mustapha Heron #4 SG | West Haven, CT | Sacred Heart High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Austin Wiley #6 C | Birmingham, AL | Spain Park High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | Sep 26, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Jared Harper #18 PG | Atlanta, GA | Pebblebrook High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Mar 14, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Anfernee McLemore #31 PF | Sylvester, GA | Worth County High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Aug 4, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 21 Rivals: 11 ESPN: 28 ||||||
| 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: "Auburn 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016. "2016 Auburn Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 23, 2016. ||||||

## Future recruits
### 2017–18 team recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chuma Okeke SF | Fairburn, GA | Westlake High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Jul 24, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Davion Mitchell PG | Hinesville, GA | Liberty County School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 15, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 21 Rivals: 11 ESPN: 28 ||||||
| 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: "Auburn 2017 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 9, 2017. "2017 Auburn Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved February 9, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 9, 2017. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved February 9, 2017. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved February 9, 2017. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| 11/04/2016* 8:30 pm | | Montevallo | W 96–68 | – | 26 – Heron | 7 – Purifoy | 3 – Spencer | Auburn Arena (8,187) Auburn, AL |
| Regular season |||||||||
| 11/11/2016* 8:30 pm, SECN+ | | North Florida | W 83–66 | 1–0 | 19 – Brown | 7 – Smith | 4 – Dunans | Auburn Arena (8,093) Auburn, AL |
| 11/14/2016* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Georgia State Cancún Challenge | W 83–65 | 2–0 | 19 – Purifoy | 8 – Heron | 5 – Johnson | Auburn Arena (6,980) Auburn, AL |
| 11/17/2016* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Eastern Kentucky Cancún Challenge | W 85–64 | 3–0 | 24 – Heron | 10 – Heron | 4 – Johnson | Auburn Arena (6,987) Auburn, AL |
| 11/22/2016* 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Texas Tech Cancún Challenge semifinals | W 67–65 | 4–0 | 15 – Heron | 6 – Purifoy | 5 – Purifoy | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,610) Cancún, Mexico |
| 11/23/2016* 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. No. 17 Purdue Cancún Challenge Championship | L 71–96 | 4–1 | 22 – Purifoy | 8 – Heron | 4 – Dunans | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,610) Cancún, Mexico |
| 11/29/2016* 7:00 pm, SECN+ | | USC Upstate | W 90–83 | 5–1 | 23 – Heron | 6 – Heron | 9 – Purifoy | Auburn Arena (6,504) Auburn, AL |
| 12/03/2016* 7:30 pm, beIN | | at UAB Rivalry | W 74–70 | 6–1 | 21 – Harper | 7 – Heron | 3 – Harper | Bartow Arena (8,728) Birmingham, AL |
| 12/12/2016* 6:00 pm, FS1 | | vs. Boston College Under Armour Reunion | L 71–72 | 6–2 | 27 – Purifoy | 7 – Heron | 3 – Harper | Madison Square Garden (7,558) New York City, NY |
| 12/15/2016* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Coastal Carolina | W 117–72 | 7–2 | 27 – Purifoy | 8 – McLemore | 7 – Harper | Auburn Arena (7,333) Auburn, AL |
| 12/18/2016* 12:00 pm, SECN | | Mercer | W 76–74 | 8–2 | 21 – Heron | 6 – Purifoy | 5 – Johnson | Auburn Arena (7,991) Auburn, AL |
| 12/21/2016* 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Oklahoma Basketball Hall of Fame's Birthday of Basketball | W 74–70 | 9–2 | 21 – Tied | 12 – Heron | 5 – Dunans | Mohegan Sun Arena (3,462) Uncasville, CT |
| 12/23/2016* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at UConn | W 70–67 $^{OT}$ | 10–2 | 22 – Harper | 15 – Purifoy | 5 – Harper | XL Center (12,051) Hartford, CT |
| 12/29/2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | Georgia | L 84–96 | 10–3 (0–1) | 19 – Heron | 7 – McLemore | 6 – Harper | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| 01/04/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Vanderbilt | L 61–80 | 10–4 (0–2) | 19 – Harper | 6 – Tied | 3 – Purifoy | Memorial Gymnasium (9,918) Nashville, TN |
| 01/07/2017 5:00 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | L 85–88 | 10–5 (0–3) | 24 – Harper | 9 – Wiley | 3 – Johnson | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| 01/10/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | W 77–72 | 11–5 (1–3) | 16 – Heron | 9 – Heron | 4 – Johnson | Mizzou Arena (9,688) Columbia, MO |
| 01/14/2017 3:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 6 Kentucky | L 72−92 | 11−6 (1−4) | 23 – Dunans | 3 – Tied | 3 – Johnson | Rupp Arena (24,372) Lexington, KY |
| 01/18/2017 7:30 pm, SECN | | LSU | W 78−74 | 12−6 (2−4) | 12 – Tied | 7 – Spencer | 3 – Dunans | Auburn Arena (8,327) Auburn, AL |
| 01/21/2017 3:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Alabama Rivalry | W 84–64 | 13−6 (3−4) | 19 – Wiley | 9 – Wiley | 3 – Harper | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| 01/24/2017 5:30 pm, SECN | | at No. 23 South Carolina | L 69−98 | 13−7 (3−5) | 18 – McLemore | 11 – Wiley | 3 – Dunans | Colonial Life Arena (14,356) Columbia, SC |
| 01/28/2017* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | at TCU Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 88−80 | 14−7 | 25 – Wiley | 7 – Dunans | 7 – Dunans | Schollmaier Arena (6,874) Fort Worth, TX |
| 01/31/2017 8:00 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | L 77–87 | 14–8 (3−6) | 21 – Harper | 11 – McLemore | 2 – Tied | Auburn Arena (7,525) Auburn, AL |
| 02/04/2017 7:30 pm, SECN | | at Alabama Rivalry | W 82–77 | 15−8 (4−6) | 15 – Johnson | 8 – McLemore | 3 – Brown | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 02/07/2017 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Mississippi State | W 98−92 | 16−8 (5−6) | 18 – Brown | 6 – Dunans | 8 – Johnson | Auburn Arena (7,050) Auburn, AL |
| 02/11/2017 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 84−90 | 16−9 (5−7) | 18 – Johnson | 8 – McLemore | 8 – Johnson | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,280) Oxford, MS |
| 02/14/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | | No. 15 Florida | L 95−114 | 16−10 (5−8) | 19 – McLemore | 6 – Tied | 5 – Brown | Auburn Arena (7,572) Auburn, AL |
| 02/18/2017 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Texas A&M | L 62–81 | 16–11 (5–9) | 20 – Heron | 5 – Heron | 4 – Harper | Reed Arena (9,377) College Station, TX |
| 02/21/2017 6:00 pm, SECN | | at LSU | W 98−75 | 17−11 (6−9) | 17 – Johnson | 9 – Heron | 3 – Dunans | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (6,638) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/25/2017 7:30 pm, SECN | | Arkansas | L 68−79 | 17−12 (6−10) | 17 – Harper | 8 – McLemore | 3 – Harper | Auburn Arena (8,098) Auburn, AL |
| 03/01/2017 5:30 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 78−79 | 17−13 (6−11) | 15 – Brown | 9 – Heron | 6 – Harper | Stegeman Coliseum (7,145) Athens, GA |
| 03/04/2017 2:30 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 89−78 | 18−13 (7−11) | 20 – Heron | 6 – McLemore | 3 – Harper | Auburn Arena (7,659) Auburn, AL |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| 03/08/2017 8:30 pm, SECN | (11) | vs. (14) Missouri First Round | L 83−86 $^{OT}$ | 18−14 | 15 – Heron | 14 – Heron | 7 – Harper | Bridgestone Arena (8,567) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. Source. |||||||||