# 2016–17 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Canisius Golden Griffins men's basketball team represented Canisius College during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Golden Griffins, led by first-year head coach Reggie Witherspoon, played their home games at the Koessler Athletic Center in Buffalo, New York as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 18–16, 10–10 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Marist in the first round of the MAAC tournament to advance to the Quarterfinals where they lost to Saint Peter's. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Samford.

## Previous season

The Golden Griffins finished the 2015–16 season 14–19, 8–12 in MAAC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Niagara in the first round of the MAAC tournament to advance to the Quarterfinals where they lost to Iona.
On May 20, 2016, head coach Jim Baron announced his retirement. He finished at Canisius with a four-year record of 73–59. On May 28, the school hired Reggie Witherspoon as head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/07/2016* 6:00 pm | | Ryerson | W 99–95 | | Koessler Athletic Center (811) Buffalo, NY |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 2 Kentucky Bluegrass Showcase | L 69–93 | 0–1 | Rupp Arena (22,009) Lexington, KY |
| 11/15/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cleveland State Bluegrass Showcase | L 64–67 | 0–2 | Wolstein Center (1,149) Cleveland, OH |
| 11/18/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Duquesne Bluegrass Showcase | W 78–77 | 1–2 | Palumbo Center (786) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 11/21/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UT Martin Bluegrass Showcase | L 69–72 | 1–3 | Koessler Athletic Center (1,291) Buffalo, NY |
| 11/23/2016* 7:00 pm | | Tennessee State | L 58–72 | 1–4 | Koessler Athletic Center (864) Buffalo, NY |
| 11/26/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Youngstown State | W 90–84 | 2–4 | Beeghly Center (1,174) Youngstown, OH |
| 12/02/2016 7:00 pm | | at Manhattan | W 77–76 | 3–4 (1–0) | Draddy Gymnasium (1,275) Riverdale, NY |
| 12/04/2016 2:00 pm | | at Monmouth | L 88–94 | 3–5 (1–1) | OceanFirst Bank Center (2,175) West Long Branch, NJ |
| 12/07/2016* 7:30 pm | | at Boston University | W 87–77 | 4–5 | Case Gym (363) Boston, MA |
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at St. Francis Brooklyn | W 91–81 | 5–5 | Generoso Pope Athletic Complex (1,103) Brooklyn, NY |
| 12/12/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Albany | W 77–64 | 6–5 | Koessler Athletic Center (944) Buffalo, NY |
| 12/17/2016* 3:30 pm, SPSN | | vs. Buffalo Big 4 Basketball Classic | W 94–87 $^{OT}$ | 7–5 | KeyBank Center (5,327) Buffalo, NY |
| 12/22/2016* 7:00 pm | | at St. Bonaventure | W 106–101 $^{OT}$ | 8–5 | Reilly Center (3,433) Olean, NY |
| 01/02/2017 2:00 pm, SPSN | | Siena | W 82–79 | 9–5 (2–1) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,418) Buffalo, NY |
| 01/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Quinnipiac | W 83–77 | 10–5 (3–1) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,011) Buffalo, NY |
| 01/08/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Iona | L 75–98 | 10–6 (3–2) | Hynes Athletic Center (1,650) New Rochelle, NY |
| 01/10/2017 7:00 pm | | at Fairfield | W 86–72 | 11–6 (4–2) | Webster Bank Arena (1,112) Bridgeport, CT |
| 01/14/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Marist | W 91–58 | 12–6 (5–2) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,524) Buffalo, NY |
| 01/16/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Monmouth | L 72–76 | 12–7 (5–3) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,684) Buffalo, NY |
| 01/20/2017 7:00 pm | | at Quinnipiac | L 90–95 | 12–8 (5–4) | TD Bank Sports Center (1,585) Hamden, CT |
| 01/23/2017 7:00 pm | | at Niagara Battle of the Bridge | L 84–91 | 12–9 (5–5) | Gallagher Center (1,895) Lewiston, NY |
| 01/28/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Manhattan | W 78–64 | 13–9 (6–5) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,602) Buffalo, NY |
| 01/30/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Rider | L 66–72 | 13–10 (6–6) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,137) Buffalo, NY |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm | | at Siena | W 80–73 | 14–10 (7–6) | Times Union Center (7,209) Albany, NY |
| 02/06/2017 7:00 pm | | at Saint Peter's | W 72–70 | 15–10 (8–6) | Yanitelli Center (351) Jersey City, NY |
| 02/10/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Niagara Battle of the Bridge | L 81–94 | 15–11 (8–7) | Koessler Athletic Center (2,196) Buffalo, NY |
| 02/14/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Iona | W 89–83 | 16–11 (9–7) | Koessler Athletic Center (986) Buffalo, NY |
| 02/17/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Rider | W 85–77 | 17–11 (10–7) | Alumni Gymnasium (1,632) Lawrenceville, NJ |
| 02/19/2017 2:00 pm | | at Marist | L 74–76 | 17–12 (10–8) | McCann Field House (1,381) Poughkeepsie, NY |
| 02/24/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fairfield | L 55–58 | 17–13 (10–9) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,299) Buffalo, NY |
| 02/26/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Saint Peter's | L 65–72 | 17–14 (10–10) | Koessler Athletic Center (1,354) Buffalo, NY |
| MAAC tournament ||||||
| 03/02/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | vs. (10) Marist First Round | W 77–73 | 18–14 | Times Union Center (2,406) Albany, NY |
| 03/03/2017 9:30 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | vs. (2) Saint Peter's Quarterfinals | L 58–61 | 18–15 | Times Union Center (2,298) Albany, NY |
| CIT ||||||
| 03/14/2017* 7:30 pm, Facebook Live | | at Samford First Round | L 74–78 | 18–16 | Pete Hanna Center (614) Homewood, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||