# 2016–17 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves, led by second-year head coach Brian Wardle, played their home games at Carver Arena in Peoria, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–20, 7–11 in MVC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. As the No. 7 seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Drake in the first round before losing to Wichita State in the quarterfinals.

## Previous season

The Braves finished the 2015–16 season 5–27, 3–15 in Missouri Valley play to finish in ninth place. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley tournament to Loyola–Chicago.

## Preseason

The Missouri Valley Conference's preseason poll picked Bradley to finish in eighth place in the MVC.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ka'Darryl Bell | 0 | G | 6'1" | 200 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Anthony Fields | 3 | G | 6'0" | 160 | RS Senior | Detroit, MI | Graduated |
| Joel Okafor | 4 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Freshman | Richmond, IN | Transferred to Indiana Wesleyan |
| Davante Cooper | 5 | C | 6'10" | 215 | Freshman | Atlanta, GA | Transferred to Tyler JC |
| Jackson Kane | 10 | G | 5'10" | 175 | Senior | Roseville, IL | Walk-on; graduated |
| Scottie James | 24 | F | 6'8" | 215 | Freshman | Tarpon Springs, FL | Transferred to Liberty |
| Mike Shaw | 32 | F | 6'8" | 230 | RS Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| JoJo McGlaston | 24 | G | 6'3" | 180 | RS Junior | Dublin, CA | Junior college transferred from Diablo Valley College |

### 2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Koch Bar C | Jacksonville, FL | Arlington Country Day School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jul 2, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Jayden Hodgson PG | Gosford, Australia | Centre of Excellence | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | Nov 30, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NG ||||||
| Nate Kennell SG | Metamora, IL | Metamora Township High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Jul 1, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NG ||||||
| Darrell Brown Jr. PG | Memphis, TN | Germantown High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Feb 7, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NG ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – ||||||
| 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: "Bradley Commit List for 2016". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "ESPN – Bradley Braves Basketball Recruiting 2016". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. ||||||

### 2017 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ryan Stipanovich SF | Saint Louis, MO | De Smet Jesuit High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 16, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – |||||||
| 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: "Bradley Commit List for 2017". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "ESPN – Bradley Braves Basketball Recruiting 2017". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 29, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 6, 2016* 2:00 pm | | Wisconsin-La Crosse | W 83–66 | | Carver Arena (4,682) Peoria, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov. 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois-Springfield Gulf Coast Showcase Opening game | W 70–55 | 1–0 | Carver Arena (5,176) Peoria, IL |
| Nov. 13, 2016* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Delaware | L 49–63 | 1–1 | Carver Arena (4,897) Peoria, IL |
| Nov 18, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southeast Missouri State | W 84–78 | 2–1 | Carver Arena (5,142) Peoria, IL |
| Nov 21, 2016* 12:30 pm | | vs. Hofstra Gulf Coast Showcase | L 90–92 | 2–2 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| Nov 22, 2016* 10:00 am | | vs. Wofford Gulf Coast Showcase | W 70–62 | 3–2 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| Nov 23, 2016* 12:30 pm | | vs. George Mason Gulf Coast Showcase | L 66–77 | 3–3 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| Nov 29, 2016* 7:00 pm, WEIU-TV | | at Eastern Illinois | W 87–83 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | Lantz Arena Charleston, IL |
| Dec 3, 2016* 7:00 pm, CSN+/ESPN3 | | Nevada MW–MVC Challenge | L 69–91 | 4–4 | Carver Arena (5,384) Peoria, IL |
| Dec 6, 2016* 6:00 pm | | at Ball State | L 63–80 | 4–5 | Worthen Arena (2,477) Muncie, IN |
| Dec 10, 2016* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chicago State | W 83–48 | 5–5 | Carver Arena (4,943) Peoria, IL |
| Dec 16, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Texas–Arlington | L 51–56 | 5–6 | Carver Arena (4,711) Peoria, IL |
| Dec 19, 2016* 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 49–66 | 5–7 | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,792) Oxford, MS |
| Dec 21, 2016* 8:00 pm, FSN | | at TCU | L 42–74 | 5–8 | Schollmaier Arena (6,258) Fort Worth, TX |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 29, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 60–51 | 6–8 (1–0) | Carver Arena (5,989) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 1, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wichita State | L 66–100 | 6–9 (1–1) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| Jan 4, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | W 74–63 | 7–9 (2–1) | Ford Center (3,614) Evansville, IN |
| Jan 7, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Loyola–Chicago | L 62–78 | 7–10 (2–2) | Carver Arena (5,506) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 11, 2017 8:00 pm, MVC-TV | | Northern Iowa | W 72–61 | 8–10 (3–2) | Carver Arena (5,138) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 14, 2017 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 71–81 | 8–11 (3–3) | Hulman Center (3,969) Terre Haute, IN |
| Jan 18, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Illinois State I-74 Rivalry | L 49–69 | 8–12 (3–4) | Carver Arena (7,170) Peoria, IL |
| Jan 21, 2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | L 62–76 | 8–13 (3–5) | JQH Arena (4,854) Springfield, MO |
| Jan 25, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 50–70 | 8–14 (3–6) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,089) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 29, 2017 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | Wichita State | L 49–64 | 8–15 (3–7) | Carver Arena (6,001) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 1, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Southern Illinois | L 65–85 | 8–16 (3–8) | SIU Arena (4,689) Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 4, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Drake | W 79–72 | 9–16 (4–8) | Carver Arena (5,815) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 8, 2017 8:00 pm, MVC-TV | | Indiana State | L 54–56 | 9–17 (4–9) | Carver Arena (5,004) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 11, 2017 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Illinois State | L 50–64 | 9–18 (4–10) | Redbird Arena (9,380) Bloomington, IL |
| Feb 15, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | L 61–64 | 9–19 (4–11) | McLeod Center (4,225) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Feb 18, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 84–72 | 10–19 (5–11) | Carver Arena (5,968) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 22, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Missouri State | W 77–68 | 11–19 (6–11) | Carver Arena (5,474) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 25, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Drake | W 82–74 | 12–19 (7–11) | Knapp Center (7,152) Des Moines, IA |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| Mar 2, 2017 8:25 pm, ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC | (7) | vs. (10) Drake First Round | W 67–58 | 13–19 | Scottrade Center (5,057) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/03/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC | (7) | vs. (2) No. 21 Wichita State Quarterfinals | L 56–82 | 13–20 | Scottrade Center (9,124) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source