# 2016–17 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team represented Arkansas State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Red Wolves, led by first-year head coach Grant McCasland, played their home games at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 20–12, 11–7 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. As the No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they lost to Louisiana–Monroe in the first round. Despite having 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.
On March 13, 2017, head coach Grant McCasland left the school to accept the head coaching position at North Texas. On March 20, the school named Louisville assistant Mike Balado as their new head coach.

## Previous season

The Red Wolves finished the 2015–16 season 11–20, 7–13 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the Sun Belt tournament.
Prior to the season, head coach John Brady announced his intentions to resign following the season. On March 16, 2016, the school hired former Baylor assistant Grant McCasland as the new head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 10/27/2016* 7:00 pm | | UA–Monticello | W 76–59 | | Convocation Center (1,377) Jonesboro, AR |
| 11/05/2016* 1:00 pm | | Henderson State | W 71–49 | | Convocation Center (846) Jonesboro, AR |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm | | at North Dakota State | L 66–76 | 0–1 | Scheels Center (5,005) Fargo, ND |
| 11/14/2016* 7:00 pm | | Central Baptist | W 100–57 | 1–1 | Convocation Center (1,283) Jonesboro, AR |
| 11/17/2016* 5:30 pm, FS1 | | at Georgetown Maui Invitational | W 78–72 | 2–1 | McDonough Gymnasium (2,136) Washington, D.C. |
| 11/19/2016* 5:00 pm | | at Army Maui on the Mainland semifinals | W 60–57 | 3–1 | Christl Arena (921) West Point, NY |
| 11/20/2016* 11:00 am | | vs. Chattanooga Maui on the Mainland finals | W 73–67 | 4–1 | Christl Arena (120) West Point, NY |
| 11/22/2016* 7:30 pm | | SIU Edwardsville | W 75–57 | 5–1 | Convocation Center (2,366) Jonesboro, AR |
| 11/27/2016* 1:30 pm | | Lehigh | W 97–89 | 6–1 | Convocation Center (2,074) Jonesboro, AR |
| 11/30/2016* 7:00 pm | | Cleveland State | W 78–51 | 7–1 | Convocation Center (1,631) Jonesboro, AR |
| 12/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | at TCU | L 54–77 | 7–2 | Schollmaier Arena (6,022) Fort Worth, TX |
| 12/14/2016* 7:00 pm | | at UT Martin | W 87–68 | 8–2 | Skyhawk Arena (1,098) Martin, TN |
| 12/16/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Central Arkansas | W 89–77 | 9–2 | Farris Center (1,942) Conway, AR |
| 12/21/2016* 8:00 pm, SECN | | vs. Alabama Huntsville Showcase | L 52–67 | 9–3 | Von Braun Center (6,572) Huntsville, AL |
| 12/23/2016* 6:00 pm, BTN | | at Minnesota | L 75–82 | 9–4 | Williams Arena (9,588) Minneapolis, MN |
| Sun Belt Conference regular season ||||||
| 12/31/2016 7:00 pm | | Louisiana–Lafayette | W 74–71 | 10–4 (1–0) | Convocation Center (2,056) Jonesboro, AR |
| 01/02/2017 7:00 pm | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 76–45 | 11–4 (2–0) | Convocation Center (2,954) Jonesboro, AR |
| 01/07/2017 3:30 pm | | at Coastal Carolina | L 65–80 | 11–5 (2–1) | HTC Center (1,463) Conway, SC |
| 01/09/2017 6:00 pm | | at Appalachian State | L 57–70 | 11–6 (2–2) | Holmes Center (522) Boone, NC |
| 01/14/2017 6:00 pm | | at Little Rock | W 77–72 | 12–6 (3–2) | Jack Stephens Center (5,161) Little Rock, AR |
| 01/21/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Troy | W 82–80 | 13–6 (4–2) | Convocation Center (4,678) Jonesboro, AR |
| 01/23/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Alabama | W 74–62 | 14–6 (5–2) | Convocation Center (4,440) Jonesboro, AR |
| 01/28/2017 4:00 pm | | at Louisiana–Monroe | W 73–63 | 15–6 (6–2) | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (2,211) Monroe, LA |
| 01/30/2017 7:00 pm | | at Louisiana–Lafayette | W 88–69 | 16–6 (7–2) | Cajundome (3,230) Lafayette, LA |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Appalachian State | W 79–78 | 17–6 (8–2) | Convocation Center (4,117) Jonesboro, AR |
| 02/06/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Coastal Carolina | W 67–57 | 18–6 (9–2) | Convocation Center (2,870) Jonesboro, AR |
| 02/11/2017 4:30 pm | | at UT Arlington | L 75–81 | 18–7 (9–3) | College Park Center (2,737) Arlington, TX |
| 02/13/2017 7:00 pm | | at Texas State | L 58–62 | 18–8 (9–4) | Strahan Coliseum (1,953) San Marcos, TX |
| 02/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Little Rock | W 67–58 | 19–8 (10–4) | Convocation Center (6,367) Jonesboro, AR |
| 02/25/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia Southern | L 60–72 | 19–9 (10–5) | Convocation Center (4,671) Jonesboro, AR |
| 02/27/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia State | W 78–67 | 20–9 (11–5) | Convocation Center (4,482) Jonesboro, AR |
| 03/02/2017 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Troy | L 72–81 | 20–10 (11–6) | Trojan Arena (1,711) Troy, AL |
| 03/04/2017 3:00 pm | | at South Alabama | L 70–73 | 20–11 (11–7) | Mitchell Center (1,838) Mobile, AL |
| Sun Belt tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | (5) | vs. (12) Louisiana–Monroe First Round | L 70–73 $^{OT}$ | 20–12 | Lakefront Arena (1,045) New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||