# 2016–17 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team

The 2016–17 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by eighth-year head coach LeVelle Moton, played their home games at McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 13–3 in MEAC play to win the MEAC regular season championship. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Bethune–Cookman, Maryland Eastern Shores and Norfolk State to be champions of the. As a result, they earned the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed. There they lost in the First Four to fellow No. 16 seed UC Davis.

## Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2015–16 season 13–19, 7–9 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They beat Howard in the first round of the MEAC tournament, before falling to Norfolk State in the quarterfinals.

## Preseason

The Eagles were picked to finish in fourth place in the preseason MEAC poll. Patrick Cole was named to the preseason All-MEAC second team.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/12/2016* 12:00 pm | | at Marshall Global Sports Invitational | L 69–81 | 0–1 | Cam Henderson Center (5,375) Huntington, WV |
| 11/14/2016* 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Ohio State Global Sports Invitational | L 63–69 | 0–2 | Value City Arena (9,787) Columbus, OH |
| 11/16/2016* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Western Carolina Global Sports Invitational | W 67–59 | 1–2 | Ramsey Center (1,495) Cullowhee, NC |
| 11/18/2016* 8:00 pm | | Jackson State Global Sports Invitational | W 84–75 | 2–2 | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,979) Durham, NC |
| 11/26/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Kentucky | W 82–74 | 3–2 | BB&T Arena (2,141) Highland Heights, KY |
| 11/28/2016* 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | W 62–52 | 4–2 | Mizzou Arena (4,123) Columbia, MO |
| 12/01/2016* 7:00 pm | | Southern Wesleyan | W 92–55 | 5–2 | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,278) Durham, NC |
| 12/03/2016* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at East Carolina | L 56–69 | 5–3 | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (4,638) Greenville, NC |
| 12/06/2016* 7:00 pm | | LIU Brooklyn | W 79–56 | 6–3 | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (772) Durham, NC |
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm | | at Coastal Carolina | L 67–70 | 6–4 | HTC Center (1,907) Conway, SC |
| 12/13/2016* 9:00 pm, SECN | | at LSU | L 66–70 | 6–5 | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (6,415) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 12/17/2016* 4:00 pm | | at McNeese State | W 74–66 | 7–5 | Burton Coliseum (597) Lake Charles, LA |
| 12/28/2016* 7:00 pm | | Truett McConnell | W 88–54 | 8–5 | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (674) Durham, NC |
| 12/30/2016* 7:00 pm | | Montreat | W 101–66 | 9–5 | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (773) Durham, NC |
| MEAC regular season ||||||
| 01/10/2017 4:00 pm | | Delaware State | L 68–69 | 9–6 (0–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (859) Durham, NC |
| 01/11/2017 6:00 pm | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 69–52 | 10–6 (1–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,052) Durham, NC |
| 01/14/2017 6:30 pm | | at Norfolk State | W 72–57 | 11–6 (2–1) | Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,064) Norfolk, VA |
| 01/16/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Hampton | W 64–51 | 12–6 (3–1) | Hampton Convocation Center (4,545) Hampton, VA |
| 01/23/2017 7:30 pm | | Howard | W 74–39 | 13–6 (4–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,661) Durham, NC |
| 01/28/2017 4:00 pm | | North Carolina A&T | W 82–59 | 14–6 (5–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (3,210) Durham, NC |
| 01/30/2017 7:30 pm | | at Delaware State | W 82–74 | 15–6 (6–1) | Memorial Hall (943) Dover, DE |
| 02/04/2017 7:30 pm | | at Morgan State | W 68–62 | 16–6 (7–1) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,103) Baltimore, MD |
| 02/06/2017 7:30 pm | | at Coppin State | W 86–77 | 17–6 (8–1) | Physical Education Complex (788) Baltimore, MD |
| 02/11/2017 4:00 pm | | South Carolina State | W 85–62 | 18–6 (9–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,639) Durham, NC |
| 02/13/2017 7:30 pm | | Florida A&M | W 78–73 | 19–6 (10–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (986) Durham, NC |
| 02/18/2017 4:00 pm | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 82–69 | 20–6 (11–1) | Hytche Athletic Center (4,837) Princess Anne, MD |
| 02/20/2017 7:00 pm | | at Howard | W 66–59 | 21–6 (12–1) | Burr Gymnasium (876) Washington, D.C. |
| 02/25/2017 7:30 pm | | Bethune–Cookman | W 78–63 | 22–6 (13–1) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,662) Durham, NC |
| 02/27/2017 7:30 pm | | Savannah State | L 73–74 | 22–7 (13–2) | McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (2,276) Durham, NC |
| 03/02/2017 7:30 pm | | at North Carolina A&T | L 63–68 | 22–8 (13–3) | Corbett Sports Center (5,700) Greensboro, NC |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (9) Bethune–Cookman Quarterfinals | W 95–60 | 23–8 | Norfolk Scope (7,233) Norfolk, VA |
| 03/10/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (5) Maryland Eastern Shore Semifinals | W 77–49 | 24–8 | Norfolk Scope (13,331) Norfolk, VA |
| 03/11/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | (1) | vs. (2) Norfolk State Championship | W 67–59 | 25–8 | Norfolk Scope (7,111) Norfolk, VA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 03/15/2017* 6:40 PM, truTV | (16 MW) | vs. (16 MW) UC Davis First Four | L 63–67 | 25–9 | UD Arena (11,528) Dayton, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||