# 2016–17 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Drake Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Drake University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs were led by interim head coach Jeff Rutter. They played their home games at the Knapp Center in Des Moines, Iowa and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference.
Fourth-year head coach Ray Giacoletti resigned on December 6, 2016 after the first eight games of the season. Assistant coach Jeff Rutter was named interim head coach.
They finished the season 7–24, 5–13 to finish in a tie for ninth place in MVC play. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley Conference tournament to Bradley.
Following the season, the school chose not to keep Jeff Rutter as head coach and hired Niko Medved, former head coach at Furman, as the Bulldogs' new head coach.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 7–24, 2–16 in Missouri Valley play to finish in last place. They lost in the first round of the Missouri Valley tournament to Missouri State.

## Preseason

Drake was picked to finish last in the preseason MVC poll.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Karl Madison | 1 | G | 5'11" | 174 | RS Senior | Springfield, IL | Graduated |
| Kale Abrahamson | 31 | F | 6'8" | 221 | RS Junior | West Des Moines, IA | Graduate transferred to Duquesne |
| Dominik Olejniczak | 44 | C | 7'0" | 249 | Freshman | Toruń, Poland | Transferred to Ole Miss |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| De'Antae McMurray | 4 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Junior | Alton, IL | Junior college transferred from Southwestern Illinois College |
| T.J. Thomas | 10 | F | 6'8" | 200 | Junior | Lithonia, GA | Junior college transferred from Tyler JC |

## Incoming recruits

Drake did not have any incoming players in the 2016 recruiting class.

### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Teyvion Kirk PG | Joliet, IL | Joliet West High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Tai Bibbs PG | West Chicago, IL | West Chicago Community High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Antonio Pilipovic SF | Germany | RheinStars Köln | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 209 lb (95 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| 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: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 30, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/05/2016* 5:05 pm, ESPN3 | | Concordia–St. Paul | W 81–75 | | Knapp Center (2,224) Des Moines, IA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016 8:35 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota | L 74–79 | 0–1 | Knapp Center (2,439) Des Moines, IA |
| 11/15/2016 6:35 pm | | at UMKC | L 62–68 | 0–2 | Municipal Auditorium (1,535) Kansas City, MO |
| 11/19/2016 2:05 pm, ESPN3 | | Simpson | W 76–61 | 1–2 | Knapp Center (2,541) Des Moines, IA |
| 11/24/2016* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Iona Great Alaska Shootout quarterfinals | L 53–64 | 1–3 | Alaska Airlines Center (2,039) Anchorange, AK |
| 11/25/2016* 5:00 pm | | vs. UC Davis Great Alaska Shootout consolation 2nd round | L 58–64 | 1–4 | Alaska Airlines Center (2,308) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/26/2016* 3:00 pm | | at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout 7th place game | L 69–74 | 1–5 | Alaska Airlines Center (2,030) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/30/2016* 7:30 pm, FSN | | at DePaul | L 75–77 | 1–6 | McGrath-Phillips Arena (2,091) Chicago, IL |
| 12/03/2016* 2:05 pm, MC22 | | Fresno State MW–MVC Challenge | L 76–78 $^{OT}$ | 1–7 | Knapp Center (2,633) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/10/2016* 2:05 pm, MC22 | | Jackson State | L 63–68 | 1–8 | Knapp Center (2,467) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/17/2016* 6:00 pm, MC22 | | vs. Iowa State Hy-Vee Classic | L 80–97 | 1–9 | Wells Fargo Arena (15,028) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/19/2016* 7:05 pm, MC22 | | South Dakota State | L 75–83 | 1–10 | Knapp Center (2,385) Des Moines, IA |
| 12/22/2016* 7:05 pm, MC22 | | Mississippi Valley State | W 101–69 | 2–10 | Knapp Center (2,268) Des Moines, IA |
| Missouri Valley Conference regular season ||||||
| 12/29/2016 7:05 pm, MC22 | | Loyola–Chicago | W 102–98 | 3–10 (1–0) | Knapp Center (3,007) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/01/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Southern Illinois | L 69–83 | 3–11 (1–1) | SIU Arena (4,143) Carbondale, IL |
| 01/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Wichita State | L 65–90 | 3–12 (1–2) | Charles Koch Arena (10,383) Wichita, KS |
| 01/08/2017 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 88–76 | 4–12 (2–2) | Knapp Center (2,688) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/11/2017 7:05 pm, MC22 | | Indiana State | W 87–70 | 5–12 (3–2) | Knapp Center (2,958) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/15/2017 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | L 60–79 | 5–13 (3–3) | McLeod Center (4,652) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 01/18/2017 7:05 pm, MC22/ESPN3 | | Southern Illinois | W 88–84 $^{OT}$ | 6–13 (4–3) | Knapp Center (2,508) Des Moines, IA |
| 01/21/2017 7:00 pm, MVC TV | | at Illinois State | L 58–72 | 6–14 (4–4) | Redbird Arena (8,123) Normal, IL |
| 01/24/2017 7:05 pm, ESPN3 | | at Missouri State | W 72–71 $^{OT}$ | 7–14 (5–4) | JQH Arena (4,729) Springfield, MO |
| 01/28/2017 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | Northern Iowa | L 63–71 | 7–15 (5–5) | Knapp Center (5,237) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/01/2017 6:00 pm, CSNCHI | | Wichita State | L 69–77 | 7–16 (5–6) | Knapp Center (3,024) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/04/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley | L 72–79 | 7–17 (5–7) | Carver Arena (5,815) Peoria, IL |
| 02/07/2017 7:05 pm, MC22 | | Illinois State | L 53–82 | 7–18 (5–8) | Knapp Center (2,812) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/11/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | L 60–84 | 7–19 (5–9) | Hulman Center (4,280) Terre Haute, IN |
| 02/14/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 70–87 | 7–20 (5–10) | Ford Center (3,639) Evansville, IN |
| 02/18/2017 7:05 pm, MVC TV/ESPN3 | | Missouri State | L 73–76 | 7–21 (5–11) | Knapp Center (2,818) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/22/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 65–80 | 7–22 (5–12) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,163) Chicago, IL |
| 02/25/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bradley | L 74–82 | 7–23 (5–13) | Knapp Center (2,860) Des Moines, IA |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| 03/02/2017 8:35 pm, ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC | (10) | vs. (7) Bradley First Round | L 58–67 | 7–24 | Scottrade Center (5,057) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source. ||||||