# 2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball season

The 2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in early March.
Middle Tennessee claimed the outright regular season championship with a win over UAB on February 26, 2017. Louisiana Tech finished in second place in the regular season, three games behind the Blue Raiders.
Middle Tennessee's JaCorey Williams was named C-USA Player of the Year and Kermit Davis was named the Coach of the Year.
The C-USA tournament was held from March 8 through 11, 2017 at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Middle Tennessee defeated Marshall to win the tournament championship for the second consecutive year. As a result, the Blue Raiders received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. No other C-USA school received an NCAA Tournament bid. Rice received a bid to the College Basketball Invitational tournament.

## Head coaches
### Coaching changes

On March 10, 2016, after 10 years with UTSA, head coach Brooks Thompson was fired. He finished at UTSA with a record of 130–176. On April 1, the school hired Steve Henson as head coach.
On March 17, 2016, WKU head coach Ray Harper resigned after three players were suspended by a university disciplinary committee. He finished at WKU with a record of 90–62. On March 28, the school hired Rick Stansbury as head coach.
UAB head coach Jerod Haase left UAB to accept the head coaching position at Stanford. On April 4, 2016, the school hired Robert Ehsan, who had been an assistant under Haase at UAB, as head coach .

### Coaches

| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Year at school | Overall record | C-USA record | C-USA championships | NCAA Tournaments |
| Charlotte | Mark Price | Charlotte Bobcats (asst.) | 2 | 27–36 | 16–20 | 0 | 0 |
| FIU | Anthony Evans | Norfolk State | 4 | 51–76 | 25–45 | 0 | 0 |
| Florida Atlantic | Michael Curry | Philadelphia 76ers (asst.) | 3 | 27–64 | 13–41 | 0 | 0 |
| Louisiana Tech | Eric Konkol | Miami (asst.) | 2 | 46–20 | 26–10 | 0 | 0 |
| Marshall | Dan D'Antoni | Los Angeles Lakers (asst.) | 3 | 48–52 | 29–25 | 0 | 0 |
| Middle Tennessee | Kermit Davis | LSU (asst.) | 15 | 307–179 | 52–18 | 2 | 2 |
| North Texas | Tony Benford | Marquette (assoc. head coach) | 5 | 62–95 | 23–49 | 0 | 0 |
| Old Dominion | Jeff Jones | American | 4 | 89–51 | 46–24 | 0 | 0 |
| Rice | Mike Rhoades | VCU (assoc. head coach) | 3 | 47–52 | 26–28 | 0 | 0 |
| Southern Miss | Doc Sadler | Iowa State (asst.) | 3 | 20–63 | 14–39 | 0 | 0 |
| UAB | Robert Ehsan | UAB (asst.) | 1 | 17–16 | 9–9 | 0 | 0 |
| UTEP | Tim Floyd | USC | 7 | 135–81 | 75–41 | 0 | 0 |
| UTSA | Steve Henson | Oklahoma (asst.) | 1 | 14–19 | 7–11 | 0 | 0 |
| WKU | Rick Stansbury | Texas A&M (asst.) | 1 | 15–17 | 9–9 | 0 | 0 |
Notes:
* All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only.
* Year at school includes 2016–17 season.
* Overall and C-USA records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2016–17 season.

## Preseason
### Preseason Coaches Poll

Source
| Rank | Team |
| 1. | UAB (10) |
| 2. | Middle Tennessee (4) |
| 3. | WKU |
| 4. | Marshall |
| 5. | Old Dominion |
| 6. | UTEP |
| 7. | Louisiana Tech |
| 8. | Charlotte |
| 9. | Rice |
| 10. | North Texas |
| 11. | FIU |
| 12. | Florida Atlantic |
| 13. | Southern Miss |
| 14. | UTSA |
 first place votes

### Preseason All-C-USA Team

Source
| Recipient | School |
| Jeremy Combs | North Texas |
| Chris Cokley | UAB |
| Jon Elmore | Marshall |
| Justin Johnson | WKU |
| William Lee | UAB |
| Erik McCree | Louisiana Tech |
| Giddy Potts | Middle Tennessee |
| Ryan Taylor | Marshall |
| Reggie Upshaw Jr. | Middle Tennessee |

## Conference schedules
### Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Charlotte | FIU | FAU | LaTech | Marshall | MTSU | UNT | ODU | Rice | USM | UAB | UTEP | UTSA | WKU |
| vs. Charlotte | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 |
| vs. FIU | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Florida Atlantic | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. Louisiana Tech | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. Marshall | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. Middle Tennessee | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–2 | – | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 |
| vs. North Texas | 2–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | – | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Old Dominion | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Rice | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | – | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 |
| vs. Southern Miss | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 2–0 | – | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. UAB | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. UTEP | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–0 |
| vs. UTSA | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–0 |
| vs. WKU | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–1 | – |
| Total | 7–11 | 3–15 | 6–12 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 17–1 | 2–16 | 12–6 | 11–7 | 6–12 | 9–9 | 12–6 | 8–10 | 9–9 |

### Players of the Week

Throughout the conference regular season, the C-USA offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.
| Week | Player of the week | Freshman of the week |
| November 14, 2016 | Egor Koulechov, Rice | DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech |
| November 21, 2016 | Dominic Artis, UTEP | Byron Frohnen, UTSA |
| November 28, 2016 | JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee | Jailyn Ingram, Florida Atlantic |
| December 5, 2016 | Marcus Evans, Rice | Najee Garvin, Charlotte |
| December 12, 2016 | Jon Elmore, Marshall | Deon Barrett, UTEP |
| December 19, 2016 | JaCorey Williams (2), Middle Tennessee | A. J. Lawson, North Texas |
| December 26, 2016 | Stevie Browning, Marshall | Byron Frohnen (2), UTSA |
| December 26, 2016 | Stevie Browning, Marshall | Jalen Harris, Louisiana Tech |
| January 2, 2017 | Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee | Quentin Jackson Jr., Charlotte |
| January 9, 2017 | Ryan Taylor, Marshall | Giovanni De Nicolao, UTSA |
| January 16, 2017 | William Lee, UAB | DaQuan Bracey (2), Louisiana Tech |
| January 23, 2017 | Jon Davis, Charlotte | DaQuan Bracey (3), Louisiana Tech |
| January 30, 2017 | Matt Willms, UTEP | Byron Frohnen (3), UTSA |
| February 6, 2017 | Justin Johnson, WKU | A. J. Lawson (2), North Texas |
| February 13, 2017 | Marcus Evans (2), Rice | Ryan Woolridge, North Texas |
| February 20, 2017 | Paul Thomas, UTEP | Ryan Woolridge (2), North Texas |
| February 27, 2017 | Quinton Campbell, Southern Miss | A.J. Lawson (3), North Texas |
| March 6, 2017 | Egor Koulechov (2), Rice | Jalen Harris (2), Louisiana Tech |

## All-C-USA honors and awards

Following the regular season, the conference selected outstanding performers based on a poll of league coaches.
| Honor | Recipient |
| Player of the Year | JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee |
| Coach of the Year | Kermit Davis, Middle Tennessee |
| Defensive Player of the Year | William Lee, UAB |
| Freshman of the Year | DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech |
| Newcomer of the Year | JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee |
| Sixth Man of the Year | Zoran Talley, Old Dominion |
| All-C-USA First Team | Erik McCree, Louisiana Tech |
| All-C-USA First Team | Jon Elmore, Marshall |
| All-C-USA First Team | JaCorey Williams, Middle Tennessee |
| All-C-USA First Team | Marcus Evans, Rice |
| All-C-USA First Team | Egor Koulechov, Rice |
| All-C-USA Second Team | Jon Davis, Charlotte |
| All-C-USA Second Team | Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee |
| All-C-USA Second Team | William Lee, UAB |
| All-C-USA Second Team | Dominic Artis, UTEP |
| All-C-USA Second Team | Justin Johnson, WKU |
| All-C-USA Third Team | Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech |
| All-C-USA Third Team | Ryan Taylor, Marshall |
| All-C-USA Third Team | Giddy Potts, Middle Tennessee |
| All-C-USA Third Team | Ahmad Caver, Old Dominion |
| All-C-USA Third Team | Omega Harris, UTEP |
| All-C-USA Defensive Team | Jacobi Boykins, Louisiana Tech |
| All-C-USA Defensive Team | Ryan Taylor, Marshall |
| All-C-USA Defensive Team | Reggie Upshaw Jr., Middle Tennessee |
| All-C-USA Defensive Team | Denzell Taylor, Old Dominion |
| All-C-USA Defensive Team | William Lee, UAB |
| All-C-USA Freshman Team | DaQuan Bracey, Louisiana Tech |
| All-C-USA Freshman Team | Jalen Harris, Louisiana Tech |
| All-C-USA Freshman Team | Tyrik Dixon, Middle Tennessee |
| All-C-USA Freshman Team | A. J. Lawson, North Texas |
| All-C-USA Freshman Team | Byron Frohnen, UTSA |

## Postseason
### C-USA Tournament

Only the top 12 conference teams were eligible for the tournament.
| Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Score | Television | Attendance |
| First round – Wednesday, March 8 ||||||
| 1 | 11:30 am | No. 8 Western Kentucky vs. No. 9 UTSA | 52–56 | Campus Insiders | 3,207 |
| 2 | 2:00 pm | No. 5 Rice vs. No. 12 Southern Miss | 86–75 | Campus Insiders | 3,207 |
| 3 | 5:30 pm | No. 7 UAB vs. No. 10 Charlotte | 74–73 | Campus Insiders | 6,410 |
| 4 | 8:00 pm | No. 6 Marshall vs. No. 11 Florida Atlantic | 89–74 | Campus Insiders | 6,410 |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 9 ||||||
| 5 | 11:30 am | No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 9 UTSA | 86–70 | ASN | 3,654 |
| 6 | 2:00 pm | No. 4 UTEP vs. No. 5 Rice | 86–76 | ASN | 3,654 |
| 7 | 5:30 pm | No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 7 UAB | 69–57 | ASN | 4,005 |
| 8 | 8:00 pm | No. 3 Old Dominion vs. No. 6 Marshall | 63–64 | ASN | 4,005 |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 10 ||||||
| 9 | 11:30 am | No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 4 UTEP | 82–56 | CBSSN | 3,299 |
| 10 | 2:00 pm | No. 2 Louisiana Tech vs. No. 6 Marshall | 77–93 | CBSSN | 3,299 |
| Championship Game – Saturday, March 11 ||||||
| 11 | 7:30 pm | No. 1 Middle Tennessee vs. No. 6 Marshall | 83–72 | CBSSN | 3,956 |
| *Game times in CT. Rankings denote tournament seed ||||||

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | First Four | First Round | Second Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 12 | South | Middle Tennessee | N/A | defeated (5) Minnesota 81–72 | eliminated by (4) Butler 65–74 | | | | |