# 2016–17 South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team

The 2016–17 South Dakota Coyotes men's basketball team represented the University of South Dakota during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Coyotes, led by second-year head coach Craig Smith, played their home games at the brand new Sanford Coyote Sports Center in Vermillion, South Dakota as members of Summit League. They finished the season 22–12, 12–4 in Summit League play to win the Summit League regular season championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Summit League tournament, they defeated Western Illinois in the quarterfinals before losing to South Dakota State in the semifinals. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament title, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Iowa.

## Previous season

The Coyotes finished the 2015–16 season 14–18, 5–11 in Summit League play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of The Summit League tournament to IPFW.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/04/2016* 7:00 pm | | Loras | W 106–76 | | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (645) Vermillion, SD |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 8:30 pm | | at Drake | W 79–74 | 1–0 | Knapp Center (2,439) Des Moines, IA |
| 11/13/2016* 3:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 78–72 | 2–0 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (3,017) Vermillion, SD |
| 11/16/2016* 7:00 pm | | Presentation | W 99–60 | 3–0 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,485) Vermillion, SD |
| 11/17/2016* 7:00 pm | | Doane Gulf Coast Showcase | W 80–46 | 4–0 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,456) Vermillion, SD |
| 11/21/2016* 4:00 pm | | vs. Kent State Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals | W 80–77 | 5–0 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 11/22/2016* 6:30 pm | | vs. Houston Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals | L 58–85 | 5–1 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 11/23/2016* 4:00 pm | | vs. Hofstra Gulf Coast Showcase 3rd place game | L 57–65 | 5–2 | Germain Arena Estero, FL |
| 11/27/2016* 1:00 pm | | Montana | W 72–67 | 6–2 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,399) Vermillion, SD |
| 11/30/2016* 6:30 pm | | at UMKC | L 82–84 | 6–3 | Municipal Auditorium (1,230) Kansas City, MO |
| 12/03/2016* 1:00 pm, BTN+ | | at Nebraska | L 61–73 | 6–4 | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,642) Lincoln, NE |
| 12/07/2016* 8:15 pm | | Montana State | W 74–57 | 7–4 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,800) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/10/2016* 1:00 pm | | Sacramento State | W 72–56 | 8–4 | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,515) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/16/2016* 7:30 pm | | vs. Portland Dam City Classic | L 82–85 | 8–5 | Moda Center (6,521) Portland, OR |
| 12/18/2016* 3:00 pm | | at Montana State | W 80–68 | 9–5 | Brick Breeden Fieldhouse (2,128) Bozeman, MT |
| 12/21/2016* 8:00 pm, RTNW | | at No. 7 Gonzaga | L 65–102 | 9–6 | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| The Summit League regular season ||||||
| 12/29/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Omaha | W 86–69 | 10–6 (1–0) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,665) Vermillion, SD |
| 12/31/2016 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Dakota State | L 72–73 | 10–7 (1–1) | Frost Arena (2,518) Brookings, SD |
| 01/04/2017 8:00 pm, ALT2 | | at Denver | W 75–69 | 11–7 (2–1) | Magness Arena (1,115) Denver, CO |
| 01/07/2017 3:15 pm, ESPN3 | | IUPUI | W 85–74 | 12–7 (3–1) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,908) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/11/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota State | L 69–70 | 12–8 (3–2) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,582) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/14/2017 1:00 pm | | Fort Wayne | W 66–63 | 13–8 (4–2) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,905) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Oral Roberts | L 80–90 | 13–9 (4–3) | Mabee Center (2,401) Tulsa, OK |
| 01/25/2017 7:00 pm | | Western Illinois | W 62–55 | 14–9 (5–3) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,603) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/28/2017 3:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Denver | W 88–83 | 15–9 (6–3) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,436) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/01/2017 7:00 pm | | at Omaha | L 83–91 | 15–10 (6–4) | Baxter Arena (1,592) Omaha, NE |
| 02/04/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Dakota State | W 76–66 | 16–10 (7–4) | Scheels Center (5,007) Fargo, ND |
| 02/08/2017 6:00 pm | | at Fort Wayne | W 93–82 | 17–10 (8–4) | Memorial Coliseum (1,404) Fort Wayne, IN |
| 02/11/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota State | W 91–89 | 18–10 (9–4) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (5,265) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/18/2017 3:15 pm, ESPN3 | | Oral Roberts | W 86–72 | 19–10 (10–4) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,659) Vermillion, SD |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm | | at Western Illinois | W 92–81 | 20–10 (11–4) | Western Hall (828) Macomb, IL |
| 02/25/2017 6:00 pm | | at IUPUI | W 92–85 | 21–10 (12–4) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,255) Indianapolis, IN |
| The Summit League tournament ||||||
| 03/04/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (8) Western Illinois Quarterfinals | W 78–69 $^{OT}$ | 22–10 | Premier Center (9,399) Sioux Falls, SD |
| 03/06/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (1) | vs. (4) South Dakota State Semifinals | L 71–74 | 22–11 | Premier Center (11,235) Sioux Falls, SD |
| NIT ||||||
| 03/15/2017* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | (8) | at (1) Iowa First round – Iowa Bracket | L 75–87 | 22–12 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,864) Iowa City, IA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||