# 2016–17 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2016–17 NJIT Highlanders men's basketball team represented the New Jersey Institute of Technology during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders, led by first-year head coach Brian Kennedy, played their home games at the Fleisher Center in Newark, New Jersey as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN). They finished the season 11–20, 3–11 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Lipscomb.
This season was the Highlanders' final season playing at Fleisher Center. The school opened the new Wellness and Events Center for the 2017–18 season.

## Previous season

The Highlanders finished the 2015–16 season 20–15, 8–6 in A-Sun play to finish in to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the A-Sun tournament to Stetson. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Army, Boston University, and Texas–Arlington to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Columbia.
On April 1, 2016 head coach Jim Engles resigned to become the head coach at Columbia. He finished at NJIT with an eight-year record of 111–139. On April 13, the school hired assistant Brian Kennedy as head coach.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:45 pm, ESPN3 | | Sarah Lawrence | W 100–38 | 1–0 | Fleisher Center (800) Newark, NJ |
| 11/14/2016* 9:00 pm | | at Utah State Cancún Challenge | L 84–93 | 1–1 | Smith Spectrum (8,584) Logan, UT |
| 11/17/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Lafayette | L 83–84 $^{OT}$ | 1–2 | Kirby Sports Center (1,539) Easton, PA |
| 11/19/2016* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Colgate | W 74–68 | 2–2 | Fleisher Center (802) Newark, NJ |
| 11/22/2016* 12:30 pm, YouTube | | vs. Georgia State Cancun Challenge | L 53–74 | 2–3 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,610) Cancun, Mexico |
| 11/23/2016* 12:30 pm, YouTube | | vs. Idaho State Cancun Challenge | W 71–67 | 3–3 | Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya (1,610) Cancun, Mexico |
| 11/26/2016* 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 17 Purdue Cancun Challenge | L 68–79 | 3–4 | Mackey Arena (10,479) West Lafayette, IN |
| 11/30/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 83–70 | 4–4 | Fleisher Center (752) Newark, NJ |
| 12/03/2016* 2:00 pm | | at UMass Lowell | W 75–74 | 5–4 | Tsongas Center (1,267) Lowell, MA |
| 12/06/2016* 8:00 pm, BTN | | at Minnesota | L 68–74 | 5–5 | Williams Arena (8,189) Minneapolis, MN |
| 12/10/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Kent State | L 71–87 | 5–6 | MAC Center (2,388) Kent, OH |
| 12/14/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Iona | L 80–94 | 5–7 | Hynes Athletic Center (1,107) New Rochelle, NY |
| 12/17/2016* 2:00 pm | | at Temple | L 63–68 | 5–8 | Liacouras Center (4,934) Philadelphia, PA |
| 12/22/2016* 4:00 pm | | Dean | W 92–50 | 6–8 | Fleisher Center (400) Newark, NJ |
| 12/28/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Stony Brook | W 64–61 | 7–8 | Island Federal Credit Union Arena (3,130) Stony Brook, NY |
| 01/04/2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Brown | W 75–73 | 8–8 | Fleisher Center (475) Newark, NJ |
| Atlantic Sun Conference regular season ||||||
| 01/07/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at USC Upstate | L 65–75 | 8–9 (0–1) | G. B. Hodge Center (354) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville | L 81–82 | 8–10 (0–2) | Fleisher Center (387) Newark, NJ |
| 01/14/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida | W 84–78 | 9–10 (1–2) | Fleisher Center (812) Newark, NJ |
| 01/19/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stetson | L 76–82 | 9–11 (1–3) | Edmunds Center (985) DeLand, FL |
| 01/21/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 71–84 | 9–12 (1–4) | Alico Arena (4,545) Fort Myers, FL |
| 01/25/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kennesaw State | L 65–71 | 9–13 (1–5) | KSU Convocation Center (771) Kennesaw, GA |
| 01/28/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | L 62–66 | 9–14 (1–6) | Fleisher Center (599) Newark, NJ |
| 01/30/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | L 53–54 | 9–15 (1–7) | Fleisher Center (657) Newark, NJ |
| 02/04/2017 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | L 63–87 | 9–16 (1–8) | Allen Arena (1,737) Nashville, TN |
| 02/09/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Florida | L 69–91 | 9–17 (1–9) | UNF Arena (2,011) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/11/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Jacksonville | L 73–76 | 9–18 (1–10) | Swisher Gymnasium (1,176) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/16/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Gulf Coast | L 73–80 | 9–19 (1–11) | Fleisher Center (577) Newark, NJ |
| 02/18/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stetson | W 60–56 | 10–19 (2–11) | Fleisher Center (755) Newark, NJ |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | USC Upstate | W 88–87 | 11–19 (3–11) | Fleisher Center (677) Newark, NJ |
| Atlantic Sun Tournament ||||||
| 02/27/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | (7) | at (2) Lipscomb Quarterfinals | L 66–97 | 11–20 | Allen Arena (2,456) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||