# 2016–17 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by third-year head coach Billy Wright, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois as members of The Summit League. They finished the season 8–20, 5–11 in Summit League play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament to South Dakota.

## Previous season

The Leathernecks finished the 2015–16 season 10–17, 3–13 in Summit League play to finish in last place. As a result, they failed to qualify for The Summit League tournament.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | Lincoln Christian | W 95–39 | | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 8:00 pm, FSKC | | at Kansas State | L 55–82 | 0–1 | Bramlage Coliseum (11,644) Manhattan, KS |
| 11/13/2016* 5:00 pm | | Oak Hills Christian | W 95–48 | 1–1 | Western Hall (572) Macomb, IL |
| 11/16/2016* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Southeast Missouri State | L 71–74 | 1–2 | Western Hall (801) Macomb, IL |
| 11/19/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Illinois | L 64–73 | 1–3 | Lantz Arena (392) Charleston, IL |
| 11/23/2016* 2:00 pm | | Crown (MN) | W 91–53 | 2–3 | Western Hall (263) Macomb, IL |
| 11/26/2016* 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | L 72–81 | 2–4 | Millett Hall (1,083) Oxford, OH |
| 11/29/2016* 2:30 pm | | at American | L 50–57 | 2–5 | Bender Arena (686) Washington, D.C. |
| 12/03/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Chicago State | L 76–83 | 2–6 | Western Hall (823) Macomb, IL |
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm | | Eastern Illinois | L 49–63 | 2–7 | Western Hall (1,002) Macomb, IL |
| 12/17/2016* 2:00 pm | | at Milwaukee | W 75–59 | 3–7 | Klotsche Center (893) Milwaukee, WI |
| 12/19/2016* 5:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 15 Purdue | L 50–82 | 3–8 | Mackey Arena (10,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Summit League regular season ||||||
| 12/29/2016 6:00 pm | | at Fort Wayne | W 93–91 | 4–8 (1–0) | Gates Sports Center (1,345) Fort Wayne, IN |
| 12/31/2016 12:00 pm | | at IUPUI | L 71–89 | 4–9 (1–1) | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (1,106) Indianapolis, IN |
| 01/04/2017 7:00 pm | | South Dakota State | W 82–74 | 5–9 (2–1) | Western Hall (783) Macomb, IL |
| 01/07/2017 2:00 pm | | Oral Roberts | W 86–71 | 6–9 (3–1) | Western Hall (813) Macomb, IL |
| 01/11/2017 8:00 pm | | at Denver | L 70–84 | 6–10 (3–2) | Magness Arena (1,067) Denver, CO |
| 01/14/2017 7:00 pm | | at Omaha | L 72–86 | 6–11 (3–3) | Baxter Arena (1,813) Omaha, NE |
| 01/21/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota State | L 57–89 | 6–12 (3–4) | Western Hall (883) Macomb, IL |
| 01/25/2017 7:00 pm | | at South Dakota | L 55–62 | 6–13 (3–5) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (1,603) Vermillion, SD |
| 01/28/2017 7:00 pm | | IUPUI | W 78–69 | 7–13 (4–5) | Western Hall (843) Macomb, IL |
| 02/01/2017 7:00 pm | | at South Dakota State | L 65–98 | 7–14 (4–6) | Frost Arena (2,017) Brookings, SD |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Omaha | L 67–79 | 7–15 (4–7) | Western Hall (887) Macomb, IL |
| 02/08/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Oral Roberts | W 63–60 | 8–15 (5–7) | Mabee Center (3,040) Tulsa, OK |
| 02/14/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Denver | L 72–78 | 8–16 (5–8) | Western Hall (804) Macomb, IL |
| 02/18/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Dakota State | L 91–100 $^{2OT}$ | 8–17 (5–9) | Scheels Center (4,696) Fargo, ND |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota | L 81–92 | 8–18 (5–10) | Western Hall (828) Macomb, IL |
| 02/25/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Fort Wayne | L 92–96 $^{OT}$ | 8–19 (5–11) | Western Hall (803) Macomb, IL |
| The Summit League tournament ||||||
| 03/04/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | (8) | vs. (1) South Dakota Quarterfinals | L 69–78 $^{OT}$ | 8–20 | Premier Center (9,399) Sioux Falls, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||