# 2016–17 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos, led by 14th-year head coach Steve Hawkins, played their home games at University Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 11–7 in MAC play to tie for first in the West Division. As the No. 5 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament to Ball State. They declined invitations from both the CollegeInsider.com and College Basketball Invitational postseason tournaments.

## Previous season

The Broncos finished the 2015–16 season 13–19 overall and 7–11 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Northern Illinois. WMU tied Eastern Michigan for the Michigan MAC Trophy with a 3–1 record. However, due to not having a clear winner, Central Michigan retained the trophy that they won in 2014–15.

## Departures

| Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Anthony Avery | F | 6′ 7″ | 205 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |
| Khadim Dieng | C | 6′ 11″ | 200 | Sophomore | Senegal | Transferred to Davenport |
| Jared Klein | G | 6′ 2″ | 175 | Senior | Otsego, MI | Graduated |
| Kellen McCormick | F | 6′ 8″ | 215 | Junior (redshirt) | West Bloomfield, MI | Graduate transfer to Georgia Tech |
| Taylor Perry | G | 6′ 5″ | 200 | Senior | Rochester, MI | Graduated |
| Connar Tava | F | 6′ 6″ | 245 | Senior | Macomb, MI | Graduate transfer to Boston College |

## Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Reggie Jones SF | Marion, IN | Marion High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 ||||||
| Jared Printy SG | Marion, IA | Linn-Mar High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Sep 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Brandon Johnson PF | Chicago, IL | Thornton Fractional South High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 6, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Adida Ikongshul SF | Madison, IN | Shawe Memorial High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Jarrin Randall PG | Chicago, IL | Morgan Park High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 6, 2015 |
| 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: "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| T. J. Clifford PF | Downers Grove, IL | Downers Grove South High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | N/A | Jul 9, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Michael Flowers PG | Southfield, MI | Southfield High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | N/A | |
| 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 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2016 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 3, 2016. |||||||

## Season

On December 12, during the season, redshirt freshman guard Joeviair Kennedy was charged with murder and armed robbery in the killing of a WMU student.

## Schedule and results

The following table lists WMU's schedule.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition game ||||||
| November 5, 2016* 3:00 pm | | Kalamazoo | W 108–57 | | University Arena (1,696) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Marygrove | W 90–74 | 1–0 | University Arena (2,058) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Oakland | L 60–77 | 1–1 | Athletics Center O'rena (2,335) Rochester, MI |
| November 17, 2016* 11:30 am, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 3 Villanova Charleston Classic quarterfinals | L 65–76 | 1–2 | TD Arena (4,125) Charleston, SC |
| November 18, 2016* 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. UTEP Charleston Classic consolation round | L 75–85 | 1–3 | TD Arena (4,020) Charleston, SC |
| November 20, 2016* 1:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Boise State Charleston Classic 7th place game | L 70–91 | 1–4 | TD Arena (1,293) Charleston, SC |
| November 26, 2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Arkansas | W 80–63 | 2–4 | University Arena (1,844) Kalamazoo, MI |
| November 30, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Wilmington | L 92–97 | 2–5 | University Arena (1,823) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 7, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Cleveland State | L 62–85 | 2–6 | Quicken Loans Arena (1,313) Cleveland, OH |
| December 10, 2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | James Madison | W 74–67 | 3–6 | University Arena (1,968) Kalamazoo, MI |
| December 18, 2016* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at Washington | L 86–92 | 3–7 | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,129) Seattle, WA |
| December 21, 2016* 11:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 2 UCLA | L 68–82 | 3–8 | Pauley Pavilion (10,695) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 29, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Alabama A&M | W 80–50 | 4–8 | University Arena (2,260) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| January 3, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ohio | L 58–89 | 4–9 (0–1) | Convocation Center (4,616) Athens, OH |
| January 6, 2017 6:30 pm | | at Akron | L 59–66 | 4–10 (0–2) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,760) Akron, OH |
| January 10, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Toledo | W 90–74 | 5–10 (1–2) | University Arena (1,879) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 14, 2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kent State | W 92–88 | 6–10 (2–2) | University Arena (2,418) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 17, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 80–86 | 6–11 (2–3) | Convocation Center (1,485) Ypsilanti, MI |
| January 21, 2017 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Buffalo | L 54–66 | 6–12 (2–4) | Alumni Arena (3,284) Amherst, NY |
| January 24, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Akron | L 80–90 | 6–13 (2–5) | University Arena (2,079) Kalamazoo, MI |
| January 28, 2017 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Ball State | L 78–84 | 6–14 (2–6) | John E. Worthen Arena (4,298) Muncie, IN |
| January 31, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ohio | W 90–85 | 7–14 (3–6) | University Arena (1,806) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 4, 2017 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 82–86 | 7–15 (3–7) | McGuirk Arena (5,412) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| February 7, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Miami (OH) | W 72–55 | 8–15 (4–7) | Millett Hall (3,061) Oxford, OH |
| February 11, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northern Illinois | W 76–67 | 9–15 (5–7) | University Arena (3,140) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 14, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Bowling Green | W 89–79 | 10–15 (6–7) | University Arena (1,763) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 18, 2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 88–80 | 11–15 (7–7) | University Arena Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 21, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Toledo | W 61–56 $^{OT}$ | 12–15 (8–7) | Savage Arena (3,859) Toledo, OH |
| February 25, 2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Ball State | W 80–55 | 13–15 (9–7) | University Arena (2,857) Kalamazoo, MI |
| February 28, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Northern Illinois | W 70–56 | 14–15 (10–7) | Convocation Center (862) DeKalb, IL |
| March 3, 2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | W 88–80 | 15–15 (11–7) | University Arena (4,194) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| March 6, 2017 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | (5) | (12) Miami First round | W 65–61 | 16–15 | University Arena (1,227) Kalamazoo, MI |
| March 9, 2017 2:30 pm, BCSN/ESPN3 | (5) | vs. (4) Ball State Quarterfinals | L 63–66 | 16–16 | Quicken Loans Arena (2,245) Cleveland, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Zone. ||||||