# 2016–17 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Rhode Island Rams basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rams, led by fifth-year head coach Dan Hurley, played their home games at the Ryan Center in Kingston, Rhode Island as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 13–5 in A-10 play to finish in a tie for third place. In the A-10 tournament, they defeated St. Bonaventure, Davidson, and VCU to win the A-10 Tournament championship. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They received a No. 11 seed in the Midwest region where they defeated No. 6-seeded Creighton in the first round before losing to No. 3-seeded Oregon in the second round.

## Previous season

The Rams finished the 2015–16 season 17–15, 9–9 in A-10 play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the second round of the A-10 tournament to Massachusetts.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Four McGlynn | 4 | G | 6'2" | 200 | RS Senior | York, PA | Graduated |
| Rex Sunahara | 10 | F | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | Bay Village, OH | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Ifeanyi Onyekaba | 14 | C | 6'8" | 265 | Senior | Abuja, Nigeria | Graduate transferred |
| Shane Plunkett | 30 | G | 6'3" | 195 | Senior | Brookville, NY | Graduated |
| Earl Watson | 33 | C | 6'7" | 245 | Senior | Fort Pierce, FL | Graduated |

## Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Mike Layssard Jr. #36 C | Shreveport, LA | Northwood Senior High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 280 lb (130 kg) | Sep 12, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 77 ||||||
| Jeff Dowtin #43 PG | Washington, D.C. | Saint John's College High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 27, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Michael Tertsea #43 C | Bel Aire, MD | The John Carroll School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 20, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 74 ||||||
| Cyril Langevine #66 PF | East Orange, NJ | The Patrick School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Sep 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 70 ||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Class of 2017 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Daron Russell PG | Philadelphia, PA | Imhotep Institute | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 150 lb (68 kg) | Sep 20, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Preseason

The Rams were picked to finish second in the Preseason A-10 poll. E.C. Matthews and Hassan Martin were named to the All-Conference Preseason Second Team. Martin was named to the All-Defensive Preseason Team as well.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm | No. 23 | Dartmouth | W 84–61 | 1–0 | 21 – Matthews | 10 – Martin | 4 – Robinson | Ryan Center (6,052) Kingston, RI |
| 11/14/2016* 7:00 pm | No. 21 | Marist Hall of Fame Tip Off | W 107–65 | 2–0 | 22 – Matthews | 10 – Martin | 8 – Garrett | Ryan Center (4,021) Kingston, RI |
| 11/16/2016* 7:00 pm | No. 21 | Brown Hall of Fame Tip Off | W 79–72 | 3–0 | 18 – Terrell | 8 – Martin | 5 – Garrett | Ryan Center (5,630) Kingston, RI |
| 11/19/2016* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 21 | vs. No. 24 Cincinnati Hall of Fame Tip Off semifinals | W 76–71 | 4–0 | 18 – Matthews | 10 – Iverson | 5 – Iverson | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| 11/20/2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 21 | vs. No. 1 Duke Hall of Fame Tip Off championship | L 65–75 | 4–1 | 22 – Terrell | 6 – Martin | 6 – Garrett | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| 11/25/2016* 8:00 pm | No. 23 | Belmont | W 82–73 | 5–1 | 31 – Martin | 8 – Iverson | 5 – Garrett | Ryan Center (4,626) Kingston, RI |
| 11/29/2016* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 21 | at Valparaiso | L 62–65 | 5–2 | 16 – Martin | 6 – Martin | 4 – Garrett | Athletics–Recreation Center (4,149) Valparaiso, IN |
| 12/03/2016* 4:30 pm, FSN | No. 21 | at Providence Ocean State Rivalry | L 60–63 | 5–3 | 14 – Martin | 17 – Martin | 3 – Garrett | Dunkin' Donuts Center (12,488) Providence, RI |
| 12/06/2016* 7:00 pm | | Old Dominion | W 51–39 | 6–3 | 15 – Matthews | 8 – Matthews | 2 – Terrell | Ryan Center (4,250) Kingston, RI |
| 12/10/2016* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Houston | L 77–82 | 6–4 | 31 – Matthews | 11 – Langevine | 4 – Garrett | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,371) Houston, TX |
| 12/18/2016* 12:30 pm, MyRITV | | Holy Cross | W 65–54 | 7–4 | 18 – Terrell | 9 – Iverson | 3 – Tied | Ryan Center (3,537) Kingston, RI |
| 12/22/2016* 7:00 pm, MyRITV | | William & Mary | W 73–62 | 8–4 | 23 – Matthews | 17 – Langevine | 5 – Garrett | Ryan Center (3,570) Kingston, RI |
| Atlantic 10 regular season |||||||||
| 12/30/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Saint Louis | W 90–56 | 9–4 (1–0) | 19 – Iverson | 13 – Langevine | 5 – Robinson | Chaifetz Arena (7,945) St. Louis, MO |
| 01/03/2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Saint Joseph's | W 88–58 | 10–4 (2–0) | 24 – Terrell | 10 – Langevine | 7 – Garrett | Ryan Center Kingston, RI |
| 01/06/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Dayton | L 64–67 | 10–5 (2–1) | 14 – Iverson | 13 – Iverson | 4 – Tied | UD Arena (12,883) Dayton, OH |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | La Salle | L 75–87 | 10–6 (2–2) | 14 – Terrell | 8 – Iverson | 4 – Terrell | Ryan Center (3,753) Kingston, RI |
| 01/14/2017 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | Massachusetts | W 79–77 | 11–6 (3–2) | 22 – Matthews | 6 – Iverson | 4 – Dowtin | Ryan Center (6,202) Kingston, RI |
| 01/21/2017 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | at Duquesne | W 90–69 | 12–6 (4–2) | 20 – Martin | 12 – Iverson | 4 – Terrell | Palumbo Center (1,700) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 01/25/2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Richmond | L 62–73 | 12–7 (4–3) | 16 – Matthews | 23 – Iverson | 2 – 3 tied | Robins Center (5,545) Richmond, VA |
| 01/28/2017 4:00 pm, NBCSN | | St. Bonaventure | W 71–59 | 13–7 (5–3) | 20 – Martin | 9 – Iverson | 6 – Robinson | Ryan Center (6,757) Kingston, RI |
| 01/31/2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | George Washington | W 82–70 | 14–7 (6–3) | 23 – Martin | 6 – Martin | 4 – Tied | Ryan Center (5,190) Kingston, RI |
| 02/03/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Davidson | W 70–59 | 15–7 (7–3) | 21 – Matthews | 13 – Iverson | 4 – Tied | John M. Belk Arena (5,244) Davidson, NC |
| 02/07/2017 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Massachusetts | W 70–62 | 16–7 (8–3) | 14 – Terrell | 6 – Tied | 5 – Dowtin | Mullins Center (3,512) Amherst, MA |
| 02/10/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Dayton | L 74–75 | 16–8 (8–4) | 20 – Iverson | 7 – Iverson | 3 – Robinson | Ryan Center (7,394) Kingston, RI |
| 02/15/2017 7:00 pm, MyRITV | | Fordham | L 43–53 | 16–9 (8–5) | 15 – Martin | 7 – Martin | 3 – Dowtin | Ryan Center (3,791) Kingston, RI |
| 02/18/2017 4:00 pm, NBCSN | | at George Mason | W 77–74 | 17–9 (9–5) | 21 – Robinson | 8 – Iverson | 7 – Dowtin | EagleBank Arena (6,145) Fairfax, VA |
| 02/21/2017 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at La Salle | W 67–56 | 18–9 (10–5) | 24 – Terrell | 10 – Iverson | 7 – Dowtin | Tom Gola Arena (1,522) Philadelphia, PA |
| 02/25/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | VCU | W 69–59 | 19–9 (11–5) | 20 – Terrell | 18 – Martin | 4 – Dowtin | Ryan Center (6,845) Kingston, RI |
| 03/01/2017 7:00 pm, ASN | | at Saint Joseph's | W 68–49 | 20–9 (12–5) | 13 – Matthews | 9 – Martin | 4 – Garrett | Hagan Arena (3,451) Philadelphia, PA |
| 03/04/2017 6:00 pm, ASN | | Davidson | W 73–70 $^{OT}$ | 21–9 (13–5) | 21 – Martin | 17 – Martin | 3 – Terrell | Ryan Center (7,263) Kingston, RI |
| Atlantic 10 tournament |||||||||
| 03/10/2017 2:30 pm, NBCSN | (4) | vs. (5) St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals | W 74–63 | 22–9 | 20 – Matthews | 9 – Iverson | 2 – Tied | PPG Paints Arena (6,641) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 03/11/2017 1:00 pm, CBSSN | (4) | vs. (9) Davidson Semifinals | W 84–60 | 23–9 | 19 – Matthews | 6 – 3 Tied | 6 – Dowtin | PPG Paints Arena (6,886) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 03/12/2017 12:30 pm, CBS | (4) | vs. (2) VCU Championship | W 70–63 | 24–9 | 20 – Terrell | 10 – Langevine | 4 – Dowtin | PPG Paints Arena (7,025) Pittsburgh, PA |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| 03/17/2017* 4:30 pm, TBS | (11 MW) | vs. (6 MW) Creighton First Round | W 84–72 | 25–9 | 23 – Dowtin | 8 – Martin | 3 – Iverson | Golden 1 Center (15,833) Sacramento, CA |
| 03/19/2017* 7:10 pm, TBS | (11 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 9 Oregon Second Round | L 72–75 | 25–10 | 21 – Robinson | 9 – Langevine | 6 – Terrell | Golden 1 Center (16,774) Sacramento, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 23 | 21 | 23 | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| Coaches | 24 | 22 | 25 | 25 | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings