# 2016–17 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

The 2016–17 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina Upstate during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 15th-year head coach Eddie Payne, played their home games at the G. B. Hodge Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina as members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 7–7 in ASUN play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the ASUN tournament to Kennesaw State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Furman.
This would be Eddie Payne's final season as head coach at USC Upstate, as he announced his retirement On October 3, 2017.

## Previous season

The Spartans finished the 2015–16 season 10–22, 4–10 in A-Sun play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the A-Sun tournament to North Florida.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/12/2016* 12:00 noon, FS2 | | at Georgetown | L 60–105 | 0–1 | Verizon Center (8,076) Washington, D.C. |
| 11/14/2016* 7:00 pm | | Mars Hill | W 91–66 | 1–1 | Hodge Center (743) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/17/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNC Asheville | L 57–73 | 1–2 | Hodge Center (537) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/19/2016* 5:30 pm | | at Charleston Southern | W 79–77 | 2–2 | CSU Field House (616) Charleston, SC |
| 11/22/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Charlotte | W 108–103 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,570) Charlotte, NC |
| 11/27/2016* 4:00 pm | | at College of Charleston | L 60–72 | 3–3 | TD Arena (2,892) Charleston, SC |
| 11/29/2016* 8:00 pm | | at Auburn | L 83–90 | 3–4 | Auburn Arena (6,504) Auburn, AL |
| 12/02/2016* 7:00 pm | | vs. Campbell Holy City Hoops Classic | W 80–73 $^{OT}$ | 4–4 | McAlister Field House (270) Charleston, SC |
| 12/03/2016* 12:00 pm | | at The Citadel Holy City Hoops Classic | L 92–97 | 4–5 | McAlister Field House (909) Charleston, SC |
| 12/04/2016* 1:00 pm | | vs. Colgate Holy City Hoops Classic | W 71–65 | 5–5 | McAlister Field House (212) Charleston, SC |
| 12/10/2016* 2:00 pm | | UVA Wise Holy City Hoops Classic | W 99–67 | 6–5 | Hodge Center (337) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/13/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Presbyterian | W 76–48 | 7–5 | Hodge Center (572) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/15/2016* 8:00 pm | | at Alabama | L 61–78 | 7–6 | Coleman Coliseum (9,773) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 12/18/2016* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville State | L 66–67 | 7–7 | Hodge Center (512) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/20/2016* 7:00 pm | | Florida College | W 91–59 | 8–7 | Hodge Center (402) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/30/2016* 2:00 pm | | Allen | W 93–67 | 9–7 | Hodge Center (837) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/02/2017* 7:30 pm | | at UMKC | W 84–75 | 10–7 | Municipal Auditorium (1,170) Kansas City, MO |
| Atlantic Sun Conference regular season ||||||
| 01/07/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | NJIT | W 75–65 | 11–7 (1–0) | Hodge Center (354) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/12/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida | L 65–73 | 11–8 (1–1) | Hodge Center (646) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/14/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville | W 73–66 | 12–8 (2–1) | Hodge Center (479) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/19/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Florida Gulf Coast | W 62–60 | 13–8 (3–1) | Alico Arena (4,582) Fort Myers, FL |
| 01/21/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stetson | W 97–86 | 14–8 (4–1) | Edmunds Center (960) DeLand, FL |
| 01/25/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | L 77–84 | 14–9 (4–2) | Allen Arena (1,046) Nashville, TN |
| 01/28/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | W 79–73 | 15–9 (5–2) | Hodge Center (723) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/30/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | L 80–92 | 15–10 (5–3) | Hodge Center (683) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/04/2017 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kennesaw State | L 79–84 | 15–11 (5–4) | KSU Convocation Center (1,645) Kennesaw, GA |
| 02/09/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Jacksonville | W 70–67 | 16–11 (6–4) | Swisher Gymnasium (950) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/11/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Florida | W 84–71 | 17–11 (7–4) | UNF Arena (3,181) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/16/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stetson | L 72–83 | 17–12 (7–5) | Hodge Center (517) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/18/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Gulf Coast | L 89–97 $^{OT}$ | 17–13 (7–6) | Hodge Center (837) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at NJIT | L 87–88 | 17–14 (7–7) | Fleisher Center (677) Newark, NJ |
| Atlantic Sun tournament ||||||
| 02/27/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | (5) Kennesaw State Quarterfinals | L 78–80 | 17–15 | Hodge Center (735) Spartanburg, SC |
| CIT ||||||
| 03/16/2017* 7:00 pm, Facebook Live | | Furman First Round | L 57–79 | 17–16 | Hodge Center (662) Spartanburg, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||