# 2016–17 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Jacksonville State Gamecocks men's basketball team represented Jacksonville State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gamecocks, led by first-year head coach Ray Harper, played their home games at the Pete Mathews Coliseum in Jacksonville, Alabama as members of the East Division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 9–7 in OVC play to finish in third place in the East Division. As the No. 4 seed in the OVC tournament, they defeated Southeast Missouri State, top-seeded Belmont, and UT Martin to win the tournament title. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, its first ever appearance, where it lost in the first round to Louisville.

## Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the 2015–16 season 8–23, 4–12 in OVC play to finish in last place in the East Division. As a result, they failed to qualify for the OVC tournament.
Following the season, Jacksonville State and head coach James Green mutually agreed to part ways. On April 6, 2016, the school hired Ray Harper as head coach.

## Preseason

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors, Jacksonville State was picked to finish last in the East Division of the OVC.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 10/28/2016* 7:00 pm | | Shorter | W 105–82 | | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,777) Jacksonville, AL |
| 11/03/2016* 7:00 pm | | Spring Hill | W 72–62 | | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,434) Jacksonville, AL |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Tulsa | W 84–73 | 1–0 | Reynolds Center (3,604) Tulsa, OK |
| 11/13/2016* 1:05 pm | | at Missouri State | L 65–91 | 1–1 | JQH Arena (3,330) Springfield, MO |
| 11/16/2016* 8:00 pm | | at WKU Global Sports Classic | L 67–74 | 1–2 | E. A. Diddle Arena (4,226) Bowling Green, KY |
| 11/18/2016* 6:00 pm, FSSW | | at TCU Global Sports Classic | L 60–79 | 1–3 | Schollmaier Arena (5,839) Fort Worth, TX |
| 11/22/2016* 7:30 pm | | Dalton State | W 81–50 | 2–3 | Pete Mathews Coliseum (871) Jacksonville, AL |
| 11/25/2016* 1:00 pm | | vs. Cal State Fullerton Global Sports Classic | W 61–38 | 3–3 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, NV |
| 11/26/2016* 3:30 pm | | vs. Northern Arizona Global Sports Classic | W 76–63 | 4–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (244) Paradise, NV |
| 11/29/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Alabama State | W 72–69 | 5–3 | Dunn–Oliver Acadome (1,259) Montgomery, AL |
| 12/04/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Samford | L 77–81 | 5–4 | Pete Hanna Center (1,563) Birmingham, AL |
| 12/10/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Louisiana–Monroe | L 83–88 $^{OT}$ | 5–5 | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,035) Monroe, LA |
| 12/12/2016* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Maryland | L 66–92 | 5–6 | Xfinity Center (13,646) College Park, MD |
| 12/14/2016* 6:00 pm | | at Howard | W 72–59 | 6–6 | Burr Gymnasium (100) Washington, D.C. |
| 12/18/2016* 2:00 pm | | at USC Upstate | W 67–66 | 7–6 | Hodge Center (512) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/21/2016* 1:00 pm | | at Chattanooga | L 57–73 | 7–7 | McKenzie Arena (3,370) Chattanooga, TN |
| 12/29/2016 7:00 pm | | at UT Martin | W 90–72 | 8–7 (1–0) | Skyhawk Arena (1,604) Martin, TN |
| 12/31/2016 3:15 pm | | at Eastern Illinois | W 57–56 | 9–7 (2–0) | Lantz Arena (1,059) Charleston, IL |
| 01/05/2017 7:30 pm | | Murray State | L 63–76 | 9–8 (2–1) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,206) Jacksonville, AL |
| 01/07/2017 7:00 pm | | Austin Peay | W 71–68 | 10–8 (3–1) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,504) Jacksonville, AL |
| 01/10/2017* 7:00 pm | | Fort Valley State | W 81–69 | 11–8 | Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL |
| 01/14/2017 7:30 pm | | at Tennessee Tech | W 74–59 | 12–8 (4–1) | Eblen Center (2,882) Cookeville, TN |
| 01/19/2017 7:00 pm | | at Belmont | L 60–77 | 12–9 (4–2) | Curb Event Center (1,680) Nashville, TN |
| 01/21/2017 7:30 pm | | at Tennessee State | W 86–79 | 13–9 (5–2) | Gentry Complex (5,106) Nashville, TN |
| 01/26/2017 7:00 pm | | Eastern Kentucky | L 52–57 | 13–10 (5–3) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,552) Jacksonville, AL |
| 01/28/2017 11:00 am, ASN | | Morehead State | L 69–72 | 13–11 (5–4) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,021) Jacksonville, AL |
| 02/01/2017 7:00 pm | | Southeast Missouri State | W 74–62 | 14–11 (6–4) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,011) Jacksonville, AL |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 72–61 | 15–11 (7–4) | Vadalabene Center (1,203) Edwardsville, IL |
| 02/09/2017 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Belmont | L 53–66 | 15–12 (7–5) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,370) Jacksonville, AL |
| 02/11/2017 4:30 pm | | Tennessee State | W 63–57 | 16–12 (8–5) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,920) Jacksonville, AL |
| 02/18/2017 7:00 pm | | Tennessee Tech | L 78–79 $^{OT}$ | 16–13 (8–6) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,822) Jacksonville, AL |
| 02/23/2017 6:00 pm | | at Eastern Kentucky | L 65–68 | 16–14 (8–7) | McBrayer Arena (1,600) Richmond, KY |
| 02/25/2017 3:15 pm | | at Morehead State | W 70–61 | 17–14 (9–7) | Ellis Johnson Arena (734) Morehead, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference tournament ||||||
| 03/02/2017 6:30 pm | (4) | vs. (5) Southeast Missouri State Quarterfinals | W 74–51 | 18–14 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (1,001) Nashville, TN |
| 03/03/2017 6:30 pm, ESPNU | (4) | vs. (1) Belmont Semifinals | W 65–59 | 19–14 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (2,355) Nashville, TN |
| 03/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | (4) | vs. (2) UT Martin Championship | W 66–55 | 20–14 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (1,303) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/17/17 1:45 pm, CBS | (15 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 10 Louisville First Round | L 63–78 | 20–15 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,255) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Central Time. Source ||||||