# 2016–17 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team

The 2016–17 UC Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team represented the University of California, Riverside during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Highlanders were led by fourth year head coach Dennis Cutts and played their home games at the Student Recreation Center Arena as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 7–21, 5–11 in Big West play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament to UC Irvine.

## Previous season

The Highlanders the season 14–19, 5–11 in Big West play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They lost in the first round of the Big West tournament to Long Beach State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jaylen Bland | 1 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Senior | Saginaw, MI | Graduated |
| Taylor Johns | 5 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | San Francisco, CA | Graduated |
| Steven Jones | 10 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Senior | Northridge, CA | Graduated |
| Robert Boezeman | 12 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Sophomore | Dordrecht, Netherlands | Retired from basketball due to an elbow injury |
| Brady Anderson | 15 | F | 6'9" | 200 | Sophomore | Sacramento, CA | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Primivito Gomez | 31 | F | 6'5" | 210 | Junior | El Monte, CA | Walk-on; graduate transferred to Cal Poly Pomona |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Idy Diallo | 4 | F | 6'11" | 253 | RS Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred from Boston College. Under NCAA transfer rules, Diallo will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

## 2016 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight |
| Dikymbe Martin #69 PG | Riverside, CA | John W. North High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 65 ||||||
| 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. Retrieved November 9, 2016. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/11/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Portland | L 55–71 | 0–1 | Chiles Center (2,601) Portland, OR |
| 11/16/2016* 7:00 pm | | at UNLV | L 62–74 | 0–2 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,711) Paradise, NV |
| 11/19/2016* 4:00 pm | | Fresno Pacific | W 98–50 | 1–2 | SRC Arena (2,115) Riverside, CA |
| 11/25/2016* 6:00 pm, P12N | | at Utah | L 67–85 | 1–3 | Jon M. Huntsman Center (11,324) Salt Lake City, UT |
| 11/30/2016* 8:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 11 UCLA | L 56–98 | 1–4 | Pauley Pavilion (6,328) Los Angeles, CA |
| 12/13/2016* 7:00 pm | | at Santa Clara | L 53–77 | 1–5 | Leavey Center (1,066) Santa Clara, CA |
| 12/17/2016* 5:00 pm | | Montana | L 63–71 | 1–6 | SRC Arena (299) Riverside, CA |
| 12/20/2016* 5:00 pm | | at Northern Colorado | L 61–77 | 1–7 | Bank of Colorado Arena (1,232) Greeley, CO |
| 12/22/2016* 6:00 pm | | at Denver | L 55–73 | 1–8 | Magness Arena (1,149) Denver, CO |
| 12/28/2016* 7:00 pm | | Utah Valley | L 64–73 | 1–9 | SRC Arena (495) Riverside, CA |
| 12/31/2016* 2:00 pm | | Grand Canyon | W 76–56 | 2–9 | SRC Arena (470) Riverside, CA |
| Big West Conference regular season ||||||
| 01/04/2017 7:00 pm | | at Cal State Northridge | L 76–82 | 2–10 (0–1) | Matadome (497) Northridge, CA |
| 01/07/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Long Beach State | L 64–70 | 2–11 (0–2) | Walter Pyramid (2,906) Long Beach, CA |
| 01/12/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Davis | W 61–55 | 3–11 (1–2) | SRC Arena (897) Riverside, CA |
| 01/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Cal State Fullerton | W 71–63 | 4–11 (2–2) | Titan Gym (703) Fullerton, CA |
| 01/21/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Santa Barbara | W 65–55 | 5–11 (3–2) | SRC Arena (674) Riverside, CA |
| 01/25/2017 9:00 pm | | at Hawaii | W 70–64 | 6–11 (4–2) | Stan Sheriff Center (5,465) Honolulu, HI |
| 01/28/2017 5:00 pm | | Cal State Northridge | L 59–63 | 6–12 (4–3) | SRC Arena (677) Riverside, CA |
| 02/02/2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Hawaii | L 63–72 | 6–13 (4–4) | SRC Arena (1,252) Riverside, CA |
| 02/04/2017 7:00 pm | | at Cal Poly | W 67–56 | 7–13 (5–4) | Mott Athletic Center (2,150) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 02/09/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Long Beach State | L 71–78 | 7–14 (5–5) | SRC Arena (695) Riverside, CA |
| 02/11/2017 5:00 pm | | at UC Davis | L 63–77 | 7–15 (5–6) | The Pavilion (2,607) Davis, CA |
| 02/16/2017 8:00 pm | | Cal State Fullerton | L 55–56 | 7–16 (5–7) | SRC Arena (738) Riverside, CA |
| 02/18/2017 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UC Irvine | L 60–79 | 7–17 (5–8) | Bren Events Center (1,860) Irvine, CA |
| 02/23/2017 7:00 pm | | at UC Santa Barbara | L 61–68 | 7–18 (5–9) | The Thunderdome (1,618) Santa Barbara, CA |
| 02/25/2017 5:00 pm, Prime Ticket | | Cal Poly | L 77–84 $^{OT}$ | 7–19 (5–10) | SRC Arena (555) Riverside, CA |
| 03/01/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Irvine | L 56–68 | 7–20 (5–11) | SRC Arena (781) Riverside, CA |
| Big West tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2017 6:00 pm, Prime Ticket | (8) | vs. (1) UC Irvine Quarterfinals | L 67–76 | 7–21 | Honda Center (3,486) Anaheim, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.. ||||||