2016–17 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 15th-year head coach Kermit Davis, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 31–5, 17–1 in C-USA play to win the regular season championship. In the C-USA tournament, they defeated UTSA, UTEP, and Marshall to win the C-USA Tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 12 seed in the South region, they defeated Minnesota in the first round before losing in the second round to Butler.

2016–17 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
C-USA regular season & tournament champions
Challenge in Music City champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceConference USA
Record31–5 (17–1 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMurphy Center
Seasons
2016–17 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee 17 1   .944 31 5   .861
Louisiana Tech 14 4   .778 23 10   .697
Old Dominion 12 6   .667 19 12   .613
UTEP 12 6   .667 15 17   .469
Rice 11 7   .611 23 12   .657
Marshall 10 8   .556 20 15   .571
UAB 9 9   .500 17 16   .515
Western Kentucky 9 9   .500 15 17   .469
UTSA 8 10   .444 14 19   .424
Charlotte 7 11   .389 13 17   .433
Florida Atlantic 6 12   .333 10 20   .333
Southern Miss 6 12   .333 9 22   .290
FIU 3 15   .167 7 24   .226
North Texas 2 16   .111 8 22   .267
2017 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

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The Blue Raiders finished the 2015–16 season 25–10, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They defeated Charlotte, Marshall, and Old Dominion to win the C-USA tournament. As a result, they earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a No. 15 seed in the Tournament, they upset No. 2 seed and No. 2-ranked Michigan State in the first round to become only the eighth No. 15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game. In the Second Round they lost to eventual Final Four participant, Syracuse.

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Darnell Harris 0 F 6'8" 231 Senior Milwaukee, WI Graduated
Perrin Buford 2 G/F 6'6" 220 Senior Decatur, AL Graduated
Joshua Phillips 3 F 6'8" 230 Junior Hendersonville, TN Left the team for personal reasons
Jacob Ivory 5 G 5'9" 168 Sophomore Jackson, MS Left the team for personal reasons
Jaquawn Raymond 10 G 6'4" 200 RS Senior Statesboro, GA Graduated

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Antwain Johnson 2 G 6'1" 185 Sophomore Malone, FL Junior college transferred from Chipola College.
Calvin Davis 10 G 6'1" 190 Junior Charlotte, NC Junior college transferred from Cape Fear CC.

Recruiting class of 2016

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Davion Thomas
#51 PF
Columbus, GA Northside High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jan 11, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 75
Tyrik Dixon
SG
Bentonville, AR Southwest Christian Academy 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Apr 9, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 3, 2016.

Preseason

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The Blue Raiders were picked to finish in second place in the preseason Conference USA poll.[1] Giddy Potts and Reggie Upshaw Jr. were selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.[1]

Roster

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2016–17 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Tyrik Dixon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Fr Southwest Christian Academy Bentonville, AR
F 1 Brandon Walters 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 262 lb (119 kg) RS Jr Howard
Walters State CC
Chattanooga, TN
G 2 Antwain Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Malone Greenwood, FL
F 4 Xavier Habersham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Sr East Laurens
Hill College
Dublin, GA
G 11 Edward Simpson, Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr St. Martin Ocean Springs, MS
G 14 Chase Miller (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 178 lb (81 kg) RS Fr Shelton Dallas, TX
G 20 Giddy Potts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Jr Athens Athens, AL
F 22 JaCorey Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Central Park Christian
Arkansas
Birmingham, AL
G 24 Quavius Copeland 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) Jr Southside
Gulf Coast State College
Greenville, SC
F 25 Karl Gamble 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So A.C. Flora Columbia, SC
F 30 Reggie Upshaw Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Sr Baylor School Chattanooga, TN
G 31 Stephen Strachan (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr The Potter's House Christian Academy
Moberly Area CC
Nassau, Bahamas
F 35 Davion Thomas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Fr Northside Columbus, GA
G/F 45 Aldonis Foote 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Sr Peoria
Trinity Valley CC
Peoria, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/03/2016*
7:30 pm
North Alabama W 96–65 
Murphy Center (1,830)
Murfreesboro, TN
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
11:00 am
Milligan College W 102–64  1–0
Murphy Center (6,020)
Murfreesboro, TN
11/15/2016*
6:30 pm
Murray State W 87–81  2–0
Murphy Center (4,507)
Murfreesboro, TN
11/19/2016*
6:30 pm
Tennessee State L 63–74  2–1
Murphy Center (4,830)
Murfreesboro, TN
11/22/2016*
6:30 pm
Toledo W 80–70  3–1
Murphy Center (3,984)
Murfreesboro, TN
11/25/2016*
7:30 pm
vs. UNC Wilmington
Challenge in Music City
W 68–63  4–1
Nashville Municipal Auditorium (1200)
Nashville, TN
11/26/2016*
7:30 pm
vs. Toledo
Challenge in Music City
W 73–70 OT 5–1
Nashville Municipal Auditorium (850)
Nashville, TN
11/27/2016*
5:30 pm
vs. Evansville
Challenge in Music City
W 66–55  6–1
Nashville Municipal Auditorium (500)
Nashville, TN
11/30/2016*
7:00 pm
at Ole Miss W 77–62  7–1
The Pavilion at Ole Miss (1000)
Oxford, MS
12/03/2016*
7:00 pm
at South Alabama W 67–55  8–1
Mitchell Center (2,612)
Mobile, AL
12/08/2016*
6:30 pm, CBSSN
Vanderbilt W 71–48  9–1
Murphy Center (9,606)
Murfreesboro, TN
12/14/2016*
7:00 pm
at Belmont W 79–66  10–1
Curb Event Center (2,469)
Nashville, TN
12/17/2016*
6:00 pm, ASN
at VCU L 77–80  10–2
Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
12/21/2016*
6:30 pm
Georgia State L 56–64  10–3
Murphy Center (4,502)
Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA regular season
01/01/2017
3:00 pm, CI
UAB W 60–49  11–3
(1–0)
Murphy Center (4,227)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/05/2017
7:00 pm, beIN
at Rice W 80–77  12–3
(2–0)
Tudor Fieldhouse (1,513)
Houston, TX
01/07/2017
2:00 pm
at North Texas W 79–68  13–3
(3–0)
The Super Pit (2,263)
Denton, TX
01/12/2017
7:00 pm, beIN
Marshall W 69–57  14–3
(4–0)
Murphy Center (4,598)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/14/2017
7:00 pm, ASN
WKU W 91–76  15–3
(5–0)
Murphy Center (6,806)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/19/2017
6:00 pm
at FIU W 65–52  16–3
(6–0)
FIU Arena (1,401)
Miami, FL
01/21/2017
6:00 pm
at Florida Atlantic W 86–57  17–3
(7–0)
FAU Arena (1,344)
Boca Raton, FL
01/26/2017
6:30 pm, ESPN3
Southern Miss W 72–56  18–3
(8–0)
Murphy Center (5,498)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/28/2017
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Louisiana Tech W 71–61  19–3
(9–0)
Murphy Center (7,805)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/02/2017
7:00 pm
at UTSA W 69–59  20–3
(10–0)
Convocation Center (1,080)
San Antonio, TX
02/04/2017
8:00 pm, ASN
at UTEP L 54–57  20–4
(10–1)
Don Haskins Center (6,803)
El Paso, TX
02/09/2017
7:00 pm, beIN
Old Dominion W 64–51  21–4
(11–1)
Murphy Center (6,209)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/11/2017
5:00 pm, CI
Charlotte W 70–55  22–4
(12–1)
Murphy Center (5,720)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/16/2017
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at WKU W 78–52  23–4
(13–1)
E. A. Diddle Arena (4,385)
Bowling Green, KY
02/18/2017
5:00 pm, ASN
at Marshall W 97–86  24–4
(14–1)
Cam Henderson Center (7,620)
Huntington, WV
02/26/2017
12:00 pm, CBSSN
at UAB W 66–64  25–4
(15–1)
Bartow Arena (3,371)
Birmingham, AL
03/02/2017
6:30 pm, ESPN3
FIU W 70–67  26–4
(16–1)
Murphy Center (5,510)
Murfreesboro, TN
03/04/2017
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Florida Atlantic W 93–59  27–4
(17–1)
Murphy Center (8,806)
Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA tournament
03/09/2017
11:30 am, ASN
(1) vs. (9) UTSA
Quarterfinals
W 86–70  28–4
Legacy Arena (3,654)
Birmingham, AL
03/10/2017
11:30 am, CBSSN
(1) vs. (4) UTEP
Semifinals
W 82–56  29–4
Legacy Arena (3,299)
Birmingham, AL
03/11/2017
7:30 pm, CBSSN
(1) vs. (6) Marshall
Championship
W 83–72  30–4
Legacy Arena (3,956)
Birmingham, AL
NCAA tournament
03/16/2017*
3:00 pm, TNT
(12 S) vs. (5 S) Minnesota
First Round
W 81–72  31–4
BMO Harris Bradley Center (17,303)
Milwaukee, WI
03/18/2017*
6:10 pm, TBS
(12 S) vs. (4 S) No. 21 Butler
Second Round
L 65–74  31–5
BMO Harris Bradley Center (18,045)
Milwaukee, WI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South Source[2].
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVNot released
CoachesRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV2525RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

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  1. ^ a b "MBK: UAB Voted C-USA Preseason Favorite". Conference USA. Retrieved January 25, 2017.
  2. ^ "2021-22 Men's Basketball Schedule".