2016–17 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers were coached by Bob Huggins, in his 10th season as WVU's head coach, and played their home games at WVU Coliseum in Morgantown, West Virginia as members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 28–9, 12–6 in Big 12 play to finish in a three-way tie for second place. They defeated Texas and Kansas State in the Big 12 tournament before losing to Iowa State in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Bucknell and Notre Dame before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Gonzaga.

2016–17 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 13
Record	28–9 (12–6 Big 12)
Head coach	Bob Huggins (10th season)
Assistant coaches	Larry Harrison Ron Everhart Erik Martin
Home arena	WVU Coliseum
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Big 12 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 Kansas	16	–	2		.889			31	–	5		.861
No. 13 West Virginia	12	–	6		.667			28	–	9		.757
No. 12 Baylor	12	–	6		.667			27	–	8		.771
No. 16 Iowa State †	12	–	6		.667			24	–	11		.686
Oklahoma State	9	–	9		.500			20	–	13		.606
Kansas State	8	–	10		.444			21	–	14		.600
Texas Tech	6	–	12		.333			18	–	14		.563
TCU	6	–	12		.333			24	–	15		.615
Oklahoma	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Texas	4	–	14		.222			11	–	22		.333
† 2017 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll[1]

Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the 2015–16 season 26–9, 13–5 in Big 12 play to finish in second place in conference. They defeated TCU and Oklahoma to advance to the championship game of the Big 12 tournament where they lost to Kansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where, as a No. 3 seed, they were upset in the First Round by No. 14 seed Stephen F. Austin.^[2]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jonathan Holton	1	F	6'7"	220	RS Senior	Miami, FL	Graduated
Jaysean Paige	5	G	6'2"	210	Senior	Jamestown, NY	Graduated
Richard Romero III	30	G	6'3"	185	Senior	White Sulphur Springs, WV	Graduated
Devin Williams	41	F	6'9"	255	Junior	Cincinnati, OH	Declare for 2016 NBA draft

Recruits

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Maciej Bender #30 PF	Warsaw, Poland	Mountain Mission School (Grundy, VA)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 4, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Sagaba Konate #19 C	Hermitage, PA	Kennedy Catholic High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Oct 1, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Chase Harler SG	Wheeling, WV	Wheeling Central Catholic High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 3, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruit ranking:   Scout: Not Ranked    Rivals: 23    ESPN: 20
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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: "West Virginia 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved September 24, 2016. "2016 West Virginia Basketball Commits". Scout. Retrieved September 24, 2016. "ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved September 24, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved September 24, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved September 24, 2016.

Roster

2016–17 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Teyvon Myers 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Williston State College Brooklyn, NY G 2 Jevon Carter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Proviso East HS Maywood, IL G 3 James Bolden 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Fr Holmes HS Covington, KY G 4 Daxter Miles, Jr. 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Notre Dame Prep Baltimore, MD F 11 Nathan Adrian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Morgantown Morgantown, WV G 12 Tarik Phillip 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Independence CC Brooklyn, NY G 13 James Long 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Wofford Charleston, WV G 14 Chase Harler 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Wheeling Central Moundsville, WV F 15 Lamont West 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Miller Grove Cincinnati, OH F 20 Brandon Watkins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Grady Decatur, GA F 21 Logan Routt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) RS Fr Cameron Cameron, WV F 23 Esa Ahmad 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Shaker Heights Shaker Heights, OH F 25 Maciej Bender 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Mountain Mission School Warsaw, Poland F 45 Elijah Macon 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS So Brewster Academy Columbus, OH F 50 Sagaba Konate 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Kennedy Catholic Bamako, Mali	Head coach Bob Huggins (West Virginia) Assistant coach(es) Larry Harrison (Pittsburgh) Ron Everhart (Virginia Tech) Erik Martin (Cincinnati) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: July 18, 2016

Schedule and results

Source:

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
10/29/2016* 6:00 pm	No. 20	vs. WVU Tech	W 131–56		Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center (6,630) Beckley, WV
Regular season
11/11/2016* 7:00 pm, RTPT	No. 20	Mount St. Mary's	W 87–59	1–0	WVU Coliseum (10,510) Morgantown, WV
11/14/2016* 7:00 pm, RTPT	No. 19	Mississippi Valley State	W 107–66	2–0	WVU Coliseum (7,807) Morgantown, WV
11/20/2016* 1:00 pm, RTPT	No. 19	New Hampshire NIT Season Tip-Off	W 100–41	3–0	WVU Coliseum (8,842) Morgantown, WV
11/24/2016* 2:30 pm, ESPNU	No. 19	vs. Illinois NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals	W 89–57	4–0	Barclays Center (2,451) Brooklyn, NY
11/25/2016* 3:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 19	vs. Temple NIT Season Tip-Off finals	L 77–81	4–1	Barclays Center (3,713) Brooklyn, NY
11/28/2016* 7:00 pm, RTPT	No. 25	Manhattan NIT Season Tip-Off	W 108–61	5–1	WVU Coliseum (8,190) Morgantown, WV
12/03/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 25	at No. 6 Virginia	W 66–57	6–1	John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) Charlottesville, VA
12/07/2016* 7:00 pm, RTPT	No. 15	vs. Western Carolina	W 90–37	7–1	Charleston Civic Center (8,384) Charleston, WV
12/10/2016* 2:00 pm, RTPT	No. 15	VMI	W 90–55	8–1	WVU Coliseum (9,023) Morgantown, WV
12/17/2016* 2:00 pm, RTPT	No. 12	UMKC	W 112–67	9–1	WVU Coliseum (8,800) Morgantown, WV
12/20/2016* 7:00 pm, WOWK	No. 11	Radford	W 84–57	10–1	WVU Coliseum (8,311) Morgantown, WV
12/23/2016* 4:00 pm, RTPT	No. 11	Northern Kentucky	W 92–61	11–1	WVU Coliseum (10,197) Morgantown, WV
12/30/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	at Oklahoma State	W 95–72	12–1 (1–0)	Gallagher-Iba Arena (13,611) Stillwater, OK
01/03/2017 9:15 pm, ESPNews	No. 7	at Texas Tech	L 76–77 OT	12–2 (1–1)	United Supermarkets Arena (10,013) Lubbock, TX
01/07/2017 1:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 7	TCU	W 82–70	13–2 (2–1)	WVU Coliseum (12,568) Morgantown, WV
01/10/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 10	No. 1 Baylor	W 89–68	14–2 (3–1)	WVU Coliseum (14,632) Morgantown, WV
01/14/2017 4:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 10	at Texas	W 74–72	15–2 (4–1)	Frank Erwin Center (10,751) Austin, TX
01/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 7	Oklahoma	L 87–89 OT	15–3 (4–2)	WVU Coliseum (11,895) Morgantown, WV
01/21/2017 4:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 7	at Kansas State	L 75–79	15–4 (4–3)	Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS
01/24/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 18	No. 2 Kansas	W 85–69	16–4 (5–3)	WVU Coliseum (13,694) Morgantown, WV
01/28/2017* 12:00 pm, ESPN	No. 18	Texas A&M Big 12/SEC Challenge	W 81–77	17–4	WVU Coliseum (12,836) Morgantown, WV
01/31/2017 9:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 7	at Iowa State	W 85–72	18–4 (6–3)	Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA
02/04/2017 5:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 7	Oklahoma State	L 75–82	18–5 (6–4)	WVU Coliseum (14,225) Morgantown, WV
02/08/2017 9:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 13	at Oklahoma	W 61–50	19–5 (7–4)	Lloyd Noble Center (4,663) Norman, OK
02/11/2017 12:00 pm, ESPN	No. 13	Kansas State	W 85–66	20–5 (8–4)	WVU Coliseum (14,074) Morgantown, WV
02/13/2017 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 9	at No. 3 Kansas	L 80–84 OT	20–6 (8–5)	Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS
02/18/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 9	Texas Tech	W 83–74 2OT	21–6 (9–5)	WVU Coliseum (14,150) Morgantown, WV
02/20/2017 9:00 pm, ESPN	No. 12	Texas	W 77–62	22–6 (10–5)	WVU Coliseum (10,460) Morgantown, WV
02/25/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN	No. 12	at TCU	W 61–60	23–6 (11–5)	Schollmaier Arena (6,486) Fort Worth, TX
02/27/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 10	at No. 11 Baylor	L 62–71	23–7 (11–6)	Ferrell Center (8,203) Waco, TX
03/03/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 10	No. 24 Iowa State	W 87–76	24–7 (12–6)	WVU Coliseum (14,528) Morgantown, WV
Big 12 Tournament
03/09/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU	(2) No. 11	vs. (10) Texas Quarterfinals	W 63–53	25–7	Sprint Center (18,837) Kansas City, MO
03/10/2017 9:00 pm, ESPN2	(2) No. 11	vs. (6) Kansas State Semifinals	W 51–50	26–7	Sprint Center (18,486) Kansas City, MO
03/11/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN	(2) No. 11	vs. (4) No. 23 Iowa State Championship	L 74–80	26–8	Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
03/16/2017* 2:45 PM, CBS	(4 W) No. 13	vs. (13 W) Bucknell First Round	W 86–80	27–8	KeyBank Center (17,806) Buffalo, NY
03/18/2017* 12:15 pm, CBS	(4 W) No. 13	vs. (5 W) No. 14 Notre Dame Second Round	W 83–71	28–8	KeyBank Center (19,261) Buffalo, NY
03/23/2017* 7:39 pm, TBS	(4 W) No. 13	vs. (1 W) No. 2 Gonzaga Sweet Sixteen	L 58–61	28–9	SAP Center (16,884) San Jose, CA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	20	19	19	25	15	12	11	11	7	10	7	18	7	13	9	12	10	11	13	Not released
Coaches	18	19	17	19	16	13	12	12	7	9	8	18	12	14	12	13	10	11	12	11

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

See also

• 2016–17 West Virginia Mountaineers women's basketball team