2016–17 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team represented Arkansas State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Red Wolves, led by first-year head coach Grant McCasland, played their home games at the Convocation Center in Jonesboro, Arkansas as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 20–12, 11–7 in Sun Belt play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. As the No. 5 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, they lost to Louisiana–Monroe in the first round. Despite having 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

2016–17 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball
Maui on the Mainland champion
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	20–12 (11–7 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Grant McCasland (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Ross Hodge James Miller Jareem Dowling
Home arena	Convocation Center
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Texas–Arlington	14	–	4		.778			27	–	9		.750
Georgia State	12	–	6		.667			20	–	13		.606
Arkansas State	11	–	7		.611			20	–	12		.625
Texas State	11	–	7		.611			22	–	14		.611
Georgia Southern	11	–	7		.611			18	–	15		.545
Louisiana–Lafayette	10	–	8		.556			21	–	12		.636
Troy †	10	–	8		.556			22	–	15		.595
Coastal Carolina	10	–	8		.556			20	–	19		.513
South Alabama	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
Little Rock	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
Appalachian State	4	–	14		.222			9	–	21		.300
Louisiana–Monroe	2	–	16		.111			9	–	24		.273
† 2017 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner

On March 13, 2017, head coach Grant McCasland left the school to accept the head coaching position at North Texas.^[1] On March 20, the school named Louisville assistant Mike Balado as their new head coach.^[2]

Previous season

The Red Wolves finished the 2015–16 season 11–20, 7–13 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They failed to qualify for the Sun Belt tournament.

Prior to the season, head coach John Brady announced his intentions to resign following the season.^[3] On March 16, 2016, the school hired former Baylor assistant Grant McCasland as the new head coach.^[4]

Roster

2016–17 Arkansas State Red Wolves men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Donte Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Washington, D.C. G 1 Rashad Lindsey 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr St. Louis, Missouri F 2 Salif Boudie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Mali, West Africa G 3 Devin Carter 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Champaign, Illinois G 5 C.J. Foster 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Jr Lawrenceville, Georgia F 10 Jahmiah Simmons 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr St. Thomas, Virgin Islands G 11 Christian Willis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr St. Louis, Missouri G 12 Connor Kern 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Pickerington, Ohio F 15 Christian Davis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Dallas, Texas G 23 Deven Simms 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr St. Louis, Missouri F 25 Jake Scoggins 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Benton, Arkansas F 30 Nelson Nweke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Grandview, Missouri F 32 Tamas Bruce 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Osceola, Arkansas G 33 Andrew Riley 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Jackson, Mississippi	Head coach Grant McCasland (Baylor) Assistant coach(es) Ross Hodge (East Texas A&M) James Miller (Arizona State) Jareem Dowling (Maryland Eastern Shore) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
10/27/2016* 7:00 pm		UA–Monticello	W 76–59		Convocation Center (1,377) Jonesboro, AR
11/05/2016* 1:00 pm		Henderson State	W 71–49		Convocation Center (846) Jonesboro, AR
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016* 7:00 pm		at North Dakota State	L 66–76	0–1	Scheels Center (5,005) Fargo, ND
11/14/2016* 7:00 pm		Central Baptist	W 100–57	1–1	Convocation Center (1,283) Jonesboro, AR
11/17/2016* 5:30 pm, FS1		at Georgetown Maui Invitational	W 78–72	2–1	McDonough Gymnasium (2,136) Washington, D.C.
11/19/2016* 5:00 pm		at Army Maui on the Mainland semifinals	W 60–57	3–1	Christl Arena (921) West Point, NY
11/20/2016* 11:00 am		vs. Chattanooga Maui on the Mainland finals	W 73–67	4–1	Christl Arena (120) West Point, NY
11/22/2016* 7:30 pm		SIU Edwardsville	W 75–57	5–1	Convocation Center (2,366) Jonesboro, AR
11/27/2016* 1:30 pm		Lehigh	W 97–89	6–1	Convocation Center (2,074) Jonesboro, AR
11/30/2016* 7:00 pm		Cleveland State	W 78–51	7–1	Convocation Center (1,631) Jonesboro, AR
12/03/2016* 7:00 pm		at TCU	L 54–77	7–2	Schollmaier Arena (6,022) Fort Worth, TX
12/14/2016* 7:00 pm		at UT Martin	W 87–68	8–2	Skyhawk Arena (1,098) Martin, TN
12/16/2016* 7:00 pm		at Central Arkansas	W 89–77	9–2	Farris Center (1,942) Conway, AR
12/21/2016* 8:00 pm, SECN		vs. Alabama Huntsville Showcase	L 52–67	9–3	Von Braun Center (6,572) Huntsville, AL
12/23/2016* 6:00 pm, BTN		at Minnesota	L 75–82	9–4	Williams Arena (9,588) Minneapolis, MN
Sun Belt Conference regular season
12/31/2016 7:00 pm		Louisiana–Lafayette	W 74–71	10–4 (1–0)	Convocation Center (2,056) Jonesboro, AR
01/02/2017 7:00 pm		Louisiana–Monroe	W 76–45	11–4 (2–0)	Convocation Center (2,954) Jonesboro, AR
01/07/2017 3:30 pm		at Coastal Carolina	L 65–80	11–5 (2–1)	HTC Center (1,463) Conway, SC
01/09/2017 6:00 pm		at Appalachian State	L 57–70	11–6 (2–2)	Holmes Center (522) Boone, NC
01/14/2017 6:00 pm		at Little Rock	W 77–72	12–6 (3–2)	Jack Stephens Center (5,161) Little Rock, AR
01/21/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Troy	W 82–80	13–6 (4–2)	Convocation Center (4,678) Jonesboro, AR
01/23/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		South Alabama	W 74–62	14–6 (5–2)	Convocation Center (4,440) Jonesboro, AR
01/28/2017 4:00 pm		at Louisiana–Monroe	W 73–63	15–6 (6–2)	Fant–Ewing Coliseum (2,211) Monroe, LA
01/30/2017 7:00 pm		at Louisiana–Lafayette	W 88–69	16–6 (7–2)	Cajundome (3,230) Lafayette, LA
02/04/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Appalachian State	W 79–78	17–6 (8–2)	Convocation Center (4,117) Jonesboro, AR
02/06/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Coastal Carolina	W 67–57	18–6 (9–2)	Convocation Center (2,870) Jonesboro, AR
02/11/2017 4:30 pm		at UT Arlington	L 75–81	18–7 (9–3)	College Park Center (2,737) Arlington, TX
02/13/2017 7:00 pm		at Texas State	L 58–62	18–8 (9–4)	Strahan Coliseum (1,953) San Marcos, TX
02/18/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Little Rock	W 67–58	19–8 (10–4)	Convocation Center (6,367) Jonesboro, AR
02/25/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Georgia Southern	L 60–72	19–9 (10–5)	Convocation Center (4,671) Jonesboro, AR
02/27/2017 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Georgia State	W 78–67	20–9 (11–5)	Convocation Center (4,482) Jonesboro, AR
03/02/2017 7:30 pm, ESPN3		at Troy	L 72–81	20–10 (11–6)	Trojan Arena (1,711) Troy, AL
03/04/2017 3:00 pm		at South Alabama	L 70–73	20–11 (11–7)	Mitchell Center (1,838) Mobile, AL
Sun Belt tournament
03/08/2017 2:00 pm, ESPN3	(5)	vs. (12) Louisiana–Monroe First Round	L 70–73 OT	20–12	Lakefront Arena (1,045) New Orleans, LA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.