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

2016–17 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
C-USA regular season & tournament champions
Challenge in Music City champions
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
Conference Conference USA
2016–17 record 31–5 (17–1 C-USA)
Head coach Kermit Davis (15th season)
Assistant coach Greg Grensing
Assistant coach Win Case
Assistant coach Ronnie Hamilton
Home arena Murphy Center
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
WKU 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

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.

Previous season

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

Departures

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 due to personal reasons
Jacob Ivory 5 G 5'9" 168 Sophomore Jackson, MS Left the team due to personal reasons
Jaquawn Raymond 10 G 6'4" 200 RS Senior Statesboro, GA Graduated

Incoming Transfers

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

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: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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:

Preseason

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

2016–17 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Dixon, TyrikTyrik Dixon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Fr Southwest Christian Academy Bentonville, AR
F 1 Walters, BrandonBrandon Walters 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 262 lb (119 kg) RS Jr Howard
Walters State CC
Chattanooga, TN
G 2 Johnson, AntwainAntwain Johnson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Malone Greenwood, FL
F 4 Habersham, XavierXavier Habersham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Sr East Laurens
Hill College
Dublin, GA
G 11 Simpson, Jr., EdwardEdward Simpson, Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr St. Martin Ocean Springs, MS
G 14 Miller, ChaseChase Miller (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 178 lb (81 kg) RS Fr Shelton Dallas, TX
G 20 Potts, GiddyGiddy Potts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Jr Athens Athens, AL
F 22 Williams, JaCoreyJaCorey Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Central Park Christian
Arkansas
Birmingham, AL
G 24 Copeland, QuaviusQuavius Copeland 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 178 lb (81 kg) So Southside
Gulf Coast State College
Greenville, SC
F 25 Gamble, KarlKarl Gamble 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So A.C. Flora Columbia, SC
F 30 Upshaw, Jr., ReggieReggie Upshaw, Jr. 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) Sr Baylor School Chattanooga, TN
G 31 Strachan, StephenStephen 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 Thomas, DavionDavion Thomas 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Fr Northside Columbus, GA
G/F 45 Foote, AldonisAldonis 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

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  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][3].
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. ( ) = First place votes.
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 Final 
AP NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV NR RV RV RV RV RV RV Not released 
Coaches NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 25 RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

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