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2016–17 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
Big West Regular Season champions
NIT, First round
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	21–15 (12–4 Big West)
Head coach	Russell Turner (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Blaine Taylor Ryan Badrtalei Michael Wilder
Home arena	Bren Events Center
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

The 2016–17 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by seventh year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 21–15, 12–4 in Big West play to win the regular season conference championship. As the No. 1 seed in the Big West tournament, they defeated UC Riverside and Long Beach State before losing to UC Davis in the championship game. As a No. 1 seed in their conference tournament who failed to win their conference tournament title, UC Irvine received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. As a No. 8 seed, they were defeated by No. 1 seed Illinois State in the first round.^[1] The team won their third Big West Regular Season title in the past four years and their 5th straight season with at least 20 wins.

The Anteaters finished the 2015–16 season 28–10, 13–3 in Big West play to win a share of the regular season Big West championship. They defeated Cal Poly in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Long Beach State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated North Dakota, Louisiana–Lafayette, and Coastal Carolina to advance to the championship game. In the championship game, they lost to Columbia.

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Eyassu Worku PG	Los Alamitos, CA	Los Alamitos High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Nov 6, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 80
Evan Leonard PG	Cerritos, CA	Cerritos High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Jun 5, 2015
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 73
Tommy Rutherford C	San Diego, CA	Grossmont High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 72
Brad Greene C	Lone Pine, CA	Lone Pine High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	285 lb (129 kg)
	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:   ESPN grade: 59
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: n/a   Rivals: n/a  ESPN: n/a
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: "ESPN - UC Irvine Basketball Recruiting 2016". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.

2016–17 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Jaron Martin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Sunland, California G 2 Max Hazzard 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr Los Angeles, California G 4 Justin Wertner  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee F 5 Jonathan Galloway 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Brentwood, California G 10 Luke Nelson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Worthing, England F 11 John Edgar Jr. (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Fr Chino Hills, California C 12 Ioannis Dimakopoulos 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Sr Patra, Greece F 13 Brandon Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Santa Ana, California G 14 Evan Leonard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Cerritos, California G 23 Darrian Traylor 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Las Vegas, Nevada G 24 Eyassu Worku 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Artesia, California G 25 Spencer Rivers (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Winter Park, Florida C 32 Adam Liberman (W)  6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Valley Village, California F 42 Tommy Rutherford 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr El Cajon, California F 50 Elston Jones  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 275 lb (125 kg) Jr Goodyear, Arizona C 55 Brad Greene 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 320 lb (145 kg) Fr Lone Pine, California	Head coach Russell Turner (Hampden–Sydney) Assistant coach(es) Blaine Taylor (Montana) Ryan Badrtalei (UCLA) Michael Wilder (UC Irvine) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster