2016–17 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

2016–17 Belmont Bruins men's basketball
OVC regular-season champions
OVC East Division champions
NIT, second round
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record23–7 (15–1 OVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Brian Ayers
  • James Strong
  • Mark Price
Home arenaCurb Event Center
Seasons
2016–17 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Belmont 15 – 1   .938 23 – 7   .767
Morehead State 10 – 6   .625 14 – 16   .467
Jacksonville State † 9 – 7   .563 20 – 15   .571
Tennessee State 8 – 8   .500 17 – 13   .567
Tennessee Tech 8 – 8   .500 12 – 20   .375
Eastern Kentucky 5 – 11   .313 12 – 19   .387
West
UT Martin 10 – 6   .625 22 – 13   .629
Southeast Missouri St. 9 – 7   .563 15 – 18   .455
Murray State 8 – 8   .500 16 – 17   .485
Austin Peay 7 – 9   .438 11 – 19   .367
Eastern Illinois 6 – 10   .375 14 – 15   .483
SIU Edwardsville 1 – 15   .063 6 – 24   .200
† 2017 OVC tournament winner

The 2016–17 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by 31st-year head coach Rick Byrd, played their home games at the Curb Event Center in Nashville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) in the East Division. They finished the season 23–7, 15–1 in OVC play, to win the regular-season championship. In the OVC tournament, they lost in the semifinals to Jacksonville State. As a regular-season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament title, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Georgia in the first round before losing to Georgia Tech.

Previous season

The Bruins finished the 2015–16 season 20–12, 12–4 in OVC play, to win the East Division and the overall OVC regular season. They lost in the semifinals of the OVC tournament to Austin Peay. As a regular-season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Georgia.

Preseason

In a vote of Ohio Valley Conference head men’s basketball coaches and sports information directors, Belmont was picked to finish as regular-season champions of the OVC for the third time in the last four years.[1] Reigning OVC Player of the Year, Evan Bradds, was named OVC Preseason Player of the Year for the 2016–17 season.[1] Taylor Barnette was also selected to the All-OVC Preseason Team.

Roster

2016–17 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 1 Austin Luke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Rowlett, TX
F 2 Nick Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Bentonville, AR
G/F 3 Dylan Windler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Indianapolis, IN
F 11 Kevin McClain 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Jennings, FL
G 14 Nick Hopkins 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Fayetteville, TN
G 20 Taylor Barnette 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Lexington, KY
G 21 Burton Sampson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Knoxville, TN
G 24 Micahel Benkert 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Fr Greenwood, IN
F 25 Mack Mercer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Plymouth, IN
F 31 Josh Lester (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Antioch, TN
F 32 Amanze Egekeze 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Lake in the Hills, IL
F 35 Evan Bradds 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Sr Jamestown, OH
C 41 Tyler Hadden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS Jr Cincinnati, OH
C 50 Seth Adelsperger 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Peru, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: August 15, 2024

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
November 15, 2016*
8:00 p.m., SECN 		at Vanderbilt L 66–80  0–1
 Memorial Gymnasium (9,116)
Nashville, TN
November 19, 2016*
7:00 p.m. 		WKU W 90–69  1–1
 Curb Event Center (3,319)
Nashville, TN
November 21, 2016*
6:00 p.m., SECN 		vs. Florida
AdvoCare Invitational opening round 		L 61–78  1–2
 Amalie Arena (6,650)
Tampa, FL
November 25, 2016*
6:00 p.m. 		at No. 23 Rhode Island L 73–82  1–3
 Ryan Center (4,626)
Kingston, RI
November 29, 2016*
7:00 p.m. 		Lipscomb
Battle of the Boulevard 		W 64–62  2–3
 Curb Event Center (2,863)
Nashville, TN
December 3, 2016*
7:00 p.m. 		at Pepperdine W 85–77  3–3
 Firestone Fieldhouse (1,340)
Malibu, CA
December 6, 2016*
6:30 p.m. 		at Lipscomb
Battle of the Boulevard 		W 78–76 OT 4–3
 Allen Arena (2,908)
Nashville, TN
December 14, 2016*
7:00 p.m. 		Middle Tennessee L 66–79  4–4
 Curb Event Center (2,469)
Nashville, TN
December 17, 2016*
4:30 p.m. 		at Green Bay
Postponed (snow), no makeup date announced[2] 		Resch Center 
Green Bay, WI
December 19, 2016*
7:00 p.m., ESPN3 		at Milwaukee W 62–56  5–4
 UW–Milwaukee Panther Arena (1,127)
Milwaukee, WI
December 22, 2016*
7:00 p.m. 		Cleveland State W 88–61  6–4
 Curb Event Center (2,024)
Nashville, TN
December 31, 2016
2:30 p.m. 		at Austin Peay W 82–77  7–4
(1–0) 		Dunn Center (1,757)
Clarksville, TN
January 5, 2017
6:00 p.m. 		UT Martin W 83–67  8–4
(2–0) 		Curb Event Center (1,746)
Nashville, TN
January 7, 2017
7:00 p.m. 		Southeast Missouri State W 87–75  9–4
(3–0) 		Curb Event Center (2,017)
Nashville, TN
January 12, 2017
6:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Morehead State W 84–78  10–4
(4–0) 		Ellis Johnson Arena (3,244)
Morehead, KY
January 14, 2017
6:00 p.m. 		at Eastern Kentucky W 72–59  11–4
(5–0) 		McBrayer Arena (2,300)
Richmond, KY
January 19, 2017
7:00 p.m. 		Jacksonville State W 77–60  12–4
(6–0) 		Curb Event Center (1,680)
Nashville, TN
January 21, 2017
11:00 a.m., ASN 		Tennessee Tech W 82–70  13–4
(7–0) 		Curb Event Center (2,061)
Nashville, TN
January 25, 2017
7:00 p.m. 		at Eastern Illinois W 77–64  14–4
(8–0) 		Lantz Arena (1,333)
Charleston, IL
January 28, 2017
7:30 p.m. 		at Tennessee State W 93–76  15–4
(9–0) 		Gentry Complex (7,103)
Nashville, TN
January 30, 2017
8:00 p.m., CBSSN 		SIU Edwardsville W 92–69  16–4
(10–0) 		Curb Event Center (1,230)
Nashville, TN
February 2, 2017
8:00 p.m., ESPNU 		at Murray State W 81–69  17–4
(11–0) 		CFSB Center (5,041)
Murray, KY
February 9, 2017
6:00 p.m., CBSSN 		at Jacksonville State W 66–53  18–4
(12–0) 		Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,370)
Jacksonville, AL
February 11, 2017
7:30 p.m. 		at Tennessee Tech L 70–83  18–5
(12–1) 		Eblen Center (3,879)
Cookeville, TN
February 16, 2017
7:00 p.m. 		Eastern Kentucky W 76–72  19–5
(13–1) 		Curb Event Center (2,705)
Nashville, TN
February 18, 2017
4:00 p.m. 		Morehead State W 89–73  20–5
(14–1) 		Curb Event Center (2,825)
Nashville, TN
February 21, 2017*
7:00 p.m. 		Trevecca Nazarene W 96–45  21–5
 Curb Event Center (1,804)
Nashville, TN
February 25, 2017
5:00 p.m. 		Tennessee State W 68–63  22–5
(15–1) 		Curb Event Center (4,458)
Nashville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
March 3, 2017
6:30 p.m., ESPNU 		(1) vs. (4) Jacksonville State
Semifinals 		L 59–65  22–6
 Nashville Municipal Auditorium (2,355)
Nashville, TN
NIT
March 15, 2017*
6:00 p.m., ESPN3 		(7) at (2) Georgia
First round – Syracuse Bracket 		W 78–69  23–6
 Stegeman Coliseum (2,904)
Athens, GA
March 19, 2017*
11:00 a.m., ESPN 		(7) at (6) Georgia Tech
Second round – Syracuse Bracket 		L 57–71  23–7
 Hank McCamish Pavilion (7,176)
Atlanta, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central.

Source:[3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Belmont Picked As 2016-17 OVC Men's Basketball Favorites; Bruins' Bradds Tabbed Preseason Player of the Year". Ohio Valley Conference. October 26, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "Green Bay's showdown with Belmont postponed". fox11online.com. December 17, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "2016-17 Men's Basketball Schedule". belmontbruins.com. Retrieved August 15, 2024.