2016–17 UCF Knights men's basketball team

The 2016–17 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights were members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 48th season of basketball, were led by first-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the CFE Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida. They finished the season 24–12, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Memphis in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to SMU. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Colorado, Illinois State and Illinois to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history where they lost to the eventual NIT Champion, TCU.

2016–17 UCF Knights men's basketball
NIT, Semifinals
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record24–12 (11–7 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCFE Arena
2016–17 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 11 SMU171 .944305  .857
No. 18 Cincinnati162 .889306  .833
Houston126 .6672111  .656
UCF117 .6112412  .667
Memphis99 .5001913  .594
UConn99 .5001617  .485
Tulsa810 .4441517  .469
Temple711 .3891616  .500
East Carolina612 .3331518  .455
Tulane315 .167625  .194
South Florida117 .056723  .233
2017 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Knights finished the season with a record of 12–18, 6–12 in AAC play to finish in seventh place in conference. They lost in the first round of the AAC tournament to Tulane.

After the season, Donnie Jones was fired as UCF's head coach.[1] On March 24, 2016, the school hired Johnny Dawkins as head coach.[2]

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Brandan Boyle00G6'1"190FreshmanRahway, NJTransferred to ASA College
Daiquan Walker4G6'2"185SeniorPhiladelphia, PAGraduated
Adonys Henriquez10G6'6"210SophomoreOrlando, FLTransferred to Saint Louis
Shaheed Davis33F6'9"210SeniorWarren, OHGraduated
Justin McBride34C6'10"325JuniorStarke, FLTransferred to Valdosta State
Stephon Blair52F6'9"255SeniorFort Lauderdale, FLGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Terrell Allen2G6'2"180SophomoreUpper Marlboro, MDTransferred from Drexel. Under NCAA transfer rules, Allen will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Dayon Griffin10G6'5"188JuniorSt. Petersburg, FLTransferred from Louisiana Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Griffin will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Rokas Ulvydas11F6'11"240JuniorKaunas, LithuaniaTransferred from Texas Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Ulvydas will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Nick Banyard14F6'8"225RS SeniorFlower Mound, TXTransferred from Illinois State. Will be eligible to play immediately since Banyard graduated from Illinois State.
Aubrey Dawkins15G/F6'6"205JuniorPalo Alto, CATransferred from Michigan. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dawkins will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.

Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Clayton Hughes
SF
Jackson, TN University School of Jackson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 10, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Caesar DeJesus
SF
Teaneck, NJ Mount Zion Baptist Christian School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 165 lb (75 kg) May 17, 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:

  • "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 28, 2016.

Recruiting class of 2017

US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Daniel Lewis
SG
Atlanta, GA Westlake High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) May 17, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   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:

Roster

2016–17 UCF Knights men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G/F 0 Tank Efianayi 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrDaytona State College Orlando, Florida
G 1 B. J. Taylor 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SoWilliam R. Boone High School Orlando, Florida
G 2 Terrell Allen Current redshirt 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoDrexel Upper Marlboro, Maryland
G/F 3 A. J. Davis 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrTennessee Atlanta, Georgia
G 4 Ceasar DeJesus 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrMt. Zion Prep Jersey City, New Jersey
G 5 Djordjije Mumin (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrAmerican Heritage School Podgorica, Montenegro
G 10 Dayon Griffin Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrLouisiana Tech St. Petersburg, Florida
F 11 Rokas Ulvydas Current redshirt 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)235 lb (107 kg) SoTexas Tech Kaunas, Lithuania
G 12 Matt Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SrJones High School Orlando, Florida
F 14 Nick Banyard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) RS SrIllinois State Flower Mound, Texas
G/F 15 Anthony Catotti (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) JrSeminole High School Oviedo, Florida
G 20 Brock Stephenson (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)190 lb (86 kg) FrDade Christian School Miami, Florida
F 21 Chad Brown 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)240 lb (109 kg) SoDeltona High School Deltona, Florida
G 22 Chance McSpadden 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)180 lb (82 kg) SoWinter Haven High School Winter Haven, Florida
C 24 Tacko Fall 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m)290 lb (132 kg) SoLiberty Christian Prep Dakar, Senegal
G 51 Nathan Laing 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) RS JrJacksonville State Lillington, North Carolina
G/F Aubrey Dawkins Current redshirt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) JrMichigan Palo Alto, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: December 26, 2016

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/14/2016*
5:00 pm, ESPN3
Nicholls State W 80–56  1–0
CFE Arena (5,274)
Orlando, FL
11/17/2016*
5:00 pm, ESPN2
vs. Mississippi State
Charleston Classic quarterfinals
W 86–61  2–0
TD Arena (3,430)
Charleston, SC
11/18/2016*
9:30 pm, ESPNU
at College of Charleston
Charleston Classic semifinals
W 60–40  3–0
TD Arena (3,517)
Charleston, SC
11/20/2016*
9:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 3 Villanova
Charleston Classic championship game
L 57–67  3–1
TD Arena (4,325)
Charleston, SC
11/26/2016*
7:30 pm, ESPN3
Seattle W 67–51  4–1
CFE Arena (6,804)
Orlando, FL
11/30/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Stetson W 81–45  5–1
CFE Arena (5,284)
Orlando, FL
12/03/2016*
1:00 pm
at Massachusetts W 65–62  6–1
Mullins Center (3,911)
Amherst, MA
12/10/2016*
2:00 pm, ESPN3
Maryland Eastern Shore W 76–58  7–1
CFE Arena (3,579)
Orlando, FL
12/12/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Penn L 49–58  7–2
CFE Arena (3,088)
Orlando, FL
12/15/2016*
7:00 pm
at George Washington L 59–74  7–3
Charles E. Smith Center (2,891)
Washington, D.C.
12/18/2016*
12:00 pm, ESPN3
Miami (OH) W 80–73 OT 8–3
CFE Arena (2,939)
Orlando, FL
12/21/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Bethune–Cookman W 71–41  9–3
CFE Arena (3,348)
Orlando, FL
AAC regular season
12/28/2016
8:00 pm, ESPN3
at Tulane W 85–72  10–3
(1–0)
Devlin Fieldhouse (3,906)
New Orleans, LA
12/31/2016
4:00 pm, ESPNU
Temple W 77–53  11–3
(2–0)
CFE Arena (3,906)
Orlando, FL
01/03/2017
7:15 pm, ESPNews
East Carolina W 48–45  12–3
(3–0)
CFE Arena (3,088)
Orlando, FL
01/08/2017
5:00 pm, CBSSN
at UConn L 49–64  12–4
(3–1)
Gampel Pavilion (8,163)
Storrs, CT
01/14/2017
4:00 pm, CBSSN
Houston W 77–70  13–4
(4–1)
CFE Arena (5,489)
Orlando, FL
01/17/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNews
South Florida
Rivalry
W 86–64  14–4
(5–1)
CFE Arena (5,765)
Orlando, FL
01/22/2017
4:00 pm, CBSSN
at Memphis L 65–70  14–5
(5–2)
FedEx Forum (9,625)
Memphis, TN
01/25/2017
6:00 pm, ESPNews
SMU L 60–65  14–6
(5–3)
CFE Arena (4,620)
Orlando, FL
01/28/2017
1:30 pm, ESPNews
at Tulsa L 66–77  14–7
(5–4)
Reynolds Center (4,281)
Tulsa, OK
02/01/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Houston L 64–82  14–8
(5–5)
Hofheinz Pavilion (3,681)
Houston, TX
02/04/2017
5:00 pm, ESPNews
Memphis W 72–57  15–8
(6–5)
CFE Arena (5,463)
Orlando, FL
02/08/2016
9:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 11 Cincinnati L 50–60  15–9
(6–6)
Fifth Third Arena (4,229)
Cincinnati, OH
02/11/2017
6:00 pm, CBSSN
UConn L 63–66  15–10
(6–7)
CFE Arena (5,215)
Orlando, FL
02/14/2016
7:00 pm, ESPNews
Tulsa W 71–53  16–10
(7–7)
CFE Arena (3,528)
Orlando, FL
02/18/2017
4:00 pm, ESPNews
at East Carolina W 61–58  17–10
(8–7)
Williams Arena (4,518)
Greenville, NC
02/22/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Temple W 71–69  18–10
(9–7)
Liacouras Center (5,073)
Philadelphia, PA
02/26/2017
3:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 15 Cincinnati W 53–49  19–10
(10–7)
CFE Arena (5,763)
Orlando, FL
03/02/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at South Florida
Rivalry
W 59–56  20–10
(11–7)
USF Sun Dome (3,120)
Tampa, FL
American Athletic Conference tournament
03/10/2017
2:00 pm, ESPN2
(4) vs. (5) Memphis
Quarterfinals
W 84–54  21–10
XL Center (1,844)
Hartford, CT
03/11/2017
3:00 pm, ESPN2
(4) vs. (1) No. 12 SMU
Semifinals
L 59–70  21–11
XL Center (8,117)
Hartford, CT
NIT
03/15/2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
(4) (5) Colorado
First Round – Illinois State Bracket
W 79–74  22–11
CFE Arena (3,675)
Orlando, FL
03/20/2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN
(4) at (1) Illinois State
Second Round – Illinois State Bracket
W 63–62  23–11
Redbird Arena (7,984)
Normal, IL
03/22/2017*
7:00 pm, ESPN2
(4) (2) Illinois
Quarterfinals – Illinois State Bracket
W 68–58  24–11
CFE Arena (10,011)
Orlando, FL
03/28/2017*
9:00 pm, ESPN
(4) vs. (4) TCU
Semifinals
L 53–68  24–12
Madison Square Garden (5,210)
New York, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

  1. "UCF ousts Jones after six seasons, 100-88 mark". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  2. "UCF introduces Johnny Dawkins as new men's basketball coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 20, 2017.
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