2016–17 Central Arkansas Bears basketball team

The 2016–17 Central Arkansas Bears basketball team represented the University of Central Arkansas during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bears were led by third-year head coach Russ Pennell and played their home games at the Farris Center in Conway, Arkansas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 8–24, 7–11 in Southland play to finish in a five-way tie for eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Southland tournament to Sam Houston State.

2016–17 Central Arkansas Bears basketball
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	8–24 (7–11 Southland)
Head coach	Russ Pennell (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Anthony Boone Matt Scherbenske Josh Lowery
Home arena	Farris Center (Capacity: 6,000)
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
New Orleans †	13	–	5		.722			20	–	12		.625
Texas A&M–CC	12	–	6		.667			24	–	12		.667
Houston Baptist	12	–	6		.667			17	–	14		.548
Stephen F. Austin	12	–	6		.667			18	–	15		.545
Sam Houston State	10	–	8		.556			21	–	13		.618
Lamar	10	–	8		.556			19	–	15		.559
Southeastern Louisiana	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Nicholls State	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Abilene Christian*	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Northwestern State	7	–	11		.389			13	–	16		.448
Incarnate Word*	7	–	11		.389			12	–	17		.414
Central Arkansas	7	–	11		.389			8	–	24		.250
McNeese State	4	–	14		.222			7	–	22		.241
* Ineligible for postseason during transition to Division I
† 2017 Southland tournament winner

Previous season

The Bears finished the 2015–16 season 7–21, 6–12 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. Due to APR penalties, they were not eligible for postseason play, including the Southland tournament.^[1]

Roster

2016–17 Central Arkansas Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 00 Boo Milligan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Future College Prep Los Angeles, CA G 1 Jordan Howard 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Perry HS Chandler, AZ F 2 Ethan Lee 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Camden Fairview Camden, AR G 3 Tyler Simmons 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Greenbrier Greenbrier, AR F/C 4 Albert Christensson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So South Kent Prep (Conn.) Lund, Sweden F 5 Justin Foreman 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Grand Canyon University Bellaire, TX G 10 Mathieu Kamba 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Bishop McNally Calgary, AB, Canada G 11 Jeff Lowery 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Grand Canyon University Phoenix, AZ F 13 Otas Iyekekpolor 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lillian Osborne HS Edmonton, AB, Canada F/C 22 Tanner Schmit 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Fr Nicholls School Buffalo, NY G 25 Thatch Unruh 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Quakerdale Prep Branson, MO G 30 Mike Martin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Coffeyville CC Wichita, KS G 32 Derreck Brooks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Phoenix College Portland, OR C 52 Jake Zuilhof 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) GS Grand Canyon University Azle, TX	Head coach Russ Pennell Assistant coach(es) Anthony Boone Matt Scherbenske Josh Lowery Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2015-12-05

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Oct 29, 2016* 3:00 pm		Southwest Baptist	W 90–55		Farris Center  Conway, AR
Non-Conference regular season
Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, BTN+		at No. 9 Wisconsin Maui on the Mainland	L 47–79	0–1	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI
Nov 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, FSOK+		at Oklahoma State Maui on the Mainland	L 90–102	0–2	Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,911) Stillwater, OK
Nov 19, 2016* 7:30 pm		vs. Chattanooga Maui on the Mainland	L 64–75	0–3	Christl Arena (921) West Point, NY
Nov 20, 2016* 1:30 pm		vs. Army Maui on the Mainland	W 81–76	1–3	Christl Arena (670) West Point, NY
Nov 26, 2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN3		at Western Michigan	L 63–80	1–4	University Arena (1,844) Kalamazoo, MI
Nov 29, 2016* 7:30 pm		Little Rock	L 87–89 OT	1–5	Farris Center (2,643) Conway, AR
Dec 1, 2016* 6:30 pm		at Southeast Missouri State	L 63–87	1–6	Show Me Center (1,437) Cape Girardeau, MO
Dec 3, 2016* 3:00 pm, FS2		at No. 18 Butler	L 58–82	1–7	Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,117) Indianapolis, IN
Dec 10, 2016* 3:00 pm		at Little Rock	L 59–70	1–8	Jack Stephens Center (3,044) Little Rock, AR
Dec 13, 2016* 8:00 pm, BTN		at Michigan	L 53–97	1–9	Crisler Center (9,486) Ann Arbor, MI
Dec 16, 2016* 7:00 pm		Arkansas State	L 77–89	1–10	Farris Center (1,942) Conway, AR
Dec 19, 2016* 7:30 pm		at Morehead State	L 85–111	1–11	Ellis Johnson Arena (1,505) Morehead, KY
Dec 22, 2016* 2:00 pm, P12N		at Arizona State	L 62–98	1–12	Wells Fargo Arena (4,479) Tempe, AZ
Southland Conference regular season
Dec 31, 2016 4:00 pm		Sam Houston State	W 67–65	2–12 (1–0)	Farris Center (612) Conway, AR
Jan 2, 2017 8:00 pm		Lamar	L 75–78	2–13 (1–1)	Farris Center (635) Conway, AR
Jan 5, 2017 7:00 pm		at Abilene Christian	W 81–76	3–13 (2–1)	Moody Coliseum (1,215) Abilene, TX
Jan 12, 2017 7:00 pm, ASN		at Houston Baptist	W 89–78	4–13 (3–1)	Sharp Gym (597) Houston, TX
Jan 14, 2017 7:00 pm		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	L 81–88	4–14 (3–2)	American Bank Center (1,223) Corpus Christi, TX
Jan 18, 2017 7:00 pm		at McNeese State	L 72–82	4–15 (3–3)	Burton Coliseum (307) Lake Charles, LA
Jan 21, 2017 4:00 pm		New Orleans	L 63–81	4–16 (3–4)	Farris Center (429) Conway, AR
Jan 25, 2017 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Stephen F. Austin	L 76–78	4–17 (3–5)	William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,612) Nacogdoches, TX
Jan 28, 2017 4:00 pm		Incarnate Word	L 80–81	4–18 (3–6)	Farris Center (538) Conway, AR
Feb 2, 2017 7:00 pm		Northwestern State	W 107–97	5–18 (4–6)	Farris Center (754) Conway, AR
Feb 4, 2017 4:00 pm		Southeastern Louisiana	W 68–66	6–18 (5–6)	Farris Center (742) Conway, AR
Feb 9, 2017 7:00 pm		Abilene Christian	W 84–73	7–18 (6–6)	Farris Center (958) Conway, AR
Feb 11, 2017 4:00 pm		Nicholls	W 106–83	8–18 (7–6)	Farris Center (1,845) Conway, AR
Feb 16, 2017 6:30 pm		at Nicholls	L 89–96 OT	8–19 (7–7)	Stopher Gym (601) Thibodaux, LA
Feb 18, 2017 4:00 pm		at New Orleans	L 61–84	8–20 (7–8)	Lakefront Arena (812) New Orleans, LA
Feb 22, 2017 7:30 pm		at Southeastern Louisiana	L 70–87	8–21 (7–9)	University Center (837) Hammond, LA
Feb 25, 2017 6:00 pm		Stephen F. Austin	L 85–90	8–22 (7–10)	Farris Center (858) Conway, AR
Mar 4, 2017 3:00 pm		at Northwestern State	L 83–97	8–23 (7–11)	Prather Coliseum (1,523) Natchitoches, LA
Southland tournament
March 8, 2017 5:00 pm, ESPN3	(8)	vs. (5) Sam Houston State First Round	L 69–77	8–24	Merrell Center (1,127) Katy, TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source[2][3].

See also

• 2016–17 Central Arkansas Sugar Bears basketball team

References

1. "Four schools given postseason ban for poor APR scores in NCAA report". CBSSports.com. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
2. "2016-17 Men's Basketball Schedule". Central Arkansas Athletics. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
3. "Central Arkansas Bears Schedule - 2016-17". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.