The 2016–17 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the
2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 11, 2016. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic, and ended with the Final Four in Glendale, Arizona on April 3, 2017. Practices officially began on September 30, 2 ...
in November. The Conference held its preseason media day on October 13 in
Washington, D.C.
)
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The season began on November 11 and conference play started on December 27.
With a win over
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
on February 28, 2017,
Purdue
Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...
clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship. With
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
's loss on March 2, Purdue clinched an outright championship, their 23rd championship, the most in Big Ten history.
The
Big Ten tournament was held from March 8 through March 12 at the
Verizon Center in
Washington, D.C.
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It was the first Big Ten Conference tournament not held in
Indianapolis
Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
or
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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.
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
won the Big Ten tournament over
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, becoming the first eight seed and lowest seeded team to win the conference tournament and marking their first win since their vacated win in the
inaugural tournament. As a result, Michigan received the conference's automatic bid to the
NCAA tournament.
Purdue forward
Caleb Swanigan
Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...
was named
Big Ten Player of the Year and a second team
Academic All-America
The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...
.
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
coach
Richard Pitino
Richard William Pitino (born September 16, 1982) is an American college basketball coach. He is currently the head coach of the New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team. From 2013 to 2021, he was head coach of the University of Minnesota Golden Gop ...
was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Swanigan earned
consensus first team All-American recognition and Wisconsin forward
Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
was a third team All-American by multiple media outlets.
Seven Big Ten schools (
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, Michigan,
Michigan State
Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the first of its kind in the United States. It i ...
, Minnesota,
Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin) were invited to the NCAA tournament, marking the seventh consecutive year the Big Ten had at least six teams in the Tournament.
Northwestern received a bid for the first time in school history.
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, Indiana, and
Iowa
Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...
represented the conference in the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...
.
The conference achieved an 8–7 record in the NCAA tournament and a 3–3 record in the NIT, highlighted by Michigan, Purdue, and Wisconsin reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Illinois making the NIT quarterfinals.
Head coaches
Coaching changes
Wisconsin
On December 15, 2015, Wisconsin coach
Bo Ryan
William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach and player. He was the head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers men's basketball team from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan se ...
announced he would retire effective immediately leaving associate head coach
Greg Gard
Gregory Glen Gard (born December 3, 1970) is an American college basketball coach for the Wisconsin Badgers . Gard took over on December 15, 2015, after Bo Ryan announced his retirement as head coach of the Badgers. Gard is a native of Cobb Wisco ...
as interim head coach. Shortly after the regular season, Greg Gard had the interim tag removed as he was announced as the permanent head coach.
Rutgers
On March 20, 2016, the school fired head coach
Eddie Jordan
Edmund Patrick Jordan, OBE (born 30 March 1948), also known as EJ, is an Irish businessman, television personality and former motorsport team owner. Born in Dublin, Jordan worked first at the Bank of Ireland. He won the Irish Kart Championship ...
after three years at Rutgers. On March 19, the school hired
Steve Pikiell, former head coach at
Stony Brook, as head coach.
Coaches
''Notes:''
* Year at school includes 2016–17 season.
* Overall and Big Ten records are from time at current school and are through the end the 2016–17 season.
* Turgeon's ACC conference record excluded since Maryland began Big Ten Conference play in 2014–15.
* Following the conclusion of the Big Ten tournament, Illinois fired head coach John Groce. Assistant coach
Jamall Walker
Jamall Walker (born August 7, 1977) is an American basketball coach who is an assistant coach at Grand Canyon University.
Early life
A native of Wichita, Kansas, Walker graduated from Wichita South High School. As a high school senior in 1995, ...
will coach the team in the NIT.
Preseason
Preseason All-Big Ten
On October 11, 2016, a panel of conference media selected a 10-member preseason All-Big Ten Team and Player of the Year.
Preseason watchlists
Below is a table of notable preseason watch lists.
Preseason All-American teams
Preseason polls
Regular season
Rankings
Player of the week
Throughout the conference regular season, the
Big Ten
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
offices named one or two players of the week and one or two freshmen of the week each Monday.
Conference matrix
This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. Each team played 18 conference games, and at least 1 against each opponent.
Honors and awards
Caleb Swanigan was a unanimous first team All-American selection by
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
,
USBWA
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 by National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball.
Scholarships
The USBWA annually awar ...
,
NABC and ''
Sporting News
The ''Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a pr ...
''.
Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
was a third team selection by all but the NABC.
All-Big Ten awards and teams
On March 6, the Big Ten announced most of its conference awards.
AP All-Big Ten awards and teams
USBWA
On March 7, the
U.S. Basketball Writers Association released its 2016–17 Men's All-District Teams, based upon voting from its national membership. There were nine regions from coast to coast, and a player and coach of the year were selected in each. The following lists all the Big Ten representatives selected within their respective regions.
District II (NY, NJ, DE, DC, PA, WV)
*none
District III (VA, NC, SC, MD)
*
Melo Trimble
Romelo Delante Trimble (born February 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. He played at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, where he was a McDonald's All-Ameri ...
, Maryland
District V (OH, IN, IL, MI, MN, WI)
Player of the Year
*
Caleb Swanigan
Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...
, Purdue
Coach of the Year
*
Matt Painter
Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the men's basketball coach at Purdue University, having held that position since 2005. Before Purdue, Painter held coaching positions ...
, Purdue
All-District Team
*
Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
, Michigan State
*
Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
, Wisconsin
*
Malcolm Hill, Illinois
*
Nate Mason, Minnesota
*
Bryant McIntosh
Bryant Scott McIntosh (born November 20, 1994) is an American former basketball player and current Assistant Coach for the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference. He played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats. He holds the ...
, Northwestern
*
Caleb Swanigan
Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...
, Purdue
*
Derrick Walton Jr.
Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (Australia), National Basketball League (NBL). After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, ...
, Michigan
District VI (IA, MO, KS, OK, NE, ND, SD)
*
Peter Jok, Iowa
*
Tai Webster
Tai Jack Webster (born 29 May 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). Prior to playing college basketball in the United States, Webster won a New Zealand NBL champio ...
, Nebraska
NABC
The
National Association of Basketball Coaches
The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, head men's basketball coach at the University o ...
announced their Division I All-District teams on March 22, recognizing the nation's best men's collegiate basketball
student-athletes. Selected and voted on by member coaches of the NABC, the selections on this list were then eligible for NABC Coaches' All-America Honors. The following list represented the District 7 players chosen to the list.
;First Team
*
Melo Trimble
Romelo Delante Trimble (born February 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. He played at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, where he was a McDonald's All-Ameri ...
, Maryland
*
Caleb Swanigan
Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...
, Purdue
*
Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
, Wisconsin
*
Peter Jok, Iowa
*
Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
, Michigan State
;Second Team
*
Nate Mason, Minnesota
*
Derrick Walton
Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, he spent his first professional season ...
, Jr., Michigan
*
Bryant McIntosh
Bryant Scott McIntosh (born November 20, 1994) is an American former basketball player and current Assistant Coach for the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference. He played college basketball for the Northwestern Wildcats. He holds the ...
, Northwestern
*
Tai Webster
Tai Jack Webster (born 29 May 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). Prior to playing college basketball in the United States, Webster won a New Zealand NBL champio ...
, Nebraska
*
Nigel Hayes
Nigel Hayes-Davis ( Hayes; born December 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Hayes attended Whi ...
, Wisconsin
Other awards
Nicolas Baer,
Zak Irvin
Zakarie Tyler Irvin (born September 5, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who is currently a free agent. He played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines. He earned the 2013 Indiana Mr. Basketball and Indiana Boys Bas ...
,
Sanjay Lumpkin,
Keita Bates-Diop
Keita Bates-Diop (born January 23, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Early life and high school car ...
,
Payton Banks,
Isaac Haas
Isaac Haas (born October 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Beijing Royal Fighters of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers.
High school career
Haas is the s ...
and
Vitto Brown were nominees for the Allstate Good Works Team in honor of their volunteerism and civic involvement. On January 6, 2017,
Malcolm Hill,
Peter Jok,
Derrick Walton
Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, he spent his first professional season ...
,
Nigel Hayes
Nigel Hayes-Davis ( Hayes; born December 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Hayes attended Whi ...
and
Bronson Koenig
Bronson Koenig (born November 13, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Koenig attended Aquinas High School in La C ...
were included on the 30-man
Senior CLASS Award
The Senior CLASS Award is awarded to the most outstanding senior student-athlete in 10 NCAA Division I sports. An acronym for "Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School," the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete ...
candidate list.
Melo Trimble
Romelo Delante Trimble (born February 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. He played at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, where he was a McDonald's All-Ameri ...
was the only returning selection among the January 11 Wooden Award top 25. He was joined by
Ethan Happ
Ethan Happ (born May 7, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Rio Breogán of the Spanish Liga ACB. He is the all-time leading rebounder for the Wisconsin Badgers, where he started all 139 games of his college career and is the ...
,
Nigel Hayes
Nigel Hayes-Davis ( Hayes; born December 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Hayes attended Whi ...
and
Caleb Swanigan
Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...
. Happ and Swanigan were on the Robertson midseason 19-man watchlist. Trimble was named to the Cousy Award Final 10 on January 30. Swanigan and
Miles Bridges
Miles Emmanuel Bridges Sr. (born March 21, 1998) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Michigan State Spartans. ...
were named Malone Award top 10 finalists on February 2.
Happ was named as a Jabbar Award top 10 finalist the following day.
Swanigan, Trimble and Happ were named to both the February 9 Wooden Top 20 and the February 9 Naismith Top 30 lists. Swanigan and
Moritz Wagner Moritz Wagner may refer to:
* Moritz Wagner (basketball) (born 1997), German professional basketball player
* Moritz Wagner (naturalist)
Moritz Wagner (Bayreuth, 3 October 1813 – Munich, 31 May 1887) was a German explorer, collector, geographer ...
were named to the February 9, 2016–17
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
Academic All-District Men's Basketball Team for District 5 (IL, IN, MI, OH), placing them among the 40 finalists for the Academic All-American 15-man team. Hayes and Jok were named to the 10-man Senior CLASS Award finalist list. Swanigan was named a second team
Academic All-America
The Academic All-America program is a student-athlete recognition program. The program selects an honorary sports team composed of the most outstanding student-athletes of a specific season for positions in various sports—who in turn are giv ...
selection on March 2.
Postseason
Big Ten tournament
* denotes overtime period
NCAA tournament
The winner of the
Big Ten tournament, Michigan, received the conference's automatic bid to the
2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Six other conference school received at-large bids to the Tournament: Purdue, Minnesota, Maryland, Northwestern, Wisconsin, and Michigan State.
National Invitation tournament
Three Big Ten teams received invitations to the National Invitation Tournament: Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana.
2017 NBA draft
The following all-conference selections were listed as seniors or graduate students:
Peter Jok,
Malcolm Hill,
Derrick Walton
Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, he spent his first professional season ...
,
Bronson Koenig
Bronson Koenig (born November 13, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Koenig attended Aquinas High School in La C ...
,
Tai Webster
Tai Jack Webster (born 29 May 1995) is a New Zealand professional basketball player for the Perth Wildcats of the National Basketball League (NBL). Prior to playing college basketball in the United States, Webster won a New Zealand NBL champio ...
, and
Nigel Hayes
Nigel Hayes-Davis ( Hayes; born December 16, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Hayes attended Whi ...
. The following players were invited to the
NBA Draft Combine
The NBA Draft Combine is a multi-day showcase that takes place every May before the annual June NBA draft. At the combine, college basketball players are measured and take medical tests, are interviewed, perform various athletic tests and shootin ...
:
OG Anunoby
Ogugua "O.G." Anunoby Jr. (born 17 July 1997) is a British professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers.
Early life
Ogugua Anunoby Jr. ...
,
Thomas Bryant,
Justin Jackson,
Caleb Swanigan
Caleb Sylvester Swanigan (April 18, 1997 – June 20, 2022) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Purdue Boilermakers. He was ranked among the top prep ...
,
Melo Trimble
Romelo Delante Trimble (born February 2, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for CSKA Moscow of the VTB United League. He played at Bishop Denis J. O'Connell High School in Arlington, Virginia, where he was a McDonald's All-Ameri ...
,
Moritz Wagner Moritz Wagner may refer to:
* Moritz Wagner (basketball) (born 1997), German professional basketball player
* Moritz Wagner (naturalist)
Moritz Wagner (Bayreuth, 3 October 1813 – Munich, 31 May 1887) was a German explorer, collector, geographer ...
, and
D. J. Wilson, while
Derrick Walton
Derrick Walton Jr. (born April 3, 1995) is an American professional basketball player for the Sydney Kings of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). After going undrafted in the 2017 NBA draft, he spent his first professional season ...
was named as an alternate. Eventually, Walton, Jok and Hayes accepted invitations as alternates. Wilson (17th), Anunoby (23rd), Swanigan (26th) and Bryant (42nd) were selected in the draft.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season