The 2016–17 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

in 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, 20 ...

, the 96th season of Tiger basketball and the first under head coach

Tubby Smith Orlando Henry "Tubby" Smith (born June 30, 1951) is an American college basketball coach. He was the men's basketball coach at High Point University, his alma mater. Smith previously served in the same role at the University of Tulsa, the Univer ...

. The Tigers played their home games at the

FedExForum FedExForum is a multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee. It is the home of the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA and the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of the University of Memphis, both of whom previously played home ...

. This was the fourth season the Tigers participated in the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (The American or AAC) is an American collegiate athletic conference, featuring 11 member universities and five affiliate member universities that compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) ...

. They finished the season 19–13, 9–9 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to UCF. Despite having 19 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Previous season

The

Tigers The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus ''Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on un ...

finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 19–15 and 8–10 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place in conference. The Tigers lost in the championship game of the AAC tournament to

UConn The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...

. The Tigers did not participate in a postseason tournament marking the second consecutive year that the Tigers had missed the postseason entirely.

Josh Pastner Joshua Paul Pastner (born September 26, 1977) is an American college basketball coach, and the current head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Pastner was a player on the 1997 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball national championship team, ...

left Memphis to take the head coaching job at

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

on April 8, 2016. On April 14, 2016, the school hired Tubby Smith to take over as head coach.

Offseason

Departures

Incoming transfers

Recruiting

Coaching staff

The Tigers hired coach Orlando "Tubby" Smith to replace Josh Pastner in April 2016. Smith faced his first controversy as Tiger head coach early. Keelon Lawson, father of Tiger players KJ and Dedric Lawson, had served for two years as an assistant for Pastner, but Smith did not initially want to retain Lawson in that role to make room for his son on the staff. This caused Lawson to reenter his son Dedric in the 2016 draft and hint that KJ would be transferring. However, on April 25, 2016, ''The Commercial Appeal'' reported that Lawson would be retained on the basketball staff as director of player personnel. By moving Lawson to Director of player development it prevents him from recruiting off campus. Where his close ties to area coaches and talent would give him an advantage with Memphis area recruits. An area where Smith and his staff has been very weak in past jobs. With a recruiting class average in the 70s at Texas Tech. His first class at Memphis was ranked 92nd compared to the top 10 class in Pastner's last year at Memphis- Lawson claimed he never intended to indicate that his sons would be leaving the program upon the announcement of his reassignment. Dedric, however, remained entered in the draft and attended the draft combine before withdrawing his name in mid May and returning to Memphis. The U of M announced that presumptive starting center Nick Marshall unexpectedly left the team on August 1, 2016 when he went to live with his pregnant girlfriend. Marshall was not expected to return to Memphis.

Roster

Schedule and results

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Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

Memphis Memphis most commonly refers to: * Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt * Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city Memphis may also refer to: Places United States * Memphis, Alabama * Memphis, Florida * Memphis, Indiana * Memp ...

Memphis Tigers men's basketball seasons