The 2016–17 CAA men's basketball season marked the 32nd season of

Colonial Athletic Association The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...

basketball. The 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 early-season tournaments were the 2K Sports Classic, Charleston Classic, and Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The season ended with the 2017 NCAA Division I men' ...

in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in late February. On February 23, 2017,

UNC Wilmington The University of North Carolina Wilmington, or University of North Carolina at Wilmington, (UNC Wilmington or UNCW) is a public research university in Wilmington, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system and enrol ...

clinched the regular season CAA championship, their third consecutive CAA championship. The

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th-oldest institution of higher lea ...

finished in second place. The CAA tournament was held from March 3–6, 2017 at

North Charleston Coliseum The North Charleston Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in North Charleston, South Carolina. It is part of the North Charleston Convention Center Complex, which also includes a performing arts center and convention center. It is owned by the Cit ...

North Charleston, South Carolina North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. UNC Wilmington defeated College of Charleston to win the tournament championship, their second consecutive tournament championship. As a result, UNC Wilmington received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. College of Charleston received a bid to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

. Towson was invited to play in the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI sel ...

, but declined the invitation.

Head coaches

Coaching changes

*On March 7, 2016,

Bruiser Flint James "Bruiser" Flint (born July 23, 1965) is an American men's college basketball coach, currently an assistant coach at Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, Arkansas. He was most recently the head coach at Drexel University. Collegiate playin ...

was fired as head basketball coach after 15 seasons with Drexel. On March 24, 2016, Drexel announced that Zach Spiker was hired to replace Bruiser Flint as head coach. *

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, despite finishing with 21 wins, fired head coach

Matt Brady Matt Brady (born October 1, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is an assistant for the High Point Panthers men's basketball, High Point Panthers. He is a former head coach at James Madison Dukes men's basketball, James Madison, Mar ...

on March 14, 2016. He was 139–127 in eight seasons with James Madison. On March 31, 2016, the school hired Louis Rowe, a JMU alum, as head coach. *

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

Head coach Monté Ross was fired following the season. On May 24, the school hired

Martin Ingelsby Martin Ingelsby (born November 24, 1978) is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach for the University of Delaware. Ingelsby played basketball at Archbishop Carroll High School and Notre Dame. He was a standout point gu ...

as his replacement.

Coaches

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: center;font-size:90%;" , - ! width="110" , Team ! Head coach ! Previous job ! Year at school ! Overall record ! CAA record ! CAA championships ! NCAA Tournaments , - ! style=, College of Charleston ,

Earl Grant Earl Grant (January 20, 1931 – June 10, 1970) was an American pianist, organist, and vocalist popular in the 1950s and 1960s. Career Grant was born in Idabel, Oklahoma. Though he would be known later for his keyboards and vocals, Grant also ...

, Clemson
(asst.) , 3 , 51–48 , 25–29 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, Delaware ,

, Notre Dame
(asst.) , 1 , 13–20 , 5–13 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, Drexel , Zach Spiker ,

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

, 1 , 9–23 , 3–15 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, Elon ,

Matt Matheny Matt Matheny (born February 11, 1970) is an American college basketball coach who most recently served as the men's head coach at Elon University. He replaced Ernie Nestor in March 2009. Matheny led the Phoenix to a 21-12 record in 2012-13, th ...

, Davidson
(asst.) , 8 , 126–130 , 23–31 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, Hofstra ,

Joe Mihalich Joseph Anthony Mihalich (born August 29, 1956) is an American former college basketball coach and current Special Assistant to the Head Coach at La Salle University. Mihalich was previously the men's basketball head coach at Hofstra University f ...

, Niagara , 4 , 69–64 , 36–34 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, James Madison , Louis Rowe ,

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

(asst.) , 1 , 10–23 , 7–11 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, Northeastern ,

Bill Coen Bill Coen (born May 3, 1961) is an American college basketball coach and the current head men's basketball coach at the Northeastern University (Boston, Massachusetts), Northeastern University. He was previously an assistant coach under Al Skin ...

Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...

{asst.) , 11 , 177–174 , 109–87 , 1 , 1 , - ! style=, Towson ,

Pat Skerry Patrick Joseph Skerry (born January 21, 1970) is the head coach of the Towson Tigers men's basketball, Towson University Tigers men's basketball team. Biography Playing career Skerry played collegiate basketball at Tufts University where he set ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

(asst.) , 6 , 98–101 , 54–52 , 0 , 0 , - ! style=, UNC Wilmington ,

Kevin Keatts Kevin Andre Keatts (born July 28, 1972) is an American college basketball coach who was most recently the head coach at NC State Wolfpack men's basketball, North Carolina State University. Early life and playing career Keatts grew up as an on ...

Louisville Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...

(asst.) , 3 , 72–28 , 41–13 , 2 , 2 , - ! style=, William & Mary , Tony Shaver ,

Hampden-Sydney College Hampden Sydney is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince Edward County, Virginia, United States. The population was 1,450 at the 2010 census. Hampden Sydney is the home of Hampden–Sydney College, a private all-male college that is the tenth ...

, 14 , 192–239 , 110–153 , 0 , 0 , - ''Notes:'' * All records, appearances, titles, etc. are from time with current school only. * Year at school includes 2016–17 season. * Overall and CAA records are from time at current school and are through the end of the 2016–17 season.

Preseason

Preseason poll

Source {, class="wikitable" !Rank !Team , - , 1, ,

''(37)'' , - , 2, ,

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

''(2)'' , - , 3, , William & Mary ''(1)'' , - , 4, ,

, - , 5, ,

, - , 6, ,

Hofstra Hofstra University is a private research university in Hempstead, New York, United States. It originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University and became an independent college in 1939. Comprising ten schools, including the Zucker Scho ...

, - , 7, , Northeastern , - , 8, , Elon , - , 9, , Drexel , - , 10, ,

''() first place votes''

Preseason Awards

Source {, class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;" ! Award ! Recipients , - , Preseason Player of the Year ,

Chris Flemmings Christopher Alexander Flemmings (born March 11, 1994) is an American professional basketball player for BK Levickí Patrioti of the Slovak Extraliga (basketball), Extraliga. He played college basketball at Barton College and UNC Wilmington. Earl ...

(UNC Wilmington) , - , Preseason All-CAA First Team , William Adala Moto (Towson)
Jarrell Brantley (College of Charleston)
Chris Flemmings (UNC Wilmington)

Rokas Gustys Rokas Gustys (born 22 August 1994) is a Lithuanian professional basketball player for the Tokyo United Basketball Club, Tokyo United of the B.League. Gustys has competed with the Lithuanian junior national teams on multiple occasions. Early life ...

(Hofstra)

Omar Prewitt Omar Prewitt (born September 24, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Tofaş of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). He played college basketball at William & Mary. Early life and high school Prewitt grew up in Mou ...

(William & Mary) , - , Preseason All-CAA Second Team , Shakir Brown (James Madison)
Daniel Dixon (William & Mary)
Denzel Ingram (UNC Wilmington)
Cameron Johnson (College of Charleston)
Mike Morsell (Towson) , - , Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention , Brian Bernardi (Hofstra)
C. J. Bryce (UNC Wilmington)
Chivarsky Corbett (Delaware)
Yohanny Dalembert (James Madison)
Jeremy Miller (Northeastern)
Tyler Seibring (Elon)
Rodney Williams (Drexel) Colonial Athletic Association Preseason Player of the Year: Chris Flemmings (UNC Wilmington)

Regular season

Conference matrix

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play. {, class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;font-size:90%;" , - ! colspan=1 style="background:white; border-top-style:hidden; border-left-style:hidden;" width=75, ! style= width=75, College of Charleston ! style= width=75, Delaware ! style= width=75, Drexel ! style= width=75, Elon ! style= width=75, Hofstra ! style= width=75, James Madison ! style= width=75, Northeastern ! style= width=75, Towson ! style= width=75, UNC Wilmington ! style= width=75, William & Mary , - style="text-align:center;" !vs. College of Charleston , , – , , 0–2, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. Delaware , 2–0, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 2–0, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 2–0, , 2–0, , 2–0 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. Drexel , 2–0, , 1–1, , – , , 2–0, , 1–1, , 2–0, , 2–0, , 2–0, , 2–0, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. Elon , 2–0, , 1–1, , 0–2, , – , , 0–2, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. Hofstra , 2–0, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 2–0, , – , , 1–1, , 0–2, , 2–0, , 2–0, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. James Madison , 2–0, , 2–0, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 1–1, , – , , 1–1, , 1–1, , 2–0, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. Northeastern , 1–1, , 1–1, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 2–0, , 1–1, , – , , 1–1, , 2–0, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. Towson , 1–1, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 1–1, , – , , 2–0, , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. UNC Wilmington , 1–1, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 0–2, , 0–2, , – , , 1–1 , -style="text-align:center;" !vs. William & Mary , 1–1, , 0–2, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , 1–1, , – , -style="text-align:center;" !Total !14–4 !5–13 !3–15 !10–8 !7–11 !7–11 !8–10 !11–7 !15–3 !10–8

CAA Players of the Week

* Nov. 14 – T. J. Williams (Northeastern) * Nov. 21 –

Devontae Cacok Devontae Calvin Cacok ( ; born October 8, 1996) is an American professional basketball player who last played for Virtus Bologna of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He played college basketball for the UNC Wilmington Seah ...

(UNCW) * Nov. 28 – Luke Eddy (Elon) * Dec. 5 – Jarrell Brantley (Charleston), Brian Dawkins (Elon) * Dec. 12 – Denzel Ingram (UNCW), Rodney Williams (Drexel) * Dec. 19 – Alex Murphy (Northeastern) * Dec. 26 – T. J. Williams (Northeastern) (2) * Jan. 2 – Daniel Dixon (William & Mary) * Jan. 9 – Joe Chealey (Charleston) * Jan. 16 – William Adala Moto (Towson),

(UNCW) * Jan. 23 – Tyler Seibring (Elon),

Justin Wright-Foreman Justin Jamel Wright-Foreman (born October 27, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for Iraklis of the Greek Basketball League. He played college basketball for the Hofstra Pride. He was drafted by the Utah Jazz with the 53rd ove ...

(Hofstra) * Jan. 30 –

(William & Mary), Tyler Seibring (Elon) (2) * Feb. 6 – Daniel Dixon (William & Mary) (2) * Feb. 13 – Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) (2) * Feb. 20 – Mike Morsell (Towson) * Feb. 27 – C. J. Bryce (UNCW)

CAA Rookies of the Week

* Nov. 14 – Eli Pemberton (Hofstra), Grant Riller (Charleston) * Nov. 21 – Kurk Lee (Drexel) * Nov. 28 – Max Boursiquot (Northeastern) * Dec. 5 – Eli Pemberton (Hofstra)(2) * Dec. 12 – Ryan Daly (Delaware) * Dec. 19 – Eli Pemberton (Hofstra)(3) * Dec. 26 – Kári Jónsson (Drexel) * Jan. 2 – Ryan Daly (Delaware)(2) * Jan. 9 – Ryan Daly (Delaware)(3) * Jan. 16 – Grant Riller (Charleston)(2) * Jan. 23 – Ryan Daly (Delaware)(4) * Jan. 30 – Grant Riller (Charleston)(3) * Feb. 6 – Bolden Brace (Northeastern), Kurk Lee (Drexel)(2) * Feb. 13 – Ryan Daly (Delaware)(5), Grant Riller (Charleston)(4) * Feb. 20 – Ryan Daly (Delaware)(6) * Feb. 27 – Bolden Brace (Northeastern)(2)

CAA honors and awards

{, class="wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap;" , - ! Award ! Recipients , - ,

Coach of the Year Many sports leagues, sportswriting associations, and other organizations confer "Coach of the Year" awards. In some sports — including baseball and association football — the award is called the "Manager of the Year" award. Some of the ...

(College of Charleston) , - ,

Player of the Year Several sports leagues honour their best player with an award called Player of the Year. In the United States, this type of award is usually called a Most Valuable Player award. Association football In association football, this award is held on b ...

, T. J. Williams (Northeastern) , - , Defensive Player of the Year ,

(UNC Wilmington) , - , Rookie of the Year ,

Ryan Daly Ryan Patrick Daly (born January 6, 1998) is an American basketball player who last played for the Agua Caliente Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Delaware Blue Hens and the Saint Joseph's Hawks. Early life Ryan ...

(Delaware) , - , Dean Ehlers Leadership Award , Evan Bailey (College of Charleston) , - , First Team , C. J. Bryce (UNC Wilmington)
Joe Chealey (College of Charleston)
Daniel Dixon (William & Mary)

(UNC Wilmington)
T. J. Williams (Northeastern) , - , Second Team , Jarrell Brantley (College of Charleston)
Denzel Ingram (UNC Wilmington)

(William & Mary)
Tyler Seibring (Elon)

(Hofstra) , - , Third Team ,

(UNC Wilmington)
Ryan Daly (Delaware)
John Davis (Towson)
Mike Morsell (Towson)
Rodney Williams (Drexel) , - , All-Defensive Team , Devon Begley (Northeastern)
Jarrell Brantley (College of Charleston)
Devontae Cacok (UNC Wilmington)
Cameron Johnson (College of Charleston)
Deshaun Morman (Towson) , - , All-Rookie Team , Ryan Daly (Delaware)

Nathan Knight Nathan Solomon Kapahukula Knight (born September 20, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Zhejiang Lions of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the William & Mary Tribe. Early life Kn ...

(William & Mary)
Kurk Lee (Drexel)
Eli Pemberton (Hofstra)
Grant Riller (College of Charleston) , - , All-Academic Team , William Adala Moto (Towson)
Evan Bailey (College of Charleston)
Dimitrije Cabarkapa (James Madison)

(Hofstra)
Curtis Lochner (Delaware)
John Moran (Drexel)
Ambrose Mosley (UNC Wilmington)
Paul Rowley (William & Mary)
Patrick Ryan (Elon)
Hunter Sabety (Hofstra)
Steven Santa Ana (Elon)
Paulius Satkus (James Madison)
Tyler Seibring (Elon)
Dainan Swoope (Elon)
Rodney Williams (Drexel) , - , All-Tournament Team , C. J. Bryce (UNC Wilmington)
Jarrell Brantley (College of Charleston)
Devontae Cacok (UNC Wilmington)
Joe Chealey (College of Charleston)
Ryan Daly (Delaware)
Denzel Ingram (UNC Wilmington) , - , Tournament MVP , C. J. Bryce (UNC Wilmington)

Postseason

Colonial Athletic Association Tournament

{, class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;text-align:center" !Session !Game !Time* !Matchup !Score !Attendance !Television , - !colspan=5, First round – Friday March 3, 2017 !colspan=5, , - , rowspan=2, 1 , 1 , 6:00 PM , No. 9 Delaware vs No. 8 Hofstra , 81–76 , 1,794 , CAA.tv , - , 2 , 8:30 PM , No. 10 Drexel vs No. 7 James Madison , 70–80 , 1,889 , CAA.tv , - !colspan=5, Quarterfinals – Saturday March 4, 2017 !colspan=5, , - , rowspan=2, 2 , 3 , 12:00 PM , No. 9 Delaware vs No. 1 UNC Wilmington , 82–91 , 4,217 ,

Comcast SportsNet NBC Sports Regional Networks is the collective name for a group of regional sports networks in the United States that are primarily owned and operated by the NBCUniversal division of the cable television company Comcast. The networks were origina ...

, - , 4 , 2:30 PM , No. 5 Elon vs No. 4 William & Mary , 66–71 , 4,096 , Comcast SportsNet , - , rowspan=2, 3 , 5 , 6:00 PM , No. 7 James Madison vs No. 2 College of Charleston , 62–67 , 4,212 , Comcast SportsNet , - , 6 , 8:30 PM , No. 6 Northeastern vs No. 3 Towson , 54–82 , 4,143 , Comcast SportsNet , - !colspan=5, Semifinals – Sunday March 5, 2017 !colspan=5, , - , rowspan=2, 4 , 7 , 2:00 PM , No. 4 William & Mary vs No. 1 UNC Wilmington , 94–105 , 4,389 , Comcast SportsNet , - , 8 , 4:30 PM , No. 3 Towson vs No. 2 College of Charleston , 59–67 , 4,708 , Comcast SportsNet , - !colspan=5, Championship – Monday March 6, 2017 !colspan=5, , - , 5 , 9 , 7:00 PM , No. 2 College of Charleston vs No. 1 UNC Wilmington , 69–78 , 6,342 ,

CBS Sports Network CBS Sports Network (a.k.a. CBSSN) is an American digital cable and satellite television network owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global. When it launched in 2002 as the National College Sports Network (later College Sports ...

, - , colspan=7, *Game times in ET. Rankings denote tournament seed

NCAA tournament

The CAA had one bid to the

2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 68 teams playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the men's National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college basketball national champion for the 20 ...

, that being the automatic bid of UNC Wilmington by winning the conference tournament. {, class="sortable wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" , - ! Seed ! Region ! School ! First Four ! First round ! Second round ! Sweet 16 ! Elite Eight ! Final Four ! Championship , - , 12 , East ,

, ''N/A'' , Eliminated by (5)

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

71–76 , , , , , , - class="sortbottom" style="text-align:center; background:#ddd;" , , Bids , , , , W-L (%): , , , , , , , , , , , , , , TOTAL:

National Invitation Tournament

The College of Charleston was invited to play in the

2017 National Invitation Tournament The 2017 National Invitation Tournament was a single-elimination tournament of 32 NCAA Division I teams that were not selected to participate in the 2017 NCAA tournament. The annual tournament was played on campus sites in the first three round ...

. {, class="sortable wikitable" style="white-space:nowrap; font-size:90%;" , - ! Seed ! School ! First round ! Second round ! Quarterfinals ! Semifinals ! Championship , - , 5 ,

, Eliminated by

Colorado State Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. It was founded in 1870 as Colorado Agr ...

74–81 , , , , , - class="sortbottom" style="text-align:center; background:#ddd;" , , Bids , , W-L (%): , , , , , , , , , , TOTAL:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season