The 2016–17 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public university, public research university with its main campus in unincorporated area, unincorporated Orange County, Florida, United States. It is part of the State University System of Florida. ...

during 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' ...

. The Knights were members of the

American Athletic Conference The American Athletic Conference (AAC), also known as The American, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States, featuring 13 full member universities and 6 affiliate member universities that compete in t ...

. The Knights, in the program's 48th season of basketball, were led by first-year head coach

Johnny Dawkins Johnny Earl Dawkins Jr. (born September 28, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach for the UCF men's basketball team. From 2008 to 2016, he was the head coach of Stanford. He was a two-time All-American an ...

and played their home games at the CFE Arena on the university's main campus in

Orlando Orlando commonly refers to: * Orlando, Florida, a city in the United States Orlando may also refer to: People * Orlando (given name), a masculine name, includes a list of people with the name * Orlando (surname), includes a list of people wit ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. They finished the season 24–12, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated

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 * Mem ...

in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to SMU. They were invited 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 ...

where they defeated

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Illinois State and

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

to advance to the semifinals at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

for the first time in school history where they lost to the eventual NIT Champion,

TCU TCU may stand for: Education * Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania * Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas ** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school * Tok ...

Previous season

The

Knights A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

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 The Tulane University of Louisiana (commonly referred to as Tulane University) is a private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by a cohort of medical doctors, it be ...

. After the season,

Donnie Jones Donald Scott Jones Jr. (born July 5, 1980) is an American former professional American football, football Punter (gridiron football), punter who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the LSU Tigers footbal ...

was fired as UCF's head coach. On March 24, 2016, the school hired Johnny Dawkins as head coach.

Departures

Incoming transfers

Incoming recruits

Recruiting class of 2017

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Non-conference regular season , - !colspan=6 style= , AAC regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, American Athletic Conference tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NIT

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2016-17 UCF Knights Men's Basketball Team UCF Knights men's basketball seasons UCF

UCF Knights men's basketball The UCF Knights men's basketball team represents The University of Central Florida, located in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, United States. UCF competes in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), ...

UCF

UCF Knights The UCF Knights are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Central Florida in unincorporated Orange County, Florida near Orlando, Florida, Orlando. The Knights participate in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NC ...