| Year: | 1916 |
| Helmschamp: | Washington State (retroactive selection in 1943) |
| Helmspoy: | Ray Woods, Illinois (retroactive selection in 1944) |
The 1916–17 NCAA men's basketball season began in December 1916, progressed through the regular season, and concluded in March 1917.
| School | Former Conference | New Conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| No basketball team | Pacific Coast Conference | ||
| Southwest Conference | No major basketball program | ||
| Independent | Pacific Coast Conference |
| Conference | Regular Season Winner[3] | Conference Player of the Year | Conference Tournament | Tournament Venue (City) | Tournament Winner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| No Tournament | ||||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
| None selected | No Tournament | |||||
A total of 129 college teams played as major independents. Among independents that played at least 10 games, Navy (11–0) and (13–0) were undefeated, and (20–2) and Trinity (20–4) finished with the most wins.[4]
See main article: 1917 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans.
The practice of selecting a Consensus All-American Team did not begin until the 1928–29 season. The Helms Athletic Foundation later retroactively selected a list of All-Americans for the 1916–17 season.[5]
| Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|
| Clyde Alwood | Illinois | |
| Cyril Haas | Princeton | |
| George Hjelte | California | |
| Orson Kinney | Yale | |
| Harold Olsen | Wisconsin | |
| F. I. Reynolds | Kansas State | |
| Francis Stadsvold | Minnesota | |
| Charles Taft | Yale | |
| Ray Woods | Illinois | |
| Harry Young | Washington and Lee |