2016–17 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season explained

Color:	072e67
Color Text:	FFFFFF
League:	NCAA Division I
Sport:	Basketball
Pixels:	175px
Duration:	November, 2016 – March, 2017
No Of Teams:	10
Season:	Regular Season
Season Champs:	UNC Wilmington
Season Champ Name:	Champions
Second Place:	College of Charleston
Mvp:	T. J. Williams
Mvp Link:	Colonial Athletic Association Men's Basketball Player of the Year
Top Scorer:	T. J. Williams (Northeastern)
Finals:	Tournament
Finals Link:	2017 CAA Men's Basketball Tournament
Finals Champ:	UNC Wilmington
Finals Runner-Up:	College of Charleston
Finals Mvp:	C. J. Bryce (UNC Wilmington)
Seasonslistnames:	Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball
Prevseason Link:	2015–16 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season
Prevseason Year:	2015–16
Nextseason Link:	2017–18 Colonial Athletic Association men's basketball season
Nextseason Year:	2017–18

The 2016–17 CAA men's basketball season marked the 32nd season of Colonial Athletic Association basketball. The season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. Conference play began in late December and concluded in late February.

On February 23, 2017, UNC Wilmington clinched the regular season CAA championship, their third consecutive CAA championship.^[1] The College of Charleston finished in second place.

The CAA tournament was held from March 3–6, 2017 at North Charleston Coliseum in North Charleston, South Carolina. UNC Wilmington defeated College of Charleston to win the tournament championship, their second consecutive tournament championship.^[2] 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. Towson was invited to play in the College Basketball Invitational, but declined the invitation.^[3]

Head coaches

Coaching changes

• On March 7, 2016, Bruiser Flint was fired as head basketball coach after 15 seasons with Drexel.^[4] On March 24, 2016, Drexel announced that Zach Spiker was hired to replace Bruiser Flint as head coach.^[5]
• James Madison, despite finishing with 21 wins, fired head coach Matt Brady on March 14, 2016.^{[6] [7]} 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.^[8]
• Delaware Head coach Monté Ross was fired following the season.^{[9] [10]} On May 24, the school hired Martin Ingelsby as his replacement.^[11]

Coaches

Team	Head coach	Previous job	Year at school	Overall record	CAA record	CAA championships	NCAA Tournaments
style=	College of Charleston	Earl Grant	Clemson (asst.)	3	51–48	25–29	0	0
style=	Delaware	Martin Ingelsby	Notre Dame (asst.)	1	13–20	5–13	0	0
style=	Drexel	Zach Spiker	Army	1	9–23	3–15	0	0
style=	Elon	Matt Matheny	Davidson (asst.)	8	126–130	23–31	0	0
style=	Hofstra	Joe Mihalich	Niagara	4	69–64	36–34	0	0
style=	James Madison	Louis Rowe	Bowling Green (asst.)	1	10–23	7–11	0	0
style=	Northeastern	Bill Coen	Boston College 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^[12] Rank Team 1 UNC Wilmington (37) 2 Towson (2) 3 William & Mary (1) 4 College of Charleston 5 James Madison 6 Hofstra 7 Northeastern 8 Elon 9 Drexel 10 Delaware first place votes Preseason Awards Source Award Recipients Preseason Player of the Year Chris Flemmings (UNC Wilmington) Preseason All-CAA First Team William Adala Moto (Towson) Jarrell Brantley (College of Charleston) Chris Flemmings (UNC Wilmington) Rokas Gustys (Hofstra) Omar Prewitt (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.   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 DEL DRE ELON HOF JMU NU TOW UNCW W&M--> vs. College of Charleston – 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 vs. Delaware 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 vs. Drexel 2–0 1–1 – 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 vs. Elon 2–0 1–1 0–2 – 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 vs. Hofstra 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–0 – 1–1 0–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 vs. James Madison 2–0 2–0 0–2 1–1 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 vs. Northeastern 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 – 1–1 2–0 1–1 vs. Towson 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 – 2–0 1–1 vs. UNC Wilmington 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 – 1–1 vs. William & Mary 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 – DEL DRE ELON HOF JMU NU TOW UNCW W&M--> 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 (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), Chris Flemmings (UNCW) Jan. 23 – Tyler Seibring (Elon), Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) Jan. 30 – Omar Prewitt (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 Award Recipients Coach of the Year Earl Grant (College of Charleston) Player of the Year T. J. Williams (Northeastern) Defensive Player of the Year Devontae Cacok (UNC Wilmington) Rookie of the Year Ryan Daly (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) Chris Flemmings (UNC Wilmington) T. J. Williams (Northeastern) Second Team Jarrell Brantley (College of Charleston) Denzel Ingram (UNC Wilmington) Omar Prewitt (William & Mary) Tyler Seibring (Elon) Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra) Third Team Devontae Cacok (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 (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) Rokas Gustys (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 See main article: 2017 CAA men's basketball tournament. Session Game Time* Matchup Score Attendance Television First round – Friday March 3, 2017 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 Quarterfinals – Saturday March 4, 2017 2 3 12:00 PM No. 9 Delaware vs No. 1 UNC Wilmington 82–91 4,217 Comcast SportsNet 4 2:30 PM No. 5 Elon vs No. 4 William & Mary 66–71 4,096 Comcast SportsNet 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 Semifinals – Sunday March 5, 2017 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 Championship – Monday March 6, 2017 5 9 7:00 PM No. 2 College of Charleston vs No. 1 UNC Wilmington 69–78 6,342 CBS Sports Network Game times in ET. Rankings denote tournament seed NCAA tournament See main article: 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The CAA had one bid to the 2017 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, that being the automatic bid of UNC Wilmington by winning the conference tournament. Seed Region School First Four First round Second round Sweet 16 Elite Eight Final Four Championship 12 East UNC Wilmington N/A Eliminated by (5) Virginia 71–76 Bids W-L (%): TOTAL: National Invitation Tournament See main article: 2017 National Invitation Tournament. The College of Charleston was invited to play in the 2017 National Invitation Tournament. Seed School First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship 5 College of Charleston Eliminated by Colorado State 74–81 Bids W-L (%): TOTAL: References

Notes and References

1. News: UNCW hoops clinches three-peat in CAA regular season. @bsans10. Brandon Sans Staff Writer . The Seahawk. 2017-08-02. en-US.
2. Web site: Introducing Cinderella: UNC Wilmington Seahawks are headed to the NCAA tournament. Dauster. Rob. 2017-03-07. CollegeBasketballTalk. 2017-08-02.
3. Web site: Towson men's basketball declines postseason tournament invitations. Shaffer. Jason. March 9, 2017. The Baltimore Sun. tronc. March 13, 2017.
4. Web site: Bruiser Flint fired by Drexel after 15 seasons. Goodman. Jeff. Borzello. Jeff. 7 March 2016. ESPN.com. ESPN. 7 March 2016.
5. Web site: Source: Drexel hires Zach Spiker as m. bball head coach. Hermann. Adam. thetriangle.org. Drexel Triangle. 24 March 2016.
6. News: JMU fires coach Brady despite 21-win season. ESPN.com. 2017-02-13.
7. Web site: Matt Brady out as JMU men's basketball coach. WDBJ17. 18 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160318093941/http://www.wdbj7.com/sports/matt-brady-out-as-jmu-mens-basketball-coach/38502942. 18 March 2016. dead. dmy-all.
8. Web site: James Madison hires alum Louis Rowe as men's hoops coach. 2016-03-31. USA TODAY Sports. 2017-02-13.
9. Web site: Tresolini. Kevin. Ross fired as University of Delaware basketball coach. Delaware Online. 18 March 2016.
10. News: Ross fired as University of Delaware basketball coach. delawareonline. 2017-01-30. en.
11. News: Delaware to hire Notre Dame's Ingelsby as its coach. Hamilton. Brian. SI.com. 2017-01-30.
12. Web site: CAA Announces Preseason Men’s Basketball Poll and Full TV Slate. Elon Phoenix Athletics. en. 2017-08-02.