| Mode: | Basketball |
| Sex: | none |
| Year: | 2016–17 |
| Team: | Western Kentucky Hilltoppers |
| Conference: | Conference USA |
| Short Conf: | C-USA |
| Record: | 15–17 |
| Conf Record: | 9–9 |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Asst Coach1: | Chris Cheeks |
| Asst Coach3: | Quannas White |
The 2016–17 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Rick Stansbury in his first season. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena in Bowling Green, Kentucky and were third-year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 15–17, 9–9 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost to UTSA in the first round of the C-USA tournament.[1]
The Hilltoppers finished the 2015–16 season 18–16, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in eighth place. They defeated North Texas and UAB to advance to the semifinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Old Dominion. Despite having 18 wins and a better they .500 record, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.
On March 17, 2016, head coach Ray Harper resigned after three players were suspended by a university disciplinary committee.[2] [3] [4] He finished at WKU with a record of 90–62. On March 28, the school hired Rick Stansbury as head coach.[5]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris McNeal | 1 | G | 6'0" | 195 | Freshman | Transferred to Indian Hills CC | ||
| Aaron Cosby | 2 | G | 6'3" | 200 | RS Senior | Graduated | ||
| Marlon Hunter Jr. | 3 | G | 6'2" | 195 | Freshman | Transferred to Odessa College | ||
| Phabian Glasco | 13 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Junior | Left the team for personal reasons | ||
| Dylan Sanford | 15 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Freshman | Left the team for personal reasons | ||
| Aleksej Rostov | 20 | C | 6'10" | 240 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Nigel Snipes | 21 | F | 6'6" | 220 | RS Senior | Graduated | ||
| Nathan Smith | 22 | C | 7'2" | 240 | Freshman | London, England | Left the team for personal reasons | |
| Frederick Edmond | 25 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Junior | Transferred | ||
| Keifer Dalton | 32 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Freshman | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons | ||
| Chris Harrison-Docks | 51 | G | 6'0" | 175 | RS Junior | Graduate transferred to DePaul |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior Lomomba | 5 | G | 6'5" | 205 | RS Junior | Transferred from Providence. Lomomba will be eligible to play immediately since Lomomba graduated from Providence. | ||
| Que Johnson | 32 | F | 6'5" | 208 | RS Senior | Transferred from Washington State. Johnson will be eligible to play immediately since Johnson graduated from Washington State. | ||
| 12 | G | 6'3" | 195 | RS Senior | Transferred from Hartford. Thomas will be eligible to play immediately since Thomas graduated from Hartford. | |||
| Lamonte Bearden | G | 6'3" | 160 | Junior | Transferred from Buffalo. Under NCAA transfer rules, Bearden will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. | |||
| Moustapha Diagne | C | 6'9" | 245 | Sophomore | Junior college transferred from Northwest Florida State College. He will have to sit out the 2016–17 season and will have three years of eligibility left. |
The Hilltoppers were picked to finish in third place in the preseason Conference USA poll.[6] Justin Johnson was selected to the preseason All-Conference USA team.
|-!colspan=9 style=| Exhibition|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=12 style=| Conference USA regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| Conference USA Tournament
Following the regular season, Justin Johnson was named to the All-Conference USA Second Team based on a poll of league coaches.[7]
2016–17 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team