| Year: | 2016–17 |
| Team: | UCF Knights |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Conference: | American Athletic Conference |
| Short Conf: | AAC |
| Record: | 24–12 |
| Conf Record: | 11–7 |
| Head Coach: | Johnny Dawkins |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Asst Coach1: | Kevin Norris |
| Asst Coach2: | Jamil Jones |
| Asst Coach3: | Robbie Laing |
| Arena: | CFE Arena |
| Tourney: | NIT |
| Tourney Result: | Semifinals |
The 2016–17 UCF Knights men's basketball team represented the University of Central Florida during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Knights were members of the American Athletic Conference. The Knights, in the program's 48th season of basketball, were led by first-year head coach Johnny Dawkins and played their home games at the CFE Arena on the university's main campus in Orlando, Florida. They finished the season 24–12, 11–7 in AAC play to finish in fourth place. They defeated Memphis in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament before losing in the semifinals to SMU. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Colorado, Illinois State and Illinois to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden for the first time in school history where they lost to the eventual NIT Champion, TCU.
The Knights 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.
After the season, Donnie Jones was fired as UCF's head coach.[1] On March 24, 2016, the school hired Johnny Dawkins as head coach.[2]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brandan Boyle | 00 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Freshman | Transferred to ASA College | ||
| Daiquan Walker | 4 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | Graduated | ||
| Adonys Henriquez | 10 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Sophomore | Transferred to Saint Louis | ||
| 33 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Senior | Graduated | |||
| Justin McBride | 34 | C | 6'10" | 325 | Junior | Transferred to Valdosta State | ||
| Stephon Blair | 52 | F | 6'9" | 255 | Senior | Graduated |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terrell Allen | 2 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Sophomore | Transferred from Drexel. Under NCAA transfer rules, Allen will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. | ||
| Dayon Griffin | 10 | G | 6'5" | 188 | Junior | Transferred from Louisiana Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Griffin will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. | ||
| Rokas Ulvydas | 11 | F | 6'11" | 240 | Junior | Transferred from Texas Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Ulvydas will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. | ||
| Nick Banyard | 14 | F | 6'8" | 225 | RS Senior | Transferred from Illinois State. Will be eligible to play immediately since Banyard graduated from Illinois State. | ||
| 15 | G/F | 6'6" | 205 | Junior | Transferred from Michigan. Under NCAA transfer rules, Dawkins will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
|-!colspan=9 style=| Non-conference regular season|-!colspan=6 style= |AAC regular season|-!colspan=9 style=| American Athletic Conference tournament|-!colspan=9 style=| NIT