2016–17 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by eighth-year head coach Chris Mack, they played their games at the Cintas Center in Norwood, Ohio and were fourth-year members of the Big East Conference. They finished the season 24–14, 9–9 in Big East play to finish in seventh place. In the Big East tournament, they defeated DePaul and Butler before losing to Creighton in the semifinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 11 seed in the West region where they defeated Maryland, Florida State, and Arizona before losing in the Elite Eight to Gonzaga.

2016–17 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
Tire Pros Invitational champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Big East Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
Record	24–14 (9–9 Big East)
Head coach	Chris Mack (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Travis Steele Luke Murray Mike Pegues
Home arena	Cintas Center
Seasons ← 2015–16 2017–18 →

2016–17 Big East men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Villanova †	15	–	3		.833			32	–	4		.889
No. 21 Butler	12	–	6		.667			25	–	9		.735
Creighton	10	–	8		.556			25	–	10		.714
Seton Hall	10	–	8		.556			21	–	12		.636
Providence	10	–	8		.556			20	–	13		.606
Marquette	10	–	8		.556			19	–	13		.594
Xavier	9	–	9		.500			24	–	14		.632
Saint John's	7	–	11		.389			14	–	19		.424
Georgetown	5	–	13		.278			14	–	18		.438
DePaul	2	–	16		.111			9	–	23		.281
† 2017 Big East tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Musketeers finished the 2015–16 season 28–6, 14–4 in Big East play to finish in second place. They defeated Marquette in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Seton Hall. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they received a No. 2 seed. They defeated Weber State in the First Round to advance to the Second Round where they lost to Wisconsin.

Preseason

Prior to the season, Xavier was picked to finish second in a poll of Big East coaches.^[1] Trevon Bluiett and Edmond Sumner were selected to the preseason All-Big East first team.^[1]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Larry Austin Jr.	0	G	6'2"	174	Sophomore	Springfield, IL	Transferred to Vanderbilt
Jalen Reynolds	1	F	6'10"	232	Junior	Livonia, MI	Declare for 2016 NBA draft^[2]
James Farr	2	F	6'10"	247	Senior	Evanston, IL	Graduated
Remy Abell	10	G	6'4"	195	RS Senior	Louisville, KY	Graduated
Makinde London	13	F	6'10"	210	RS Freshman	Nashville, TN	Transferred to Chattanooga
Kevin Coker	32	F	6'6"	200	Senior	Plainfield, IL	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Malcolm Bernard	11	F	6'6"	190	RS Senior	Middleburg, FL	Transferred from Florida A&M. Will eligible to play since Bernard graduated from Florida A&M.
RaShid Gaston	35	F	6'9	239	RS Senior	Warren, OH	Transferred from Norfolk State.

Season summary

Preseason

Junior Trevon Bluiett entered his name in the NBA Pre-Draft, but withdrew his name prior to the deadline and will return to Xavier.^[3]

Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Quentin Goodin #17 PG	Campbellsville, KY	Taylor County High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Nov 20, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Tyrique Jones #24 PF	Bloomfield, CT	Vermont Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Nov 20, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Future recruits

2017–18 team recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Jared Ridder SF	Springfield, MO	Kickapoo High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jun 8, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Elias Harden SG	Tyrone, GA	Sandy Creek High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Jul 27, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Naji Marshall SF	Greenbelt, MD	Hargrave Military Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jul 29, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Kentrevious Jones C	Macon, GA	Westside High School	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	285 lb (129 kg)	Sep 25, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Paul Scruggs PG	Indianapolis, IN	Prolific Prep	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Oct 14, 2016
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2017 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2016–17 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Tyrique Jones 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 237 lb (108 kg) Fr Vermont Academy Bloomfield, Connecticut G 3 Quentin Goodin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Fr Taylor County HS (KY) Campbellsville, Kentucky G 4 Edmond Sumner 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 186 lb (84 kg) RS So Detroit Country Day Detroit, Michigan G 5 Trevon Bluiett 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jr Park Tudor School Indianapolis, Indiana G 10 Leighton Schrand (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Holy Cross HS (Covington, KY) Villa Hills, Kentucky G 11 Malcolm Bernard 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 202 lb (92 kg) RS Sr Middleburg HS Miami, Florida F 12 Cullen Barr (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 233 lb (106 kg) Sr Carmel Catholic HS Libertyville, Illinois G 20 Alex Bergen (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Oak Hills HS Cincinnati, Ohio F 21 Tim Stainbrook 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Sr St. Edward HS (OH) Bay Village, Ohio F 22 Kaiser Gates 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 228 lb (103 kg) So St. Francis HS (GA) Alpharetta, Georgia G/F 24 Conor Peterson (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Brewster Academy Libertyville, Illinois F 35 RaShid Gaston 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 239 lb (108 kg) RS Sr Warren G. Harding HS Warren, Ohio F/C 54 Sean O'Mara 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Jr Benet Academy Glen Ellyn, Illinois G 55 J. P. Macura 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Jr Lakeville North HS Lakeville, Minnesota	Head coach Chris Mack (Xavier) Assistant coach(es) Travis Steele (Butler) Luke Murray (Fairfield) Mike Pegues (Delaware) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2016* 4:00 pm	No. 7	Ferris State	W 80–56		23 – Sumner	10 – Tied	6 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
Regular season
Nov 11, 2016* 7:00 pm, FCS	No. 7	Lehigh	W 84–81	1–0	25 – Bluiett	11 – Bluiett	6 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
Nov 14, 2016* 7:00 pm, CBSSN	No. 11	Buffalo	W 86–53	2–0	18 – Macura	11 – Jones	4 – Goodin	Cintas Center (10,116) Cincinnati, OH
Nov 17, 2016* 1:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 11	vs. Missouri Tire Pros Invitational quarterfinals	W 83–82 ^OT	3–0	19 – Macura	10 – Gaston	5 – Macura	HP Field House  Orlando, FL
Nov 18, 2016* 1:30 pm, ESPNU	No. 11	vs. Clemson Tire Pros Invitational semifinals	W 83–77	4–0	28 – Macura	7 – Bernard	6 – Sumner	HP Field House  Orlando, FL
Nov 20, 2016* 6:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	vs. Northern Iowa Tire Pros Invitational championship	W 67–59	5–0	21 – Bluiett	8 – Bluiett	3 – Sumner	HP Field House  Orlando, FL
Nov 26, 2016* 12:00 pm, FSN	No. 9	Northern Iowa Tire Pros Invitational non-bracketed game	W 64–42	6–0	18 – Macura	8 – Bluiett	7 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,028) Cincinnati, OH
Nov 30, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS1	No. 7	North Dakota State	W 85–55	7–0	23 – Bluiett	8 – Bernard	7 – Tied	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
Dec 3, 2016* 3:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 7	at No. 9 Baylor	L 61–76	7–1	23 – Bluiett	8 – Gaston	3 – Macura	Ferrell Center (9,684) Waco, TX
Dec 7, 2016* 9:00 pm, P12N	No. 13	at Colorado	L 66–68	7–2	27 – Bluiett	11 – Gaston	5 – Sumner	Coors Events Center (7,743) Boulder, CO
Dec 10, 2016* 5:30 pm, FOX	No. 13	Utah	W 77–69	8–2	18 – Tied	14 – Gaston	4 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,350) Cincinnati, OH
Dec 17, 2016* 8:30 pm, FS1	No. 17	Wake Forest Skip Prosser Classic	W 69–65	9–2	20 – Bluiett	7 – Bluiett	3 – Bernard	Cintas Center (10,407) Cincinnati, OH
Dec 20, 2016* 6:30 pm, FS1	No. 17	Eastern Washington	W 85–56	10–2	16 – Bluiett	6 – Macura	9 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
Dec 28, 2016 7:00 pm, FSN	No. 17	Providence	W 82–56	11–2 (1–0)	22 – Bluiett	9 – Bluiett	7 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,426) Cincinnati, OH
Dec 31, 2016 11:00 am, FS1	No. 17	at Georgetown	W 81–76	12–2 (2–0)	28 – Sumner	9 – Gaston	6 – Sumner	Verizon Center (11,275) Washington, D.C.
Jan 7, 2017 2:30 pm, FS1	No. 16	St. John's	W 97–82	13–2 (3–0)	20 – Sumner	6 – Bluiett	7 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,474) Cincinnati, OH
Jan 10, 2017 7:00 pm, FS1	No. 15	at No. 3 Villanova	L 54–79	13–3 (3–1)	11 – Sumner	6 – Tied	3 – Bluiett	The Pavilion (6,500) Villanova, PA
Jan 14, 2017 2:00 pm, FS1	No. 15	at No. 12 Butler	L 78–83	13–4 (3–2)	22 – Sumner	8 – Bernard	3 – Sumner	Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,166) Indianapolis, IN
Jan 16, 2017 2:00 pm, FS1	No. 22	No. 7 Creighton	L 67–72	13–5 (3–3)	17 – Blueitt	17 – Gaston	5 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,348) Cincinnati, OH
Jan 22, 2017 2:00 pm, CBS	No. 22	Georgetown	W 86–75	14–5 (4–3)	24 – Bluiett	7 – Sumner	7 – Sumner	Cintas Center (10,343) Cincinnati, OH
Jan 26, 2017* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 24	at No. 19 Cincinnati Crosstown Shootout	L 78–86	14–6	40 – Bluiett	7 – Macura	7 – Sumner	Fifth Third Arena (13,477) Cincinnati, OH
Jan 29, 2017 6:00 pm, FS1	No. 24	at St. John's	W 82–77	15–6 (5–3)	21 – Bluiett	10 – Bluiett	7 – Sumner	Madison Square Garden (8,723) New York, NY
Feb 1, 2017 9:00 pm, FS1		Seton Hall	W 72–70	16–6 (6–3)	24 – Bluiett	8 – Gates	7 – Goodin	Cintas Center (10,087) Cincinnati, OH
Feb 4, 2017 3:00 pm, FOX		at No. 22 Creighton	W 82–80	17–6 (7–3)	16 – Tied	9 – Gates	5 – Goodin	CenturyLink Center (17,886) Omaha, NE
Feb 8, 2017 6:30 pm, FS1	No. 24	DePaul	W 72–61	18–6 (8–3)	20 – Bluiett	10 – Gates	8 – Goodin	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
Feb 11, 2017 2:30 pm, FOX	No. 24	No. 2 Villanova	L 57–73	18–7 (8–4)	23 – Gaston	10 – Gaston	7 – Macura	Cintas Center (10,558) Cincinnati, OH
Feb 15, 2017 6:30 pm, FS1		at Providence	L 63–75	18–8 (8–5)	19 – Gaston	14 – Gaston	4 – Macura	Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,102) Providence, RI
Feb 18, 2017 8:00 pm, CBSSN		at Marquette	L 61–83	18–9 (8–6)	14 – O'Mara	10 – Gaston	8 – Goodin	BMO Harris Bradley Center (19,033) Milwaukee, WI
Feb 22, 2017 7:00 pm, FS1		at Seton Hall	L 64–71	18–10 (8–7)	22 – Macura	7 – Gates	8 – Goodin	Prudential Center (7,139) Newark, NJ
Feb 26, 2017 3:30 pm, FS1		No. 22 Butler	L 79–88	18–11 (8–8)	21 – Bluiett	5 – Goodin	7 – Goodin	Cintas Center (10,312) Cincinnati, OH
Mar 1, 2017 9:00 pm, FS1		Marquette	L 84–95	18–12 (8–9)	20 – Macura	7 – Gaston	5 – Tied	Cintas Center (10,071) Cincinnati, OH
Mar 4, 2017 2:00 pm, FSN		at DePaul	W 76–65	19–12 (9–9)	24 – Bluiett	10 – Bluiett	3 – Tied	Allstate Arena (6,774) Rosemont, IL
Big East tournament
Mar 8, 2017 9:30 pm, FS1	(7)	vs. (10) DePaul First Round	W 75–64	20–12	17 – Bluiett	9 – Bluiett	6 – Macura	Madison Square Garden (14,830) New York, NY
Mar 9, 2017 9:30 pm, FS1	(7)	vs. (2) No. 18 Butler Quarterfinals	W 62–57	21–12	23 – Bluiett	10 – Bernard	4 – Tied	Madison Square Garden (16,003) New York, NY
Mar 10, 2017 9:30 pm, FS1	(7)	vs. (6) Creighton Semifinals	L 72–75	21–13	22 – Macura	6 – Gaston	4 – Tied	Madison Square Garden (19,812) New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 16, 2017* 6:50 pm, TNT	(11 W)	vs. (6 W) Maryland First Round	W 76–65	22–13	21 – Bluiett	6 – Bernard	9 – Goodin	Amway Center (15,869) Orlando, FL
Mar 18, 2017* 6:10 pm, TNT	(11 W)	vs. (3 W) No. 16 Florida State Second Round	W 91–66	23–13	29 – Bluiett	6 – Bluiett	5 – Tied	Amway Center (17,308) Orlando, FL
Mar 23, 2017* 10:09 pm, TBS	(11 W)	vs. (2 W) No. 4 Arizona Sweet Sixteen	W 73–71	24–13	25 – Bluiett	7 – Macura	5 – Macura	SAP Center (16,884) San Jose, CA
Mar 25, 2017* 6:09 pm, TBS	(11 W)	vs. (1 W) No. 2 Gonzaga Elite Eight	L 59–83	24–14	18 – Macura	7 – Tied	2 – Tied	SAP Center (17,011) San Jose, CA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	7	11	9	7	13	17	17	17	16	15	22	24	RV	24	RV	RV	—	—	—	Not released
Coaches	8	10	8	7	14	17	17	17	15	14	19	22	25	25	—	RV	RV	—	—	18

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

1. "Villanova Picked Unanimously Again To Win In Preseason Coaches' Poll". Big East Conference. Retrieved 2017-02-08.
2. "Report: Jalen Reynolds hires agent". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2016-06-08.
3. "Trevon Bluiett to withdraw from NBA Draft, return to Xavier". Cincinnati.com. Retrieved 2016-06-08.