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2016–17 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

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2016–17 Memphis Tigers men's basketball
ConferenceAmerican Athletic Conference
Record19–13 (9–9 AAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFedExForum
Seasons
2016–17 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 11 SMU 17 1   .944 30 5   .857
No. 18 Cincinnati 16 2   .889 30 6   .833
Houston 12 6   .667 21 11   .656
UCF 11 7   .611 24 12   .667
Memphis 9 9   .500 19 13   .594
UConn 9 9   .500 16 17   .485
Tulsa 8 10   .444 15 17   .469
Temple 7 11   .389 16 16   .500
East Carolina 6 12   .333 15 18   .455
Tulane 3 15   .167 6 25   .194
South Florida 1 17   .056 7 23   .233
2017 AAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

The 2016–17 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of Memphis in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, the 96th season of Tiger basketball and the first under head coach Tubby Smith. The Tigers played their home games at the FedExForum. This was the fourth season the Tigers participated in the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 19–13, 9–9 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament to UCF. Despite having 19 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Previous season

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The Tigers finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 19–15 and 8–10 in AAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place in conference. The Tigers lost in the championship game of the AAC tournament to UConn. The Tigers did not participate in a postseason tournament marking the second consecutive year that the Tigers had missed the postseason entirely.

Josh Pastner left Memphis to take the head coaching job at Georgia Tech on April 8, 2016.[1] On April 14, 2016, the school hired Tubby Smith to take over as head coach.[2]

Offseason

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Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Trahson Burrell 0 F 6' 7" 187 Senior Albany, NY Graduated
Shaq Goodwin 2 F 6' 9" 229 Senior Atlanta, GA Graduated
Avery Woodson 3 G 6' 2" 189 Junior Waynesboro, MS Transferred to Butler
Randall Broddie 11 G 6' 3" 170 Freshman Oxon Hill, MD Transferred to Navarro College
Kedren Johnson 15 G 6' 4" 210 Senior Lewisburg, TN Graduated
Ricky Tarrant 20 G 6' 2" 184 Senior Pleasant Grove, AL Graduated
Nick Marshall 30 C 6' 11" 248 Sophomore Lexington, TN Left program; transferred to Motlow State CC

Incoming transfers

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Name Num Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Christian Kessee 10 G 6' 2" 180 Senior Las Vegas, NV Graduate transfer from Coppin State

Recruiting

[edit]
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Keon Clergeot
G
Auburndale, FL Auburndale HS 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jun 8, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPNN/A
Jimario Rivers
F
Memphis, TN Southwest TN CC 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Oct 8, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: RivalsN/A   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPNN/A
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.

Coaching staff

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The Tigers hired coach Orlando "Tubby" Smith to replace Josh Pastner in April 2016. Smith faced his first controversy as Tiger head coach early. Keelon Lawson, father of Tiger players KJ and Dedric Lawson, had served for two years as an assistant for Pastner, but Smith did not initially want to retain Lawson in that role to make room for his son on the staff. This caused Lawson to reenter his son Dedric in the 2016 draft and hint that KJ would be transferring. However, on April 25, 2016, The Commercial Appeal reported that Lawson would be retained on the basketball staff as director of player personnel. By moving Lawson to Director of player development it prevents him from recruiting off campus. Where his close ties to area coaches and talent would give him an advantage with Memphis area recruits. An area where Smith and his staff has been very weak in past jobs. With a recruiting class average in the 70s at Texas Tech. His first class at Memphis was ranked 92nd compared to the top 10 class in Pastner's last year at Memphis-[3] Lawson claimed he never intended to indicate that his sons would be leaving the program upon the announcement of his reassignment.[4] Dedric, however, remained entered in the draft and attended the draft combine before withdrawing his name in mid May and returning to Memphis.[5]

The U of M announced that presumptive starting center Nick Marshall unexpectedly left the team on August 1, 2016 when he went to live with his pregnant girlfriend. Marshall was not expected to return to Memphis.

Roster

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2016–17 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G/F 0 K. J. Lawson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Hamilton High School Memphis, Tennessee
G/F 1 Dedric Lawson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 236 lb (107 kg) So Hamilton High School Memphis, Tennessee
G/F 2 Jimario Rivers 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Jr Southwest Tennessee Community College Clarksville, Tennessee
G 3 Jeremiah Martin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Mitchell High School Memphis, Tennessee
G 4 Keon Clergeot 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Fr Auburndale High School Winter Haven, Florida
G 5 Markel Crawford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 208 lb (94 kg) RS Jr Melrose High School Memphis, Tennessee
G 10 Christian Kessee 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Sr Coppin State Las Vegas, Nevada
G 11 Jonathan Bins 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Germantown High School Memphis, Tennessee
G 12 Craig Randall II 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 184 lb (83 kg) So Shadow Mountain High School Youngstown, Ohio
F 15 Chad Rykhoek 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Baylor Fort Worth, Texas
G 20 Kaleb Castro 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Collin College Grapevine, Texas
F 23 Karim Sameh Azab 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Fr Hales Franciscan High School Giza, Egypt
G 30 Kytrel Williams 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 207 lb (94 kg) Jr Motlow State Community College Memphis, Tennessee
F 32 Alex Moffatt 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 223 lb (101 kg) Jr Shawnee State Somerville, Tennessee
G/F 42 Jake McDowell 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr Christian Brothers High School Memphis, Tennessee
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/07/2016*
6:30 pm
Christian Brothers W 69–42 
FedEx Forum (9,676)
Memphis, TN
Regular season
11/14/2016*
7:00 pm, WLMT/ESPN3
Texas–Rio Grande Valley
Emerald Coast Classic
W 94–75  1–0
FedEx Forum (9,217)
Memphis, TN
11/16/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Milwaukee W 68–54  2–0
FedEx Forum (9,398)
Memphis, TN
11/19/2016*
11:00 am, ESPN3
Savannah State
Emerald Coast Classic
W 99–86  3–0
FedEx Forum (8,689)
Memphis, TN
11/22/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
McNeese State W 104–65  4–0
FedEx Forum (8,941)
Memphis, TN
11/25/2016*
8:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Providence
Emerald Coast Classic quarterfinals
L 51–60  4–1
The Arena at NWFSC (2,196)
Niceville, FL
11/26/2016*
3:00 pm
vs. Iowa
Emerald Coast Classic 3rd place game
W 100–92  5–1
The Arena at NWFSC (2,196)
Niceville, FL
11/30/2016*
8:30 pm, WLMT/ESPN3
Jackson State W 84–69  6–1
FedEx Forum (7,507)
Memphis, TN
12/03/2016*
12:00 pm
at Ole Miss L 77–85  6–2
The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,411)
Oxford, MS
12/10/2016*
12:00 pm, ESPN3
UAB W 62–55  7–2
FedEx Forum (9,424)
Memphis, TN
12/13/2016*
8:00 pm, WLMT/ESPN3
Monmouth L 79–82  7–3
FedEx Forum (7,831)
Memphis, TN
12/17/2016*
11:30 am, CBS
at Oklahoma W 99–94 OT 8–3
Lloyd Noble Center (9,081)
Norman, OK
12/21/2016*
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Incarnate Word W 95–71  9–3
FedEx Forum (7,919)
Memphis, TN
12/27/2016
8:00 pm, ESPNU
SMU L 54–58  9–4
(0–1)
FedEx Forum (10,305)
Memphis, TN
12/30/2016*
8:00 pm, ESPN2
South Carolina W 70–54  10–4
FedEx Forum (10,812)
Memphis, TN
01/05/2017
6:00 pm, ESPN2
UConn W 70–61  11–4
(1–1)
FedEx Forum (10,227)
Memphis, TN
01/08/2017
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at Tulane W 80–59  12–4
(2–1)
Devlin Fieldhouse (1,525)
New Orleans, LA
01/11/2017
7:00 pm, ESPNews
at Tulsa L 71–81  12–5
(2–2)
Reynolds Center (4,017)
Tulsa, OK
01/14/2017
5:00 pm, CBSSN
South Florida W 62–56  13–5
(3–2)
FedEx Forum (11,955)
Memphis, TN
01/19/2017
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Houston W 70–67 OT 14–5
(4–2)
Hofheinz Pavilion (4,815)
Houston, TX
01/22/2017
3:00 pm, CBSSN
UCF W 70–65  15–5
(5–2)
FedEx Forum (9,625)
Memphis, TN
01/25/2017
5:00 pm, CBSSN
at Temple L 66–77  15–6
(5–3)
Liacouras Center (4,950)
Philadelphia, PA
01/28/2017
2:30 pm, ESPNews
East Carolina W 57–50  16–6
(6–3)
FedEx Forum (10,684)
Memphis, TN
02/02/2017
6:00 pm, ESPNews
at South Florida W 85–75  17–6
(7–3)
USF Sun Dome (2,563)
Tampa, FL
02/05/2017
4:00 pm, ESPNews
at UCF L 57–72  17–7
(7–4)
CFE Arena (5,463)
Orlando, FL
02/07/2017
6:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulsa W 66–44  18–7
(8–4)
FedEx Forum (8,518)
Memphis, TN
02/12/2017
1:00 pm, CBSSN
Temple L 62–74  18–8
(8–5)
FedEx Forum (10,552)
Memphis, TN
02/16/2017
8:00 pm, ESPN2
at UConn L 62–65  18–9
(8–6)
XL Center (9,631)
Hartford, CT
02/23/2017
6:00 pm, ESPN
at No. 15 Cincinnati L 74–87  18–10
(8–7)
Fifth Third Arena (12,787)
Cincinnati, OH
02/26/2017
4:00 pm, CBSSN
Houston L 71–72  18–11
(8–8)
FedEx Forum (12,381)
Memphis, TN
03/02/2017
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Tulane W 92–70  19–11
(9–8)
FedEx Forum (9,223)
Memphis, TN
03/04/2017
3:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 14 SMU L 62–103  19–12
(9–9)
Moody Coliseum (7,242)
Dallas, TX
American Athletic Conference tournament
03/10/2017
1:00 pm, ESPN2
(5) vs. (4) UCF
Quarterfinals
L 54–84  19–13
XL Center (1,844)
Hartford, CT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

Rankings

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References

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  1. ^ Murtaugh, Frank. "Josh Pastner Leaving Memphis For Georgia Tech". Memphis Flyer. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Tubby Smith joins Memphis on five-year deal". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 10, 2017.
  3. ^ "2016 Basketball Team Rankings".
  4. ^ "Keelon Lawson to remain on Tigers' staff in support role". www.commercialappeal.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  5. ^ "Tigers' Dedric Lawson pulling out of NBA draft". www.commercialappeal.com. Retrieved June 10, 2016.