2016–17 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team

The 2016–17 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team represented North Carolina Central University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by eighth-year head coach LeVelle Moton, played their home games at McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium in Durham, North Carolina as members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 13–3 in MEAC play to win the MEAC regular season championship. In the MEAC tournament, they defeated Bethune–Cookman, Maryland Eastern Shores and Norfolk State to be champions of the. As a result, they earned the MEAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 16 seed. There they lost in the First Four to fellow No. 16 seed UC Davis.

2016–17 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball
MEAC regular season and tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Four
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	25–9 (13–3 MEAC)
Head coach	LeVelle Moton (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Luke D'Alessio Reggie Sharp Eric Wilson
Home arena	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium

2016–17 MEAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
NC Central †	13	–	3		.813			25	–	9		.735
Norfolk State	12	–	4		.750			17	–	17		.500
Morgan State	11	–	5		.688			14	–	16		.467
Hampton	11	–	5		.688			14	–	17		.452
Savannah State*	10	–	6		.625			13	–	16		.448
MD Eastern Shore	9	–	7		.563			14	–	20		.412
South Carolina State	7	–	9		.438			11	–	20		.355
Delaware State	7	–	9		.438			10	–	22		.313
Coppin State	7	–	9		.438			8	–	24		.250
Bethune–Cookman	6	–	10		.375			10	–	22		.313
Howard	5	–	11		.313			10	–	24		.294
Florida A&M	5	–	11		.313			7	–	23		.233
North Carolina A&T	1	–	15		.063			3	–	29		.094
*ineligible for postseason due to APR violations
† 2017 MEAC tournament winner

Previous season

The Eagles finished the 2015–16 season 13–19, 7–9 in MEAC play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They beat Howard in the first round of the MEAC tournament, before falling to Norfolk State in the quarterfinals.

Preseason

The Eagles were picked to finish in fourth place in the preseason MEAC poll. Patrick Cole was named to the preseason All-MEAC second team.

Roster

2016–17 North Carolina Central Eagles men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Raekwon Harney 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Winston-Salem, North Carolina G 1 C.J. Wiggins 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Richmond, Virginia G 3 Rashaun Madison 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Norfolk, Virginia F 5 Del'Vin Dickerson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Houston, Texas G 10 Dajuan Graf 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Sr Charlotte, North Carolina G 11 Patrick Cole 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Newark, New Jersey G 12 Alex Mills 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Laurens, South Carolina F 13 Pablo Rivas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Phoenix, Arizona G 21 Marius McAllister 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Durham, North Carolina F 25 Kyle Benton 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Long Beach, California G 33 Ron Trapps 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Lancaster, South Carolina F 34 Michael Wolfe 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Germantown, Maryland F 42 Will Ransom 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Fort Worth, Texas G 55 John Guerra 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Cary, North Carolina	Head coach LeVelle Moton (North Carolina Central) Assistant coach(es) Luke D'Alessio (Catholic University of America) Reggie Sharp (Auburn) Eric Wilson (Western Carolina) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/12/2016* 12:00 pm		at Marshall Global Sports Invitational	L 69–81	0–1	Cam Henderson Center (5,375) Huntington, WV
11/14/2016* 9:00 pm, ESPNU		at Ohio State Global Sports Invitational	L 63–69	0–2	Value City Arena (9,787) Columbus, OH
11/16/2016* 7:30 pm, ESPN3		at Western Carolina Global Sports Invitational	W 67–59	1–2	Ramsey Center (1,495) Cullowhee, NC
11/18/2016* 8:00 pm		Jackson State Global Sports Invitational	W 84–75	2–2	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,979) Durham, NC
11/26/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		at Northern Kentucky	W 82–74	3–2	BB&T Arena (2,141) Highland Heights, KY
11/28/2016* 7:00 pm, SECN		at Missouri	W 62–52	4–2	Mizzou Arena (4,123) Columbia, MO
12/01/2016* 7:00 pm		Southern Wesleyan	W 92–55	5–2	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,278) Durham, NC
12/03/2016* 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at East Carolina	L 56–69	5–3	Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (4,638) Greenville, NC
12/06/2016* 7:00 pm		LIU Brooklyn	W 79–56	6–3	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (772) Durham, NC
12/10/2016* 2:00 pm		at Coastal Carolina	L 67–70	6–4	HTC Center (1,907) Conway, SC
12/13/2016* 9:00 pm, SECN		at LSU	L 66–70	6–5	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (6,415) Baton Rouge, LA
12/17/2016* 4:00 pm		at McNeese State	W 74–66	7–5	Burton Coliseum (597) Lake Charles, LA
12/28/2016* 7:00 pm		Truett McConnell	W 88–54	8–5	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (674) Durham, NC
12/30/2016* 7:00 pm		Montreat	W 101–66	9–5	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (773) Durham, NC
MEAC regular season
01/10/2017 4:00 pm		Delaware State	L 68–69	9–6 (0–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (859) Durham, NC
01/11/2017 6:00 pm		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 69–52	10–6 (1–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,052) Durham, NC
01/14/2017 6:30 pm		at Norfolk State	W 72–57	11–6 (2–1)	Joseph G. Echols Memorial Hall (2,064) Norfolk, VA
01/16/2017 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Hampton	W 64–51	12–6 (3–1)	Hampton Convocation Center (4,545) Hampton, VA
01/23/2017 7:30 pm		Howard	W 74–39	13–6 (4–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,661) Durham, NC
01/28/2017 4:00 pm		North Carolina A&T	W 82–59	14–6 (5–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (3,210) Durham, NC
01/30/2017 7:30 pm		at Delaware State	W 82–74	15–6 (6–1)	Memorial Hall (943) Dover, DE
02/04/2017 7:30 pm		at Morgan State	W 68–62	16–6 (7–1)	Talmadge L. Hill Field House (1,103) Baltimore, MD
02/06/2017 7:30 pm		at Coppin State	W 86–77	17–6 (8–1)	Physical Education Complex (788) Baltimore, MD
02/11/2017 4:00 pm		South Carolina State	W 85–62	18–6 (9–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,639) Durham, NC
02/13/2017 7:30 pm		Florida A&M	W 78–73	19–6 (10–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (986) Durham, NC
02/18/2017 4:00 pm		at Maryland Eastern Shore	W 82–69	20–6 (11–1)	Hytche Athletic Center (4,837) Princess Anne, MD
02/20/2017 7:00 pm		at Howard	W 66–59	21–6 (12–1)	Burr Gymnasium (876) Washington, D.C.
02/25/2017 7:30 pm		Bethune–Cookman	W 78–63	22–6 (13–1)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (1,662) Durham, NC
02/27/2017 7:30 pm		Savannah State	L 73–74	22–7 (13–2)	McLendon–McDougald Gymnasium (2,276) Durham, NC
03/02/2017 7:30 pm		at North Carolina A&T	L 63–68	22–8 (13–3)	Corbett Sports Center (5,700) Greensboro, NC
MEAC tournament
03/08/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (9) Bethune–Cookman Quarterfinals	W 95–60	23–8	Norfolk Scope (7,233) Norfolk, VA
03/10/2017 6:00 pm, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (5) Maryland Eastern Shore Semifinals	W 77–49	24–8	Norfolk Scope (13,331) Norfolk, VA
03/11/2017 1:00 pm, ESPN2	(1)	vs. (2) Norfolk State Championship	W 67–59	25–8	Norfolk Scope (7,111) Norfolk, VA
NCAA Tournament
03/15/2017* 6:40 PM, truTV	(16 MW)	vs. (16 MW) UC Davis First Four	L 63–67	25–9	UD Arena (11,528) Dayton, OH
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Eastern Time.