2016–17 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies, led by sixth-year head coach Mark Montgomery, played their home games at the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Illinois as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 15–17, 7–11 in MAC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. As the No. 9 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the first round to Eastern Michigan.

2016–17 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record15–17 (7–11 MAC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Jon Borovich
  • Lou Dawkins
  • Jason Larson
Home arenaConvocation Center
Seasons
2016–17 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Akron 14 4   .778 27 9   .750
Ohio 11 7   .611 20 11   .645
Buffalo 11 7   .611 17 15   .531
Kent State 10 8   .556 22 14   .611
Bowling Green 7 11   .389 13 19   .406
Miami (OH) 4 14   .222 11 21   .344
West
Ball State 11 7   .611 21 13   .618
Western Michigan 11 7   .611 16 16   .500
Toledo 9 9   .500 17 17   .500
Eastern Michigan 7 11   .389 16 17   .485
Northern Illinois 7 11   .389 15 17   .469
Central Michigan 6 12   .333 16 16   .500
2017 MAC tournament winner

Previous season

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The Huskies finished the 2015–16 season 21–13, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament before losing to Ohio in the quarterfinals. They received an invitation to the inaugural Vegas 16, which only had eight teams, and lost in the quarterfinals to UC Santa Barbara.

Preseason

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Northern Illinois was picked to finish in third place in the West Division in the MAC preseason poll.[1] Marin Maric was selected to the West Division All-MAC preseason team.[1]

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Travon Baker 5 G 5'10" 170 Senior Detroit, MI Graduated
Darrell Bowie 10 G/F 6'7" 220 Senior Milwaukee, WI Graduated
Chuks Iroegbu 11 G/F 6'4" 210 RS Senior Elk Grove, CA Graduated
Jordan Thomas 12 G 5'11" 185 Sophomore Northfield, IL Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons
Michael Orris 24 G 6'2" 200 RS Junior Crete, IL Graduate transferred to South Dakota State
Jay DeHaan 25 G 6'2" 185 Sophomore Naperville, IL Walk-on; transferred to UW–Parkside

Incoming Transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Lacey James 4 F 6'9" 220 Sophomore Grand Rapids, MI Transferred from Rider. Under NCAA transfer rules, James will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. Will join the team as a preferred walk-on.
Sean Damaska 21 C 6'7" 252 RS Senior Milton, GA Transferred from Indiana. Will be eligible to play immediately since Damaska graduated from Indiana. Will join the team as a preferred walk-on.

Recruiting class of 2016

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Eugene German
PG
Gary, IN 21st Century Charter School 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Jun 21, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Noah McCarty
PF
Sterling, IL Newman Central Catholic High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Aug 9, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Nick Wagner
PG
Galesville, WI Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sep 6, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
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. Retrieved October 5, 2016.

Recruiting class of 2017

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US college sports recruiting information for 2017 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Owen Hamilton
#37 C
Prescott, WI Prescott High School 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sep 18, 2016 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
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:

Roster

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2016–17 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Marshawn Wilson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Hill-Murray Oakdale, MN
G 2 Laytwan Porter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Auburn Rockford, IL
G 3 Dontel Highsmith 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Dowagiac Dowagiac, MI
F 4 Lacey James (I, W)   6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Wayland Union
Rider
Grand Rapids, MI
G 5 Justin Thomas 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Pike Indianapolis, IN
G 10 Eugene German 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr 21st Century Charter Gary, IN
F 11 Noah McCarthy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Sterling Newman Rock Falls, IL
F 15 Jaylen Key 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Homestead Mequon, WI
C 21 Sean Damaska (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 252 lb (114 kg) RS Sr Bleesed Trinity Catholic
Indiana
Milton, GA
G 23 Aaric Armstead 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr La Jolla Prep Chicago, IL
G 30 Nick Wagner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau Galesville, WI
G 31 Austin Pauga 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So IMG Academy Naperville, IL
C 32 Andrew Zelis 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Sr Wheaton North
Kaskaskia College
Wheaton, IL
G 33 Jon Siu (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 255 lb (116 kg) So Middlesex School Hong Kong
C 34 Marin Maric 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr La Lumiere School Split, Croatia
G/F 42 Levi Bradley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Pius XI Milwaukee, WI
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
Non-conference regular season
11/11/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Indiana State W 80–78 OT 1–0
Convocation Center (1,565)
DeKalb, IL
11/14/2016*
7:00 PM
Roosevelt W 99–55  2–0
Convocation Center (756)
DeKalb, IL
11/16/2016*
8:00 PM, ESPN3
Idaho W 63–49  3–0
Convocation Center (1,430)
DeKalb, IL
11/19/2016*
10:00 PM
at Cal State Northridge L 82–84  3–1
Matadome (886)
Northridge, CA
11/23/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Cal Poly
NIU Thanksgiving Classic
L 64–68  3–2
Convocation Center (844)
DeKalb, IL
11/25/2016*
1:00 PM
Elon
NIU Thanksgiving Classic
L 80–85 2OT 3–3
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
11/26/2016*
3:30 PM
UIC
NIU Thanksgiving Classic
W 92–81  4–3
Convocation Center 
DeKalb, IL
11/30/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at Indiana State L 52–63  4–4
Hulman Center (3,730)
Terre Haute, IN
12/11/2016*
4:00 PM, BTN
at Minnesota L 57–77  4–5
Williams Arena (8,625)
Minneapolis, MN
12/14/2016*
7:00 PM
Olivet Nazarene W 95–69  5–5
Convocation Center (523)
DeKalb, IL
12/17/2016*
6:00 PM
at FIU W 60–53  6–5
FIU Arena (810)
Miami, FL
12/20/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at South Florida W 59–48  7–5
USF Sun Dome (2,129)
Tampa, FL
12/31/2016*
3:30 PM
Illinois–Springfield W 77–62  8–5
Convocation Center (1,083)
DeKalb, IL
MAC regular season
01/03/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Miami (OH) L 67–69  8–6
(0–1)
Millett Hall (1,151)
Oxford, OH
01/07/2017
3:30 PM
Central Michigan W 87–83  9–6
(1–1)
Convocation Center (1,717)
DeKalb, IL
01/10/2017
6:00 PM
at Kent State W 74–70  10–6
(2–1)
MAC Center (2,033)
Kent, OH
01/14/2017
11:00 AM, ESPN3
at Bowling Green W 69–52  11–6
(3–1)
Stroh Center 
Bowling Green, OH
01/17/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Miami (OH) W 62–58  12–6
(4–1)
Convocation Center (1,053)
DeKalb, IL
01/21/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Ohio L 69–78  12–7
(4–2)
Convocation Center (2,167)
DeKalb, IL
01/24/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Kent State L 66–73  12–8
(4–3)
Convocation Center (868)
DeKalb, IL
01/28/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Toledo W 74–72  13–8
(5–3)
Savage Arena (4,864)
Toledo, OH
01/31/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Akron L 73–76  13–9
(5–4)
Convocation Center (1,042)
DeKalb, IL
02/04/2017
3:30 PM, ESPN3
Eastern Michigan W 81–69  14–9
(6–4)
Convocation Center (2,443)
DeKalb, IL
02/07/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Buffalo L 45–65  14–10
(6–5)
Alumni Arena (3,212)
Amherst, NY
02/11/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Western Michigan L 67–76  14–11
(6–6)
University Arena (3,140)
Kalamazoo, MI
02/14/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Ball State L 72–81  14–12
(6–7)
Convocation Center (759)
DeKalb, IL
02/18/2017
3:30 PM, ESPN3
Toledo L 80–88 OT 14–13
(6–8)
Convocation Center (2,007)
DeKalb, IL
02/21/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Central Michigan W 89–66  15–13
(7–8)
McGuirk Arena (2,531)
Mount Pleasant, MI
02/25/2017
11:00 AM, ESPN3
at Eastern Michigan L 68–84  15–14
(7–9)
Convocation Center (1,115)
Ypsilanti, MI
02/28/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Western Michigan L 56–70  15–15
(7–10)
Convocation Center (862)
DeKalb, IL
03/03/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Ball State L 82–87  15–16
(7–11)
Worthen Arena (4,457)
Muncie, IN
MAC tournament
03/06/2017
7:00 pm, ESPN3
(9) at (8) Eastern Michigan
first round
L 69–72  15–17
Convocation Center (981)
Ypsilanti, MI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "2016-17 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll, Preseason All-MAC Teams Announced". Mid-American Conference. Retrieved January 26, 2017.