The 2016–17 Illinois State Redbirds men's basketball team represented Illinois State University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Redbirds, led by fifth-year head coach Dan Muller, played their home games at Redbird Arena in Normal, Illinois as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 28–7, 17–1 in conference play, to finish in a tie for first place. As the number one seed in the MVC tournament, they defeated Evansville in their quarterfinal game and Southern Illinois in their semifinal game before being beaten by Wichita State in the final.
Although not winning the conference tournament, the Redbirds held the tie-breaker for the regular season title and, as a result, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament. They were awarded a number one seed where they defeated California–Irvine in their first round game before losing to Central Florida in their second round game.
Previous season The Redbirds finished the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 18–14, 12–6 in conference play, to finish in a tie for second place. They were the number three seed and were beaten by Indiana State in their quarterfinal game.
Offseason
Departures Name # Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Comment Quintin Brewer 2 F 6'8" 215 RS Sr Atlanta, GA Graduation DeVaughn Akoon–Purcell 44 G 6'5" 185 Sr Orlando, FL Graduation Justin McCloud 15 G 6'4" 198 Sr Bottineau, ND Graduation Nick Banyard 0 F 6'8" 225 RS Jr Flower Mound, TX Graduation;(graduate transfer Central Florida) Roland Griffin 35 F 6'7" 210 Fr Aurora, IL Midland College Elvis Harvey 22 F 6'8" 210 Fr South Bay, FL Tallahassee Community College
Arrivals Transfers Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Prior School D J Clayton F 6'6" 184 Jr Oakland, CA Palm Beach State College Milik Yarbrough F 6'6" 230 Jr Zion, IL Saint Louis Phil Fayne F 6'9" 200 So Elk Grove, CA Western Nebraska Community College Christian Romine F/C 6'9" 220 So Mahomet, IL Texas–El Paso
Recruiting class
Preseason The Redbirds were picked to finish second in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll. MiKyle McIntosh and Paris Lee were selected to the All-MVC preseason team.
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=|Exhibition Season
!colspan=9 style=|Non-Conference Regular Season
!colspan=9 style=|Missouri Valley Conference Regular Season
!colspan=9 style=|Missouri Valley Conference Tournament
!colspan=9 style=|National Invitation Tournament
Source
References