2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by 10th-year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 16–17, 6–12 to finish in eighth place in MVC play. They defeated Indiana State in the MVC Tournament before losing to Illinois State in the quarterfinals.

2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2016–17 record16–17 (6–12 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFord Center
2016–17 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Illinois State171 .944  287  .800
No. 19 Wichita State171 .944  315  .861
Northern Iowa99 .500  1416  .467
Southern Illinois99 .500  1716  .515
Loyola (IL)810 .444  1814  .563
Missouri State711 .389  1716  .515
Bradley711 .389  1320  .394
Evansville612 .333  1617  .485
Indiana State513 .278  1120  .355
Drake513 .278  724  .226
2017 MVC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Purple Aces finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 25–9, 12–6 in Missouri Valley play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Missouri State and Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Tournament to advance to the championship game where they lost to Northern Iowa. Despite having 25 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Preseason

Evansville was picked to finish ninth in the conference's preseason poll.[1]

Offseason

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Mislav Brzoja5G6'4"215RS JuniorZagreb, CroatiaPlaying professional overseas in Europe[2]
Adam Wing12G6'4"205SeniorMorehead, KYGraduated
Harris Brown13G5'11"175FreshmanIndianapolis, INTransferred to Dodge City CC
D. J. Balentine31G6'2"210SeniorKokomo, INGraduated
Egidijus Mockevičius55C6'10"225SeniorKuršėnai, LithuaniaGraduated

Incoming transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Dalen Traore15C6'9"250JuniorIvory CoastJunior college transferred from Miami Dade College.

2016 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Silas Adheke
#40 C
Chattanooga, TN Hamilton Heights Christian Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 77
Dru Smith
SG
Evansville, IN Reitz Memorial High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A Sep 23, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jaiveon Eaves
SG
Madisonville, KY Madisonville North Hopkins High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) N/A  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
John Hall
SF
Philadelphia, PA Standard of Excellence Academy 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg)  
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/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.

    Roster

    2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 2 Christian Benzon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) SrThe Rock School Copenhagen, Denmark
    G 3 Jaylon Brown 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) SrFishers Fishers, IN
    G 4 Jaiveon Eaves 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)200 lb (91 kg) FrMadisonville-North Hopkins Madisonville, KY
    F 5 Solomon Hainna 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrPalisades Charter
    Midland College
    Inglewood, CA
    G 12 Dru Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) FrReitz Evansville, IN
    C 14 Sergej Vucetic 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)238 lb (108 kg) RS SrAim
    Nebraska
    Vrbas, Serbia
    C 15 Dalen Traore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrNorthwood Temple Academy
    Miami Dade College
    Ivory Coast
    F 23 Willie Wiley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS SrVincennes Springfield, IL
    G 25 Duane Gibson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) RS JrVilla Angela-St. Joseph Cleveland, OH
    F 35 John Hall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) FrStandard of Excellence Philadelphia, PA
    F 44 David Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS SrMontgomery Bell Nashville, TN
    G/F 50 Blake Simmons 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrCastle Newburgh, IN
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

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

    Roster

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Non-conference regular season
    11/11/2016*
    7:00 pm, ACC Extra
    at No. 13 Louisville L 47–78  0–1
    KFC Yum! Center (21,129)
    Louisville, KY
    11/14/2016*
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    Alcorn State W 82–59  1–1
    Ford Center (3,669)
    Evansville, IN
    11/19/2016*
    12:00 pm, ESPN3
    Morehead State W 69–56  2–1
    Ford Center (3,386)
    Evansville, IN
    11/25/2016*
    5:00 pm
    vs. Toledo
    Challenge in Music City
    L 79–83 2OT 2–2
    Nashville Municipal Auditorium 
    Nashville, TN
    11/26/2016*
    5:00 pm
    vs. UNC Wilmington
    Challenge in Music City
    L 62–65  2–3
    Nashville Municipal Auditorium 
    Nashville, TN
    11/27/2016*
    5:30 pm
    vs. Middle Tennessee
    Challenge in Music City
    L 55–66  2–4
    Nashville Municipal Auditorium 
    Nashville, TN
    11/30/2016*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Wabash W 83–39  3–4
    Ford Center (3,234)
    Evansville, IN
    12/03/2016*
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    Boise State
    MW–MVC Challenge
    W 72–67  4–4
    Ford Center (3,773)
    Evansville, IN
    12/06/2016*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Bowling Green W 69–66  5–4
    Ford Center (3,513)
    Evansville, IN
    12/10/2016*
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Murray State W 78–46  6–4
    Ford Center (5,016)
    Evansville, IN
    12/14/2016*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Norfolk State W 85–66  7–4
    Ford Center (3,312)
    Evansville, IN
    12/17/2016*
    7:00 pm
    at Austin Peay W 77–69  8–4
    Dunn Center (1,428)
    Clarksville, TN
    12/22/2016*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Mount St. Joseph W 68–55  9–4
    Ford Center (4,017)
    Evansville, IN
    Missouri Valley regular season
    12/30/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Illinois State L 50–62  9–4
    (0–1)
    Redbird Arena (5,415)
    Bloomington, IL
    01/01/2017
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Northern Iowa W 70–58  10–4
    (1–1)
    Ford Center (5,277)
    Evansville, IN
    01/04/2017
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Bradley L 63–74  10–6
    (1–2)
    Ford Center (3,614)
    Evansville, IN
    01/08/2017
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Drake L 76–88  10–7
    (1–3)
    Knapp Center (2,688)
    Des Moines, IA
    01/11/2017
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Missouri State L 51–55  10–8
    (1–4)
    JQH Arena (3,253)
    Springfield, MO
    01/14/2017
    1:00 pm, FSMW/CSNCH/ESPN3
    Southern Illinois L 61–73  10–9
    (1–5)
    Ford Center (4,803)
    Evansville, IN
    01/17/2017
    8:00 pm, CBSSN
    Wichita State L 65–82  10–10
    (1–6)
    Ford Center (4,019)
    Evansville, IN
    01/21/2017
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Loyola–Chicago L 61–67  10–11
    (1–7)
    Joseph J. Gentile Arena (3,006)
    Chicago, IL
    01/25/2017
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Northern Iowa L 54–61  10–12
    (1–8)
    McLeod Center (3,782)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    01/29/2017
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Illinois State L 59–69  10–13
    (1–9)
    Ford Center (5,428)
    Evansville, IN
    02/01/2017
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Indiana State L 84–85 OT 10–14
    (1–10)
    Hulman Center (3,669)
    Terre Haute, IN
    02/04/2017
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Missouri State W 74–66  11–14
    (2–10)
    Ford Center (4,467)
    Evansville, IN
    02/08/2017
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Loyola–Chicago W 60–58  12–14
    (3–10)
    Ford Center (3,436)
    Evansville, IN
    02/11/2017
    3:00 pm, FSMW/CSNCH/ESPN3
    at Southern Illinois W 75–70  13–14
    (4–10)
    SIU Arena (5,490)
    Carbondale, IL
    02/14/2017
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Drake W 87–70  14–14
    (5–10)
    Ford Center (3,639)
    Evansville, IN
    02/18/2017
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Bradley L 72–84  14–15
    (5–11)
    Carver Arena (5,968)
    Peoria, IL
    02/21/2017
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at No. 25 Wichita State L 83–109  14–16
    (5–12)
    Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
    Wichita, KS
    02/25/2017
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    Indiana State W 65–63  15–16
    (6–12)
    Ford Center (4,913)
    Evansville, IN
    Missouri Valley Tournament
    03/02/2017
    6:05 pm, ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC
    (8) vs. (9) Indiana State
    First Round
    W 83–72  16–16
    Scottrade Center (5,057)
    St. Louis, MO
    03/03/2017
    12:00 pm, ESPN3/FSMW/CSNC
    (8) vs. (1) Illinois State
    Quarterfinals
    L 69–80  16–17
    Scottrade Center (8,648)
    St. Louis, MO
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    Source[3]

    References

    1. TN, Streamline Technologies - Nashville. "Shockers Tabbed as MVC Men's Hoops Favorite". Missouri Valley Conference. Archived from the original on 2016-10-28. Retrieved 2016-10-28.
    2. "Brzoja to leave Evansville, pursue pro hoops career in Europe". Retrieved 2016-08-30.
    3. http://www.gopurpleaces.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball&
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