The 2016–17 George Washington Colonials men's basketball team represented George Washington University during the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonials were led by interim head coach Maurice Joseph. They played their home games at the Charles E. Smith Center in Washington, D.C. as members of the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Head coach Mike Lonergan was fired on September 17, 2016, after the school concluded a two-month investigation into alleged emotional abuse against his players. Maurice Joseph was named interim head coach on September 27.
They finished the regular season 20–15, 10–8 in A-10 play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Saint Louis in the second round of the A-10 tournament before losing in the quarterfinals to Richmond. They were invited to the College Basketball Invitational where they defeated Toledo in the first round before losing in the quarterfinals to UIC.
On March 27, 2017, the school removed the interim tag and named Joseph full-time head coach.
Previous season The Colonials finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 28–10, 11–7 in A–10 play to finish in fifth place. In the A–10 Tournament, the Colonials defeated Saint Louis before losing to Saint Joseph's in the quarterfinals. The Colonials received a bid to the National Invitation Tournament and defeated Hofstra, Monmouth, and Florida to advance to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden. There, they defeated San Diego State by 20 points to advance to the championship game. In the championships game, the Colonials defeated Valparaiso 76–60 to win the NIT Championship.
Offseason Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Matt Cimino 45 F 6'10" 213 Sophomore Falmouth, ME Transferred to American Patricio Garino 13 G 6'6" 208 Senior Mar del Plata, Argentina Graduated Paul Jorgensen 3 G 6'2" 183 Sophomore New York, NY Transferred to Butler Kevin Larsen 21 F 6'10" 260 Senior Copenhagen, Denmark Graduated Joe McDonald 22 G 6'1" 194 Senior Lorton, VA Graduated Alex Mitola 1 G 5'11" 170 GS Senior Florham Park, NJ Graduated Anthony Swan 4 G 6'7" 190 Sophomore Los Angeles, CA Transferred to Cal State Northridge
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Patrick Steeves 10 F 6'7" 220 Senior Montreal, QE Transferred from Harvard. Will be eligible to play immediately since Steeves graduated from Harvard.
2016 recruiting class
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style=| Japanese exhibition tour
!colspan=12 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=12 style=| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Atlantic 10 regular season
!colspan=12 style=| Atlantic 10 tournament
!colspan=12 style=| College Basketball Invitational
See also 2016–17 George Washington Colonials women's basketball team
References