The 2016–17 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at Fifth Third Arena, with a capacity of 13,176. The season marked the final year prior to major renovations to Fifth Third Arena. The Bearcats were led by 11th-year head coach Mick Cronin and were members of the American Athletic Conference. They finished the season 30–6, 16–2 to finish in second place in AAC play. They beat Tulsa and UConn in the AAC tournament before losing to SMU in the championship game. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 6 seed in the South region. They defeated No. 11-seeded Kansas State in the first round before losing to No. 3-seeded UCLA in the second round.
Previous season The Bearcats finished the 2015–16 season with a record of 22–11, 12–6 in AAC play to finish in a tie for third place in conference. They lost to UConn in four overtimes in the quarterfinals of the AAC tournament. The Bearcats received an at-large bid as a No. 9 seed to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Saint Joseph's in the first round.
Preseason At AAC Media Day, Cincinnati was picked to win the AAC regular season title and senior guard Troy Caupain was voted as AAC Preseason Co-Player of the Year. In addition, Gary Clark and Caupain were named to the Preseason All-AAC First Team.
Offseason
Departing players Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes 2 F 235 Memphis, Tennessee Graduated 21 G 170 West Palm Beach, Florida Graduated 22 C 275 Holland, Michigan Graduated 24 F 210 Paterson, New Jersey Graduated
Incoming transfers Name Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes G 170 East Hartford, CT Transferred from Sacred Heart. Under NCAA transfer rules, Broome will have to sit out for the 2016–17 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Recruiting class of 2016
Recruiting class of 2017
Roster
Depth chart
Source
Schedule and results
!colspan=6 style=| Exhibition
!colspan=6 style=| Regular Season
!colspan=12 style=|AAC Tournament
!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament
Awards and milestones
American Athletic Conference honors
All-AAC Awards Sixth Man Award: Jarron Cumberland Sportsmanship Award: Troy Caupain
All-AAC Second Team Troy Caupain Kyle Washington
All-Rookie Team Jarron Cumberland
Player of the Week Week 4: Kyle Washington Week 7: Gary Clark Week 12: Jarron Cumberland
Rookie of the Week Week 6: Jarron Cumberland Week 8: Jarron Cumberland Week 17: Jarron Cumberland
Rankings
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
References