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.
Previous season 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 Northern Illinois was picked to finish in third place in the West Division in the MAC preseason poll. Marin Maric was selected to the West Division All-MAC preseason team.
Departures 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 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
Recruiting class of 2017
Roster
Schedule and results
!colspan=9 style="background:#; color:#;"| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#; color:#;"| MAC regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#; color:#;"| MAC tournament
See also 2016–17 Northern Illinois Huskies women's basketball team
References