2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
Conference Missouri Valley Conference
2016–17 record 4–4 (0–0 MVC)
Head coach Marty Simmons (10th year)
Assistant coach Doug Novsek
Assistant coach Lennox Forrester
Assistant coach Geoff Alexander
Home arena Ford Center
2016–17 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Loyola–Chicago 0 0       5 1   .833
Missouri State 0 0       3 1   .750
Northern Iowa 0 0       3 1   .750
Wichita State 0 0       5 2   .714
Bradley 0 0       3 3   .500
Southern Illinois 0 0       3 3   .500
Evansville 0 0       2 2   .500
Indiana State 0 0       2 3   .400
Illinois State 0 0       1 2   .333
Drake 0 0       1 4   .200
2017 MVC Tournament winner

The 2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represents 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, play their home games at the Ford Center and are members of the Missouri Valley Conference.

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]

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Mislav Brzoja 5 G 6'4" 215 RS Junior Zagreb, Croatia Playing professional overseas in Europe[2]
Adam Wing 12 G 6'4" 205 Senior Morehead, KY Graduated
Harris Brown 13 G 5'11" 175 Freshman Indianapolis, IN Transferred to Dodge City CC
D. J. Balentine 31 G 6'2" 210 Senior Kokomo, IN Graduated
Egidijus Mockevičius 55 C 6'10" 225 Senior Kuršėnai, Lithuania Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Dalen Traore 15 C 6'9" 250 Junior Ivory Coast Junior college transferred from Miami Dade College.

Class of 2016 recruits

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  
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 
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  
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)  
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:

Roster

2016–17 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Home town
G 2 Benzon, ChristianChristian Benzon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr The Rock School Copenhagen, Denmark
G 3 Brown, JaylonJaylon Brown 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Fishers Fishers, IN
G 4 Eaves, JaiveonJaiveon Eaves 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Madisonville-North Hopkins Madisonville, KY
F 5 Hainna, SolomonSolomon Hainna 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Palisades Charter
Midland College
Inglewood, CA
G 12 Smith, DruDru Smith 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Reitz Evansville, IN
C 14 Vucetic, SergejSergej Vucetic 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 238 lb (108 kg) RS Sr Aim
Nebraska
Vrbas, Serbia
C 15 Traore, DalenDalen Traore 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Northwood Temple Academy
Miami Dade College
Ivory Coast
F 23 Wiley, WillieWillie Wiley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Vincennes Springfield, IL
G 25 Gibson, DuaneDuane Gibson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS Jr Villa Angela-St. Joseph Cleveland, OH
F 35 Hall, JohnJohn Hall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Standard of Excellence Philadelphia, PA
F 44 Howard, DavidDavid Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Montgomery Bell Nashville, TN
G/F 50 Simmons, BlakeBlake Simmons 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Castle Newburgh, IN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

[3]

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   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

12/10/2016*
3:00 PM, ESPN3
Murray State   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

12/14/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Norfolk State   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

12/17/2016*
7:00 PM
at Austin Peay   
Dunn Center 
Clarksville, TN

12/22/2016*
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Mount St. Joseph   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Missouri Valley regular season

12/30/2016
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at Illinois State   
Redbird Arena 
Peoria, IL

01/01/2017
3:00 PM, ESPN3
Northern Iowa   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

01/04/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Bradley   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

01/08/2017
3:00 PM, ESPNU/ESPN3
at Drake   
Knapp Center 
Des Moines, IA

01/11/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at Missouri State   
JQH Arena 
Springfield, MO

01/14/2017
1:00 PM, FSMW/CSNCH
Southern Illinois   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

01/17/2017
8:00 PM, CBSSN
Wichita State   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

01/21/2017
3:00 PM, ESPN3
at Loyola–Chicago   
Joseph J. Gentile Arena 
Chicago, IL

01/25/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at Northern Iowa   
McLeod Center 
Cedar Falls, IA

01/29/2017
3:00 PM, ESPNU/ESPN3
Illinois State   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

02/01/2017
6:00 PM, ESPN3
at Indiana State   
Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, IN

02/04/2017
3:00 PM, ESPN3
Missouri State   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

02/08/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Loyola–Chicago   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

02/11/2017
3:00 PM, FSMW/CSNCH
at Southern Illinois   
JQH Arena 
Springfield, MO

02/14/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
Drake   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN

02/18/2017
1:00 PM, ESPN3
at Bradley   
Carver Arena 
Peoria, IL

02/21/2017
7:00 PM, ESPN3
at Wichita State   
Charles Koch Arena 
Wichita, KS

02/25/2017
1:00 PM
Indiana State   
Ford Center 
Evansville, IN
Missouri Valley Tournament

03/02–05/2017
vs.    
Scottrade Center 
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

  1. TN, Streamline Technologies - Nashville,. "Shockers Tabbed as MVC Men's Hoops Favorite". Missouri Valley Conference. 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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