2016–17 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season
The 2016–17 Big Ten men's basketball season began with practices in October 2016, followed by the start of the 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season in November. The Conference held its preseason media day on October 13 in Washington, D.C. The season began on November 11 and conference play started on December 27.
| 2016–17 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season | |
|---|---|
| League | NCAA Division I |
| Sport | Basketball |
| Number of teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | Big Ten Network, ESPN, CBS |
| 2017 NBA draft | |
| 2016–17 NCAA Division I men's basketball season | |
| Regular season champions | Purdue |
| Runners-up | Wisconsin and Maryland |
| Season MVP | Caleb Swanigan |
| Top scorer | Peter Jok |
| Tournament | |
| Champions | Michigan |
| Runners-up | Wisconsin |
| Finals MVP | Derrick Walton Jr. |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Purdue | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 27 | – | 8 | .771 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Wisconsin | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 27 | – | 10 | .730 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 12 | – | 6 | .667 | 24 | – | 9 | .727 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 24 | – | 10 | .706 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 23 Michigan † | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 26 | – | 12 | .684 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 24 | – | 12 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 15 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 19 | – | 15 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 20 | – | 15 | .571 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 18 | – | 16 | .529 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 15 | – | 18 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 12 | – | 19 | .387 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 15 | – | 18 | .455 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2017 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
With a win over Indiana on February 28, 2017, Purdue clinched at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship. With Wisconsin's loss on March 2, Purdue clinched an outright championship, their 23rd championship, the most in Big Ten history.
The Big Ten tournament was held from March 8 through March 12 at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. It was the first Big Ten Conference tournament not held in Indianapolis or Chicago. Michigan won the Big Ten tournament over Wisconsin, becoming the first eight seed and lowest seeded team to win the conference tournament and marking their first win since their vacated win in the inaugural tournament. As a result, Michigan received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Purdue forward Caleb Swanigan was named Big Ten Player of the Year and a second team Academic All-America. Minnesota coach Richard Pitino was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Swanigan earned consensus first team All-American recognition and Wisconsin forward Ethan Happ was a third team All-American by multiple media outlets.
Seven Big Ten schools (Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue, and Wisconsin) were invited to the NCAA tournament, marking the seventh consecutive year the Big Ten had at least six teams in the Tournament. Northwestern received a bid for the first time in school history. Illinois, Indiana, and Iowa represented the conference in the National Invitation Tournament. The conference achieved an 8–7 record in the NCAA tournament and a 3–3 record in the NIT, highlighted by Michigan, Purdue, and Wisconsin reaching the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and Illinois making the NIT quarterfinals.