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
AAC Tournament
2017 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2016–17 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team