2016 – 17 East Tennessee State Buccaneers basketball team represented East Tennessee State University during the 2016 – 17 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Buccaneers , led by second-year head coach Steve Forbes , played their home games at the Freedom Hall Civic Center in Johnson City , Tennessee as of the Southern Conference . They finished the season 27 – 8 , 14 – 4 in SoCon play to finish in a three-way tie for the SoCon regular season championship . They defeated Mercer , Samford and UNC Greensboro to win the SoCon Tournament . As a result , they received the conference 's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 13 seed in the East region . There they lost in the First Round to Florida
SoCon Tournament
2017 Southern Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2016–17 East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's basketball team