2016 – 17 Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men 's basketball team represented California State University , Bakersfield during the 2016 – 17 NCAA Division I men 's basketball season . The Roadrunners , led by sixth-year head coach Rod Barnes , played their home games at the Icardo Center as members of the Western Athletic Conference . They finished the season 25 – 10 , 12 – 2 in WAC play to win the regular season WAC championship . They defeated Utah Valley to advance to the championship game of the WAC Tournament where they lost to New Mexico State . As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament , they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament . As a No. 8 seed , they defeated California , Colorado State , and Texas – Arlington to become the first No. 8 seed to advance to the semifinals since the NIT introduced seeding in 2006 . In the semifinals at Madison Square Garden they lost to Georgia Tech
WAC Tournament
2017 WAC Men's Basketball Tournament
2016–17 Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners men's basketball team