2015–16 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

2015–16 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball
Big West regular season co-champion
Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational champion
CIT, Runner-up
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record28–10 (13–3 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ali Ton
  • Ryan Badrtalei
  • Nick Booker
Home arenaBren Events Center
Seasons
2015–16 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Hawai'i 13 3   .813 28 6   .824
UC Irvine 13 3   .813 28 10   .737
Long Beach State 12 4   .750 20 15   .571
UC Santa Barbara 11 5   .688 19 14   .576
UC Davis 6 10   .375 11 19   .367
UC Riverside 5 11   .313 14 19   .424
Cal State Northridge* 5 11   .313 10 20   .333
Cal Poly 4 12   .250 10 20   .333
Cal State Fullerton 3 13   .188 10 20   .333
*ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed ban due to academic fraud violations
2016 Big West tournament winner

The 2015–16 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by sixth year head coach Russell Turner and played their home games at the Bren Events Center. They are members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 28–10, 13–3 in Big West play to win a share of the regular season Big West championship. They defeated Cal Poly in the quarterfinals of the Big West tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Long Beach State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated North Dakota, Louisiana–Lafayette, and Coastal Carolina to advance to the championship game where they lost to Columbia. This season, UC Irvine set the new season record in wins with 28, surpassing the previous mark of 25. They also set the records for most true road wins with 13, and most conference wins with 13. Alex Young became the first player in school history to record career 1,000 points, 500 assists, and 500 rebounds. Mamadou N'Diaye broke the school record in career blocked shots with 218.

Off-Season

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2015 Recruiting Class

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College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Brandon Smith
SF
Santa Ana, CA Godinez Fundamental High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jul 7, 2014 
Star ratings: Rivals:3/5 stars   247SportsN/A    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Justin Wertner
SG
Collierville, TN Saint George Academy 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Aug 4, 2014 
Star ratings: RivalsN/A   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN:3/5 stars   ESPN grade: 75
Max Hazzard
PG
Los Angeles, CA Loyola High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Oct 7, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN:2/5 stars   ESPN grade: 69
Darrian Traylor
SG
Las Vegas, NV Centennial High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jul 14, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN:2/5 stars   ESPN grade: 64
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: n/a   Rivals: n/a  ESPN: n/a
  • 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:

  • "ESPN - UC Irvine Basketball Recruiting 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 20, 2017.

Roster

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2015–16 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
C 33 Mike Best 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr San Rafael, California
G 3 Haitham Chehabi 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 187 lb (85 kg) Fr Laguna Beach, California
F/C 12 Ioannis Dimakopoulos 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Jr Patras, Greece
G 24 Dominique Dunning 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Sr Corona, California
F 5 Jonathan Galloway 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Fr Brentwood, California
G 2 Max Hazzard Current redshirt 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Los Angeles, California
G 0 Jaron Martin 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Sunland, California
C 34 Mamadou N'Diaye 7 ft 6 in (2.29 m) 290 lb (132 kg) Jr Dakar, Sengal
G 10 Luke Nelson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Jr Worthing, England
F 20 Shawn Rey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 232 lb (105 kg) Sr Torrance, California
G 25 Spencer Rivers 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Winter Park, Florida
G 11 Haroldas Saprykinas 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Klaipėda, Lithuania
F 13 Brandon Smith 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Santa Ana, California
G 23 Darrian Traylor Current redshirt 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Las Vegas, Nevada
G 32 Aaron Wright 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Sr Cerritos, California
G 1 Alex Young 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 176 lb (80 kg) Sr Phoenix, Oregon
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule

[edit]

Sources:[1][2][3][4]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/07/2015*
7:00 pm, Big West TV
Vanguard W 83–59 
Bren Events Center (2,411)
Irvine, CA
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015*
7:00 pm, Big West TV
UC San Diego W 89–73  1–0
Bren Events Center (2,969)
Irvine, CA
11/15/2015*
5:00 pm, KDOC Big West TV
Loyola Marymount W 77–53  2–0
Bren Events Center (2,077)
Irvine, CA
11/18/2015*
4:00 pm, ESPN3
at UCF W 61–60 OT 3–0
CFE Arena (5,629)
Orlando, FL
11/23/2015*
7:00 pm, Big West TV
Santa Clara
Wooden Legacy Non-bracketed round
W 79–61  4–0
Bren Events Center (2,359)
Irvine, CA
11/26/2015*
1:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Boise State
Wooden Legacy Quarterfinals
L 64–71  4–1
Titan Gym (2,341)
Fullerton, CA
11/27/2015*
12:00 pm, ESPN3
vs. Boston College
Wooden Legacy Consolation round
W 80–67  5–1
Titan Gym (3,173)
Fullerton, CA
11/29/2015*
11:30 am, ESPNU
vs. Evansville
Wooden Legacy 5th place Game
L 56–75  5–2
Honda Center (4,393)
Anaheim, CA
12/04/2015*
7:00 pm, W.TV
at Pacific W 70–67  6–2
Alex G. Spanos Center (2,111)
Stockton, CA
12/06/2015*
4:00 pm, CHN W.TV
at Saint Mary's L 60–70  6–3
McKeon Pavilion (2,333)
Moraga, CA
12/12/2015*
6:00 pm, Root
at Utah State W 73–63  7–3
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum (8,857)
Logan, UT
12/15/2015*
8:00 pm, P12N
at Oregon L 63–78  7–4
Matthew Knight Arena (5,863)
Eugene, OR
12/18/2015*
7:00 pm, Big West TV
Chapman W 65–51  8–4
Bren Events Center (1,721)
Irvine, CA
12/21/2015*
4:00 pm
vs. Sam Houston State
Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Semifinals
W 63–53  9–4
Don Haskins Center (7,746)
El Paso, TX
12/22/2015*
6:00 pm
vs. Norfolk State
Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational Championship
W 80–62  10–4
Don Haskins Center (5,946)
El Paso, TX
12/29/2015*
6:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 2 Kansas L 53–78  10–5
Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence KS
01/02/2016*
7:30 pm, KDOC Big West TV
New Mexico State W 54–52  11–5
Bren Events Center (2,866)
Irvine, CA
Big West regular season
01/07/2016
7:30 pm, Prime Ticket
UC Davis W 76–55  12–5
(1–0)
Bren Events Center (2,831)
Irvine, CA
01/09/2016
8:00 pm, ESPNU
UC Riverside W 84–68  13–5
(2–0)
Bren Events Center (4,233)
Irvine, CA
01/14/2016
7:30 pm, Prime Ticket
at Long Beach State W 58–54  14–5
(3–0)
Walter Pyramid (3,713)
Long Beach, CA
01/16/2016
4:00 pm, Big West TV
at UC Santa Barbara W 61–52  15–5
(4–0)
The Thunderdome (3,527)
Santa Barbara, CA
01/20/2016
7:30 pm, Prime Ticket
Cal State Fullerton W 72–59  16–5
(5–0)
Bren Events Center (2,211)
Irvine, CA
01/27/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Cal State Northridge W 73–63  17–5
(6–0)
Matadome (2,157)
Northridge, CA
01/30/2016
7:00 pm, ESPNU
UC Santa Barbara
Homecoming
L 60–76  17–6
(6–1)
Bren Events Center (5,000)
Irvine, CA
02/03/2016
7:00 pm, Big West TV
at Cal Poly W 78–72 OT 18–6
(7–1)
Mott Gym (1,877)
San Luis Obispo, CA
02/11/2016
10:00 pm, OC Sports Big West TV
at Hawaii L 52–74  18–7
(7–2)
Stan Sheriff Center (9,826)
Honolulu, HI
02/13/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Cal State Northridge W 93–84  19–7
(8–2)
Bren Events Center (2,486)
Irvine, CA
02/17/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
at Cal State Fullerton W 96–77  20–7
(9–2)
Titan Gym (1,209)
Fullerton, CA
02/20/2016
8:30 pm, ESPNU
Hawaii L 71–75  20–8
(9–3)
Bren Events Center (4,312)
Irvine, CA
02/24/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN3
Long Beach State W 90–67  21–8
(10–3)
Bren Events Center (2,654)
Irvine, CA
02/27/2016
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at UC Davis W 62–61  22–8
(11–3)
The Pavilion (4,573)
Davis, CA
03/03/2016
8:30 pm, ESPN3
Cal Poly W 72–62  23–8
(12–3)
Bren Events Center (3,004)
Irvine, CA
03/05/2016
2:00 pm, Big West TV
at UC Riverside W 76–66  24–8
(13–3)
The SRC (766)
Riverside, CA
Big West tournament
03/10/2016
6:00 pm, Prime Ticket
(2) vs. (7) Cal Poly
Quarterfinals
W 84–64  25–8
Honda Center 
Anaheim, CA
03/11/2016
9:00 pm, ESPNU
(2) vs. (3) Long Beach State
Semifinals
L 72–77  25–9
Honda Center 
Anaheim, CA
CIT
03/16/2016*
5:00 pm, Midco SN / SideArm Sports/Big Sky TV
at North Dakota
First round
W 89–86 OT 26–9
Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,263)
Grand Forks, ND
03/23/2016*
5:15 pm, Side Arm Sports
at Louisiana–Lafayette
Quarterfinals
W 67–66  27–9
Cajundome (1,901)
Lafayette, LA
03/27/2016*
6:00 pm, CBSSN
at Coastal Carolina
Semifinals
W 66–47  28–9
HTC Center (1,204)
Conway, SC
03/29/2016*
4:00 pm, CBSSN
at Columbia
Championship game
L 67–73  28–10
Levien Gymnasium (2,603)
New York City, NY
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Pacific Time.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "'UC Irvine Set for Challenging 2015-16 Schedule". UC Irvine athletics. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
  2. ^ "'Big West Releases 2015-65 ESPN Men's Basketball Television Schedule". Big West Conference. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "'Prime Ticket Unveils 2015-16 Big West Basketball Television Schedule". Big West Conference. Retrieved September 17, 2015.
  4. ^ "'Big West Announces ESPN3 Basketball Package". Retrieved September 23, 2015.