2015–16 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by first year head coach Ben Howland, played their home games at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in 11th place. They lost to Georgia in the second round of the SEC tournament.

2015–16 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	14–17 (7–11 SEC)
Head coach	Ben Howland (1st season)
Assistant coaches	George Brooks Wes Flanigan Ernie Zeigler
Home arena	Humphrey Coliseum
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 SEC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 Texas A&M	13	–	5		.722			28	–	9		.757
No. 10 Kentucky †	13	–	5		.722			27	–	9		.750
South Carolina	11	–	7		.611			25	–	9		.735
Vanderbilt	11	–	7		.611			19	–	14		.576
LSU	11	–	7		.611			19	–	14		.576
Ole Miss	10	–	8		.556			20	–	12		.625
Georgia	10	–	8		.556			20	–	14		.588
Florida	9	–	9		.500			21	–	15		.583
Arkansas	9	–	9		.500			16	–	16		.500
Alabama	8	–	10		.444			18	–	15		.545
Mississippi State	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Tennessee	6	–	12		.333			15	–	19		.441
Auburn	5	–	13		.278			11	–	20		.355
Missouri*	3	–	15		.167			10	–	21		.323
† 2016 SEC tournament winner *Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban. Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2014–15 season 13–19, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Auburn. On March 21, head coach Rick Ray was fired.^[1] Shortly thereafter, Ben Howland was hired as head coach.^[2]

Before the season

Departures

The Bulldogs lost 4 scholarship players, two to graduation and two transfers. The team also had 2 senior walkons graduate.

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Maurice Dunlap	0	Guard	6'2"	175	Freshman	Greenwood, MS	Transferred to Jones County JC
Trivante Bloodman	3	Guard	6'0"	190	Senior	Bronx, NY	Graduated
Isaiah Butler	5	Guard	6'2"	214	Senior	Brandon, MS	Graduated (Walk-on)
Jeffery Johnson	10	Guard	6'2"	173	Senior	Memphis, TN	Graduated (Walk-on)
Roquez Johnson	25	Forward	6'7"	214	Senior	Montgomery, AL	Graduated
Oliver Black	33	Guard	6'9"	215	Freshman	Jackson, MS	Transferred to Arkansas–Little Rock

Recruits

Malik Newman at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aric Holman PF	Owensboro, KY	Owensboro (KY)	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	May 21, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Malik Newman PG	Jackson, MS	Callaway (MS)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	174 lb (79 kg)	Apr 24, 2015
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Joseph Strugg PF	Montgomery, AL	George Washington Carver (AL)	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jun 11, 2013
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Quinndary Weatherspoon SG	Canton, MS	Velma Jackson (MS)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	Jul 30, 2014
	Star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16   Rivals: 25  247Sports: 23  ESPN: 19
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: "Mississippi State 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "2015 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.

In addition, the Bulldogs added a transfer in Xavian Stapleton from Louisiana Tech.^[3] Stapleton will have to sit out the 2015–16 but will then have 3 years of eligibility.

Roster

2015–16 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 Fred Thomas 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Sr Jim Hill HS Jackson, MS F 2 Demetrius Houston 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So G. W. Carver HS Montgomery, AL F 4 Johnny Zuppardo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr Jones County JC Bay St. Louis, MS G 11 Quinndary Weatherspoon 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 184 lb (83 kg) Fr Velma Jackson HS Camden, MS G 13 Xavian Stapleton  6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Madison Central HS Flora, MS G 14 Malik Newman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 174 lb (79 kg) Fr Callaway HS Jackson, MS G 15 I.J. Ready 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Parkview Magnet HS Little Rock, AR F 20 Gavin Ware 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Sr Starkville HS Starkville, MS C 22 Fallou Ndoye 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Findlay Prep Senegal F 23 Travis Daniels 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Shelton State CC Russellville, AL G 32 Craig Sword 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Sr G. W. Carver HS Montgomery, AL F 35 Aric Holman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Owensboro HS Owensboro, KY	Head coach Ben Howland (Weber State) Assistant coach(es) George Brooks (Mississippi State) Korey McCray (Mercer) Ernie Zeigler (Cleary) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

^[4]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/06/2015* 7:00 pm	Fort Valley State	W 95–56		Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, MS
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015* 8:00 pm, SECN	Eastern Washington	W 106–88	1–0	Humphrey Coliseum (9,931) Starkville, MS
11/16/2015* 7:00 pm	Southern	L 72–76	1–1	Humphrey Coliseum (5,895) Starkville, MS
11/19/2015* 4:00 pm, ESPN2	vs. Miami (FL) Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals	L 79–105	1–2	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,947) San Juan, PR
11/20/2015* 4:00 pm, ESPNU	vs. Texas Tech Puerto Rico Tip-Off consolation round	L 72–74	1–3	Roberto Clemente Coliseum  San Juan, PR
11/22/2015* 11:00 am, ESPN3	vs. Missouri State Puerto Rico Tip-Off 7th place game	W 84–70	2–3	Roberto Clemente Coliseum  San Juan, PR
11/28/2015* 12:00 pm	Tennessee–Martin	W 76–51	3–3	Humphrey Coliseum (7,150) Starkville, MS
12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, SECN	Texas Southern	W 86–73	4–3	Humphrey Coliseum (6,239) Starkville, MS
12/12/2015* 4:05 pm, ASN	at UMKC	L 67–72	4–4	Municipal Auditorium (2,886) Kansas City, MO
12/16/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN2	at Florida State	L 66–90	4–5	Donald L. Tucker Center (5,466) Tallahassee, FL
12/19/2015* 3:00 pm, SECN	Tulane	W 69–59	5–5	Humphrey Coliseum (4,804) Starkville, MS
12/23/2015* 7:00 pm, SECN	vs. Northern Colorado	W 93–69	6–5	Mississippi Coliseum (4,512) Jackson, MS
12/31/2015* 1:00 pm	North Carolina Central	W 71–48	7–5	Humphrey Coliseum (2,016) Starkville, MS
SEC regular season
01/06/2016 8:00 pm, SECN	No. 21 Texas A&M	L 60–61	7–6 (0–1)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,693) Starkville, MS
01/09/2016 2:30 pm, SECN	at Arkansas	L 68–82	7–7 (0–2)	Bud Walton Arena (11,157) Fayetteville, AR
01/12/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN	at No. 14 Kentucky	L 74–80	7–8 (0–3)	Rupp Arena (23,897) Lexington, KY
01/16/2016 2:30 pm, SECN	Tennessee	L 75–80	7–9 (0–4)	Humphrey Coliseum (5,926) Starkville, MS
01/19/2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU	at Florida	L 78–81	7–10 (0–5)	O'Connell Center (8,250) Gainesville, FL
01/23/2016 1:00 pm, SECN	Ole Miss	W 83–77	8–10 (1–5)	Humphrey Coliseum (8,932) Starkville, MS
01/26/2016 6:00 pm, SECN	at South Carolina	L 74–84	8–11 (1–6)	Colonial Life Arena (12,764) Columbia, SC
01/30/2016 7:30 pm, SECN	at Missouri	W 76–62	9–11 (2–6)	Mizzou Arena (7,175) Columbia, MO
02/02/2016 8:00 pm, SECN	Alabama	L 80–82 OT	9–12 (2–7)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,265) Starkville, MS
02/06/2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2	at LSU	L 77–88	9–13 (2–8)	Maravich Center (13,123) Baton Rouge, LA
02/09/2016 8:00 pm, SECN	Arkansas	W 78–46	10–13 (3–8)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,272) Starkville, MS
02/13/2016 7:00 pm, SECN	Georgia	L 57–66	10–14 (3–9)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,811) Starkville, MS
02/16/2016 8:00 pm, SECN	Vanderbilt	W 75–74	11–14 (4–9)	Humphrey Coliseum (6,194) Starkville, MS
02/20/2016 1:30 pm, SECN	at Alabama	W 67–61	12–14 (5–9)	Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL
02/24/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2	at No. 21 Texas A&M	L 66–68	12–15 (5–10)	Reed Arena (8,312) College Station, TX
02/27/2016 1:30 pm, SECN	South Carolina	W 68–58	13–15 (6–10)	Humphrey Coliseum (7,488) Starkville, MS
03/02/2016 6:00 pm, SECN	at Ole Miss	L 78–86	13–16 (6–11)	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS
03/05/2016 1:30 pm, SECN	Auburn	W 79–66	14–16 (7–11)	Humphrey Coliseum (7,722) Starkville, MS
SEC tournament
03/10/2016 8:30 pm	vs. Georgia Second round	L 69–79	14–17	Bridgestone Arena (11,750) Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

See also

2015–16 Mississippi State Lady Bulldogs basketball team