2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team

The 2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks Men's Basketball team represented the University of North Dakota during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by tenth year head coach Brian Jones and played their home games at the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center. They were members of the Big Sky Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 10–8 in Big Sky play to finish in a tie for fifth place. They defeated Southern Utah and Idaho State to advance to the semifinals of the Big Sky tournament where they lost to Weber State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to UC Irvine.

2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball
CIT, First round
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	17–16 (10–8 Big Sky)
Head coach	Brian Jones (10th season)
Assistant coaches	Shawn Dirden Steve Grabowski Jeff Horner
Home arena	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Big Sky men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Weber State †	15	–	3		.833			26	–	9		.743
Montana	14	–	4		.778			21	–	12		.636
Idaho	12	–	6		.667			21	–	13		.618
Idaho State	11	–	7		.611			16	–	15		.516
Eastern Washington	10	–	8		.556			18	–	16		.529
North Dakota	10	–	8		.556			17	–	16		.515
Montana State	9	–	9		.500			14	–	17		.452
Portland State	8	–	10		.444			13	–	18		.419
Northern Colorado	7	–	11		.389			10	–	21		.323
Sacramento State	6	–	12		.333			14	–	17		.452
Northern Arizona	3	–	15		.167			5	–	25		.167
Southern Utah	3	–	15		.167			5	–	24		.172
† Conference tournament winner

Previous season

North Dakota finished the season 8–22, 4–14 in Big Sky play to finish in a three-way tie for tenth place. They failed to qualify for the Big Sky tournament.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Jaron Nash	1	F	6'8"	195	Senior	Waterloo, Iowa	Graduated
Cole Stefan	2	G	6'3"	190	Senior	Minnetonka, Minnesota	Graduated
Estan Tyler	3	G	6'1"	180	Junior	St. Paul, Minnesota	Left the team for personal reasons
Lenny Antwi	12	G	6'1"	190	Senior	Montreal, Quebec	Graduated
Terrel De Rouen	14	G	6'2"	185	Junior	Las Cruces, New Mexico	Left the team for personal reasons
Kraiq Shields	22	F	6'8"	190	Freshman	Kyle, Texas	Transferred to Midland College
Chad Calcaterra	33	F	6'9"	235	Senior	Cloquet, Minnesota	Graduated
Josiah Coleman	35	F	6'5"	195	Junior	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Transferred to UT Permian Basin
Ryan Salmonson	41	C	6'10"	235	Senior	Colfax, California	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Corey Baldwin	1	G	6'4"	195	Junior	Bridgeport, Connecticut	Junior college transferred from Northeastern Oklahoma A&M
Wheeler Baker	13	G	6'2"	175	Sophomore	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Transferred from Albany. Under NCAA transfer rules, Baker will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.

2015 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Adam McDermott SG	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Xavier High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Sep 22, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Cortez Seales PG	Eldridge, Iowa	North Scott High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 23, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Josh Collins SF	Minneapolis, Minnesota	De La Salle High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sep 28, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Conner Avants PF	Edmond, Oklahoma	Deer Creek-Lamont High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (100 kg)	Apr 11, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.

2016 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Billy Brown SG	Spirit Lake, Iowa	Spirit Lake High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jun 22, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Geno Crandall 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Fr DeLaSalle Minneapolis, Minnesota G 1 Corey Baldwin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Warren Harding Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Bridgeport, Connecticut F 2 Josh Collins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr DeLaSalle Minneapolis, Minnesota G 3 Adam McDermott 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Xavier Cedar Falls, Iowa C 5 Carson Shanks 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS So Prior Lake Utah State Prior Lake, Minnesota C 10 Shane Benton 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Sr Linn-Mar Cedar Rapids, Iowa G 13 Wheeler Baker (I)  6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Osseo Albany Brooklyn Park, Minnesota G 15 Cortez Seales 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr North Scott Eldridge, Iowa G 20 Thomas Blake (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Jr St. Maria Goretti Hagerstown, Maryland G 21 Quinton Hooker 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Park Center Brooklyn Park, Minnesota F 25 Dustin Hobaugh (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr League City Houston Baptist League City, Texas C 31 Bryce Cashman 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So West Platte Weston, Missouri F 32 Conner Avants 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Deer Creek Edmond, Oklahoma F 43 Drick Berstine 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Cherokee Trail Denver Aurora, Colorado F 50 James Richman (W) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Fr Maple Valley Tower City, North Dakota	Head coach Brian Jones (Northern Iowa) Assistant coach(es) Shawn Dirden (Idaho) Steve Grabowski (Minot State) Jeff Horner (Iowa) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

^[1]

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015* 3:00 pm	Minnesota–Morris	W 99–69	1–0	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,430) Grand Forks, North Dakota
11/17/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	at Wisconsin	L 64–78	1–1	Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, Wisconsin
11/21/2015* 3:00 pm	vs. Bowling Green FGCU Classic	W 77–59	2–1	Alico Arena (3,562) Fort Myers, Florida
11/22/2015* 6:00 pm, ESPN3	at Florida Gulf Coast FGCU Classic	L 60–73	2–2	Alico Arena (3,412) Fort Myers, Florida
11/23/2015* 3:00 pm	vs. Youngstown State FGCU Classic	L 69–79	2–3	Alico Arena (3,854) Fort Myers, Florida
11/28/2015* 2:00 pm, MidcoSN	Northern Iowa	L 51–97	2–4	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,302) Grand Forks, North Dakota
12/01/2015* 7:00 pm	Waldorf FGCU Classic	W 78–58	3–4	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,521) Grand Forks, North Dakota
12/05/2015* 7:00 pm	at Bradley	W 65–59 2OT	4–4	Carver Arena (5,557) Peoria, Illinois
12/11/2015* 7:30 pm, MidcoSN/FCS Central	North Dakota State	L 67–69	4–5	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,593) Grand Forks, North Dakota
12/17/2015* 7:30 pm	Valley City State	W 80–59	5–5	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,349) Grand Forks, North Dakota
12/22/2015* 7:00 pm, FSKC	at Kansas State	L 49–63	5–6	Bramlage Coliseum (12,440) Manhattan, Kansas
Big Sky regular season
12/31/2015 5:00 pm	Idaho	L 71–74	5–7 (0–1)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,436) Grand Forks, North Dakota
01/02/2016 2:00 pm	Eastern Washington	W 79–71	6–7 (1–1)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,542) Grand Forks, North Dakota
01/07/2016 8:00 pm	at Weber State	L 62–74	6–8 (1–2)	Dee Events Center (6,456) Ogden, Utah
01/09/2016 8:00 pm	at Idaho State	W 84–76	7–8 (2–2)	Holt Arena (1,526) Pocatello, Idaho
01/14/2016 7:00 pm	Montana State	W 85–68	8–8 (3–2)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,608) Grand Forks, North Dakota
01/16/2016 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/FCS Central	Montana	L 61–65	8–9 (3–3)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (3,287) Grand Forks, North Dakota
01/21/2016 7:30 pm	at Northern Arizona	W 101–59	9–9 (4–3)	Walkup Skydome  Flagstaff, Arizona
01/23/2016 5:00 pm	at Southern Utah	W 88–72	10–9 (5–3)	Centrum Arena (1,337) Cedar City, Utah
01/30/2016 8:00 pm	at Northern Colorado	L 70–71	10–10 (5–4)	Bank of Colorado Arena (2,016) Greeley, Colorado
02/04/2016 7:00 pm	Idaho State	W 76–60	11–10 (6–4)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,764) Grand Forks, North Dakota
02/06/2016 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/FCS Central	Weber State	W 78–71	12–10 (7–4)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,148) Grand Forks, North Dakota
02/11/2016 8:05 pm	at Eastern Washington	L 85–95	12–11 (7–5)	Reese Court (1,650) Cheney, Washington
02/13/2015 9:00 pm	at Idaho	L 64–65	12–12 (7–6)	Cowan Spectrum (1,537) Moscow, Idaho
02/20/2016 2:00 pm	Northern Colorado	W 74–73	13–12 (8–6)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (2,424) Grand Forks, North Dakota
02/25/2016 7:00 pm, MidcoSN2/FCS Central	Portland State	W 80–77	14–12 (9–6)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,734) Grand Forks, North Dakota
02/27/2016 2:00 pm, MidcoSN/FCS Central	Sacramento State	W 97–71	15–12 (10–6)	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,893) Grand Forks, North Dakota
03/03/2016 8:00 pm	at Montana	L 46–71	15–13 (10–7)	Dahlberg Arena (4,003) Missoula, Montana
03/05/2016 3:05 pm	at Montana State	L 82–89	15–14 (10–8)	Worthington Arena (2,585) Bozeman, Montana
Big Sky tournament
03/08/2016* 4:30 pm	vs. Southern Utah First round	W 85–80	16–14	Reno Events Center (1,406) Reno, Nevada
03/10/2016* 4:30 pm	vs. Idaho State Quarterfinals	W 83–49	17–14	Reno Events Center (1,003) Reno, Nevada
03/11/2016* 7:30 pm	vs. Weber State Semifinals	L 78–83 OT	17–15	Reno Events Center (2,362) Reno, Nevada
CIT
03/16/2016* 7:00 pm	UC Irvine First round	L 86–89 OT	17–16	Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,263) Grand Forks, North Dakota
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

1. "M Basketball – Schedule – UNDsports.com: Official Web Site of University of North Dakota Athletics". undsports.com. Retrieved September 25, 2015.