2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by 30th year head coach Rick Byrd, played their home games at the Curb Event Center and were members of the Ohio Valley Conference in the East Division. They finished the season 20–12, 12–4 in OVC play to be champions of the East Division and overall OVC regular season champions. They lost in the semifinals of the OVC tournament to Austin Peay. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Georgia.

2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball
OVC regular season champions
OVC East Division champions
NIT, First Round
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
DivisionEast Division
Record20–12 (12–4 OVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Brian Ayers
  • James Strong
  • Mark Price
Home arenaCurb Event Center
Seasons
2015–16 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
Belmont 12 4   .750 20 12   .625
Tennessee State 11 5   .688 20 11   .645
Tennessee Tech 11 5   .688 19 12   .613
Morehead State 11 5   .688 23 14   .622
Eastern Kentucky 6 10   .375 15 16   .484
Jacksonville State 4 12   .250 8 23   .258
West
UT Martin 10 6   .625 20 15   .571
Murray State 10 6   .625 17 14   .548
Eastern Illinois 9 7   .563 13 17   .433
Austin Peay 7 9   .438 18 18   .500
SIU Edwardsville 3 13   .188 6 22   .214
Southeast Missouri St. 2 14   .125 5 24   .172
2016 OVC tournament winner

Roster

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2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G/F 0 Alex Martin (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Overland Park, Kansas
G 1 Austin Luke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Rowlett, Texas
F 2 Nick Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Bentonville, Arkansas
G/F 3 Dylan Windler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Indianapolis, Indiana
F 5 Jeff Laidig 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Mishawaka, Indiana
G 20 Taylor Barnette 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Lexington, Kentucky
G 21 Burton Sampson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Knoxville, Tennessee
G 23 Craig Bradshaw 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Ridgetop, Tennessee
G 24 Micahel Benkert 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Greenwood, Indiana
F 25 Mack Mercer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Plymouth, Indiana
G 30 Kevin McClain 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Jennings, Florida
F 31 Josh Lester (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Antioch, Tennessee
F 32 Amanze Egekeze 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lake in the Hills, Illinois
F 35 Evan Bradds 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Jamestown, Ohio
C 41 Tyler Hadden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS So Cincinnati, Ohio
C 50 Seth Adelsperger 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Peru, Indiana
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule

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[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015*
8:00 pm, FSN
at Marquette
Legends Classic
W 83–80  1–0
BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,628)
Milwaukee, WI
11/16/2015*
9:00 pm, P12N
at Arizona State
Legends Classic
L 74–83  1–1
Wells Fargo Arena (4,549)
Tempe, AZ
11/18/2015*
6:00 pm, ASN
WKU W 90–85  2–1
Curb Event Center (3,253)
Nashville, TN
11/21/2015*
12:00 pm, ESPN3
at Evansville L 88–93  2–2
Ford Center (4,227)
Evansville, TN
11/23/2015*
3:00 pm
vs. South Alabama
Legends Classic
W 98–85  3–2
KSU Convocation Center (1,262)
Kennesaw, GA
11/24/2015*
5:30 pm
at Kennesaw State
Legends Classic
W 80–55  4–2
KSU Convocation Center (812)
Kennesaw, GA
11/28/2015*
8:00 pm, BYUtv
at BYU L 81–95  4–3
Marriott Center (13,712)
Provo, UT
12/01/2015*
7:00 pm
Lipscomb
Battle of the Boulevard
W 105–89  5–3
Curb Event Center (3,094)
Nashville, TN
12/03/2015*
7:00 pm
at Valparaiso L 57–61  5–4
Athletics–Recreation Center (3,379)
Valparaiso, IN
12/07/2015*
6:30 pm, ESPN3
at Lipscomb
Battle of the Boulevard
W 93–84  6–4
Allen Arena (4,420)
Nashville, TN
12/15/2015*
7:00 pm
Ouachita Baptist W 80–54  7–4
Curb Event Center (1,124)
Nashville, TN
12/17/2015*
6:00 pm, ASN
at Middle Tennessee L 62–83  7–5
Murphy Center (5,555)
Murfreesboro, TN
12/19/2015*
6:00 pm, ESPN3
at Cleveland State L 75–77  7–6
Wolstein Center 
Clelveland, OH
12/28/2015*
7:00 pm
Valparaiso W 85–81  8–6
Curb Event Center (3,024)
Nashville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference regular season
12/31/2015
12:00 pm
at Southeast Missouri State W 92–82  9–6
(1–0)
Show Me Center (1,135)
Cape Giraradeau, MO
01/06/2016
7:00 pm, ASN
at SIU Edwardsville W 85–77  10–6
(2–0)
Vadalabene Center (1,007)
Edwardsville, IL
01/09/2016
2:00 pm
Eastern Illinois W 85–59  11–6
(3–0)
Curb Event Center (2,054)
Nashville, TN
01/14/2016
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Murray State W 81–73  12–6
(4–0)
Curb Event Center (2,522)
Nashville, TN
01/16/2016
7:00 pm
Austin Peay W 76–58  13–6
(5–0)
Curb Event Center (2,407)
Nashville, TN
01/21/2016
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Tennessee–Martin W 82–72  14–6
(6–0)
Skyhawk Arena (3,598)
Martin, TN
01/23/2016
7:00 pm
Tennessee State W 103–95  15–6
(7–0)
Curb Event Center (2,213)
Nashville, TN
01/28/2016
7:00 pm
at Jacksonville State W 72–63  16–6
(8–0)
Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,488)
Jacksonville, AL
01/30/2016
7:00 pm
at Tennessee Tech L 79–89  16–7
(8–1)
Eblen Center (4,428)
Cookeville, TN
02/04/2016
7:00 pm
Morehead State W 73–67  17–7
(9–1)
Curb Event Center (1,559)
Nashville, TN
02/06/2016
5:00 pm
Eastern Kentucky L 78–88  17–8
(9–2)
Curb Event Center (2,286)
Nashville, TN
02/10/2016
7:30 pm
Jacksonville State W 81–73  18–8
(10–2)
Curb Event Center (1,828)
Nashville, TN
02/13/2016
11:00 am, CBSSN
at Morehead State L 77–78  18–9
(10–3)
Ellis Johnson Arena (3,845)
Morehead, KY
02/18/2016
8:00 pm, ESPNU
at Eastern Kentucky W 86–78  19–9
(11–3)
McBrayer Arena (4,200)
Richmond, KY
02/20/2016
5:00 pm
Tennessee Tech W 95–86  20–9
(12–3)
Curb Event Center (5,074)
Nashville, TN
02/28/2016
2:30 pm
at Tennessee State L 72–87  20–10
(12–4)
Gentry Complex (6,845)
Nashville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
03/04/2016
6:30 pm, ESPNU
(1) vs. (8) Austin Peay
Semifinals
L 96–97 OT 20–11
Nashville Municipal Auditorium (2,167)
Nashville, TN
National Invitation tournament
03/16/2016*
6:00 pm, ESPN2
(6) at (3) Georgia
First Round – Valparaiso Bracket
L 84–93  20–12
Stegeman Coliseum (2,965)
Athens, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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  1. ^ "2015-16 Belmont Men's Basketball Schedule - Belmont Bruins".