2015–16 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team


The 2015–16 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, serving his second year. The Bulldogs played their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse, which has a capacity of approximately 9,100.[1] This was Butler's third season in the Big East Conference. They finished the season 22–11, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to Providence. The Bulldogs received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Texas Tech in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to Virginia.

2015–16 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record22–11 (10–8 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaHinkle Fieldhouse
Seasons
2015–16 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 6 Villanova 16 2   .889 35 5   .875
No. 9 Xavier 14 4   .778 28 5   .848
No. 20 Seton Hall 12 6   .667 25 9   .735
Providence 10 8   .556 24 11   .686
Butler 10 8   .556 22 11   .667
Creighton 9 9   .500 20 15   .571
Marquette 8 10   .444 20 13   .606
Georgetown 7 11   .389 15 18   .455
DePaul 3 15   .167 9 22   .290
St. John's 1 17   .056 8 24   .250
2016 Big East tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Bulldogs finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 23–11, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. Butler received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #6 seed and defeated Texas in the second round before losing in the Third Round to Notre Dame.

Off season

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With starting point guard Alex Barlow graduating in May 2015, Butler needed to add some depth in the guard position to back up Kellen Dunham and Tyler Lewis, who will be coming off of a redshirt season in 2014–15 due to transfer rules. On March 29, 2015, Jordan Gathers, a 6'3" combo guard from St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 Conference announced his commitment to Butler after sitting out a season due to a hip injury.[2] Barely a week and a half later, Butler gained another transfer from the Atlantic 10, this time in Kethan Savage from George Washington University.[3] Savage, a 6'3" guard, will have to sit out a year per NCAA transfer regulations and will be available for the 2016–17 season. Gathers completed his degree at St. Bonaventure in three and a half years and therefore is immediately eligible to play.

There were also some changes in the coaching staff in the off season. On April 27, Butler announced the hire of Ryan Pedon, former assistant to Illinois head coach (and former Butler assistant) John Groce, as an assistant coach. Emerson Kampen, who was promoted to an assistant coaching position following Chris Holtmann's appointment as interim HC, was named Butler's new basketball analyst for the 2014-15 season.[4]

Another major change occurred in August when it was announced that the playing surface in Hinkle Fieldhouse — the oldest playing surface still in use in the NCAA — was being sanded down to prepare for the new Bulldog logo at center court. The new design does not include the word "Butler" underneath the bulldog, and replaces the word "Bulldogs" on both end lines with "Butler." Also, the home sideline will have "Hinkle Fieldhouse" painted on it.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Jackson Aldridge 11 G 6'0" 180 Senior Lane Cove, Australia Graduated
Alex Barlow 3 G 5'11" 185 Senior Springboro, OH Graduated
Kameron Woods 31 F 6'9" 200 Senior Middletown, KY Graduated

2015 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Nate Fowler
Center
Cincinnati, OH Archbishop Moeller HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (110 kg) May 27, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 80
Sean McDermott
Shooting Guard
Pendleton, IN Pendleton Heights HS 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) May 30, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Jordan Gathers
Shooting Guard (Transfer)
Woodland Hills, CA William Howard Taft HS / St. Bonaventure 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Mar 29, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPNN/A   ESPN grade: NR
Kethan Savage
Shooting Guard (Transfer)
Alexandria, VA Episcopal HS / George Washington 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Apr 11, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN:    ESPN grade: 88
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 Butler Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  • "Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball Recruiting 2015". Scout.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  • "Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball Recruiting 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 18, 2015.

Roster

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2015–16 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 25 Steven Bennett (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 196 lb (89 kg) Jr New Castle New Castle, IN
F 45 Andrew Chrabascz 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jr Cushing Portsmouth, RI
G 24 Kellen Dunham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Pendleton Heights Pendleton, IN
G/F 21 Roosevelt Jones 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr O'Fallon O'Fallon, IL
F 30 Kelan Martin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Ballard Louisville, KY
F 4 Tyler Wideman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 246 lb (112 kg) So Lake Central Merrillville, IN
F 13 Jackson Davis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 233 lb (106 kg) So Lafayette Lexington, KY
F 0 Austin Etherington 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Hamilton Heights (Indiana) Cicero, IN
G 1 Tyler Lewis 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 169 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Oak Hill Academy (VA) (N.C. State) Statesville, NC
G 10 Trey Pettus (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 198 lb (90 kg) Jr MICDS St. Louis, MO
C 51 Nate Fowler 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Archbishop Moeller Cincinnati, OH
G 22 Sean McDermott   6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Fr Pendleton Heights Pendleton, IN
G 5 Jordan Gathers 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr William Howard Taft (St. Bonaventure) Woodland Hills, CA
G 11 Kethan Savage   6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 201 lb (91 kg) RS Jr Episcopal (George Washington) Alexandria, VA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: April 28, 2015[5]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
Oct 31, 2015*
2:00 pm, WISH-TV
No. 24 Taylor W 79–44 
 14  Tied   11  Wideman   3  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,892)
Indianapolis, IN
Nov 7, 2015*
7:00 pm, WISH-TV
No. 24 Saint Joseph's W 106–66 
 19  Jones   11  Davis   8  Lewis  Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,960)
Indianapolis, IN
Non-conference regular season
Nov 14, 2015*
7:30 pm, FS2
No. 24 The Citadel W 144–71  1–0
 24  Dunham   11  Jones   8  Chrabascz  Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,440)
Indianapolis, IN
Nov 19, 2015*
1:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 22 vs. Missouri State
Puerto Rico Tip-Off Quarterfinals
W 93–59  2–0
 18  Tied   10  Jones   10  Lewis  Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,601)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nov 20, 2015*
1:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 vs. Temple
Puerto Rico Tip-Off Semifinals
W 74–69  3–0
 16  Tied   11  Jones   5  Dunham  Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,814)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nov 22, 2015*
7:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 22 vs. Miami (FL)
Puerto Rico Tip-Off Championship
L 75–85  3–1
 23  Dunham   10  Wideman   5  Jones  Roberto Clemente Coliseum (5,309)
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Nov 28, 2015*
5:00 pm, FS2
SIU Edwardsville W 89–73  4–1
 32  Dunham   6  Tied   11  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,026)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 2, 2015*
7:00 pm, CBSSN
at No. 17 Cincinnati W 78–76  5–1
 24  Dunham   9  Wideman   4  Lewis  Fifth Third Arena (11,125)
Cincinnati, OH
Dec 5, 2015*
12:00 pm, FS1
Indiana State W 85–71  6–1
 24  Martin   8  Jones   7  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,142)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 7, 2015*
7:00 pm, FSN
No. 18 VMI W 93–66  7–1
 20  Martin   8  Tied   5  Lewis  Hinkle Fieldhouse (6,202)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 12, 2015*
2:30 pm, FS1
No. 18 Tennessee W 94–86  8–1
 25  Martin   11  Martin   10  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 19, 2015*
5:00 pm, BTN
No. 17 vs. No. 9 Purdue
Crossroads Classic
W 74–68  9–1
 19  Jones   11  Jones   5  Jones  Bankers Life Fieldhouse (19,156)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 22, 2015*
8:30 pm, FS2
No. 9 Southern Utah W 88–52  10–1
 15  Wideman   10  Jones   8  Lewis  Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,128)
Indianapolis, IN
Dec 28, 2015*
7:00 pm, FS2
No. 9 IUPUI W 92–54  11–1
 19  Martin   6  Tied   7  Lewis  Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,210)
Indianapolis, IN
Big East Conference Play
Dec 31, 2015
2:30 pm, CBSSN
No. 9 No. 12 Providence L 73–81  11–2
(0–1)
 20  Martin   9  Martin   4  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,100)
Indianapolis, IN
Jan 2, 2016
1:00 pm, FS1
No. 9 at No. 6 Xavier
Big East New Year's Marathon
L 69–88  11–3
(0–2)
 14  Jones   7  Martin   6  Jones  Cintas Center (10,498)
Cincinnati, OH
Jan 5, 2016
8:00 pm, FSN
No. 18 at DePaul W 77–72  12–3
(1–2)
 24  Dunham   5  Wideman   7  Lewis  Allstate Arena (5,427)
Rosemont, IL
Jan 10, 2015
7:30 pm, FS1
No. 18 No. 11 Villanova L 55–60  12–4
(1–3)
 20  Jones   6  Wideman   3  Wideman  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,144)
Indianapolis, IN
Jan 16, 2016
Noon, FS1
No. 23 St. John's W 78–58  13–4
(2–3)
 24  Dunham   10  Martin   4  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,144)
Indianapolis, IN
Jan 19, 2016
6:30 pm, FS1
No. 18 at No. 16 Providence L 68–71  13–5
(2–4)
 21  Dunham   11  Martin   5  Jones  Dunkin' Donuts Center (10,918)
Providence, RI
Jan 23, 2016
7:30 pm, FS1
No. 18 at Creighton L 64–72  13–6
(2–5)
 22  Martin   11  Martin   4  Jones  CenturyLink Center (17,677)
Omaha, NE
Jan 27, 2016
7:00 pm, CBSSN
DePaul W 67–53  14–6
(3–5)
 23  Jones   9  Wideman   4  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,611)
Indianapolis, IN
Jan 30, 2016
Noon, FS1
at Marquette L 69–75  14–7
(3–6)
 27  Martin   8  Wideman   6  Jones  BMO Harris Bradley Center (15,234)
Milwaukee, WI
Feb 2, 2016
7:00 pm, FS1
Georgetown W 87–76  15–7
(4–6)
 35  Martin   9  Chrabascz   5  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (8,080)
Indianapolis, IN
Feb 6, 2016
4:30 pm, FSN
at St. John's W 89–56  16–7
(5–6)
 18  Martin   14  Jones   10  Jones  Carnesecca Arena (5,602)
Queens, NY
Feb 10, 2016
6:30 pm, FS1
at Seton Hall W 81–75  17–7
(6–6)
 23  Martin   10  Martin   6  Chrabascz  Prudential Center (7,476)
Newark, NJ
Feb 13, 2016
2:30 pm, FOX
No. 5 Xavier L 57–74  17–8
(6–7)
 15  Martin   12  Martin   4  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,344)
Indianapolis, IN
Feb 16, 2016
7:00 pm, FS1
Creighton W 88–75  18–8
(7–7)
 21  Martin   8  Martin   6  Tied  Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,330)
Indianapolis, IN
Feb 20, 2016
2:30 pm, FOX
at No. 1 Villanova L 67–77  18–9
(7–8)
 19  Martin   8  Dunham   3  Wideman  The Pavilion (6,500)
Villanova, PA
Feb 27, 2016
Noon, CBS
at Georgetown W 90–87 OT 19–9
(8–8)
 29  Dunham   8  Wideman   4  Chrabascz  Verizon Center (10,142)
Washington, D.C.
Mar 2, 2016
8:30 pm, FS1
Seton Hall W 85–78  20–9
(9–8)
 22  Dunham   9  Martin   5  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (7,392)
Indianapolis, IN
Mar 5, 2016
2:30 pm, FSN
Marquette W 95–74  21–9
(10–8)
 18  Etherington   9  Martin   6  Jones  Hinkle Fieldhouse (9,244)
Indianapolis, IN
Big East tournament
Mar 10, 2016
2:30 pm, FS1
(5) vs. (4) Providence
Quarterfinals
L 60–74  21–10
 17  Dunham   10  Martin   5  Jones  Madison Square Garden (14,863)
New York, NY
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 2016*
12:40 pm, truTV
(9 MW) vs. (8 MW) Texas Tech
First Round
W 71–61  22–10
 23  Dunham   8  Jones   6  Jones  PNC Arena (19,722)
Raleigh, NC
Mar 19, 2016*
7:10 pm, TBS
(9 MW) vs. (1 MW) No. 4 Virginia
Second Round
L 69–77  22–11
 25  Chrabascz   5  Tied   2  Tied  PNC Arena (19,433)
Raleigh, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest Region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

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Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Received votes.
Poll Pre Wk 1 Wk 2 Wk 3 Wk 4 Wk 5 Wk 6 Wk 7 Wk 8 Wk 9 Wk 10 Wk 11 Wk 12 Wk 13 Wk 14 Wk 15 Wk 16 Wk 17 Wk 18 Post Final
AP 24 24 22 RV RV 18 17 9 9 18 23 18 RV NR NR NR NR NR RV RV N/A
Coaches 22 22 20 RV 25 21 18 12 10 19 23 24 RV RV NR NR NR NR RV RV RV

Awards

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Name Award(s)
Kellen Dunham Preseason All-Big East First Team[6]
Big East Player of the Week – Nov. 29–Dec.5[7]
All-Big East Honorable Mention[8]
Big East Sportsmanship Award[9]
Big East Scholar-Athlete of the Year[10]
Roosevelt Jones Preseason All-Big East First Team[11]
Puerto Rico Tip-Off All-Tournament Team[12]
Big East Player of the Week – Dec. 13–19[13]
CBS Sports National Player of the Week – Week 13[14]
All-Big East Second Team[15]
Kelan Martin Big East Player of the Week – Dec. 6–12[16]
Big East Player of the Week – Jan. 31–Feb. 6[17]
All-Big East Second Team[18]

References

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  1. ^ Hinkle capacity
  2. ^ "St. Bonaventure guard commits to Butler". indystar.com. Indy Star. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  3. ^ "George Washington transfer commits to Butler". nbcsports.com. NBC Sports. Retrieved April 18, 2015.
  4. ^ "Butler Announces Men's Basketball Coaching Appointments". butlersports.com. Butler University. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  5. ^ "2015-16 Butler Bulldogs". Butlersports.com. Butler University. Archived from the original on July 12, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  6. ^ "Providence's Kris Dunn Named Preseason Player of the Year". Big East Conference. October 14, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  7. ^ "Butler's Dunham Named MBB Player of the Week". Big East Conference. December 7, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  8. ^ "Four Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team". Big East Conference. March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  9. ^ "Providence's Dunn Named Defensive Player of the Year, Other Awards Announced". Big East Conference. March 7, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  10. ^ "Butler's Kellen Dunham Named BIG EAST Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year". Big East Conference. March 9, 2016. Retrieved March 9, 2016.
  11. ^ "Providence's Kris Dunn Named Preseason Player of the Year". Big East Conference. October 14, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  12. ^ "Puerto Rico native Rodriguez Named Tourney MVP". ESPN. November 23, 2015. Archived from the original on December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2015.
  13. ^ "Butler's Jones, Xavier's Sumner Earn MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 21, 2015.
  14. ^ "Butler's Roosevelt Jones wins player of the week after rare triple-double". CBS Sports. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  15. ^ "Four Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team". Big East Conference. March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.
  16. ^ "Butler's Martin, Marquette's Ellenson Take MBB Weekly Honors". Big East Conference. December 14, 2015. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
  17. ^ "Butler's Martin, Xavier's Sumner Claim MBB Weekly Awards". Big East Conference. February 8, 2016. Retrieved February 8, 2016.
  18. ^ "Four Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team". Big East Conference. March 6, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2016.