2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Head coach Pat Chambers coached his fifth season with the team. They played its home games in University Park, Pennsylvania at the Bryce Jordan Center, with two games at Rec Hall, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in tenth place. They lost to Ohio State in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record16–16 (7–11 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaBryce Jordan Center
Rec Hall
Seasons
2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Indiana 15 3   .833 27 8   .771
No. 2 Michigan State 13 5   .722 29 6   .829
No. 18 Maryland 12 6   .667 27 9   .750
No. 12 Purdue 12 6   .667 26 9   .743
No. 25 Iowa 12 6   .667 22 11   .667
Wisconsin 12 6   .667 22 13   .629
Ohio State 11 7   .611 21 14   .600
Michigan 10 8   .556 23 13   .639
Northwestern 8 10   .444 20 12   .625
Penn State 7 11   .389 16 16   .500
Nebraska 6 12   .333 16 18   .471
Illinois 5 13   .278 15 19   .441
Minnesota 2 16   .111 11 20   .355
Rutgers 1 17   .056 7 25   .219
2016 Big Ten tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

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The Nittany Lions finished the 2014–15 season with an overall record of 18–16, with a record of 4–14 in the Big Ten regular season to finish in 13th place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Purdue.

Departures

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
John Johnson 1 G 6'1" 175 RS Junior Pittsburgh, PA Suspended[1]
D. J. Newbill 2 G 6'4" 205 RS Senior Philadelphia, PA Graduated
Geno Thorpe 13 G 6'3" 180 Sophomore Pittsburgh, PA Transferred to South Florida
Kevin Montminy 14 G 6'3" 185 Senior Centre Hall, PA Graduated
Alan Wisniewski 34 F 6'9" 230 Senior Sterling Heights, MI Graduated
Ross Travis 43 F 6'6" 225 Senior Chaska, MN Graduated

Incoming transfers

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Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Terrence Samuel 13 G 6'4" 202 Sophomore Brooklyn, NY Connecticut
  • Under NCAA transfer rules, Samuel will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Samuel will have three years of remaining eligibility entering the 2016–17 season.

Incoming recruits

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Josh Reaves
SG
Fairfax, VA Oak Hill Academy 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jul 1, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Mike Watkins
C
Philadelphia, PA The Phelps School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jun 12, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
Deividas Zemgulis
PF
Kaunas, Lithuania Saint Mary's Ryken 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) May 12, 2013 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN: 
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 June 22, 2015.

2016 Recruiting Class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Joe Hampton
SF
Mouth of Wilson, VA Oak Hill Academy 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 265 lb (120 kg) May 15, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: 79
Nazeer Bostick
PF
Philadelphia, PA Roman Catholic 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Apr 30, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247SportsN/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:

Personnel

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Roster

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2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 0 Payton Banks 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Lutheran Orange, CA
F 1 Deividas Zemgulis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr St. Mary Ryken Kaunas, Lithuania
G 3 Devin Foster 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Jefferson Township HS/Vincennes Dayton, OH
F 5 Donovan Jack 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Berks Catholic Reading, PA
F 10 Brandon Taylor 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Trenton Catholic Academy Tabernacle, NJ
G 11 Samuel Halle (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr West Springfield High School Springfield, VA
G 13 Terrence Samuel (I)   6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 202 lb (92 kg) Jr Victory Collegiate/Connecticut Brooklyn, NY
G 21 Isaiah Washington 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Fr Williamsport Area Williamsport, PA
G 23 Josh Reaves 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Oak Hill Academy Fairfax, VA
F 24 Mike Watkins 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Phelps School Philadelphia, PA
C 32 Jordan Dickerson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr IMG Academy/Abraham Lincoln HS/SMU Brooklyn, NY
G 33 Shep Garner 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Roman Catholic HS Philadelphia, PA
F 44 Julian Moore 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS So Germantown Acad Fort Washington, PA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Coaching staff

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Position Name Year Alma mater
Head coach Patrick Chambers 2011 Philadelphia University (1994)
Associate head coach Keith Urgo 2011 Fairfield University (2002)
Assistant coach Dwayne Anderson 2013 Villanova University (2009)
Assistant coach Ross Condon 2011 Villanova University (2007)
Director of Basketball Operations David Caporaletti 2011 Philadelphia University (1993)
On campus recruiting coordinator Nicholas Colella 2015 Penn State (2013)
Athletic trainer Jon Salazer 2001 Penn State (1993)
Director of player development Ryan Devlin 2013 Philadelphia University (2005)
Strength and conditioning coach Brandon Spayd 2013 Juniata College (2010)
Graduate Manager Evann Baker 2015 Quinnipiac University (2011)
Graduate Manager Kevin Hacke 2015 West Virginia University (2013)

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 14, 2015*
1:00 pm
VMI W 62–50  1–0
Bryce Jordan Center (5,959)
University Park, PA
Nov 17, 2015*
5:00 pm, ESPNU
DePaul
Gavitt Tipoff Games
W 68–62  2–0
Bryce Jordan Center (5,023)
University Park, PA
Nov 20, 2015*
7:00 pm
at Duquesne L 52–78  2–1
Consol Energy Center (3,520)
Pittsburgh, PA
Nov 24, 2015*
6:00 pm, BTN
Radford L 74–86  2–2
Bryce Jordan Center (4,675)
University Park, PA
Nov 28, 2015*
1:00 pm
Bucknell W 62–58  3–2
Bryce Jordan Center (5,097)
University Park, PA
Dec 2, 2015*
7:15 pm, ESPNU
at Boston College
ACC–Big Ten Challenge
W 67–58  4–2
Conte Forum (2,165)
Chestnut Hill, MA
Dec 5, 2015*
12:00 pm, BTN
Eastern Michigan W 81–70  5–2
Bryce Jordan Center (10,303)
University Park, PA
Dec 8, 2015*
7:00 pm
at George Washington L 66–76  5–3
Charles E. Smith Center (3,262)
Washington, D.C.
Dec 10, 2015*
7:00 pm
Canisius
Las Vegas Classic
W 81–67  6–3
Rec Hall (4,509)
University Park, PA
Dec 12, 2015*
2:00 pm, BTN
Louisiana–Monroe
Las Vegas Classic
W 54–50  7–3
Rec Hall (4,824)
University Park, PA
Dec 19, 2015*
7:00 pm
vs. Drexel W 63–57  8–3
Palestra 
Philadelphia, PA
Dec 22, 2015*
10:30 pm
vs. Colorado
Las Vegas Classic semifinals
L 70–71  8–4
Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
Dec 23, 2015*
9:00 pm, FS1
vs. Kent State
Las Vegas Classic 3rd place game
W 75–69  9–4
Orleans Arena 
Paradise, NV
Big Ten regular season
Dec 30, 2015
5:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 4 Maryland L 64–70  9–5
(0–1)
Xfinity Center (17,950)
College Park, MD
Jan 2, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN
at Michigan L 56–79  9–6
(0–2)
Crisler Center (12,207)
Ann Arbor, MI
Jan 5, 2016
7:00 pm, BTN
Minnesota W 86–77  10–6
(1–2)
Bryce Jordan Center (5,892)
University Park, PA
Jan 10, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN
No. 5 Michigan State L 65–92  10–7
(1–3)
Bryce Jordan Center (10,855)
University Park, PA
Jan 13, 2016
8:30 pm, BTN
at No. 25 Purdue L 57–74  10–8
(1–4)
Mackey Arena (13,802)
West Lafayette, IN
Jan 16, 2016
8:30 pm, ESPNU
at Northwestern W 71–62  11–8
(2–4)
Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,512)
Evanston, IL
Jan 21, 2016
8:00 pm, BTN
Wisconsin L 60–66  11–9
(2–5)
Bryce Jordan Center (7,145)
University Park, PA
Jan 25, 2016
7:00 pm, 11,542
at Ohio State L 46–66  11–10
(2–6)
Value City Arena (11,542)
Columbus, OH
Jan 30, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN
vs. Michigan
B1G Super Saturday
L 72–79  11–11
(2–7)
Madison Square Garden (12,108)
New York City, NY
Feb 3, 2016
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at No. 5 Iowa L 49–73  11–12
(2–8)
Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,596)
Iowa City, IA
Feb 6, 2016
8:00 pm, BTN
No. 22 Indiana W 68–63  12–12
(3–8)
Bryce Jordan Center (10,351)
University Park, PA
Feb 13, 2016
6:00 pm, ESPNU
at Nebraska L 54–70  12–13
(3–9)
Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,613)
Lincoln, NE
Feb 17, 2016
6:30 pm, BTN
No. 4 Iowa W 79–75  13–13
(4–9)
Bryce Jordan Center (6,590)
University Park, PA
Feb 20, 2016
1:00 pm, ESPNU
at Rutgers W 70–58  14–13
(5–9)
The RAC (5,307)
Piscataway, NJ
Feb 25, 2016
7:00 pm, ESPNU
Nebraska W 56–55  15–13
(6–9)
Bryce Jordan Center (7,387)
University Park, PA
Feb 28, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN
at No. 6 Michigan State L 57–88  15–14
(6–10)
Breslin Center (14,797)
East Lansing, MI
Mar 3, 2016
9:00 pm, ESPNU
Northwestern L 61–71  15–15
(6–11)
Bryce Jordan Center (5,936)
University Park, PA
Mar 6, 2016
12:00 pm, BTN
Illinois W 86–79 2OT 16–15
(7–11)
Bryce Jordan Center (9,104)
University Park, PA
Big Ten tournament
Mar 10, 2016
6:30 pm, ESPN2
(10) vs. (7) Ohio State
Second round
L 75–79  16–16
Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,751)
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source - [1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Penn State men's basketball suspends guard John Johnson from team". The Daily Colligan. Retrieved June 22, 2015.