2015–16 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by ninth year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 12–6 in Missouri Valley play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Missouri State and Indiana State in the Missouri Valley Tournament to advance to the championship game where they lost to Northern Iowa. Despite having 25 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

2015–16 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
2015–16 record25–9 (12–6 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaFord Center
2015–16 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
Wichita State162 .889  269  .743
Evansville126 .667  259  .735
Illinois State126 .667  1814  .563
Southern Illinois117 .611  2210  .688
Northern Iowa117 .611  2313  .639
Indiana State810 .444  1517  .469
Missouri State810 .444  1319  .406
Loyola (IL)711 .389  1517  .469
Bradley315 .167  527  .156
Drake216 .111  724  .226
2016 MVC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Purple Aces finished the 2014–15 season 24–12, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament to Illinois State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated IPFW, Eastern Illinois, Louisiana–Lafayette, TennesseeMartin, and Northern Arizona to become CIT champions.

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
Taylor Stafford1G6'1"170JuniorDuluth, MNTransferred to Western Washington
Jaylor Moore10F/C6'7"230SeniorOlive Branch, MSGraduated

Class of 2015 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dainius Chatkevicius
PF
Orlando, FL West Oaks Academy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) N/A 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Harris Brown
PG
Indianapolis, IN T.C. Howe High School 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) N/A Oct 18, 2014 
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 May 4, 2015.

    Roster

    2015–16 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    G 2 Christian Benzon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrThe Rock School Copenhagen, Denmark
    G 3 Jaylon Brown 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)185 lb (84 kg) JrFishers Fishers, IN
    G 4 Duane Gibson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)195 lb (88 kg) JrVilla Angela-St. Joseph Cleveland, OH
    G 5 Mislav Brzoja 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrVillanova Zagreb, Croatia
    G 12 Adam Wing 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)205 lb (93 kg) SrRowan County Morehead, KY
    G 13 Harris Brown 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)175 lb (79 kg) FrHowe Indianapolis, IN
    C 14 Sergej Vucetic 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)238 lb (108 kg) RS JrNebraska Vrbas, Serbia
    F 22 Willie Wiley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)215 lb (98 kg) RS JrVincennes Springfield, IL
    G 31 D. J. Balentine 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)210 lb (95 kg) SrKokomo Kokomo, IN
    F/C 44 David Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg) RS JrMontgomery Bell Nashville, TN
    G/F 50 Blake Simmons 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrCastle Newburgh, IN
    C 55 Egidijus Mockevičius 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)225 lb (102 kg) SrLithuanian Edu. Sciences Kuršėnai, Lithuania
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

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

    Roster

    Schedule

    [1]

    Date
    time, TV
    Opponent Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    11/07/2015*
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Wabash W 95–65 
    Ford Center (3,813)
    Evansville, IN
    Non-conference regular season
    11/15/2015*
    2:00 pm, ESPN3
    Southeast Missouri State W 80–65  1–0
    Ford Center (3,893)
    Evansville, IN
    11/17/2015*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Marian (IN) W 84–59  2–0
    Ford Center (3,463)
    Evansville, IN
    11/21/2015*
    12:30 pm, ESPN3
    Belmont W 93–88  3–0
    Ford Center (4,227)
    Evansville, IN
    11/26/2015*
    8:00 pm, ESPNU
    vs. Providence
    Wooden Legacy quarterfinals
    L 64–74  3–1
    Titan Gym (2,460)
    Fullerton, CA
    11/27/2015*
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    vs. Santa Clara
    Wooden Legacy consolation round
    W 69–57  4–1
    Titan Gym (2,873)
    Fullerton, CA
    11/29/2015*
    1:30 pm, ESPNU
    vs. UC Irvine
    Wooden Legacy 5th Place Game
    W 75–56  5–1
    Honda Center (4,393)
    Anaheim, CA
    12/01/2015*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Alabama State W 88–56  6–1
    Ford Center (3,702)
    Evansville, IN
    12/05/2015*
    7:30 pm
    at Murray State W 85–81 OT 7–1
    CFSB Center (3,174)
    Murray, KY
    12/08/2015*
    8:00 pm, SECN
    at Arkansas L 76–89  7–2
    Bud Walton Arena (13,980)
    Fayetteville, AR
    12/12/2015*
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Mississippi Valley State W 95–60  8–2
    Ford Center (4,251)
    Evansville, IN
    12/17/2015*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Norfolk State W 84–70  9–2
    Ford Center (3,883)
    Evansville, IN
    12/20/2015*
    3:00 pm
    at Fresno State
    MW–MVC Challenge
    W 85–77  10–2
    Save Mart Center (5,251)
    Fresno, CA
    12/22/2015*
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Alabama A&M W 91–70  11–2
    Ford Center (4,746)
    Evansville, IN
    Missouri Valley regular season
    12/30/2015
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Indiana State W 70–62  12–2
    (1–0)
    Ford Center (7,801)
    Evansville, IN
    01/02/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Missouri State W 76–59  13–2
    (2–0)
    JQH Arena (4,023)
    Springfield, MO
    01/06/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Wichita State L 64–67  13–3
    (2–1)
    Charles Koch Arena (10,506)
    Wichita, KS
    01/09/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Bradley W 67–35  25–3
    (3–1)
    Ford Center (5,873)
    Evansville, IN
    01/12/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    Drake W 84–65  15–3
    (4–1)
    Ford Center (4,011)
    Evansville, IN
    01/15/2016
    8:00 pm, ESPN2
    at Illinois State W 66–55  16–3
    (5–1)
    Redbird Arena (5,148)
    Normal, IL
    01/19/2016
    8:00 pm, CBSSN
    Loyola–Chicago W 74–66  17–3
    (6–1)
    Ford Center (4,014)
    Evansville, IN
    01/24/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPNU
    at Indiana State L 65–82  17–4
    (6–2)
    Hulman Center (4,630)
    Terre Haute, IN
    01/28/2016
    7:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Southern Illinois W 85–78 OT 18–4
    (7–2)
    SIU Arena (6,345)
    Carbondale, IL
    01/31/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPNU
    No. 22 Wichita State L 65–78  18–5
    (7–3)
    Ford Center (10,034)
    Evansville, IN
    02/03/2016
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Northern Iowa L 54–57  18–6
    (7–4)
    McLeod Center (4,805)
    Cedar Falls, IA
    02/06/2016
    11:00 am, ESPN3
    Missouri State W 83–64  19–6
    (8–4)
    Ford Center (4,556)
    Evansville, IN
    02/11/2016
    8:00 pm, CBSSN
    Illinois State L 60–70  19–7
    (8–5)
    Ford Center (4,195)
    Evansville, IN
    02/14/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPNU
    at Loyola–Chicago W 74–73  20–7
    (9–5)
    Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,257)
    Chicago, IL
    02/17/2016
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Drake W 80–74  21–7
    (10–5)
    Knapp Center (2,790)
    Des Moines, IA
    02/20/2016
    3:00 pm, ESPN3
    Southern Illinois W 83–71  22–7
    (11–5)
    Ford Center (7,163)
    Evansville, IN
    02/23/2016
    8:00 pm, ESPN3
    at Bradley W 67–55  23–7
    (12–5)
    Carver Arena (5,523)
    Peoria, IL
    02/27/2016
    1:00 pm, ESPN3
    Northern Iowa L 52–54  23–8
    (12–6)
    Ford Center (6,552)
    Evansville, IN
    Missouri Valley Tournament
    03/04/2016
    6:00 pm, ESPN3
    vs. Missouri State
    Quarterfinals
    W 66–56  24–8
    Scottrade Center (8,468)
    St. Louis, MO
    03/05/2016
    5:00 pm, CBSSN
    vs. Indiana State
    Semifinals
    W 68-42  25–8
    Scottrade Center (14,299)
    St. Louis, MO
    03/06/2016
    1:00 pm, CBS
    vs. Northern Iowa
    Championship game
    L 54–56  25–9
    Scottrade Center (14,299)
    St. Louis, MO
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    All times are in Central Time.

    References

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