2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 14th year head coach Kermit Davis, played their home games at the Murphy Center and were members of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 25–10, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They defeated Charlotte, Marshall, and Old Dominion to be champions of the C-USA Tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. As a #15 seed, in the first round they upset #2 seed and #2 nationally ranked Michigan State to become the eighth #15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game. In the second round they lost to Syracuse.

2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceConference USA
2015–16 record25–10 (13–5 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Greg Grensing
  • Win Case
  • Ronnie Hamilton
Home arenaMurphy Center
2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
UAB162 .889  267  .788
Middle Tennessee135 .722  2510  .714
Marshall126 .667  1716  .515
Louisiana Tech126 .667  2310  .697
Old Dominion126 .667  2513  .658
UTEP108 .556  1914  .576
Charlotte99 .500  1419  .424
Western Kentucky810 .444  1816  .529
North Texas711 .389  1220  .375
Rice711 .389  1220  .375
FIU711 .389  1319  .406
Florida Atlantic513 .278  825  .242
Southern Miss*513 .278  821  .276
UTSA315 .167  527  .156
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban.
2016 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2014–15 season 19–17, 9–9 in C-USA play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the championship game of the C-USA Tournament where they lost to UAB. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Kent State.

Departures

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
DeVante Jones1G5'10"160JuniorChicago, ILDismissed from the team
Andrew Rogan14G6'3"170FreshmanMurfreesboro, TNWalk on; didn't return
JaQuel Richmond15G6'1"180FreshmanGreensboro, NCTransferred to UNC Wilmington
Marcus Tarrance23G6'6"210SeniorMemphis, TNGraduated
Gavin Gibson32G6'4"200JuniorChattanooga, TNWalk on; didn't return
Jacquez Rozier42F6'7"220SeniorWaynesboro, GAGraduated

Incoming Transfers

NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Aldonis Foote15F6'5"215JuniorPeoria, ILJunior college transferred from Trinity Valley Community College
JaCorey Williams22F6'8"218SeniorBirmingham, ALTransferred from Arkansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Quavius Copeland24G6'0"175SophomoreGreenville, SCJunior college transferred from Gulf Coast State College

Note: Justin Coleman was a junior college transferred from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College was going to be enrolled at the start of the fall of 2015. Later, Coleman was dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.

Recruiting class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Karl Gamble
PF
Columbia, SC A. C. Flora High School 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 19, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Joan Duran
PF
Chattanooga, TN Hamilton Heights Christian Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jan 27, 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 July 27, 2015.

    Note: Jalen Perry was a 2015 high school graduate from Louisville, KY was going to be enrolled at the start of the fall of 2015. Later, Perry was dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.

    Roster

    2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team
    PlayersCoaches
    Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
    F 0 Darnell Harris 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)231 lb (105 kg) SrHamilton
    Northwest Florida State
    Milwaukee, WI
    G/F 2 Perrin Buford 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg) SrHillcrest
    Southwest Tennessee State
    Decatur, AL
    F 3 Joshua Phillips 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg) JrPope John Paul II Hendersonville, TN
    F 4 Xavier Haberham 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg) RS JrEast Laurens
    Hill College
    Dublin, GA
    G 5 Jacob Ivory 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)168 lb (76 kg) SoEast Murrah Jackson, MS
    G 10 Jaquawn Raymond 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg) RS SrStatesboro
    North Carolina State
    Statesboro, GA
    G 11 Edward Simpson, Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg) SoSt. Martin Ocean Springs, MS
    G 15 Aldonis Foote 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg) JrTrinity Valley CC Peoria, IL
    G 20 Giddy Potts 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)220 lb (100 kg) SoAthens Athens, AL
    F 22 JaCorey Williams (I)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)218 lb (99 kg) SrArkansas Birmingham, AL
    G 24 Quavius Copeland 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg) SoSouthside
    Gulf Coast State College
    Greenville, SC
    F 25 Karl Gamble 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg) FrA.C. Flora Columbia, SC
    F 30 Reggie Upshaw Jr. 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)232 lb (105 kg) JrBaylor School Chattanooga, TN
    Head coach
    Assistant coach(es)

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

    Roster

    Schedule

    [1]

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Exhibition
    11/12/2015*
    6:30 pm
    Faulkner W 84–63 
    Murphy Center (2,512)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    Non-conference regular season
    11/17/2015*
    7:00 pm, ASN
    at Murray State L 65–76  0–1
    CFSB Center (3,070)
    Murray, KY
    11/21/2015*
    7:00 pm
    at Tennessee State W 69–66  1–1
    Gentry Complex (1,500)
    Nashville, TN
    11/26/2015*
    8:30 pm, CBSSN
    at Alaska Anchorage
    Great Alaska Shootout Quarterfinals
    W 75–72  2–1
    Alaska Airlines Center (2,478)
    Anchorage, AK
    11/27/2015*
    11:00 pm, CBSSN
    vs. UNC Asheville
    Great Alaska Shootout semifinals
    W 63–61  3–1
    Alaska Airlines Center (2,822)
    Anchorage, AK
    11/28/2015*
    11:30 pm, CBSSN
    vs. Toledo
    Great Alaska Shootout championship
    W 78–70  4–1
    Alaska Airlines Center (3,132)
    Anchorage, AK
    12/02/2015*
    8:00 pm, FSN
    VCU L 56–62  4–2
    Murphy Center (8,882)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    12/05/2015*
    5:00 pm, ASN
    South Alabama W 68–55  5–2
    Murphy Center (4,106)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    12/12/2015*
    12:00 pm, MT10
    vs. Auburn W 88–81  6–2
    Bridgestone Arena (7,322)
    Nashville, TN
    12/17/2015*
    6:00 pm, ASN
    Belmont W 83–62  7–2
    Murphy Center (5,555)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    12/22/2015*
    6:00 pm
    at Georgia State L 62–64  7–3
    GSU Sports Arena (1,819)
    Atlanta, GA
    12/27/2015*
    4:30 pm, FSN
    vs. South Dakota State L 61–65  7–4
    Sanford Pentagon (3,200)
    Sioux Falls, SD
    12/30/2015*
    6:00 pm
    Trevecca Nazarene W 82–67  8–4
    Murphy Center (3,122)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    Conference USA regular season
    01/03/2016
    2:00 pm, ASN
    at UAB L 67–78  8–5
    (0–1)
    Bartow Arena (4,279)
    Birmingham, AL
    01/07/2016
    6:00 pm, ASN
    UTEP W 78–72  9–5
    (1–1)
    Murphy Center (4,105)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    01/09/2016
    3:00 pm, ASN
    UTSA W 79–71  10–5
    (2–1)
    Murphy Center (4,632)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    01/14/2016
    6:00 pm
    at Charlotte W 73–72  11–5
    (3–1)
    Dale F. Halton Arena (3,914)
    Charlotte, NC
    01/16/2016
    3:00 pm, FSN
    at Old Dominion W 64–61  12–5
    (4–1)
    Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,067)
    Norfolk, VA
    01/21/2016
    6:30 pm
    North Texas W 86–64  13–5
    (5–1)
    Murphy Center (3,826)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    01/23/2016
    5:00 pm
    Rice W 87–73  14–5
    (6–1)
    Murphy Center (4,104)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    01/28/2016
    6:00 pm
    at Marshall L 66–82  14–6
    (6–2)
    Cam Henderson Center (5,724)
    Huntington, WV
    01/30/2016
    7:00 pm, FCS
    at WKU W 66–64  15–6
    (7–2)
    E. A. Diddle Arena (5,259)
    Bowling Green, KY
    02/04/2016
    6:30 pm, MT10
    Florida Atlantic W 85–73  16–6
    (8–2)
    Murphy Center (5,411)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    02/06/2016
    6:00 pm
    FIU W 67–66  17–6
    (9–2)
    Murphy Center (5,298)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    02/11/2016
    8:00 pm, ASN
    at Louisiana Tech L 63–73  17–7
    (9–3)
    Thomas Assembly Center (5,011)
    Ruston, LA
    02/13/2016
    7:00 pm
    at Southern Miss W 76–54  18–7
    (10–3)
    Reed Green Coliseum (2,917)
    Hattiesburg, MS
    02/21/2016
    5:00 pm, CBSSN
    UAB L 67–77  18–8
    (10–4)
    Murphy Center (7,822)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    02/25/2016
    6:00 pm, ASN
    WKU L 72–78  18–9
    (10–5)
    Murphy Center (4,333)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    02/27/2016
    5:00 pm
    Marshall W 83–74  19–9
    (11–5)
    Murphy Center (4,051)
    Murfreesboro, TN
    03/03/2016
    6:00 pm
    at Florida Atlantic W 76–59  20–9
    (12–5)
    FAU Arena (1,040)
    Boca Raton, FL
    03/05/2016
    5:00 pm, ASN
    at FIU W 61–58  21–9
    (13–5)
    FIU Arena (2,422)
    Miami, FL
    Conference USA Tournament
    03/10/2016
    6:00 pm, ASN
    vs. Charlotte
    Quarterfinals
    W 79–61  22–9
    Legacy Arena (9,797)
    Birmingham, AL
    03/11/2016
    5:30 pm, CBSSN
    vs. Marshall
    Semifinals
    W 99–90  23–9
    Legacy Arena (6,176)
    Birmingham, AL
    03/12/2016
    1:30 pm, FS1
    vs. Old Dominion
    Championship game
    W 55–53  24–9
    Legacy Arena (5,519)
    Birmingham, AL
    NCAA Tournament
    03/18/2016*
    1:45 pm, CBS
    (15 MW) vs. (2 MW) No. 2 Michigan State
    First round
    W 90–81  25–9
    Scottrade Center (14,250)
    St. Louis, MO
    03/20/2016*
    5:10 pm, TNT
    (15 MW) vs. (10 MW) Syracuse
    Second round
    L 50–75  25–10
    Scottrade Center (15,169)
    St. Louis, MO
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region.
    All times are in Central Time.

    References

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