# 2015–16 Rice Owls men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by second year head coach Mike Rhoades, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 12–20, 7–11 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They lost in the second round of the C-USA tournament to Charlotte.

## Previous season

The Owls finished the season 12–20, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Dan Peera | 0 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Senior | San Ramon, California | Graduated |
| Jordan Reed | 5 | G | 5'11" | 170 | Freshman | Lucas, Texas | Transferred to New Hampshire |
| Denzel Davis | 10 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Freshman | Orlando, Florida | Left Rice (Personal) |
| Jeremy Jones | 20 | F | 6'5" | 205 | Freshman | San Antonio, Texas | Transferred to Gonzaga |
| J.T. Trauber | 24 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Freshman | Houston, Texas | Left Team (Personal) |
| Van Green | 31 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Birmingham, Alabama | Exhausted Eligibility |
| Seth Gearhart | 41 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | Wilsonville, Oregon | Graduated |

## Recruiting class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Marcus Evans PG | Virginia Beach, VA | Cape Henry Collegiate School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jun 29, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Connor Cashaw SG | Lincolnshire, IL | Adlai E. Stevenson High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Sep 30, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Marquez Letcher-Ellis SF | Houston, TX | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 25, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Amir Smith SF | Missouri City, TX | Ridgepoint High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 30, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Chad Lott PG | Shreveport, LA | Byrd High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | May 19, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| 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 16, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/07/2015* 7:00 pm | LeTourneau | W 102–78 | | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 10:30 pm, P12N | at No. 14 California | L 65–97 | 0–1 | Haas Pavilion (10,530) Berkeley, CA |
| 11/16/2015* 9:00 pm | at San Francisco Roundball Showcase | L 54–80 | 0–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium (1,417) San Francisco, CA |
| 11/19/2015* 8:00 pm, ASN | Oregon State | L 69–77 | 0–3 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,981) Houston, TX |
| 11/22/2015* 5:00 pm | Fresno State Roundball Showcase | L 65–82 | 0–4 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,749) Houston, TX |
| 11/25/2015* 8:00 pm, ASN | Lamar Roundball Showcase | W 94–82 | 1–4 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,376) Houston, TX |
| 11/27/2015* 7:00 pm | UC Riverside Roundball Showcase | W 87–81 | 2–4 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,169) Houston, TX |
| 11/29/2015* 5:00 pm | Texas–Arlington | L 74–92 | 2–5 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,668) Houston, TX |
| 12/02/2015* 7:30 pm | at Houston Baptist | L 73–77 | 2–6 | Sharp Gymnasium (887) Houston, TX |
| 12/05/2015* 7:00 pm | St. Edward's | W 93–72 | 3–6 | Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, TX |
| 12/17/2015* 11:30 am | St. Thomas | W 67–54 | 4–6 | Tudor Fieldhouse (5,268) Houston, TX |
| 12/19/2015* 7:00 pm, ROOT | at New Mexico | W 90–89 | 5–6 | The Pit (12,507) Albuquerque, NM |
| 12/22/2015* 7:05 pm | at South Alabama | L 67–74 | 5–7 | Mitchell Center (1,937) Mobile, AL |
| 12/29/2015* 7:00 pm | Incarnate Word | L 76–82 | 5–8 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,747) Houston, TX |
| C-USA Regular season ||||||
| 01/01/2016 8:00 pm, ASN | at UTEP | L 60–61 | 5–9 (0–1) | Don Haskins Center (7,154) El Paso, TX |
| 01/03/2016 3:00 pm | at UTSA | L 80–85 | 5–10 (0–2) | Convocation Center (607) San Antonio, TX |
| 01/09/2016 1:00 pm, ASN | at North Texas | L 74–85 | 5–11 (0–3) | The Super Pit (1,886) Denton, TX |
| 01/14/2016 7:00 pm, ASN | WKU | W 83–73 | 6–11 (1–3) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,664) Houston, TX |
| 01/16/2016 7:00 pm | Marshall | L 90–94 | 6–12 (1–4) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,196) Houston, TX |
| 01/21/2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN | at UAB | L 70–82 | 6–13 (1–5) | Bartow Arena (5,535) Birmingham, AL |
| 01/23/2016 5:00 pm | at Middle Tennessee | L 73–87 | 6–14 (1–6) | Murphy Center (4,104) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 01/30/2016 7:00 pm | North Texas | W 95–87 | 7–14 (2–6) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,515) Houston, TX |
| 02/04/2016 7:00 pm | Louisiana Tech | L 78–90 | 7–15 (2–7) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,660) Houston, TX |
| 02/06/2016 7:00 pm | Southern Miss | W 72–65 | 8–15 (3–7) | Tudor Fieldhouse (2,760) Houston, TX |
| 02/11/2016 6:00 pm | at Charlotte | L 73-102 | 8–16 (3–8) | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,127) Charlotte, NC |
| 02/13/2016 1:00 pm, ASN | at Old Dominion | W 75–66 | 9–16 (4–8) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,075) Norfolk, VA |
| 02/18/2016 7:00 pm | Florida Atlantic | W 90–85 | 10–16 (5–8) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,400) Houston, TX |
| 02/20/2016 1:00 pm, ASN | FIU | W 86–70 | 11–16 (6–8) | Tudor Fieldhouse (3,859) Houston, TX |
| 02/25/2016 7:00 pm | at Southern Miss | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 12–16 (7–8) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,547) Hattiesburg, MS |
| 02/27/2016 6:00 pm | at Louisiana Tech | L 69–88 | 12–17 (7–9) | Thomas Assembly Center (5,527) Ruston, LA |
| 03/03/2016 7:00 pm | Charlotte | L 75–88 | 12–18 (7–10) | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,349) Houston, TX |
| 03/05/2016 1:00 pm, ASN | Old Dominion | L 67–74 | 12–19 (7–11) | Tudor Fieldhouse (3,418) Houston, TX |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| 03/09/2016 6:00 pm, ASN | vs. Charlotte Second round | L 69–79 | 12–20 | Legacy Arena (3,905) Birmingham, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||