# 2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball team

The 2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was the 48th season of the University fielding a men's basketball program. The program was led by Will Wade, who was leading the program for his first season after previously coaching Chattanooga. Wade replaced former head coach, Shaka Smart, who resigned from VCU for the vacancy at Texas.
Led by a core of rising juniors and seniors, including Mo Alie-Cox and Melvin Johnson, the Rams finished the season 25–11, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish tied for the A-10 conference championship. They defeated Massachusetts and Davidson to advance to the championship game of the A-10 tournament where they lost to Saint Joseph's. The Rams receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, making it their sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. The Rams were a #10 seed in the West Region. They defeated #7 seed Oregon State in the First Round before losing to Oklahoma in the Second Round.

## Previous season

The Rams finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 26–10, 12–6 in A-10 play to finish tied for third-place. In the A-10 tournament, the Rams won their first conference tournament championship since 2012 (while members of the Colonial Athletic Association), and their first A-10 title, defeating Dayton in the championship game. The Rams received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the Second Round to Ohio State.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Brianté Weber | 2 | G | 6'2" | 165 | Senior | Chesapeake, VA | Graduated |
| Treveon Graham | 21 | F/G | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Washington, DC | Graduated |
| Terry Larrier | 22 | F | 6'8" | 175 | Freshman | Bronx, NY | Transferred to Connecticut |
| Jarred Guest | 23 | F | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | Columbia, SC | Graduated |
| Antravious Simmons | 25 | F | 6'9" | 250 | RS Freshman | Miami, FL | Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Ahmed Mohamed | 23 | F | 6'9" | 245 | Junior | Alexandria, Egypt | Junior college transferred from Lee College |
| Korey Billbury | 24 | G | 6'3" | 200 | RS Senior | Tulsa, OK | Transferred from Oral Roberts. Will be eligible to play immediately since Billbury graduated from Oral Roberts. |

### 2015 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jonathan Nwankwo PF | Mount Vernon, NY | Victory Rock Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 240 lb (110 kg) | Jun 5, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Samir Doughty SG | Philadelphia, PA | Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 4, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Gerron Scissum SF | Huntsville, AL | Lee High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Apr 21, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 0 ||||||
| 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 August 12, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| November 6, 2015* 7:00 pm | | California (PA) | W 96–60 | | 21 – Johnson | 11 – Billbury | 7 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, WTVR 6.3 | | Prairie View A&M 2K Sports Classic | W 75–50 | 1–0 | 13 – Tied | 11 – Tillman | 7 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| November 16, 2015* 7:00 pm, CSNMA | | Radford 2K Sports Classic | W 92–74 | 2–0 | 24 – Johnson | 8 – Alie-Cox | 8 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| November 20, 2015* 7:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. No. 5 Duke 2K Sports Classic semifinals | L 71–79 | 2–1 | 20 – Johnson | 8 – Tillman | 6 – Lewis | Madison Square Garden (18,238) New York City, NY |
| November 22, 2015* 3:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Wisconsin 2K Sports Classic | L 73–74 | 2–2 | 21 – Johnson | 8 – Mohamed | 3 – Burgess | Madison Square Garden (17,287) New York City, NY |
| November 25, 2015* 7:00 pm | | American | W 72–44 | 3–2 | 13 – Johnson | 14 – Tillman | 3 – Tied | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| November 28, 2015* 4:00 pm, CSNMA | | Old Dominion Rivalry | W 76–67 | 4–2 | 16 – Lewis | 6 – Hamdy-Mohamed | 3 – Tied | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| December 2, 2015* 8:00 pm, FSN | | at Middle Tennessee | W 62–56 | 5–2 | 19 – Johnson | 7 – Tied | 5 – Johnson | Murphy Center (8,882) Murfreesboro, TN |
| December 6, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Florida State Philips Arena Showcase | L 71–76 | 5–3 | 36 – Johnson | 7 – Gilmore | 4 – Lewis | Philips Arena (1,789) Atlanta, GA |
| December 15, 2015* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Georgia Tech | L 64–77 | 5–4 | 18 – Tillman | 7 – Alie-Cox | 4 – Lewis | McCamish Pavilion (5,219) Atlanta, GA |
| December 19, 2015* 4:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 23 Cincinnati | L 63–69 | 5–5 | 22 – Billbury | 9 – Billbury | 4 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| December 22, 2015* 7:00 pm, CSNMA | | Buffalo | W 90–69 | 6–5 | 22 – Johnson | 6 – Billbury | 4 – Williams | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| December 27, 2015* 5:00 pm, WTVR | | Liberty | W 85–57 | 7–5 | 15 – Johnson | 11 – Tillman | 3 – 3 tied | Siegel Center Richmond, VA |
| December 30, 2015* 7:00 pm, WTVR | | North Florida | W 80–68 | 8–5 | 23 – Johnson | 9 – Burgess | 10 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Atlantic 10 regular season |||||||||
| January 3, 2016 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | George Mason Rivalry | W 71–47 | 9–5 (1–0) | 22 – Johnson | 8 – Tied | 6 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 5, 2016 7:00 pm, ASN | | at Saint Joseph's | W 85–82 | 10–5 (2–0) | 25 – Johnson | 8 – Billbury | 6 – Lewis | Hagan Arena (3,752) Philadelphia, PA |
| January 10, 2016 4:00 pm, NBCSN | | at Saint Louis | W 72–56 | 11–5 (3–0) | 16 – Alie-Cox | 5 – Johnson | 4 – Tied | Chaifetz Arena (8,719) St. Louis, MO |
| January 13, 2016 7:00 pm, ASN | | Fordham | W 88–54 | 12–5 (4–0) | 27 – Tillman | 10 – Tillman | 7 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 16, 2016 2:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Richmond Capital City Classic | W 94–89 $^{OT}$ | 13–5 (5–0) | 29 – Lewis | 11 – Tillman | 6 – Johnson | Robins Center (7,201) Richmond, VA |
| January 20, 2016 7:00 pm, MASN | | Duquesne | W 93–71 | 14–5 (6–0) | 16 – Tied | 8 – Lewis | 4 – Brooks | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 23, 2016 2:30 pm, NBCSN | | St. Bonaventure | W 84–76 | 15–5 (7–0) | 26 – Lewis | 8 – Tied | 7 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| January 29, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Davidson | W 79–69 | 16–5 (8–0) | 22 – Lewis | 11 – Alie-Cox | 5 – Lewis | John M. Belk Arena (5,295) Davidson, NC |
| February 3, 2016 7:00 pm | | at La Salle | W 88–70 | 17–5 (9–0) | 30 – Johnson | 7 – Billbury | 3 – Allie-Cox | Tom Gola Arena (1,711) Philadelphia, PA |
| February 6, 2016 12:00 pm, CBSSN | | George Washington | L 69–71 | 17–6 (9–1) | 16 – Lewis | 9 – Billbury | 5 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 11, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Massachusetts | L 63–69 | 17–7 (9–2) | 15 – Tied | 4 – Tied | 5 – Lewis | Mullins Center (2,698) Amherst, MA |
| February 13, 2016 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | Saint Louis | W 85–52 | 18–7 (10–2) | 20 – Billbury | 11 – Tillman | 7 – Williams | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 16, 2016 7:30 pm, CBSSN | | Rhode Island | W 83–67 | 19–7 (11–2) | 21 – Alie-Cox | 6 – Billbury | 6 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 19, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Richmond Capital City Classic | W 87–74 | 20–7 (12–2) | 22 – Johnson | 12 – Alie-Cox | 10 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| February 24, 2016 7:00 pm | | at George Mason Rivalry | L 69–76 | 20–8 (12–3) | 24 – Johnson | 13 – Tillman | 4 – Johnson | EagleBank Arena (5,138) Fairfax, VA |
| February 27, 2016 12:30 pm, NBCSN | | at George Washington | W 69–65 | 21–8 (13–3) | 17 – Williams | 7 – Alie-Cox | 5 – Williams | Charles E. Smith Center (4,385) Washington, D.C. |
| March 2, 2016 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Davidson | W 70–60 | 22–8 (14–3) | 18 – Alie-Cox | 9 – Alie-Cox | 8 – Lewis | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| March 5, 2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Dayton | L 67–68 $^{OT}$ | 22–9 (14–4) | 16 – Billbury | 21 – Tillman | 3 – Williams | UD Arena (13,455) Dayton, OH |
| Atlantic 10 Tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2016 6:30 pm, NBCSN | (2) | vs. (10) Massachusetts Quarterfinals | W 85–70 | 23–9 | 19 – Johnson | 9 – Tillman | 3 – Tied | Barclays Center (8,223) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 12, 2016 4:00 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (6) Davidson Semifinals | W 76–54 | 24–9 | 17 – Billbury | 7 – Billbury | 3 – Tied | Barclays Center (10,439) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 13, 2016 12:00 pm, CBS | (2) | vs. (4) St. Joseph's Championship | L 74–87 | 24–10 | 19 – Tied | 8 – Tillman | 7 – Lewis | Barclays Center (8,413) Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2016* 1:30 pm, TNT | (10 W) | vs. (7 W) Oregon State First Round | W 75–67 | 25–10 | 21 – Lewis | 8 – Alie-Cox | 8 – Lewis | Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,662) Oklahoma City, OK |
| March 20, 2016* 5:30 pm, CBS | (10 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 7 Oklahoma Second Round | L 81–85 | 25–11 | 23 – Johnson | 9 – Burgess | 9 – Lewis | Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279) Oklahoma City, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||