# 2015–16 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball team represented California State University, Fresno during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Rodney Terry's fifth season at Fresno State. The Bulldogs played their home games at Save Mart Center and were members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 13–5 in Mountain West play to finish in second place. They defeated UNLV, Colorado State and San Diego State to be champions of the Mountain West tournament. They earned the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Utah.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the season 15–17, 10–8 in Mountain West play to finish in sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament to Colorado State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Emmanuel Owootoah | 0 | G | 5'11" | 175 | Sophomore | Toronto, ON | Graduate transfer to Lynn |
| Darnell Taylor | 1 | G | 6'3" | 205 | Junior | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to Cal State San Marcos |
| Braeden Anderson | 2 | F | 6'9" | 225 | RS Sophomore | Okotoks, AB | Graduate transfer to Seton Hall |
| Alex Davis | 10 | F | 6'9" | 205 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Blake Williams | 13 | G | 6'2" | 197 | RS Sophomore | Sacramento, CA | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Isaiah Bailey | 24 | G | 6'6" | 190 | Freshman | Compton, CA | Dismissed from team for violation of team rules |
| Eugene Artison | 35 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Freshman | Seattle, WA | Transferred to College of Southern Idaho |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jaron Hopkins | 1 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Junior | Mesa, AZ | Transferred from Colorado. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hopkins will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Jahmel Taylor | 5 | G | 6'0" | 170 | Junior | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred from Washington. Under NCAA transfer rules, Taylor will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Cullen Russo | 13 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Junior | Bloomington, MN | Junior college transferred from New Mexico Junior College |
| Lionel Ellison | 15 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Junior | New Orleans, LA | Junior college transferred from Coffeyville Community College |
| Deshon Taylor | 21 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred from UMKC. Under NCAA transfer rules, Taylor will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Torren Jones | 24 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Junior | Chandler, AZ | Junior college transferred from Midland College |

## Recruiting Class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Nate Grimes PF | Las Vegas, NV | Quality Education Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Sep 27, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 75 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – ||||||
| 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: "Fresno State Commit List for 2015". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "ESPN – Fresno State Bulldogs Basketball Recruiting 2015". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. ||||||

### Recruiting Class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Bryson Williams PF | Fresno, CA | Roosevelt | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Feb 10, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 73 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: – Rivals: – |||||||
| 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: "Fresno State Commit List for 2016". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "ESPN – Fresno State Bulldogs Basketball Recruiting 2016". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 1, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Source
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/06/2015* 7:00 pm | | Dominican (CA) | W 77–55 | | Save Mart Center (4,464) Fresno, CA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:00 pm | | Pepperdine | W 69–66 | 1–0 | Save Mart Center (7,827) Fresno, CA |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 pm | | Lamar Roundball Showcase | W 80–72 | 2–0 | Save Mart Center (4,799) Fresno, CA |
| 11/19/2015* 7:00 pm | | San Francisco Roundball Showcase | W 78–71 | 3–0 | Save Mart Center (5,327) Fresno, CA |
| 11/22/2015* 3:00 pm | | at Rice Roundball Showcase | W 82–65 | 4–0 | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,749) Houston, TX |
| 11/27/2015* 7:00 pm | | Delaware State Roundball Showcase | W 80–59 | 5–0 | Save Mart Center (5,959) Fresno, CA |
| 11/30/2015* 5:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 15 Oregon | L 73–78 | 5–1 | Matthew Knight Arena (5,205) Eugene, OR |
| 12/03/2015* 7:00 pm | | The Master's | W 84–72 | 6–1 | Save Mart Center (5,404) Fresno, CA |
| 12/05/2015* 7:00 pm | | at Cal Poly | L 65–77 | 6–2 | Mott Gym (2,861) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 12/09/2015* 6:00 pm, P12N | | at No. 13 Arizona | L 72–85 | 6–3 | McKale Center (14,262) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/12/2015* 4:00 pm | | Pacific | W 71–52 | 7–3 | Save Mart Center (5,434) Fresno, CA |
| 12/16/2015* 7:00 pm | | Cal State Bakersfield | W 76–68 | 8–3 | Save Mart Center (5,105) Fresno, CA |
| 12/20/2015* 1:00 pm | | Evansville MW–MVC Challenge | L 77–85 | 8–4 | Save Mart Center (5,251) Fresno, CA |
| 12/27/2015* 1:00 pm | | Pacific Union | W 89–46 | 9–4 | Save Mart Center (6,242) Fresno, CA |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| 12/30/2015 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UNLV | W 69–66 | 10–4 (1–0) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,220) Paradise, NV |
| 01/02/2016 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | New Mexico | L 62–77 | 10–5 (1–1) | Save Mart Center (6,881) Fresno, CA |
| 01/06/2016 7:00 pm | | Nevada | W 85–63 | 11–5 (2–1) | Save Mart Center (5,315) Fresno, CA |
| 01/09/2016 3:00 pm, RTRM | | at Boise State | L 70–81 | 11–6 (2–2) | Taco Bell Arena (8,140) Boise, ID |
| 01/16/2016 4:00 pm, MWN | | San Jose State | W 81–74 | 12–6 (3–2) | Save Mart Center (6,457) Fresno, CA |
| 01/19/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at San Diego State | L 67–73 $^{OT}$ | 12–7 (3–3) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| 01/23/2016 11:00 am, RTRM | | at Air Force | W 56–55 | 13–7 (4–3) | Clune Arena (2,083) Colorado Springs, CO |
| 01/26/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Wyoming | W 71–60 | 14–7 (5–3) | Save Mart Center (5,802) Fresno, CA |
| 02/03/2016 7:00 pm | | at San Jose State | L 53–65 | 14–8 (5–4) | Event Center Arena (2,324) San Jose, CA |
| 02/06/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UNLV | W 111–104 $^{2OT}$ | 15–8 (6–4) | Save Mart Center (7,754) Fresno, CA |
| 02/10/2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | San Diego State | W 58–57 | 16–8 (7–4) | Save Mart Center (6,476) Fresno, CA |
| 02/13/2016 4:00 pm, MWN | | at Nevada | L 72–77 $^{OT}$ | 16–9 (7–5) | Lawlor Events Center (6,750) Reno, NV |
| 02/17/2016 7:00 pm, RTRM | | at Wyoming | W 79–75 | 17–9 (8–5) | Arena-Auditorium (4,852) Laramie, WY |
| 02/20/2016 4:00 pm, RTRM | | Utah State | W 75–68 | 18–9 (9–5) | Save Mart Center (7,068) Fresno, CA |
| 02/24/2016 7:00 pm, MWN | | Air Force | W 64–63 | 19–9 (10–5) | Save Mart Center (6,284) Fresno, CA |
| 02/27/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at New Mexico | W 92–82 | 20–9 (11–5) | The Pit (13,546) Albuquerque, NM |
| 03/02/2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | Colorado State | W 87–73 | 21–9 (12–5) | Save Mart Center (9,948) Fresno, CA |
| 03/05/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Utah State | W 86–85 | 22–9 (13–5) | Smith Spectrum (9,870) Logan, UT |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| 03/10/2016 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (7) UNLV Quarterfinals | W 95–82 | 23–9 | Thomas & Mack Center (6,325) Paradise, NV |
| 03/11/2016 8:30 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (6) Colorado State Semifinals | W 64–56 | 24–9 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,036) Paradise, NV |
| 03/12/2016 3:00 pm, CBS | (2) | vs. (1) San Diego State Championship | W 68–63 | 25–9 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,132) Paradise, NV |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/17/2016* 5:27 pm, truTV | (14 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 13 Utah First Round | L 69–80 | 25–10 | Pepsi Center (19,500) Denver, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||