# 2015–16 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team

The 2015–16 USC Upstate Spartans men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina Upstate during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Spartans, led by 14th year head coach Eddie Payne, played their home games at the G. B. Hodge Center and were members of the Atlantic Sun Conference. They finished the season 10–22, 4–10 in A-Sun play to finish in a tie for 7th place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the A-Sun tournament to North Florida.

## Roster

| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| 0 | Damian Goodwin | Forward | 6–7 | 195 | Junior | Atlanta, Georgia |
| 1 | Mike Cunningham | Guard | 6–1 | 190 | RS Freshman | Washington, D.C. |
| 2 | Marvin Smith | Forward | 6–6 | 210 | Senior | Memphis, Tennessee |
| 3 | Jure Span | Guard | 6–4 | 165 | Freshman | Litija, Slovenia |
| 4 | Ramel Thompkins | Forward | 6–6 | 195 | Sophomore | Vidalia, Georgia |
| 5 | Tanner Castora | Guard | 6–2 | 180 | Freshman | Strongsville, Ohio |
| 10 | Josh Cuthbertson | Forward | 6–5 | 185 | Junior | New Bern, North Carolina |
| 11 | Deion Holmes | Forward | 6–3 | 180 | Freshman | Chesnee, South Carolina |
| 13 | Carson Smith | Forward | 6–6 | 200 | Junior | Fort Mill, South Carolina |
| 14 | Tristan Thomas | Guard | 6–3 | 190 | Junior | Bangor, Maine |
| 15 | Philip Whittington | Forward | 6–8 | 202 | Freshman | Columbus, Georgia |
| 21 | Blake Edwards | Guard | 6–0 | 175 | Freshman | Chapin, South Carolina |
| 24 | Malik Moore | Forward | 6–6 | 188 | Freshman | Asheville, North Carolina |
| 33 | Jacob Schulte | Forward | 6–6 | 222 | Sophomore | Newport, Kentucky |
| 44 | Michael Buchanan | Center | 6–11 | 250 | Junior | Las Vegas, Nevada |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 9:30 pm, SECN+ | | at Texas A&M | L 64–104 | 0–1 | Reed Arena (6,552) College Station, TX |
| 11/16/2015* 5:00 pm | | at Presbyterian | L 73–74 | 0–2 | Templeton Physical Education Center (509) Clinton, SC |
| 11/19/2015* 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | | Navy | L 55–67 | 0–3 | Hodge Center (805) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/21/2015* 2:00 pm | | Bob Jones Upstate Challenge | L 79–83 | 0–4 | Hodge Center (567) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/24/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Winthrop | L 78–79 | 0–5 | Hodge Center (571) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/27/2015* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Georgia Southern Upstate Challenge | L 80–84 | 0–6 | Hodge Center (567) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/28/2015* 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | The Citadel Upstate Challenge | L 81–88 | 0–7 | Hodge Center (354) Spartanburg, SC |
| 11/30/2015* 7:00 pm | | Toccoa Falls Upstate Challenge | W 101–54 | 1–7 | Hodge Center (590) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Clemson | L 56–76 | 1–8 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (5,528) Greenville, SC |
| 12/04/2015* 7:00 pm | | at East Carolina | L 71–82 | 1–9 | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum (4,464) Greenville, NC |
| 12/11/2015* 7:00 pm | | North Greenville | W 70–58 | 2–9 | Hodge Center (522) Spartanburg, SC |
| 12/14/2015* 7:00 pm | | at Navy | W 66–57 | 3–9 | Alumni Hall (438) Annapolis, MD |
| 12/16/2015* 8:00 pm | | at UAB | L 54–96 | 3–10 | Bartow Arena (3,395) Birmingham, AL |
| 12/21/2015* 9:00 pm | | at Colorado State | L 61–89 | 3–11 | Moby Arena (2,658) Fort Collins, CO |
| 12/30/2015* 7:00 pm | | Lees–McRae | W 88–60 | 4–11 | Hodge Center (388) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/02/2016* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UMKC | W 70–68 | 5–11 | Hodge Center (270) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/05/2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Carolina A&T | W 78–68 | 6–11 | Hodge Center (423) Spartanburg, SC |
| Atlantic Sun Conference regular season ||||||
| 01/09/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at NJIT | W 80–78 | 7–11 (1–0) | Fleisher Center (882) Newark, NJ |
| 01/14/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Stetson | L 86–89 $^{OT}$ | 7–12 (1–1) | Edmunds Center (690) DeLand, FL |
| 01/16/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 56–85 | 7–13 (1–2) | Alico Arena (4,074) Fort Myers, FL |
| 01/21/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida | L 62–78 | 7–14 (1–3) | Hodge Center (621) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/23/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville | L 68–77 | 7–15 (1–4) | Hodge Center (474) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/27/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kennesaw State | L 75–78 | 7–16 (1–5) | Hodge Center (670) Spartanburg, SC |
| 01/30/2016 5:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Lipscomb | W 92–91 $^{OT}$ | 8–16 (2–5) | Allen Arena (2,374) Nashville, TN |
| 02/01/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Kennesaw State | L 62–75 | 8–17 (2–6) | KSU Convocation Center (1,109) Kennesaw, GA |
| 02/06/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lipscomb | L 65–78 | 8–18 (2–7) | Hodge Center (692) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/11/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Florida Gulf Coast | L 64–71 | 8–19 (2–8) | Hodge Center (345) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/13/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Stetson | W 85–83 | 9–19 (3–8) | Hodge Center (456) Spartanburg, SC |
| 02/18/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Jacksonville | L 76–81 | 9–20 (3–9) | Swisher Gymnasium (628) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/20/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Florida | L 78–81 | 9–21 (3–10) | UNF Arena (4,086) Jacksonville, FL |
| 02/25/2016 7:00 pm | | NJIT | W 72–71 | 10–21 (4–10) | Hodge Center (568) Spartanburg, SC |
| Atlantic Sun tournament ||||||
| 03/01/2016 7:30 pm, ESPN3 | (8) | at (1) North Florida Quarterfinals | L 69–92 | 10–22 | UNF Arena (3,317) Jacksonville, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||