# 2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team

The 2015–16 UNLV Runnin' Rebels basketball team represented the University of Nevada, Las Vegas during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Rebels were led by fifth-year head coach Dave Rice until he was fired on January 10, 2016. They were then led by interim head coach Todd Simon for the remainder of the season. They played their home games at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nevada as members of the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 18–15, 8–10 in Mountain West play, to finish in a tie for sixth place. They defeated Air Force to advance to the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Fresno State.
On March 28, the school announced that Chris Beard had been hired as head coach. However, less than three weeks later, Beard left UNLV to accept the head coaching position at Texas Tech. On April 16, the school hired Marvin Menzies as head coach.

## Previous season

The 2014–15 Runnin' Rebels finished the season with an overall record of 18–15, and 8–10 in Mountain West play. The Runnin' Rebels defeated Nevada in the first round of the Mountain West tournament, before losing to San Diego State in the quarterfinals.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Rashad Vaughn | 1 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Freshman | Golden Valley, MN | Declared for 2015 NBA draft |
| Christian Wood | 5 | F | 6'11" | 220 | Sophomore | Long Beach, CA | Declared for 2015 NBA draft |
| Barry Cheaney | 12 | G | 6'1" | 165 | RS Junior | Corona, CA | Walk-on; did not return |
| Jelan Kendrick | 22 | G | 6'6" | 210 | RS Senior | Atlanta, GA | Graduated |
| Dantley Walker | 30 | G | 5'11" | 170 | RS Freshman | Panaca, NV | Transferred to Chaminade |
| Charles Rushman | 33 | G | 6'3" | 185 | RS Junior | Oconomowoc, WI | Transferred to Lindenwood |
| Cody Doolin | 45 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Senior | Austin, TX | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Ike Nwamu | 0 | G | 6'5" | 205 | RS Senior | Greensboro, NC | Graduate transfer from Mercer University. Will be eligible to play immediately since Nwamu graduated from Mercer. |
| Tyrell Bellot-Green | 12 | F | 6'7" | | Junior | Toronto, ON | Junior college transfer from Hill College |
| Chris Obekpa | 34 | F/C | 6'10" | 236 | Senior | Makurdi, Nigeria | Transferred from St. John's. Under NCAA transfer rules, Obekpa will have to sit out the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of eligibility left. |

## 2015 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jaylen Poyser #64 SG | Malton, ON | Athlete Institute Basketball Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 2, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Derrick Jones #3 SF | Philadelphia, PA | Archbishop John Carroll High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Nov 13, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Stephen Zimmerman #5 C | Las Vegas, NV | Bishop Gorman High School | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Apr 16, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| 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 UNLV Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015. "2015 UNLV Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 16, 2015. ||||||

## Roster

* November 27, 2015 – Sophomore Goodluck Okonoboh asked for his release and will transfer.
* February 8, 2016 – Freshman Stephen Zimmerman out indefinitely due to a left knee injury. Returned for the February 27 game against Wyoming.
* Ike Nwamu wore #0 until February 6 when he changed to #34 to honor former Mercer teammate Jibri Bryan who was murdered on February 2.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/06/2015* 7:00 p.m. | Whittier | W 94–57 | | Thomas & Mack Center (10,232) Paradise, NV |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:00 p.m. | Cal Poly Maui Invitational opening round | W 74–72 | 1–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (12,201) Paradise, NV |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 p.m. | New Mexico Highlands | W 107–45 | 2–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,961) Paradise, NV |
| 11/18/2015* 7:30 p.m. | Southern Utah | W 84–64 | 3–0 | Thomas & Mack Center (10,824) Paradise, NV |
| 11/23/2015* 8:30 p.m., ESPN2 | vs. UCLA Maui Invitational Quarterfinals | L 75–77 | 3–1 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/24/2015* 1:30 p.m., ESPN2 | vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational second-round consolation | W 93–73 | 4–1 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/25/2015* 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | vs. No. 13 Indiana Maui Invitational fifth-place game | W 72–69 | 5–1 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/28/2015* 7:00 p.m. | Prairie View A&M | W 80–62 | 6–1 | Thomas & Mack Center (10,858) Paradise, NV |
| 12/04/2015* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | vs. No. 15 Oregon MGM Grand Showcase | W 80–69 | 7–1 | MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,117) Paradise, NV |
| 12/09/2015* 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | at Wichita State MW–MVC Challenge | L 50–56 | 7–2 | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 12/12/2015* 7:00 p.m. | at UC Riverside | W 73–62 | 8–2 | Student Recreation Center (1,772) Riverside, CA |
| 12/16/2015* 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | Arizona State | L 56–66 | 8–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (13,014) Paradise, NV |
| 12/19/2015* 5:30 p.m., ESPN2 | at No. 13 Arizona | L 70–82 | 8–4 | McKale Center (14,644) Tucson, AZ |
| 12/22/2015* 7:00 p.m. | South Dakota | W 103–68 | 9–4 | Thomas & Mack Center (11,990) Paradise, NV |
| Mountain West regular season |||||
| 12/30/2015 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Fresno State | L 66–69 | 9–5 (0–1) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,220) Paradise, NV |
| 01/06/2016 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | at Colorado State | L 65–66 | 9–6 (0–2) | Moby Arena (3,431) Fort Collins, CO |
| 01/09/2016 3:00 p.m., CBSSN | at Wyoming | L 57–59 | 9–7 (0–3) | Arena-Auditorium (5,485) Laramie, WY |
| 01/13/2016 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | New Mexico | W 86–74 | 10–7 (1–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,377) Paradise, NV |
| 01/16/2016 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Air Force | W 100–64 | 11–7 (2–3) | Thomas & Mack Center (13,198) Paradise, NV |
| 01/19/2016 8:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Utah State | W 80–68 | 12–7 (3–3) | Smith Spectrum (9,394) Logan, UT |
| 01/23/2016 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | at Nevada | L 63–65 | 12–8 (3–4) | Lawlor Events Center (11,341) Reno, NV |
| 01/27/2016 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | Boise State | W 87–77 | 13–8 (4–4) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,586) Paradise, NV |
| 01/30/2016 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | San Diego State | L 52–67 | 13–9 (4–5) | Thomas & Mack Center (15,243) Paradise, NV |
| 02/02/2016 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | at New Mexico | L 83–87 | 13–10 (4–6) | WisePies Arena (13,359) Albuquerque, NM |
| 02/06/2016 4:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Fresno State | L 104–111 $^{2OT}$ | 13–11 (4–7) | Save Mart Center (7,754) Fresno, CA |
| 02/10/2016 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | San Jose State | W 64–61 | 14–11 (5–7) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,647) Paradise, NV |
| 02/13/2016 7:00 p.m., ESPNU | Colorado State | W 87–80 | 15–11 (6–7) | Thomas & Mack Center (11,753) Paradise, NV |
| 02/17/2016 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | at Air Force | L 74–79 | 15–12 (6–8) | Clune Arena (1,445) Colorado Springs, CO |
| 02/20/2016 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | Nevada | W 101–92 $^{OT}$ | 16–12 (7–8) | Thomas & Mack Center (14,640) Paradise, NV |
| 02/23/2016 8:00 p.m., ESPNU | at Boise State | L 69–81 | 16–13 (7–9) | Taco Bell Arena (4,605) Boise, ID |
| 02/27/2016 5:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Wyoming | W 79–74 | 17–13 (8–9) | Thomas & Mack Center (12,412) Paradise, NV |
| 03/05/2016 7:00 p.m., CBSSN | at San Diego State | L 56–92 | 17–14 (8–10) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Mountain West tournament |||||
| 03/09/2016 1:30 p.m., MWN | Air Force First round | W 108–102 $^{3OT}$ | 18–14 | Thomas & Mack Center (5,970) Paradise, NV |
| 03/10/2016 6:00 p.m., CBSSN | Fresno State Quarterfinals | L 82–95 | 18–15 | Thomas & Mack Center (6,325) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||