# 2015–16 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was Kevin Stallings' 17th and final year as the Vanderbilt head coach. The Commodores played their home games at Memorial Gymnasium in Nashville, Tennessee, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a three way tie for third place. They lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to Tennessee. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the First Four to Wichita State.
On March 27, 2016, head coach Kevin Stallings resigned to become the head coach at Pittsburgh. He finished at Vanderbilt with a 17-year record of 332–220. Shortly thereafter, the school hired Valparaiso head coach Bryce Drew as head coach.

## Previous season

The 2014–15 Commodores finished the season 21–14, 9–9 in SEC play to finish at seventh place in the SEC standings. As the #7 seed, they lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to Tennessee. Vanderbilt participated in the National Invitation Tournament as an #5 seed, defeating Saint Mary's and South Dakota State before falling to the eventual NIT champion, the Stanford Cardinal, in the quarterfinals, marking the end of the Commodores' season.

## Before the season
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Shelby Moats | 34 | Forward | 6'8" | 225 | Senior | Waconia, MN | Graduated |
| James Siakam | 35 | Forward | 6'7" | 225 | Senior | Douala, Cameroon | Graduated |

### Class of 2015 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Djery Baptiste C | Gonaïves, Haiti | Prestonwood Christian Academy | 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) | 250 lb (110 kg) | Sep 10, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Camron Justice SG | Hindman, Kentucky | Knott County Central | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 1, 2010 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Joseph Toye PF | Chicago, Illinois | Whitney M. Young Magnet High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Apr 29, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 23 Rivals: 30 ||||||
| 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: "Vanderbilt 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014. "2015 Vanderbilt Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 10, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 18 | Austin Peay Maui Invitational Opening Round | W 80–41 | 1–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (10,116) Nashville, TN |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 17 | Gardner–Webb | W 98–62 | 2–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,728) Nashville, TN |
| 11/19/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 17 | Stony Brook | W 79–72 $^{OT}$ | 3–0 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,819) Nashville, TN |
| 11/23/2015* 1:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 19 | vs. St. John's Maui Invitational quarterfinals | W 92–55 | 4–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/24/2015* 6:30 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | vs. Wake Forest Maui Invitational semifinals | W 86–64 | 5–0 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 11/25/2015* 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | vs. No. 5 Kansas Maui Invitational championship | L 63–70 | 5–1 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| 12/02/2015* 7:00 pm | No. 16 | Detroit | W 102–52 | 6–1 | Memorial Gymnasium (9,958) Nashville, TN |
| 12/06/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 16 | at No. 25 Baylor | L 67–69 | 6–2 | Ferrell Center (7,084) Waco, TX |
| 12/09/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | Dayton | L 67–72 | 6–3 | Memorial Gymnasium (10,469) Nashville, TN |
| 12/19/2015* 2:00 pm, SECN | | Wofford | W 80–56 | 7–3 | Memorial Gymnasium (10,667) Nashville, TN |
| 12/22/2015* 7:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 14 Purdue | L 55–68 | 7–4 | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| 12/30/2015* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Western Michigan | W 86–61 | 8–4 | Memorial Gymnasium (10,092) Nashville, TN |
| 01/02/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | LSU | L 82–90 | 8–5 (0–1) | Memorial Gymnasium (13,380) Nashville, TN |
| 01/05/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | L 85–90 $^{OT}$ | 8–6 (0–2) | Bud Walton Arena (14,179) Fayetteville, AR |
| 01/09/2016 2:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 22 South Carolina | L 65–69 | 8–7 (0–3) | Colonial Life Arena (15,055) Columbia, SC |
| 01/12/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Auburn | W 75–57 | 9–7 (1–3) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,414) Nashville, TN |
| 01/16/2016 5:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | W 71–63 | 10–7 (2–3) | Memorial Gymnasium (12,565) Nashville, TN |
| 01/20/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | W 88–74 | 11–7 (3–3) | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,561) Knoxville, TN |
| 01/23/2016 3:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 23 Kentucky | L 57–76 | 11–8 (3–4) | Rupp Arena (22,975) Lexington, KY |
| 01/26/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Florida | W 60–59 | 12–8 (4–4) | Memorial Gymnasium (11,351) Nashville, TN |
| 01/30/2016* 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | at Texas Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 59–72 | 12–9 | Frank Erwin Center (13,041) Austin, TX |
| 02/04/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 8 Texas A&M | W 77–60 | 13–9 (5–4) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,432) Nashville, TN |
| 02/06/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Ole Miss | L 78–85 | 13–10 (5–5) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| 02/10/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 86–71 | 14–10 (6–5) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,006) Nashville, TN |
| 02/13/2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Auburn | W 86–57 | 15–10 (7–5) | Auburn Arena (7,954) Auburn, AL |
| 02/16/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 74–75 | 15–11 (7–6) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,194) Starkville, MS |
| 02/20/2016 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | Georgia | W 80–67 | 16–11 (8–6) | Memorial Gymnasium (11,745) Nashville, TN |
| 02/23/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Florida | W 87–74 | 17–11 (9–6) | O'Connell Center (9,035) Gainesville, FL |
| 02/27/2016 3:00 pm, CBS | | No. 16 Kentucky | W 74–62 | 18–11 (10–6) | Memorial Gymnasium (14,326) Nashville, TN |
| 03/01/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | W 86–69 | 19–11 (11–6) | Memorial Gymnasium (13,099) Nashville, TN |
| 03/06/2016 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | at No. 20 Texas A&M | L 67–76 | 19–12 (11–7) | Reed Arena (12,007) College Station, TX |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| 03/10/2016 2:30 pm, SECN/ESPN | (5) | vs. (12) Tennessee Second Round | L 65–67 | 19–13 | Bridgestone Arena (12,270) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/15/2016* 8:10 pm, truTV | (11 S) | vs. (11 S) Wichita State First Four | L 50–70 | 19–14 | UD Arena (11,728) Dayton, OH |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South Region. All times are in Central Time.. ||||||