# 2015–16 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball team represented the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Dan Hipsher's third season with the UTRGV program, although his first under the "UTRGV" name. The Vaqueros played their home games at the UTRGV Fieldhouse on the university's campus in Edinburg, Texas and were members of the Western Athletic Conference. They finished the season 8–22 and 4–10 in WAC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament to Seattle.
This was the first season as an institution for UTRGV, formed in a consolidation between the University of Texas-Pan American (UTPA) and the University of Texas at Brownsville. The former UTPA athletic program was converted to that of UTRGV, with UTPA's conference membership and athletic history transferring directly to the new institution.
On March 15, 2016, the school removed Dan Hipsher as head coach. On March 31, the school hired Lew Hill as head coach.

## Previous season

The Texas-Pan American Broncs finished the 2014–15 season 10–21, 4–10 in WAC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the WAC tournament to UMKC.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Elijah Watson | 1 | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Freshman | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Kaskaskia College |
| Isaiah Hobbs | 3 | G | 6'4" | 178 | Freshman | Boynton Beach, FL | Transferred to Howard College |
| Shaquile Boga | 5 | G | 5'11" | 170 | Senior | St. Louis, MO | Graduated |
| Moe McDonald | 10 | G | 6'4" | 185 | RS Freshman | McAllen, TX | Transferred to Highland Community College |
| Andreas Bigum | 11 | F | 6'9" | 218 | Junior | Copenhagen, Denmark | Transferred to Fresno Pacific |
| Janari Jõesaar | 21 | F | 6'6" | 208 | Sophomore | Tartu, Estonia | Signed to play professionally by Rapla |
| Shaun Noriega | 22 | G | 6'4" | 207 | RS Senior | Sarasota, FL | Graduated |
| Josh Butler | 33 | F | 6'6" | 225 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| J. J. Thompson | 3 | G | 6'0" | 185 | RS Senior | Irving, TX | Transferred from Southeast Missouri State. Will be eligible to play immediately since Thompson graduated from Southeast Missouri State. |
| Nick Dixon | 5 | G | 6'2" | 180 | RS Junior | Bellwood, IL | Junior college transferred from Morton College |
| Lew Stallworth | 13 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Sophomore | Santa Clarita, CA | Transferred from UTEP. Under NCAA transfer rules, Stallworth will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Michael Hoffman | 21 | F | 6'8" | 192 | Junior | Burleson, TX | Transferred from Lafayette. Under NCAA transfer rules, Hoffman will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility. |
| Dino Mercurius | 30 | G | 6'4" | 165 | Sophomore | Bronx, NY | Transferred from South Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Mercurius will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Ot Elmore | 33 | G | 6'3" | 190 | RS Sophomore | Charleston, SC | Transferred from VMI. Under NCAA transfer rules, Mercurius will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Dakota Slaughter | 35 | F | 6'6" | 220 | RS Senior | Fishers, IN | Transferred from Alabama. Slaughter will be eligible to play immediately since Slaughter graduated from Alabama. |

## 2015 incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| William Brooks C | Torrance, CA | Westwind Prep Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Oct 23, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Walter Jones SG | Newborn, AL | Sunshine High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Oct 25, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Antonio Green SG | Tupelo, MS | Tupelo High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| 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 September 18, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule and results

For the first time in club history, every home game will be televised. UTRGV has entered into a deal with TWCS Texas to broadcast all 13 home games. Every home game, unless it becomes a WAC DN exclusive, will air on the network.
| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/07/2015* 7:00 pm | Texas A&M International | W 67–58 | | UTRGV Fieldhouse Edinburg, TX |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/13/2015* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Miami (FL) | L 59–86 | 0–1 | BankUnited Center (6,607) Coral Gables, FL |
| 11/16/2015* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at North Florida | L 84–106 | 0–2 | UNF Arena (2,718) Jacksonville, FL |
| 11/20/2015* 7:00 pm, TWCS | Texas A&M–Kingsville | W 78–56 | 1–2 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,371) Edinburg, TX |
| 11/22/2015* 2:00 pm, TWCS | Portland State | L 61–79 | 1–3 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (523) Edinburg, TX |
| 11/24/2015* 7:00 pm, TWCS | Southeast Missouri State | W 83–74 | 2–3 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,003) Edinburg, TX |
| 11/30/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Houston | L 65–78 | 2–4 | Hofheinz Pavilion (1,974) Houston, TX |
| 12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, TWCS Alt. | at Lamar | L 60–83 | 2–5 | Montagne Center (1,766) Beaumont, TX |
| 12/06/2015* 2:00 pm, TWCS | Angelo State | W 76–75 | 3–5 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (821) Edinburg, TX |
| 12/11/2015* 7:00 pm, TWCS | Tennessee–Martin | L 64–72 | 3–6 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,169) Edinburg, TX |
| 12/13/2015* 2:00 pm | at Texas State | L 59–68 | 3–7 | Strahan Coliseum (1,389) San Marcos, TX |
| 12/21/2015* 9:00 pm | at Utah State World Vision Classic | L 69–94 | 3–10 | Smith Spectrum (8,156) Logan, UT |
| 12/22/2015* 6:30 pm | vs. North Dakota State World Vision Classic | L 50–68 | 3–9 | Smith Spectrum (7,746) Logan, UT |
| 12/23/2015* 6:30 pm | vs. Idaho State World Vision Classic | L 64–76 | 3–10 | Smith Spectrum (8,321) Logan, UT |
| 12/29/2015* 8:00 pm | at UTEP | L 64–85 | 3–11 | Don Haskins Center (6,819) El Paso, TX |
| 01/02/2016* 7:00 pm, TWCS | Our Lady of the Lake | W 89–81 | 4–11 | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,047) Edinburg, TX |
| WAC Conference Play |||||
| 01/07/2016 8:00 pm, TWCS | at Grand Canyon | L 63–83 | 4–12 (0–1) | GCU Arena (5,452) Phoenix, AZ |
| 01/09/2016 8:00 pm, YouTube | at Utah Valley | L 65–98 | 4–13 (0–2) | UCCU Center (1,881) Orem, UT |
| 01/14/2016 7:00 pm, WAC DN | Chicago State | W 82–72 | 5–13 (1–2) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,211) Edinburg, TX |
| 01/16/2016 7:00 pm, TWCS | UMKC | W 71–66 | 6–13 (2–2) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,189) Edinburg, TX |
| 01/21/2016 8:00 pm, ASN | at Cal State Bakersfield | L 58–77 | 6–14 (2–3) | Icardo Center (1,501) Bakersfield, CA |
| 01/23/2016 9:00 pm, WAC DN | at Seattle | L 59–70 | 6–15 (2–4) | KeyArena (1,752) Seattle, WA |
| 01/30/2016 8:00 pm, WAC DN | at New Mexico State | L 68–92 | 6–16 (2–5) | Pan American Center (4,710) Las Cruces, NM |
| 02/04/2016 7:00 pm, TWCS | Utah Valley | L 77–88 | 6–17 (2–6) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,211) Edinburg, TX |
| 02/06/2016 7:00 pm, TWCS | Grand Canyon | L 58–64 | 6–18 (2–7) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,128) Edinburg, TX |
| 02/13/2016 2:00 pm, WAC DN | at UMKC | L 58–75 | 6–19 (2–8) | Municipal Auditorium (1,670) Kansas City, MO |
| 02/18/2016 7:00 pm, TWCS | Seattle | W 67–57 | 7–19 (3–8) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,435) Edinburg, TX |
| 02/20/2016 7:00 pm, TWCS | Cal State Bakersfield | L 57–70 | 7–20 (3–9) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,299) Edinburg, TX |
| 02/28/2016 4:00 pm, ASN | at Chicago State | W 89–79 | 8–20 (4–9) | Emil and Patricia Jones Convocation Center (1,902) Chicago, IL |
| 03/05/2016 7:00 pm, TWCS | New Mexico State | L 44–83 | 8–21 (4–10) | UTRGV Fieldhouse (1,336) Edinburg, TX |
| WAC tournament |||||
| 03/10/2016 9:00 pm, WAC DN | vs. Seattle Quarterfinals | L 52–75 | | Orleans Arena (1,472) Paradise, NV |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||