# 2015–16 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Texas A&M Aggies men's basketball team represented Texas A&M University in the 2015–16 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Billy Kennedy, in his fifth season. The team played their home games at Reed Arena in College Station, Texas and its fourth season as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 28–9, 13–5 in SEC play to win a share of the SEC regular season championship. They defeated Florida and LSU to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Green Bay and Northern Iowa to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Oklahoma.

## Previous season

The team had a 21–12 (11–7 in conference play) record and entered the SEC Tournament as the 5th seed after losing two games to end conference play, where it lost to Auburn. The team earned an NIT bid as a No. 2 seed (despite making noise for a bid to the NCAA Tournament which was silenced after a losing skid at the end of the season) and lost in the 2nd round of the NIT To Louisiana Tech after beating Montana in the first round.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Avery Johnson, Jr. | 0 | G | 5'11" | 182 | Freshman | Plano, TX | Transferred to Alabama |
| Derek Cahn | 2 | F | 6'5" | 199 | Freshman | Highland Park, TX | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Jordan Green | 5 | G | 6'5" | 188 | Senior | Flower Mound, TX | Graduated |
| Kourtney Roberson | 14 | F | 6'9" | 247 | Senior | Arcadia, LA | Graduated |
| Davonte Fitzgerald | 15 | F | 6'7" | 209 | Sophomore | Tucker, GA | Transferred to Minnesota |
| Ramon White | 22 | G | 6'2" | 160 | Junior | Fort Worth, TX | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Peyton Allen | 22 | G | 6'5" | 202 | Freshman | Chatham, IL | Transferred to Wichita State |
| Antwan Space | 24 | F | 6'8" | 229 | RS Junior | DeSoto, TX | Graduated & transferred to Massachusetts |
| Dylan Johns | 45 | C | 6'11" | 228 | RS Sophomore | Ipswich, England | Transferred to Cal State Northridge |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Anthony Collins | 11 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Senior | Houston, TX | Transferred from South Florida. Will be eligible to play immediately since Collins graduated from South Florida. |

## Recruits

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Tyler Davis #7 C | Plano, TX | Plano West High School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 270 lb (120 kg) | Aug 22, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| Elijah Thomas #8 C | Lancaster, TX | Lancaster High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 21, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 88 ||||||
| D. J. Hogg #6 SF | Plano, TX | Plano West High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 7, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 87 ||||||
| Admon Gilder #22 SG | Dallas, TX | James Madison High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Oct 16, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 85 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ESPN: Not Ranked ||||||
| 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: "Texas A&M 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "2015 Texas A&M Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. ||||||

### Recruits for class of 2016

College recruiting information (2016) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Robert Williams #12 PF | Vivian, LA | North Caddo High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Jun 20, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 86 |||||||
| J. J. Caldwell #15 PG | Houston, TX | Cypress Woods High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | May 3, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 81 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ESPN: Not Ranked |||||||
| 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: "Texas A&M 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "2016 Texas A&M Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 18, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov. 6* 7:00 pm | | Texas A&M International | W 83–45 | – | Reed Arena (4,065) College Station, TX |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov. 13* 8:30 pm | | USC Upstate | W 104–54 | 1–0 | Reed Arena (6,552) College Station, TX |
| Nov. 16* 7:00 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 100–58 | 2–0 | Reed Arena (4,903) College Station, TX |
| Nov. 19* 7:00 pm | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Battle 4 Atlantis Opening Round | W 95–70 | 3–0 | Reed Arena (5,392) College Station, TX |
| Nov. 21* 3:00 pm | | UNC Asheville | W 75–47 | 4–0 | Reed Arena (5,557) College Station, TX |
| Nov. 25* 6:00 pm, AXS TV | No. 25 | vs. Texas Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals | W 84–73 | 5–0 | Imperial Arena (1,647) Nassau, BS |
| Nov. 26* 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | vs. No. 10 Gonzaga Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals | W 62–61 | 6–0 | Imperial Arena (1,331) Nassau, BS |
| Nov. 27* 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | vs. Syracuse Battle 4 Atlantis Championship | L 67–74 | 6–1 | Imperial Arena (2,309) Nassau, BS |
| Dec. 2* 7:00 pm | No. 18 | Florida Gulf Coast | W 75–65 | 7–1 | Reed Arena (5,589) College Station, TX |
| Dec. 5* 9:30 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | at Arizona State | L 54–67 | 7–2 | Wells Fargo Arena (7,608) Tempe, AZ |
| Dec. 12* 4:30 pm, SECN | | Kansas State | W 78–68 | 8–2 | Reed Arena (7,003) College Station, TX |
| Dec. 19* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 24 | No. 16 Baylor | W 80–61 | 9–2 | Reed Arena (9,056) College Station, TX |
| Dec. 29* 7:00 pm | No. 20 | Cal Poly | W 82–63 | 10–2 | Reed Arena (7,442) College Station, TX |
| Jan. 2 3:30 pm, SECN | No. 20 | Arkansas | W 92–69 | 11–2 (1–0) | Reed Arena (11,332) College Station, TX |
| Jan. 6 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 21 | at Mississippi State | W 61–60 | 12–2 (2–0) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,693) Starkville, MS |
| Jan. 9 12:00 pm, SECN | No. 21 | at Tennessee | W 92–88 | 13–2 (3–0) | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,907) Knoxville, TN |
| Jan. 12 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 15 | Florida | W 71–68 | 14–2 (4–0) | Reed Arena (9,766) College Station, TX |
| Jan. 16 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 15 | at Georgia | W 79–45 | 15–2 (5–0) | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| Jan. 19 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | LSU | W 71–57 | 16–2 (6–0) | Reed Arena (13,888) College Station, TX |
| Jan. 23 3:00 pm, SECN | No. 10 | Missouri | W 66–53 | 17–2 (7–0) | Reed Arena (12,198) College Station, TX |
| Jan. 27 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 5 | at Arkansas | L 71–74 | 17–3 (7–1) | Bud Walton Arena (14,410) Fayetteville, AR |
| Jan. 30* 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 5 | No. 14 Iowa State Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 72–62 | 18–3 | Reed Arena (12,473) College Station, TX |
| Feb. 4 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 8 | at Vanderbilt | L 60–77 | 18–4 (7–2) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,432) Nashville, TN |
| Feb. 6 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 8 | No. 25 South Carolina | L 78–81 | 18–5 (7–3) | Reed Arena (11,240) College Station, TX |
| Feb. 10 6:00 pm, SECN | No. 15 | at Alabama | L 62–63 | 18–6 (7–4) | Coleman Coliseum (11,086) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Feb. 13 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 15 | at LSU | L 71–76 | 18–7 (7–5) | Maravich Center (12,928) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb. 16 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Ole Miss | W 71–56 | 19–7 (8–5) | Reed Arena (6,460) College Station, TX |
| Feb. 20 5:30 pm, ESPN | | No. 14 Kentucky College GameDay | W 79–77 $^{OT}$ | 20–7 (9–5) | Reed Arena (12,029) College Station, TX |
| Feb. 24 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 21 | Mississippi State | W 68–66 | 21–7 (10–5) | Reed Arena (8,312) College Station, TX |
| Feb. 27 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | at Missouri | W 84–69 | 22–7 (11–5) | Mizzou Arena (7,189) Columbia, MO |
| Mar. 1 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | at Auburn | W 81–63 | 23–7 (12–5) | Auburn Arena (7,238) Auburn, AL |
| Mar. 5 11:00 am, ESPN2 | No. 20 | Vanderbilt | W 76–67 | 24–7 (13–5) | Reed Arena (12,007) College Station, TX |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar. 11 12:00 pm, SECN | (1) No. 17 | vs. (8) Florida Quarterfinals | W 72–66 | 25–7 | Bridgestone Arena (15,222) Nashville, TN |
| Mar. 12 12:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 17 | vs. (4) LSU Semifinals | W 71–38 | 26–7 | Bridgestone Arena (19,108) Nashville, TN |
| Mar. 13 12:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 17 | vs. (2) No. 16 Kentucky Championship | L 77–82 $^{OT}$ | 26–8 | Bridgestone Arena (19,613) Nashville, TN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar. 18* 6:20 pm, TBS | (3 W) No. 15 | vs. (14 W) Green Bay First Round | W 92–65 | 27–8 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279) Oklahoma City, OK |
| Mar. 20* 6:40 pm, truTV | (3 W) No. 15 | vs. (11 W) Northern Iowa Second Round | W 92–88 $^{2OT}$ | 28–8 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279) Oklahoma City, OK |
| Mar. 26* 6:37 pm, TBS | (3 W) No. 15 | vs. (2 W) No. 7 Oklahoma Sweet Sixteen | L 63–77 | 28–9 | Honda Center (17,601) Anaheim, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | 25т | 18 | RV | 24 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 15 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 15 | RV | 21 | 20 | 17 | 15 | N/A |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 14 | 8 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 24 | 21 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 12 |