# 2015–16 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Eastern Illinois Panthers men's basketball team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by fourth-year head coach Jay Spoonhour, played their home games at Lantz Arena and were members of the West division of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–17, 9–7 in OVC play, to finish in third place in the West division. They lost in the first round of the OVC tournament to Murray State.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2014–15 season 18–15, 9–7 in OVC play, to finish in third place in the West division. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament where they lost to Belmont. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated Oakland in the first round before losing in the second round to Evansville.

## Roster

| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| 1 | Demetrius McReynolds | Guard | 6'2" | 210 | Junior | Louisville, KY |
| 2 | Cornell Johnson | Guard | 5'7" | 150 | Sophomore | St. Louis, MO |
| 3 | Casey Teson | Guard | 6'2" | 190 | Freshman | St. Charles, MO |
| 5 | A. J. Riley | Guard | 6'4" | 225 | Junior | Peoria, IL |
| 10 | Luke Norman | Guard | 6'1" | 185 | Senior | The Bronx, NY |
| 11 | Anthony Johnson | Guard | 6'4" | 200 | Junior | Oblong, IL |
| 12 | Marshawn Blackmon | Guard/forward | 6'5" | 200 | Freshman | St. Peters, MO |
| 15 | Trae Anderson | Guard/forward | 6'5" | 235 | Senior | St. Louis, MO |
| 24 | Joe Kuligoski | Forward | 6'6" | 220 | RS'Senior | Orland Park, IL |
| 30 | Aleksa Novaković | Guard/forward | 6'7" | 225 | Freshman | Belgrade, Serbia |
| 32 | Patrick Muldoon | Forward | 6'7" | 215 | Freshman | Basehor, KS |
| 33 | Luke Piotrowski | Forward | 6'11" | 250 | RS Senior | Port Republic, NJ |
| 35 | Chris Olivier | Forward | 6'8" | 245 | Junior | Chicago, IL |
| 41 | Lucas Jones | Forward | 6'8" | 205 | Freshman | Prairie Village, KS |
| 54 | Justin Earls | Forward | 6'7" | 220 | RS Sophomore | Chicago, IL |
| 55 | Aboubacar Diallo | Forward | 6'9" | 200 | Freshman | Abidjan, Ivory Coast |

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| November 3, 2015* 7:00 p.m. | St. Francis (IL) | W 74–71 | | Lantz Arena (868) Charleston, IL |
| Regular season |||||
| November 13, 2015* 6:00 p.m. | at No. 15 Indiana | L 49–88 | 0–1 | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| November 16, 2015* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Ball State | L 56–73 | 0–2 | John E. Worthen Arena (2,864) Muncie, IN |
| November 21, 2015* 7:00 p.m. | Western Illinois | L 63–83 | 0–3 | Lantz Arena (869) Charleston, IL |
| November 28, 2015* 7:00 p.m. | Green Bay | L 72–81 | 0–4 | Lantz Arena (410) Charleston, IL |
| December 1, 2015* 7:00 p.m. | Indiana State | W 68–62 | 1–4 | Lantz Arena (1,183) Charleston, IL |
| December 7, 2015* 7:00 p.m. | Northern Kentucky | W 79–73 | 2–4 | Lantz Arena (1,021) Charleston, IL |
| December 9, 2015* 6:00 p.m. | at Marshall Global Sports Classic | L 76–82 | 2–5 | Cam Henderson Center (4,391) Huntington, WV |
| December 12, 2015* 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | Western Illinois | L 57–64 | 2–6 | Lantz Arena (1,231) Charleston, IL |
| December 19, 2015* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | at Houston Global Sports Classic | L 65–81 | 2–7 | Hofheinz Pavilion (3,428) Houston, TX |
| December 21, 2015* 1:00 p.m. | vs. Nebraska–Omaha Global Sports Classic | L 68–80 | 2–8 | Cox Pavilion Paradise, NV |
| December 22, 2015* 1:00 p.m. | vs. North Carolina Central Global Sports Classic | L 52–57 | 2–9 | Cox Pavilion Paradise, NV |
| December 28, 2015* 7:00 p.m. | Hannibal–LaGrange | W 78–53 | 3–9 | Lantz Arena (444) Charleston, IL |
| December 31, 2015 3:00 p.m. | at Tennessee Tech | L 84–94 | 3–10 (0–1) | Eblen Center (1,272) Cookeville, TN |
| January 2, 2016 4:30 p.m. | at Jacksonville State | W 75–64 | 4–10 (1–1) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (692) Jacksonville, AL |
| January 6, 2016 7:00 p.m. | Tennessee State | L 61–66 | 4–11 (1–2) | Lantz Arena (716) Charleston, IL |
| January 9, 2016 2:00 p.m. | at Belmont | L 59–85 | 4–12 (1–3) | Curb Event Center (2,054) Nashville, TN |
| January 14, 2016 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | Eastern Kentucky | W 97–85 | 5–12 (2–3) | Lantz Arena (1,277) Charleston, IL |
| January 16, 2016 3:15 p.m. | Morehead State | W 84–82 $^{OT}$ | 6–12 (3–3) | Lantz Arena (1,369) Charleston, IL |
| January 21, 2016 7:00 p.m. | at Murray State | L 58–68 | 6–13 (3–4) | CFSB Center (2,328) Murray, KY |
| January 23, 2016 7:00 p.m. | at Austin Peay | W 87–86 $^{OT}$ | 7–13 (4–4) | Dunn Center (2,467) Clarksville, TN |
| January 28, 2016 7:00 p.m. | Tennessee–Martin | W 82–74 | 8–13 (5–4) | Lantz Arena (1,339) Charleston, IL |
| January 30, 2016 5:00 p.m. | at SIU Edwardsville | W 60–46 | 9–13 (6–4) | Vadalabene Center (2,008) Edwardsville, IL |
| February 1, 2016* 7:00 p.m. | St. Ambrose | W 101–59 | 10–13 | Lantz Arena (713) Charleston, IL |
| February 6, 2016 11:00 a.m., ASN | Southeast Missouri State | W 78–69 | 11–13 (7–4) | Lantz Arena (1,317) Charleston, IL |
| February 10, 2016 8:00 p.m., ASN | Austin Peay | L 70–79 | 11–14 (7–5) | Lantz Arena (1,771) Charleston, IL |
| February 13, 2016 7:00 p.m. | SIU Edwardsville | L 64–72 | 11–15 (7–6) | Lantz Arena (1,469) Charleston, IL |
| February 18, 2016 6:00 p.m. | at Tennessee–Martin | L 84–87 $^{OT}$ | 11–16 (7–7) | Skyhawk Arena (1,709) Martin, TN |
| February 20, 2016 4:00 p.m. | at Southeast Missouri State | W 71–68 | 12–16 (8–7) | Show Me Center (2,142) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| February 25, 2016 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | Murray State | W 85–74 | 13–16 (9–7) | Lantz Arena (2,023) Charleston, IL |
| Ohio Valley tournament |||||
| March 2, 2016 8:00 p.m. | vs. Murray State First round | L 62–78 | 13–17 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium (1,122) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||