# 2015–16 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team played its home games at the Petersen Events Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Panthers were led by thirteenth-year head coach Jamie Dixon. They were members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 21–12, 9–9 in ACC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They defeated Syracuse in the second round of the ACC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to North Carolina. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where, as a #10 seed, they lost in the first round to Wisconsin.
On March 21, 2016, head coach Jamie Dixon resigned to become the head coach at TCU. He finished at Pittsburgh with a 13-year record of 328–123 and went to the postseason in every season.

## Last season

The Panthers finished the 2014–15 season 19–15, 8–10 in ACC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They lost in the second round of the ACC tournament to NC State. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to George Washington.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Cameron Wright | 3 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Cleveland, OH | Graduated |
| Durand Johnson | 5 | F | 6'6" | 195 | Junior | Baltimore, MD | Graduate transferred to St. John's |
| Derrick Randall | 11 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Senior | Brooklyn, NY | Graduated |
| Josh Newkirk | 13 | G | 6'1" | 175 | Junior | Raleigh, NC | Transferred to Indiana |
| Aron Nwankwo | 15 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | Baltimore, MD | Walk on; graduated |
| Joshua Ko | 22 | G | 6'1" | 150 | Sophomore | Kailua, HI | Walk-on; left the team for personal reasons |
| Tyrone Haughton | 44 | C | 6'9" | 220 | Junior | Miami, FL | Transferred to Arkansas Tech |
| Joseph Uchebo | 50 | C | 6'10" | 260 | Junior | Enugu, Nigeria | Graduate transferred to Charlotte |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Rafael Maia | 5 | F | 6'9" | 245 | Senior | São Paulo, Brazil | Transferred from Brown. Will be eligible to play immediately since Maia graduated from Brown. |
| Sterling Smith | 15 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Senior | Chico, CA | Transferred from Coppin State. Will be eligible to play immediately since Smith graduated from Coppin State. |
| Rozelle Nix | 25 | C | 6'11" | 335 | Junior | Cincinnati, OH | Junior college transferred from Pensacola State College. |
| Alonzo Nelson-Ododa | 33 | F | 6'9" | 235 | Senior | Atlanta, GA | Transferred from Richmond. Will be eligible to play immediately since Nelson-Ododa graduated from Richmond. |
| Zach Smith | 35 | G | 6'3" | 200 | Junior | Smethport, PA | Transferred from Pitt-Bradford. Redshirting the 2015-16 season due to NCAA transfer rules. |
| Jonathan Milligan | 55 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Orlando, FL | Junior college transferred from Kilgore College. |

## Class of 2015 signees

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Damon Wilson Jr. PG | Powder Springs, GA | Our Savior New American School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Nov 5, 2013 |
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015. ||||||

## Class of 2016 signees

College recruiting information (2016) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Corey Manigault C | Suitland, MD | Paul VI High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Mar 16, 2015 |
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 21, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Fri. Nov. 6* 7:00 pm | | Gannon | W 80–50 | — | Petersen Events Center (5,249) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Regular season ||||||
| Fri. Nov. 13* 7:30 pm, ESPN | | vs. No. 9 Gonzaga Armed Forces Classic | Cancelled | Cancelled | Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler Okinawa, Japan |
| Tue. Nov. 17* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Saint Joseph's (IN) | W 84–43 | 1–0 | Petersen Events Center (6,219) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Fri. Nov. 20* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Detroit | W 95–79 | 2–0 | Petersen Events Center (7,819) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Nov. 25* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Cornell | W 93–49 | 3–0 | Petersen Events Center (7,720) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Nov. 28* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Kent State | W 85–76 | 4–0 | Petersen Events Center (7,815) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Tue. Dec. 1* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 11 Purdue ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 59–72 | 4–1 | Petersen Events Center (9,439) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Fri. Dec. 4* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Duquesne The City Game | W 96–75 | 5–1 | Consol Energy Center (13,906) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Dec. 6* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Central Arkansas | W 100–47 | 6–1 | Petersen Events Center (7,049) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Fri. Dec. 11* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Eastern Washington Gotham Classic | W 84–51 | 7–1 | Petersen Events Center (7,614) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Dec. 13* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Morehead State Gotham Classic | W 72–62 | 8–1 | Petersen Events Center (7,065) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Dec. 20* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Davidson Gotham Classic | W 94–69 | 9–1 | Madison Square Garden (7,345) New York City, NY |
| Wed. Dec. 23* 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | | Western Carolina Gotham Classic | W 79–73 | 10–1 | Petersen Events Center (8,025) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Dec. 30 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Syracuse | W 72–61 | 11–1 (1–0) | Petersen Events Center (10,429) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Jan. 2* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 92–58 | 12–1 | Petersen Events Center (8,649) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Jan. 6 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 24 | Georgia Tech | W 89–84 | 13–1 (2–0) | Petersen Events Center (10,249) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Jan. 9 4:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 24 | at Notre Dame | W 86–82 | 14–1 (3–0) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,298) Notre Dame, IN |
| Thu. Jan. 14 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | at No. 21 Louisville | L 41–59 | 14–2 (3–1) | KFC Yum! Center (21,632) Louisville, KY |
| Sat. Jan. 16 2:00 pm, ACCRSN | No. 20 | Boston College | W 84–61 | 15–2 (4–1) | Petersen Events Center (10,260) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Tue. Jan 19 8:00 pm, ACCN | | NC State | L 61–78 | 15–3 (4–2) | Petersen Events Center (9,849) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Jan. 23 4:00 pm, ACCN | | at Florida State | W 74–72 | 16–3 (5–2) | Donald L. Tucker Center (9,160) Tallahassee, FL |
| Wed. Jan. 27 7:00 pm, ACCRSN | | at Clemson | L 60–73 | 16–4 (5–3) | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (8,752) Greenville, SC |
| Sun. Jan. 31 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | Virginia Tech | W 90–71 | 17–4 (6–3) | Petersen Events Center (10,049) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Feb. 6 12:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 9 Virginia | L 50–64 | 17–5 (6–4) | Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Tue. Feb. 9 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 12 Miami (FL) | L 63–65 | 17–6 (6–5) | BankUnited Center (6,609) Coral Gables, FL |
| Sun. Feb. 14 1:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 9 North Carolina | L 64–85 | 17–7 (6–6) | Dean E. Smith Center (20,011) Chapel Hill, NC |
| Tue. Feb. 16 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Wake Forest | W 101–96 $^{2OT}$ | 18–7 (7–6) | Petersen Events Center (8,825) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sat. Feb. 20 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Syracuse | W 66–52 | 19–7 (8–6) | Carrier Dome (28,696) Syracuse, NY |
| Wed. Feb. 24 8:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 11 Louisville | L 60–67 | 19–8 (8–7) | Petersen Events Center (10,425) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Sun. Feb. 28 2:00 pm, CBS | | No. 15 Duke | W 76–62 | 20–8 (9–7) | Petersen Events Center (12,508) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Wed. Mar. 2 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Virginia Tech | L 61–65 | 20–9 (9–8) | Cassell Coliseum (6,949) Blacksburg, VA |
| Sat. Mar. 5 2:00 pm, ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | L 59–63 | 20–10 (9–9) | Hank McCamish Pavilion (7,042) Atlanta, GA |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Wed. Mar. 9 12:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN | (8) | vs. (9) Syracuse Second Round | W 72–71 | 21–10 | Verizon Center (18,561) Washington, D.C. |
| Thu. Mar. 10 12:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN | (8) | vs. (1) No. 7 North Carolina Quarterfinals | L 71–88 | 21–11 | Verizon Center (18,561) Washington, D.C. |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Fri. Mar. 18* 6:50 pm, TNT | (10 E) | vs. (7 E) Wisconsin First Round | L 43–47 | 21–12 | Scottrade Center (14,425) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Footnotes

* ↑ The referees cancelled the game at halftime due to dangerous court conditions. The game did not count toward either team's win–loss record, and player statistics from the game were not counted as official. Pittsburgh was leading 37–35.