# 2015–16 San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team

The 2015–16 San Diego State men's basketball team represented San Diego State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was head coach Steve Fisher's seventeenth season at San Diego State. The Aztecs played their home games at Viejas Arena. They were members in the Mountain West Conference. They finished the season 28–10, 16–2 in Mountain West play to win the Mountain West regular season championship. They defeated Utah State and Nevada to advance to the championship game of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Fresno State. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated IPFW, Washington, and Georgia Tech to advance to the semifinals where they lost to George Washington.

## Previous season

The 2014–15 San Diego State Aztecs finished the season with an overall record of 27–9, and 14–4 in Mountain West play to finish in a tie for the Mountain West regular season championship with Boise State. They advanced to the championship game of the Mountain West tournament where they lost to Wyoming. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as an 8-seed in the South Region, where they defeated St. John's in the second round before losing in the Round of 32 to Duke.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kevin Zabo | 2 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Freshman | Gatineau, QE | Transferred to Indian Hills CC |
| Dwayne Polee II | 5 | F | 6'7" | 200 | RS Senior | Los Angeles, CA | Graduated |
| Aqeel Quinn | 10 | G | 6'3" | 200 | RS Senior | Gardena, CA | Graduated |
| J. J. O'Brien | 20 | F | 6'7" | 215 | RS Senior | Rancho Cucamonga, CA | Graduated |
| Ryan Staten | 24 | G | 6'2" | 185 | Senior | San Pablo, CA | Graduated |

## 2015 recruiting class

In addition to two high school recruits, San Diego State received a commitment from Indiana transfer Max Hoetzel. The sophomore wing will sit out the 2015–16 season, after which he will have three years of remaining eligibility.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jeremy Hemsley #20 SG | La Verne, CA | Damien High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | May 29, 2014 |
| 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 San Diego St. Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015. "2015 San Diego St. Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved April 7, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 2* 7:00 pm | | Cal State San Marcos | W 86–48 | | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 13* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Illinois State MW–MVC Challenge | W 71–60 | 1–0 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| November 16* 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 16 Utah College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon | L 76–81 | 1–1 | Jon M. Huntsman Center (13,587) Salt Lake City, UT |
| November 18* 7:00 pm, FSSD | | San Diego Christian | W 71–61 | 2–1 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| November 21* 7:00 pm, FSSD | | Arkansas–Little Rock Las Vegas Invitational | L 43–49 | 2–2 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| November 23* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | East Carolina Las Vegas Invitational | W 79–54 | 3–2 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| November 26* 9:00 pm, FS1 | | vs. No. 14 California Las Vegas Invitational semifinals | W 72–58 | 4–2 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| November 27* 7:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. West Virginia Las Vegas Invitational championship | L 50–72 | 4–3 | Orleans Arena (3,245) Paradise, NV |
| December 1* 7:30 pm, FSSD | | at Long Beach State | W 76–72 | 5–3 | Walter Pyramid (4,365) Long Beach, CA |
| December 6* 2:00 pm, FSSD | | vs. San Diego Bill Walton Basketball Festival/City Championship | L 48–53 | 5–4 | Petco Park (10,086) San Diego, CA |
| December 7* 7:00 pm | | Biola | W 73–53 | 6–4 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| December 10* 7:00 pm | | Nicholls State | W 84–47 | 7–4 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| December 18* 7:00 pm | | Grand Canyon | L 45–52 | 7–5 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| December 22* 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | No. 2 Kansas | L 57–70 | 7–6 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Mountain West regular season ||||||
| December 30 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Wyoming | W 67–55 | 8–6 (1–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 2 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Utah State | W 70–67 | 9–6 (2–0) | Smith Spectrum (8,626) Logan, UT |
| January 6 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | San Jose State | W 77–62 | 10–6 (3–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 13 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Colorado State | W 69–62 | 11–6 (4–0) | Moby Arena (4,018) Fort Collins, CO |
| January 16 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Boise State | W 56–53 | 12–6 (5–0) | Taco Bell Arena (10,421) Boise, ID |
| January 19 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Fresno State | W 73–67 $^{OT}$ | 13–6 (6–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 23 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Utah State | W 70–55 | 14–6 (7–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| January 26 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Nevada | W 57–54 | 15–6 (8–0) | Lawlor Events Center (6,250) Reno, NV |
| January 30 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | at UNLV | W 67–52 | 16–6 (9–0) | Thomas & Mack Center (15,243) Paradise, NV |
| February 2 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Colorado State | W 69–67 | 17–6 (10–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| February 6 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | New Mexico | W 78–71 $^{OT}$ | 18–6 (11–0) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| February 10 8:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Fresno State | L 57–58 | 18–7 (11–1) | Save Mart Center (6,476) Fresno, CA |
| February 13 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | Air Force | W 70–61 | 19–7 (12–1) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| February 21 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at San Jose State | W 78–56 | 20–7 (13–1) | Event Center Arena (3,317) San Jose, CA |
| February 24 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Wyoming | W 73–61 | 21–7 (14–1) | Arena-Auditorium (5,408) Laramie, WY |
| February 27 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | Boise State | L 63–66 | 21–8 (14–2) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| March 1 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | at New Mexico | W 83–56 | 22–8 (15–2) | The Pit (14,540) Albuquerque, NM |
| March 5 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | UNLV | W 92–56 | 23–8 (16–2) | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| Mountain West tournament ||||||
| March 10 12:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (9) Utah State Quarterfinals | W 71–65 | 24–8 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,279) Paradise, NV |
| March 11 6:00 pm, CBSSN | (1) | vs. (5) Nevada Semifinals | W 67–55 | 25–8 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,036) Paradise, NV |
| March 11 3:00 pm, CBS | (1) | vs. (2) Fresno State Championship game | L 63–68 | 25–9 | Thomas & Mack Center (8,132) Paradise, NV |
| NIT ||||||
| March 15* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | (2) | (7) IPFW First Round – South Carolina Bracket | W 79–55 | 26–9 | Viejas Arena (8,324) San Diego, CA |
| March 21* 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | (3) Washington Second Round – South Carolina Bracket | W 93–78 | 27–9 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| March 23* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | (4) Georgia Tech Quarterfinals – South Carolina Bracket | W 72–56 | 28–9 | Viejas Arena (12,414) San Diego, CA |
| March 29* 9:00 pm, ESPN | (2) | (4) George Washington Semifinals | L 46–65 | 28–10 | Madison Square Garden (8,298) New York, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||