# 2015–16 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Evansville Purple Aces men's basketball team represented the University of Evansville during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Purple Aces, led by ninth year head coach Marty Simmons, played their home games at the Ford Center and were members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 12–6 in Missouri Valley play to finish in a tie for second place. They defeated Missouri State and Indiana State in the Missouri Valley tournament to advance to the championship game where they lost to Northern Iowa. Despite having 25 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Previous season

The Purple Aces finished the 2014–15 season 24–12, 9–9 in MVC play to finish in fifth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley tournament to Illinois State. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they defeated IPFW, Eastern Illinois, Louisiana–Lafayette, Tennessee–Martin, and Northern Arizona to become CIT champions.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Taylor Stafford | 1 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Junior | Duluth, MN | Transferred to Western Washington |
| Jaylor Moore | 10 | F/C | 6'7" | 230 | Senior | Olive Branch, MS | Graduated |

## Class of 2015 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Dainius Chatkevicius PF | Orlando, FL | West Oaks Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | N/A |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Harris Brown PG | Indianapolis, IN | T.C. Howe High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | N/A | Oct 18, 2014 |
| 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 May 4, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/07/2015* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Wabash | W 95–65 | | Ford Center (3,813) Evansville, IN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/15/2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | Southeast Missouri State | W 80–65 | 1–0 | Ford Center (3,893) Evansville, IN |
| 11/17/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Marian (IN) | W 84–59 | 2–0 | Ford Center (3,463) Evansville, IN |
| 11/21/2015* 12:30 pm, ESPN3 | Belmont | W 93–88 | 3–0 | Ford Center (4,227) Evansville, IN |
| 11/26/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. Providence Wooden Legacy quarterfinals | L 64–74 | 3–1 | Titan Gym (2,460) Fullerton, CA |
| 11/27/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | vs. Santa Clara Wooden Legacy consolation round | W 69–57 | 4–1 | Titan Gym (2,873) Fullerton, CA |
| 11/29/2015* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | vs. UC Irvine Wooden Legacy 5th Place Game | W 75–56 | 5–1 | Honda Center (4,393) Anaheim, CA |
| 12/01/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Alabama State | W 88–56 | 6–1 | Ford Center (3,702) Evansville, IN |
| 12/05/2015* 7:30 pm | at Murray State | W 85–81 $^{OT}$ | 7–1 | CFSB Center (3,174) Murray, KY |
| 12/08/2015* 8:00 pm, SECN | at Arkansas | L 76–89 | 7–2 | Bud Walton Arena (13,980) Fayetteville, AR |
| 12/12/2015* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Mississippi Valley State | W 95–60 | 8–2 | Ford Center (4,251) Evansville, IN |
| 12/17/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Norfolk State | W 84–70 | 9–2 | Ford Center (3,883) Evansville, IN |
| 12/20/2015* 3:00 pm | at Fresno State MW–MVC Challenge | W 85–77 | 10–2 | Save Mart Center (5,251) Fresno, CA |
| 12/22/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Alabama A&M | W 91–70 | 11–2 | Ford Center (4,746) Evansville, IN |
| Missouri Valley regular season |||||
| 12/30/2015 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Indiana State | W 70–62 | 12–2 (1–0) | Ford Center (7,801) Evansville, IN |
| 01/02/2016 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Missouri State | W 76–59 | 13–2 (2–0) | JQH Arena (4,023) Springfield, MO |
| 01/06/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Wichita State | L 64–67 | 13–3 (2–1) | Charles Koch Arena (10,506) Wichita, KS |
| 01/09/2016 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Bradley | W 67–35 | 25–3 (3–1) | Ford Center (5,873) Evansville, IN |
| 01/12/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | Drake | W 84–65 | 15–3 (4–1) | Ford Center (4,011) Evansville, IN |
| 01/15/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | at Illinois State | W 66–55 | 16–3 (5–1) | Redbird Arena (5,148) Normal, IL |
| 01/19/2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN | Loyola–Chicago | W 74–66 | 17–3 (6–1) | Ford Center (4,014) Evansville, IN |
| 01/24/2016 3:00 pm, ESPNU | at Indiana State | L 65–82 | 17–4 (6–2) | Hulman Center (4,630) Terre Haute, IN |
| 01/28/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Southern Illinois | W 85–78 $^{OT}$ | 18–4 (7–2) | SIU Arena (6,345) Carbondale, IL |
| 01/31/2016 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 22 Wichita State | L 65–78 | 18–5 (7–3) | Ford Center (10,034) Evansville, IN |
| 02/03/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Northern Iowa | L 54–57 | 18–6 (7–4) | McLeod Center (4,805) Cedar Falls, IA |
| 02/06/2016 11:00 am, ESPN3 | Missouri State | W 83–64 | 19–6 (8–4) | Ford Center (4,556) Evansville, IN |
| 02/11/2016 8:00 pm, CBSSN | Illinois State | L 60–70 | 19–7 (8–5) | Ford Center (4,195) Evansville, IN |
| 02/14/2016 3:00 pm, ESPNU | at Loyola–Chicago | W 74–73 | 20–7 (9–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,257) Chicago, IL |
| 02/17/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Drake | W 80–74 | 21–7 (10–5) | Knapp Center (2,790) Des Moines, IA |
| 02/20/2016 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | Southern Illinois | W 83–71 | 22–7 (11–5) | Ford Center (7,163) Evansville, IN |
| 02/23/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | at Bradley | W 67–55 | 23–7 (12–5) | Carver Arena (5,523) Peoria, IL |
| 02/27/2016 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | Northern Iowa | L 52–54 | 23–8 (12–6) | Ford Center (6,552) Evansville, IN |
| Missouri Valley tournament |||||
| 03/04/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | vs. Missouri State Quarterfinals | W 66–56 | 24–8 | Scottrade Center (8,468) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/05/2016 5:00 pm, CBSSN | vs. Indiana State Semifinals | W 68-42 | 25–8 | Scottrade Center (14,299) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/06/2016 1:00 pm, CBS | vs. Northern Iowa Championship game | L 54–56 | 25–9 | Scottrade Center (14,299) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||