# 2015–16 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Tom Crean, who was in his eighth season with the Hoosiers. The team played its home games at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, as a member of the Big Ten Conference.
This season marked the 40th Anniversary of the 32–0 and National Championship 1975–76 Hoosiers team, a feat still unrivaled. To commemorate the anniversary, players' jerseys featured a commemorative patch on the back of the jersey. The Hoosiers also held a public recognition of the undefeated team during halftime of the home game against Wisconsin on January 5, during which the announcement was made that a statue of the seniors and starters will be erected outside the south entrance of Assembly Hall. A new banner was also revealed honoring the '76 team as NCAA's #1 All-Time March Madness Team. Tom Abernethy and Bobby Wilkerson, two players from the team, were inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.
IU's season-opener victory against Eastern Illinois was a milestone game, as it marked 1,000 home wins in Indiana basketball history. IU finished the regular season by winning their 22nd conference title, tying them with in-state rival, Purdue, for the most conference titles.
Indiana finished the season 27–8 overall, 15–3 in the Big Ten to win the Big Ten regular season title outright. They received the #1 seed in the 2016 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, where they made an early quarterfinals exit by losing to Michigan. The Hoosiers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Indiana defeated Chattanooga and Kentucky to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in five years; however, in the Sweet Sixteen they fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels, 86–101.

## Previous season

The 2014–15 Hoosiers went 20–14 overall and 9–9 in the Big Ten Conference (tying for seventh place). Much of the Hoosiers' difficulties were caused by a lack of defense and post presence. The Hoosiers improved over the 13–14 season, in which they did not appear in any postseason tournament, by being selected to play in the NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed in the Midwest region. They made an early exit as the #7 Wichita State Shockers knocked them off in the second round.
Following the season, assistant coach Steve McClain was hired as the new head coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Tom Crean named Rob Judson, who spent the 2014–15 season as Indiana's Director of Basketball Operations, as McClain's replacement.

## Preseason
### Departures

Indiana Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Stanford Robinson | 22 | SG | 6'4" | 205 | Sophomore | Landover, Maryland | Transfer (Rhode Island) |
| Max Hoetzel | 3 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Freshman | Calabasas, California | Transfer (San Diego State) |
| Jeremiah April | 44 | C | 7'0" | 240 | Freshman | Phoenix, Arizona | Transfer (Trinity Valley CC) |
| Devin Davis | 15 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Sophomore | Indianapolis, Indiana | Dismissed/Transfer (Odessa College) |
| Hanner Mosquera-Perea | 12 | F | 6'9" | 225 | Junior | Istmina, Colombia | Dismissed/Transfer (East Tennessee State) |
| Emmitt Holt | 25 | F | 6'7" | 230 | Sophomore | Webster, New York | Dismissed/Transfer (Indian Hills CC) |

### Recruiting class

On April 4, 2015, McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand All-Star, Thomas Bryant committed to IU. With this commit, IU landed their fifth McDonald's All-American in a row, as well as secured a 6'10" rim-protector, which was something drastically missing from the previous season. Bryant made the announcement live on ESPN during the Dick's National Tournament.
In addition to the three high school recruits, Indiana received a commitment from Michigan graduate transfer Max Bielfeldt. The senior forward is eligible immediately to play for the Hoosiers.
A late addition of junior Pittsburgh transfer, Josh Newkirk, filled IU's last 2015–16 scholarship. Due to transfer rules and rehabilitating a knee injury from May, Newkirk will sit out the '15–'16 season. He will have two remaining seasons of eligibility left.
College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Juwan Morgan F | Waynesville, MO | Waynesville HS | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Sep 10, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| OG Anunoby F | Jefferson City, MO | Jefferson City HS | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Oct 14, 2014 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Thomas Bryant F | Rochester, NY | Huntington Prep | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Apr 4, 2015 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 26 247Sports: 24 ESPN: 26 ||||||
| 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 14, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 3* 7:00 pm | No. 15 | Ottawa | W 82–54 | | 15 – Blackmon, Jr. | 11 – Bryant | 6 – Blackmon, Jr. | Assembly Hall (17,302) Bloomington, IN |
| Nov 9* 7:00 pm | No. 15 | Bellarmine | W 73–62 | | 21 – Ferrell | 8 – Tied | 4 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,174) Bloomington, IN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 13* 7:00 pm | No. 15 | Eastern Illinois | W 88–49 | 1–0 | 17 – Blackmon, Jr. | 9 – Bryant | 6 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Nov 16* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Austin Peay Maui Invitational Opening Round | W 102–76 | 2–0 | 22 – Ferrell | 6 – Tied | 9 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Nov 19* 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Creighton Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 86–65 | 3–0 | 19 – Blackmon, Jr. | 9 – Ferrell | 6 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Nov 23* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | vs. Wake Forest Maui Invitational Quarterfinals | L 78–82 | 3–1 | 16 – Williams | 8 – Bryant | 5 – Ferrell | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| Nov 24* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | vs. St. John's Maui Invitational Consolation Second Round | W 83–73 | 4–1 | 22 – Ferrell | 9 – Williams | 7 – Ferrell | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| Nov 25* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | vs. UNLV Maui Invitational Fifth Place Game | L 69–72 | 4–2 | 17 – Zeisloft | 7 – Blackmon, Jr. | 9 – Ferrell | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Lahaina, HI |
| Nov 30* 7:00 pm, BTN | | Alcorn State | W 112–70 | 5–2 | 33 – Blackmon, Jr. | 8 – Williams | 6 – Johnson | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Dec 2* 9:15 pm, ESPN | | at No. 7 Duke ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 74–94 | 5–3 | 17 – Williams | 6 – Johnson | 5 – Ferrell | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Dec 5* 7:00 pm, BTN | | Morehead State | W 92–59 | 6–3 | 16 – Williams | 6 – Bryant | 7 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Dec 9* 7:00 pm | | IPFW | W 90–65 | 7–3 | 38 – Ferrell | 19 – Williams | 5 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Dec 12* 6:30 pm, BTN | | McNeese State | W 105–60 | 8–3 | 24 – Blackmon, Jr. | 9 – Bryant | 7 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Dec 19* 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Notre Dame Crossroads Classic | W 80–73 | 9–3 | 18 – Williams | 10 – Williams | 3 – Tied | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (19,156) Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 22* 6:00 pm, BTN | | Kennesaw State | W 99–72 | 10–3 | 20 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 6 – Williams | Assembly Hall (15,721) Bloomington, IN |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 30 1:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Rutgers | W 79–72 | 11–3 (1–0) | 20 – Ferrell | 14 – Bielfeldt | 7 – Ferrell | The RAC (6,002) Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 2 4:00 pm, BTN | | at Nebraska | W 79–69 | 12–3 (2–0) | 24 – Ferrell | 6 – Bielfeldt | 7 – Ferrell | Pinnacle Bank Arena (13,831) Lincoln, NE |
| Jan 5 7:00 pm, ESPN | | Wisconsin | W 59–58 | 13–3 (3–0) | 19 – Ferrell | 7 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Assembly Hall (14,098) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 10 1:30 pm, CBS | | Ohio State | W 85–60 | 14–3 (4–0) | 23 – Williams | 13 – Bryant | 6 – Tied | Assembly Hall (16,382) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 16 12:30 pm, BTN | | at Minnesota | W 70–63 | 15–3 (5–0) | 20 – Ferrell | 8 – Williams | 7 – Ferrell | Williams Arena (11,176) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 19 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 25 | Illinois Rivalry | W 103–69 | 16–3 (6–0) | 21 – Williams | 8 – Bielfeldt | 9 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 23 12:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 25 | Northwestern | W 89–57 | 17–3 (7–0) | 17 – Ferrell | 7 – Williams | 6 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Jan 26 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | at Wisconsin | L 79–82 $^{OT}$ | 17–4 (7–1) | 30 – Ferrell | 7 – Tied | 3 – Johnson | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 30 2:15 pm, BTN | No. 19 | Minnesota | W 74–68 | 18–4 (8–1) | 23 – Bryant | 8 – Tied | 3 – Tied | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 2 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | at Michigan | W 80–67 | 19–4 (9–1) | 17 – Ferrell | 7 – Bielfeldt | 9 – Ferrell | Crisler Center (12,312) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 6 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Penn State | L 63–68 | 19–5 (9–2) | 14 – Zeisloft | 8 – Bryant | 5 – Tied | Bryce Jordan Center (10,351) University Park, PA |
| Feb 11 9:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 4 Iowa | W 85–78 | 20–5 (10–2) | 14 – Ferrell | 7 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 14 1:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 8 Michigan State | L 69–88 | 20–6 (10–3) | 15 – Bielfeldt | 10 – Bielfeldt | 7 – Ferrell | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Feb 17 8:30 pm, BTN | No. 22 | Nebraska | W 80–64 | 21–6 (11–3) | 18 – Williams | 6 – Anunoby | 4 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 20 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | No. 17 Purdue Rivalry/Indiana National Guard Governor's Cup | W 77–73 | 22–6 (12–3) | 19 – Williams | 6 – Bielfeldt | 4 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 25 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | at Illinois Rivalry | W 74–47 | 23–6 (13–3) | 27 – Ferrell | 8 – Bryant | 5 – Ferrell | State Farm Center (12,857) Champaign, IL |
| Mar 1 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 16 Iowa | W 81–78 | 24–6 (14–3) | 20 – Ferrell | 10 – Bryant | 5 – Ferrell | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA |
| Mar 6 4:30 pm, CBS | No. 12 | No. 14 Maryland | W 80–62 | 25–6 (15–3) | 23 – Williams | 8 – Bryant | 4 – Ferrell | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 11 12:00 pm, ESPN | (1) No. 10 | vs. (8) Michigan Quarterfinals | L 69–72 | 25–7 | 16 – Williams | 7 – Bryant | 8 – Ferrell | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,355) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 17* 7:10 pm, CBS | (5 E) No. 14 | vs. (12 E) Chattanooga First Round | W 99–74 | 26–7 | 20 – Ferrell | 8 – Williams | 10 – Ferrell | Wells Fargo Arena (16,774) Des Moines, IA |
| Mar 19* 5:15 pm, CBS | (5 E) No. 14 | vs. (4 E) No. 10 Kentucky Second Round/Rivalry | W 73–67 | 27–7 | 19 – Bryant | 5 – Tied | 4 – Ferrell | Wells Fargo Arena (16,824) Des Moines, IA |
| Mar 25* 9:57 pm, TBS | (5 E) No. 14 | vs. (1 E) No. 3 North Carolina Sweet Sixteen | L 86–101 | 27–8 | 25 – Ferrell | 8 – Bryant | 4 – Ferrell | Wells Fargo Center (20,686) Philadelphia, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Player statistics

Individual player statistics (Final) :
| | | | Minutes | Minutes | Scoring | Scoring | Total FGs | Total FGs | Total FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | 3-point FGs | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Free-Throws | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | Rebounds | | | | |
| Player | GP | GS | Tot | Avg | Pts | Avg | FG | FGA | Pct | 3FG | 3FA | Pct | FT | FTA | Pct | Off | Def | Tot | Avg | A | TO | Blk | Stl |
| Anunoby, OG | 34 | 0 | 466 | 13.7 | 165 | 4.9 | 66 | 116 | .569 | 13 | 29 | .448 | 20 | 42 | .476 | 42 | 48 | 90 | 2.6 | 18 | 28 | 26 | 27 |
| Bielfeldt, Max | 35 | 5 | 612 | 17.5 | 286 | 8.2 | 113 | 219 | .516 | 29 | 64 | .453 | 31 | 44 | .705 | 59 | 99 | 158 | 4.5 | 25 | 39 | 16 | 29 |
| Blackmon, Jr., James | 13 | 12 | 319 | 24.5 | 206 | 15.8 | 73 | 152 | .480 | 37 | 80 | .463 | 23 | 27 | .852 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 4.2 | 22 | 25 | 5 | 16 |
| Bryant, Thomas | 35 | 35 | 791 | 22.6 | 415 | 11.9 | 157 | 230 | .683 | 5 | 15 | .333 | 96 | 136 | .706 | 70 | 132 | 202 | 5.8 | 34 | 58 | 32 | 17 |
| Burton, Ryan | 22 | 0 | 77 | 3.5 | 14 | 0.6 | 5 | 9 | .556 | 4 | 7 | .571 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0.5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ferrell, Yogi | 35 | 35 | 1215 | 34.7 | 607 | 17.3 | 196 | 428 | .458 | 79 | 188 | .420 | 136 | 164 | .829 | 34 | 99 | 133 | 3.8 | 195 | 88 | 1 | 38 |
| Hartman, Collin | 35 | 24 | 765 | 21.9 | 175 | 5.0 | 65 | 144 | .451 | 29 | 81 | .358 | 16 | 19 | .842 | 35 | 74 | 109 | 3.1 | 60 | 37 | 10 | 28 |
| Johnson, Robert | 30 | 22 | 747 | 24.9 | 242 | 8.1 | 84 | 187 | .449 | 51 | 114 | .447 | 23 | 36 | .639 | 12 | 88 | 100 | 3.3 | 94 | 51 | 5 | 19 |
| Morgan, Juwan | 30 | 0 | 273 | 9.1 | 71 | 2.4 | 21 | 41 | .512 | 5 | 11 | .455 | 24 | 30 | .800 | 23 | 41 | 64 | 2.1 | 5 | 15 | 11 | 9 |
| Niego, Harrison | 23 | 0 | 110 | 4.8 | 11 | 0.5 | 4 | 13 | .308 | 2 | 8 | .250 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0.7 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 7 |
| Priller, Tim | 11 | 0 | 17 | 1.5 | 4 | 0.4 | 1 | 3 | .333 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2 | 2 | 1.000 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Taylor, Quentin | 7 | 0 | 9 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.4 | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 2 | .500 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Tharp, Jackson | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Williams, Troy | 35 | 34 | 916 | 26.2 | 464 | 13.3 | 163 | 318 | .513 | 26 | 75 | .347 | 112 | 162 | .691 | 50 | 154 | 204 | 5.8 | 70 | 93 | 28 | 39 |
| Zeisloft, Nick | 35 | 8 | 703 | 20.1 | 228 | 6.5 | 72 | 172 | .419 | 65 | 156 | .417 | 19 | 21 | .905 | 11 | 46 | 57 | 1.6 | 29 | 17 | 3 | 7 |
| Total | 35 | | 7050 | | 2891 | 95.3 | 1021 | 2034 | .502 | 345 | 830 | .416 | 504 | 689 | .731 | 364 | 839 | 1203 | 38.8 | 560 | 458 | 137 | 239 |
| Opponents | 35 | | 7050 | | 2447 | 69.9 | 905 | 2037 | .444 | 218 | 636 | .343 | 419 | 615 | .681 | 361 | 698 | 1164 | 33.3 | 424 | 458 | 106 | 215 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 15 | 14 | 13 | RV | RV | — | — | — | RV | RV | 25 | 19 | 22 | RV | 22 | 18 | 12 | 10 | 14 | N/A |
| Coaches | 15 | 15 | 14 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 21 | 15 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 9 |