# 2015–16 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team represented the University of Mississippi in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Andy Kennedy was in his 10th year as head coach of Ole Miss. The Rebels, members of the Southeastern Conference, began the season playing home games at Tad Smith Coliseum, but moved to a new arena, The Pavilion at Ole Miss, on January 7, 2016. They finished the season 20–12, 10–8 in SEC play to finish in a tie for sixth place. They lost to Alabama in the second round of the SEC tournament. Despite having 20 wins, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Previous season

The Rebels finished the 2014–15 season with an overall record of 21–13 and 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place in the SEC standings. They lost in the second round of the SEC tournament to South Carolina. Ole Miss participated in the NCAA tournament as an #11 seed, defeating fellow #11 seed BYU in the first round before falling to #6 seeded Xavier in the second round, ending the Rebels' season.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Roderick Lawrence | 0 | G | 6'5" | 184 | Junior | Orlando, FL | Transferred to Campbellsville |
| Terence Smith | 3 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Senior | Russellville, AL | Graduated |
| M. J. Rhett | 4 | F | 6'9" | 236 | Senior | Columbia, SC | Graduated |
| LaDarius White | 10 | G | 6'6" | 205 | Senior | McComb, MS | Graduated |
| Dwight Coleby | 23 | C | 6'9" | 240 | Sophomore | Nassau, BS | Transferred to Kansas |
| Jarvis Summers | 32 | G | 6'3" | 186 | Senior | Jackson, MS | Graduated |
| Aaron Jones | 34 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Senior | Gautier, MS | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Deandre Burnett | 0 | G | 6'2" | 191 | RS Sophomore | Miami Gardens, FL | Transferred from Miami (FL). Under NCAA transfer rules, Burnett will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |
| Sam Finley | 10 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Junior | Corona, CA | Junior college transferred from Howard College |
| Tomasz Gielo | 12 | F | 6'9" | 220 | Senior | Szczecin, Poland | Transferred from Liberty. Will be eligible to play immediately since Gielo graduated from Liberty. |
| Rasheed Brooks | 14 | G | 6'6" | 200 | Junior | Mansfield, OH | Junior college transferred from SW Tennessee CC |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Donte Fitzpatrick SF | Memphis, TN | Southwind High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Sep 9, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Terence Davis SF | Southaven, MS | Southaven High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 29, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| J.T. Escobar SG | Tallahassee, FL | Elev8 Sports Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Oct 7, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: Not Ranked ESPN: Not Ranked ||||||
| 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: "Ole Miss 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "2015 Ole Miss Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/05/2015* 6:00 pm | | Clayton State | W 103–87 | — | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Northwestern State | W 90–76 | 1–0 | Tad Smith Coliseum (6,386) Oxford, MS |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 pm | | Georgia Southern | W 82–72 | 2–0 | Tad Smith Coliseum (5,499) Oxford, MS |
| 11/19/2015* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | | vs. George Mason Charleston Classic quarterfinals | L 62–68 | 2–1 | TD Arena (1,760) Charleston, SC |
| 11/20/2015* 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Towson Charleston Classic consolation round | W 76–60 | 3–1 | TD Arena (1,220) Charleston, SC |
| 11/22/2015* 2:30 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Seton Hall Charleston Classic 5th place game | L 63–75 | 3–2 | TD Arena (1,553) Charleston, SC |
| 11/25/2015* 4:00 pm, SECN | | Georgia State | W 68–59 | 4–2 | Tad Smith Coliseum (5,550) Oxford, MS |
| 11/28/2015* 1:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bradley Charleston Classic non-bracket | W 67–54 | 5–2 | Carver Arena (5,603) Peoria, IL |
| 12/05/2015* 3:00 pm, NBCSN | | vs. Massachusetts Hall of Fame Holiday Classic | W 74–64 | 6–2 | MassMutual Center (3,765) Springfield, MA |
| 12/12/2015* 2:00 pm, ASN | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 75–64 | 7–2 | Show Me Center (2,325) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| 12/15/2015* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Louisiana Tech | W 99–80 | 8–2 | Tad Smith Coliseum (5,606) Oxford, MS |
| 12/19/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNews | | at Memphis | W 85–79 | 9–2 | FedEx Forum (14,529) Memphis, TN |
| 12/22/2015* 3:00 pm, SECN | | Troy | W 83–80 $^{OT}$ | 10–2 | Tad Smith Coliseum (9,289) Oxford, MS |
| 01/02/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 10 Kentucky | L 61–83 | 10–3 (0–1) | Rupp Arena (24,399) Lexington, KY |
| 01/07/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Alabama | W 74–66 | 11–3 (1–1) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| 01/09/2016 7:30 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 72–71 | 12–3 (2–1) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,487) Oxford, MS |
| 01/13/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at LSU | L 81–90 | 12–4 (2–2) | Maravich Center (12,133) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 01/16/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Florida | L 71–80 | 12–5 (2–3) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,333) Oxford, MS |
| 01/19/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | No. 24 South Carolina | L 74–77 $^{OT}$ | 12–6 (2–4) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,427) Oxford, MS |
| 01/23/2016 1:00 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 77–83 | 12–7 (2–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (8,932) Starkville, MS |
| 01/27/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | Auburn | W 80–63 | 13–7 (3–5) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,057) Oxford, MS |
| 01/30/2016* 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Kansas State Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 64–69 | 13–8 | Bramlage Coliseum (12,528) Manhattan, KS |
| 02/03/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | W 76–73 | 14–8 (4–5) | Mizzou Arena (4,734) Columbia, MO |
| 02/06/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Vanderbilt | W 85–78 | 15–8 (5–5) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| 02/09/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Florida | L 72–77 | 15–9 (5–6) | O'Connell Center (8,345) Gainesville, FL |
| 02/13/2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | Arkansas | W 76–60 | 16–9 (6–6) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| 02/16/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Texas A&M | L 56–71 | 16–10 (6–7) | Reed Arena (6,460) College Station, TX |
| 02/20/2016 4:00 pm, SECN | | at Auburn | W 69–59 | 17–10 (7–7) | Auburn Arena (8,041) Auburn, AL |
| 02/23/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 85–76 | 18–10 (8–7) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,274) Oxford, MS |
| 02/27/2016 11:00 am, SECN | | at Georgia | L 66–80 | 18–11 (8–8) | Stegeman Coliseum (9,874) Athens, GA |
| 03/02/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | W 86–78 | 19–11 (9–8) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| 03/06/2016 11:00 am, SECN | | at Tennessee | W 83–60 | 20–11 (10–8) | Thompson–Boling Arena (14,424) Knoxville, TN |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| 03/10/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | (7) | vs. No. 10 Alabama Second round | L 73–81 | 20–12 | Bridgestone Arena (11,750) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||