# 2015–16 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 West Virginia Mountaineers men's basketball team represented West Virginia University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Mountaineers were coached by ninth year head coach Bob Huggins and played their home games at WVU Coliseum. They were members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 26–9, 13–5 in Big 12 play to finish in second place. They defeated TCU and Oklahoma to advance to the championship game of the Big 12 tournament where they lost to Kansas. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where, as a #3 seed, they were upset in the first round by #14 seed Stephen F. Austin.

## Previous season

The Mountaineers finished the season 25–10, 11–7 in Big 12 play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big 12 tournament to Baylor. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Buffalo in the second round and Maryland in the third round before losing in the Sweet Sixteen to Kentucky.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Juwan Staten | 3 | G | 6'1" | 190 | RS Senior | Dayton, OH | Graduated |
| Chase Connor | 10 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Sophomore | Shady Spring, WV | Transferred to Fairmont State |
| Gary Browne | 14 | G | 6'1" | 195 | Senior | Cupey, PR | Graduated |
| BillyDee Williams | 21 | F | 6'6" | 215 | Junior | Orlando, FL | Transferred to UT Permian Basin |
| Tyron Hughes | 23 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Walk-on; left the team |
| Kevin Noreen | 34 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Senior | Minneapolis, MN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Teyvon Meyers | 1 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Junior | Brooklyn, NY | Junior college transfer from Williston State College |
| TyQuane Goard | | F | 6'7" | 215 | RS Senior | Charleston, WV | Transferred from Marshall. Under NCAA transfer rules, Goard will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Esa Ahmad SF | Shaker Heights, OH | Shaker Heights High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 218 lb (99 kg) | Sep 10, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| James Bolden PG | Covington, KY | Holmes High School | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | May 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Lamont West PG | Lithonia, GA | Miller Grove High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 14, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: 23 ESPN: 20 ||||||
| 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: "West Virginia 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "2015 West Virginia Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. ||||||

### Recruit Class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chase Harler SG | Wheeling, WV | Central Catholic High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Aug 3, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Brandon Knapper SG | Charleston, WV | South Charleston High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Sep 21, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: Not Ranked Rivals: 23 ESPN: 20 |||||||
| 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: "West Virginia 2016 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "2016 West Virginia Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 11, 2015. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Sources: and
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/06/2015* 7:00 pm | | Glenville State | W 114–76 | | WVU Coliseum (6,115) Morgantown, WV |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/13/2015* 7:00 pm | | Northern Kentucky | W 107–61 | 1–0 | WVU Coliseum (10,120) Morgantown, WV |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 pm, RTPT | | vs. James Madison Charleston Showcase | W 86–73 | 2–0 | Charleston Civic Center (8,101) Charleston, WV |
| 11/20/2015* 7:00 pm, RTPT | | Stetson Las Vegas Invitational | W 103–62 | 3–0 | WVU Coliseum (8,268) Morgantown, WV |
| 11/23/2015* 7:00 pm, RTPT | | Bethune-Cookman Las Vegas Invitational | W 97–44 | 4–0 | WVU Coliseum (6,196) Morgantown, WV |
| 11/26/2015* 5:00 pm, FS1 | | vs. Richmond Las Vegas Invitational semifinals | W 67–59 | 5–0 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| 11/27/2015* 10:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. San Diego State Las Vegas Invitational championship | W 72–50 | 6–0 | Orleans Arena (3,245) Paradise, NV |
| 12/05/2015* 12:30 pm, RTPT | No. 20 | Kennesaw State | W 87–54 | 7–0 | WVU Coliseum (8,731) Morgantown, WV |
| 12/08/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | vs. No. 10 Virginia Jimmy V Classic | L 54–70 | 7–1 | Madison Square Garden New York City, NY |
| 12/13/2015* 5:00 pm | No. 14 | Louisiana–Monroe | W 100–58 | 8–1 | WVU Coliseum (8,323) Morgantown, WV |
| 12/17/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | vs. Marshall Chesapeake Energy Capital Classic | W 86–68 | 9–1 | Charleston Civic Center (11,748) Charleston, WV |
| 12/21/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | Eastern Kentucky | W 84–59 | 10–1 | WVU Coliseum (8,121) Morgantown, WV |
| 12/30/2015* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | at Virginia Tech | W 88–63 | 11–1 | Cassell Coliseum (9,567) Blacksburg, VA |
| 01/02/2016 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | at Kansas State | W 87–83 $^{2OT}$ | 12–1 (1–0) | Bramlage Coliseum (12,270) Manhattan, KS |
| 01/04/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at TCU | W 95–87 | 13–1 (2–0) | Schollmaier Arena (4,239) Fort Worth, TX |
| 01/09/2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 17 | Oklahoma State | W 77–60 | 14–1 (3–0) | WVU Coliseum (11,219) Morgantown, WV |
| 01/12/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | No. 1 Kansas | W 74–63 | 15–1 (4–0) | WVU Coliseum (12,097) Morgantown, WV |
| 01/16/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | at No. 2 Oklahoma | L 68–70 | 15–2 (4–1) | Lloyd Noble Center (11,933) Norman, OK |
| 01/20/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 6 | Texas | L 49–56 | 15–3 (4–2) | WVU Coliseum (9,881) Morgantown, WV |
| 01/23/2016 1:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 6 | at Texas Tech | W 80–76 | 16–3 (5–2) | United Supermarkets Arena (10,732) Lubbock, TX |
| 01/26/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNews | No. 9 | Kansas State | W 70–55 | 17–3 (6–2) | WVU Coliseum (9,936) Morgantown, WV |
| 01/30/2016* 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 9 | at Florida Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 71–88 | 17–4 | O'Connell Center (11,611) Gainesville, FL |
| 02/02/2016 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | at No. 13 Iowa State | W 81–76 | 18–4 (7–2) | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| 02/06/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 14 | No. 15 Baylor | W 80–69 | 19–4 (8–2) | WVU Coliseum (14,069) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/09/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 10 | at No. 6 Kansas | L 65–75 | 19–5 (8–3) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 02/13/2016 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | TCU | W 73–42 | 20–5 (9–3) | WVU Coliseum (13,137) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/16/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 10 | at No. 24 Texas | L 78–85 | 20–6 (9–4) | Frank Erwin Center (12,284) Austin, TX |
| 02/20/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | No. 3 Oklahoma | L 62–76 | 20–7 (9–5) | WVU Coliseum (15,289) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/22/2016 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 14 | No. 17 Iowa State | W 97–87 | 21–7 (10–5) | WVU Coliseum (10,683) Morgantown, WV |
| 02/27/2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 14 | at Oklahoma State | W 70–56 | 22–7 (11–5) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,539) Stillwater, OK |
| 03/02/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 10 | Texas Tech | W 90–68 | 23–7 (12–5) | WVU Coliseum (12,680) Morgantown, WV |
| 03/05/2016 2:00 pm, ESPN | No. 10 | at No. 19 Baylor | W 69–58 | 24–7 (13–5) | Ferrell Center (7,629) Waco, TX |
| Big 12 tournament ||||||
| 03/10/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (2) No. 9 | vs. (10) TCU Quarterfinals | W 86–66 | 25–7 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| 03/11/2016 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (2) No. 9 | vs. (3) No. 6 Oklahoma Semifinals | W 69–67 | 26–7 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| 03/12/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN | (2) No. 9 | vs. (1) No. 1 Kansas Championship | L 71–81 | 26–8 | Sprint Center (19,046) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/18/2016* 7:10 PM, CBS | (3 E) No. 8 | vs. (14 E) Stephen F. Austin First Round | L 56–70 | 26–9 | Barclays Center (17,502) Brooklyn, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East Region. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Post | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 14 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 17 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 8 | *N/A |
| Coaches | 23 | 22 | 22 | 15 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 10 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 14 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings