# 2015–16 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Shaka Smart who was in his first year. The team played their home games at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and were members of the Big 12 Conference. They finished the season 20–13, 11–7 in Big 12 play, to finish in 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 lost in the first round to Northern Iowa on a half-court buzzer-beater from Northern Iowas’s Paul Jesperson.

## Previous season

The Longhorns finished the season 20–14, 8–10 in Big 12 play, to finish in 7th place. They advanced to the second round of the Big 12 tournament where they lost to Iowa State. Texas received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in which they lost to Butler in the second round. On March 29, 2015, previous coach Rick Barnes was fired after 17 seasons at Texas, during which he compiled a record of 402–180, by far the most wins for a head coach in program history. Barnes accepted the same position at Tennessee four days later.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jordan Barnett | 33 | F | 6'6" | 205 | Sophomore | St. Louis, MO | Transferred to Missouri |
| Damarcus Croaker | 5 | G | 6'2" | 190 | Sophomore | Orlando, FL | Transferred to Murray State |
| Jonathan Holmes | 10 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Senior | San Antonio, TX | Graduated |
| Tarale Murry | 40 | G | 6'2" | 187 | Senior | San Antonio, TX | Walk-on; graduated |
| Myles Turner | 52 | C | 7'0" | 240 | Freshman | Bedford, TX | Declare for the 2015 NBA draft |

## Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Eric Davis SG | Saginaw, MI | Arthur Hill High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Sep 16, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kerwin Roach PG | Houston, TX | North Shore Senior High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 160 lb (73 kg) | Oct 24, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Tevin Mack PF | Columbia, SC | Dreher High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 19, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16 Rivals: 18 ESPN: 15 ||||||
| 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: "Texas 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 21, 2015. "2015 Texas Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved December 21, 2015. "2015 Texas Basketball Commitments". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 21, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved December 21, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved December 21, 2015. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Jacob Young SG | Houston, TX | Yates High School | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jun 30, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| James Banks III C | Atlanta, GA | La Lumiere School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 230 lb (100 kg) | Oct 8, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Andrew Jones SG | Irving, TX | MacArthur High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 183 lb (83 kg) | Dec 14, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Jarrett Allen C | Austin, TX | Saint Stephen's Episcopal School | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 3, 2016 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 6 Rivals: 16 ESPN: 11 |||||||
| 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: "2016 Texas Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016. "2016 Texas Basketball Recruiting Prospects". Scout.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016. "2016 Player Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 13, 2016. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 6, 2015* 5:00 pm, LHN | | Tarleton State | W 95–61 | | Frank Erwin Center (2,391) Austin, TX |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 13, 2015* 9:00 pm, ESPN | | vs. Washington China Opener | L 71–77 | 0–1 | Mercedes-Benz Arena (7,188) Shanghai, CN |
| November 21, 2015* 7:00 pm, LHN | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Battle 4 Atlantis Opening Round | W 67–56 | 1–1 | Frank Erwin Center (11,313) Austin, TX |
| November 25, 2015* 6:00 pm, AXS TV | | vs. No. 25 Texas A&M Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals | L 73–84 | 1–2 | Imperial Arena (1,647) Nassau, BS |
| November 26, 2015* 6:00 pm, AXS TV | | vs. Washington Battle 4 Atlantis 2nd Round Consolation | W 82–70 | 2–2 | Imperial Arena (1,316) Nassau, BS |
| November 27, 2015* 6:00 pm, AXS TV | | vs. Michigan Battle 4 Atlantis 5th Place Game | L 72–78 | 2–3 | Imperial Arena (1,357) Nassau, BS |
| December 1, 2015* 7:00 pm, LHN | | Texas–Arlington | W 80–73 $^{OT}$ | 3–3 | Frank Erwin Center (9,646) Austin, TX |
| December 4, 2015* 8:00 pm, LHN | | Samford | W 59–49 | 4–3 | Frank Erwin Center (10,762) Austin, TX |
| December 8, 2015* 7:00 pm, LHN | | UTSA | W 116–50 | 5–3 | Frank Erwin Center (9,657) Austin, TX |
| December 12, 2015* 4:15 pm, ESPN | | No. 3 North Carolina | W 84–82 | 6–3 | Frank Erwin Center (16,540) Austin, TX |
| December 15, 2015* 7:00 pm, LHN | | Appalachian State | W 67–55 | 7–3 | Frank Erwin Center (10,529) Austin, TX |
| December 19, 2015* 10:30 pm, ESPN2 | | at Stanford | W 75–73 | 8–3 | Maples Pavilion (3,930) Stanford, CA |
| December 29, 2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | UConn | L 66–71 | 8–4 | Frank Erwin Center (13,931) Austin, TX |
| January 2, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Texas Tech | L 74–82 | 8–5 (0–1) | United Supermarkets Arena (12,689) Lubbock, TX |
| January 5, 2016 7:00 pm, LHN | | Kansas State | W 60–57 | 9–5 (1–1) | Frank Erwin Center (10,620) Austin, TX |
| January 9, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at TCU | L 57–58 | 9–6 (1–2) | Schollmaier Arena (6,673) Fort Worth, TX |
| January 12, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 17 Iowa State | W 94–91 $^{OT}$ | 10–6 (2–2) | Frank Erwin Center (10,663) Austin, TX |
| January 16, 2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Oklahoma State | W 74-69 | 11–6 (3–2) | Frank Erwin Center (13,241) Austin, TX |
| January 20, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 6 West Virginia | W 56–49 | 12–6 (4–2) | WVU Coliseum (9,881) Morgantown, WV |
| January 23, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 3 Kansas | L 67–76 | 12–7 (4–3) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| January 26, 2016 7:00 pm, LHN | | TCU | W 71–54 | 13–7 (5–3) | Frank Erwin Center (11,282) Austin, TX |
| January 30, 2016* 11:00 am, ESPN2 | | Vanderbilt Big 12/SEC Challenge | W 72–58 | 14–7 | Frank Erwin Center (13,041) Austin, TX |
| February 1, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 15 Baylor | W 67–59 | 15–7 (6–3) | Ferrell Center (6,064) Waco, TX |
| February 6, 2016 1:00 pm, LHN | | Texas Tech | W 69–59 | 16–7 (7–3) | Frank Erwin Center (14,951) Austin, TX |
| February 8, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 24 | at No. 3 Oklahoma | L 60–63 | 16–8 (7–4) | Lloyd Noble Center (10,014) Norman, OK |
| February 13, 2016 7:30 pm, ESPN | No. 24 | at No. 14 Iowa State | L 75–85 | 16–9 (7–5) | Hilton Coliseum (14,384) Ames, IA |
| February 16, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 24 | No. 10 West Virginia | W 85–78 | 17–9 (8–5) | Frank Erwin Center (12,284) Austin, TX |
| February 20, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPN | No. 24 | No. 25 Baylor | L 64–78 | 17–10 (8–6) | Frank Erwin Center (16,540) Austin, TX |
| February 22, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | at Kansas State | W 71–70 | 18–10 (9–6) | Bramlage Coliseum (11,629) Manhattan, KS |
| February 27, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 25 | No. 3 Oklahoma | W 76–63 | 19–10 (10–6) | Frank Erwin Center (16,540) Austin, TX |
| February 29, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | No. 23 | No. 1 Kansas | L 56–86 | 19–11 (10–7) | Frank Erwin Center (16,540) Austin, TX |
| March 4, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 23 | at Oklahoma State | W 62–50 | 20–11 (11–7) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (4,023) Stillwater, OK |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| March 10, 2016 11:30 am, ESPN2 | (4) No. 23 | vs. (5) No. 22 Baylor Quarterfinals | L 61–75 | 20–12 | Sprint Center (18,972) Kansas City, MO |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 18, 2016 8:50 pm, TBS | (6 W) | vs. (11 W) Northern Iowa First Round | L 72–75 | 20–13 | Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279) Oklahoma City, OK |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region. All times are in Central 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 | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | 24 | 24 | 25 | 23 | 23 | NR | *N/A |
| Coaches | RV | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | RV | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | 25 | 25 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 22 | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings