# 2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 14th year head coach Kermit Davis, played their home games at the Murphy Center and were members of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 25–10, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They defeated Charlotte, Marshall, and Old Dominion to be champions of the C-USA tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #15 seed, in the first round they upset #2 seed and #2 nationally ranked Michigan State to become the eighth #15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game. In the second round they lost to Syracuse.

## Previous season

The Blue Raiders finished the 2014–15 season 19–17, 9–9 in C-USA play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the championship game of the C-USA tournament where they lost to UAB. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Kent State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| DeVante Jones | 1 | G | 5'10" | 160 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Dismissed from the team |
| Andrew Rogan | 14 | G | 6'3" | 170 | Freshman | Murfreesboro, TN | Walk on; didn't return |
| JaQuel Richmond | 15 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Freshman | Greensboro, NC | Transferred to UNC Wilmington |
| Marcus Tarrance | 23 | G | 6'6" | 210 | Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduated |
| Gavin Gibson | 32 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Junior | Chattanooga, TN | Walk on; didn't return |
| Jacquez Rozier | 42 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | Waynesboro, GA | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Aldonis Foote | 15 | F | 6'5" | 215 | Junior | Peoria, IL | Junior college transferred from Trinity Valley Community College |
| JaCorey Williams | 22 | F | 6'8" | 218 | Senior | Birmingham, AL | Transferred from Arkansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility. |
| Quavius Copeland | 24 | G | 6'0" | 175 | Sophomore | Greenville, SC | Junior college transferred from Gulf Coast State College |
Note: Justin Coleman was a junior college transferred from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College was going to be enrolled at the start of the fall of 2015. Later, Coleman was dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.

## Recruiting class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Karl Gamble PF | Columbia, SC | A. C. Flora High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | May 19, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Joan Duran PF | Chattanooga, TN | Hamilton Heights Christian Academy | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jan 27, 2015 |
| 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 July 27, 2015. ||||||
Note: Jalen Perry was a 2015 high school graduate from Louisville, KY was going to be enrolled at the start of the fall of 2015. Later, Perry was dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| 11/12/2015* 6:30 pm | | Faulkner | W 84–63 | | Murphy Center (2,512) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/17/2015* 7:00 pm, ASN | | at Murray State | L 65–76 | 0–1 | CFSB Center (3,070) Murray, KY |
| 11/21/2015* 7:00 pm | | at Tennessee State | W 69–66 | 1–1 | Gentry Complex (1,500) Nashville, TN |
| 11/26/2015* 8:30 pm, CBSSN | | at Alaska Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout Quarterfinals | W 75–72 | 2–1 | Alaska Airlines Center (2,478) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/27/2015* 11:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. UNC Asheville Great Alaska Shootout semifinals | W 63–61 | 3–1 | Alaska Airlines Center (2,822) Anchorage, AK |
| 11/28/2015* 11:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Toledo Great Alaska Shootout championship | W 78–70 | 4–1 | Alaska Airlines Center (3,132) Anchorage, AK |
| 12/02/2015* 8:00 pm, FSN | | VCU | L 56–62 | 4–2 | Murphy Center (8,882) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 12/05/2015* 5:00 pm, ASN | | South Alabama | W 68–55 | 5–2 | Murphy Center (4,106) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 12/12/2015* 12:00 pm, MT10 | | vs. Auburn | W 88–81 | 6–2 | Bridgestone Arena (7,322) Nashville, TN |
| 12/17/2015* 6:00 pm, ASN | | Belmont | W 83–62 | 7–2 | Murphy Center (5,555) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 12/22/2015* 6:00 pm | | at Georgia State | L 62–64 | 7–3 | GSU Sports Arena (1,819) Atlanta, GA |
| 12/27/2015* 4:30 pm, FSN | | vs. South Dakota State | L 61–65 | 7–4 | Sanford Pentagon (3,200) Sioux Falls, SD |
| 12/30/2015* 6:00 pm | | Trevecca Nazarene | W 82–67 | 8–4 | Murphy Center (3,122) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Conference USA regular season ||||||
| 01/03/2016 2:00 pm, ASN | | at UAB | L 67–78 | 8–5 (0–1) | Bartow Arena (4,279) Birmingham, AL |
| 01/07/2016 6:00 pm, ASN | | UTEP | W 78–72 | 9–5 (1–1) | Murphy Center (4,105) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 01/09/2016 3:00 pm, ASN | | UTSA | W 79–71 | 10–5 (2–1) | Murphy Center (4,632) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 01/14/2016 6:00 pm | | at Charlotte | W 73–72 | 11–5 (3–1) | Dale F. Halton Arena (3,914) Charlotte, NC |
| 01/16/2016 3:00 pm, FSN | | at Old Dominion | W 64–61 | 12–5 (4–1) | Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,067) Norfolk, VA |
| 01/21/2016 6:30 pm | | North Texas | W 86–64 | 13–5 (5–1) | Murphy Center (3,826) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 01/23/2016 5:00 pm | | Rice | W 87–73 | 14–5 (6–1) | Murphy Center (4,104) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 01/28/2016 6:00 pm | | at Marshall | L 66–82 | 14–6 (6–2) | Cam Henderson Center (5,724) Huntington, WV |
| 01/30/2016 7:00 pm, FCS | | at WKU | W 66–64 | 15–6 (7–2) | E. A. Diddle Arena (5,259) Bowling Green, KY |
| 02/04/2016 6:30 pm, MT10 | | Florida Atlantic | W 85–73 | 16–6 (8–2) | Murphy Center (5,411) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/06/2016 6:00 pm | | FIU | W 67–66 | 17–6 (9–2) | Murphy Center (5,298) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/11/2016 8:00 pm, ASN | | at Louisiana Tech | L 63–73 | 17–7 (9–3) | Thomas Assembly Center (5,011) Ruston, LA |
| 02/13/2016 7:00 pm | | at Southern Miss | W 76–54 | 18–7 (10–3) | Reed Green Coliseum (2,917) Hattiesburg, MS |
| 02/21/2016 5:00 pm, CBSSN | | UAB | L 67–77 | 18–8 (10–4) | Murphy Center (7,822) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/25/2016 6:00 pm, ASN | | WKU | L 72–78 | 18–9 (10–5) | Murphy Center (4,333) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 02/27/2016 5:00 pm | | Marshall | W 83–74 | 19–9 (11–5) | Murphy Center (4,051) Murfreesboro, TN |
| 03/03/2016 6:00 pm | | at Florida Atlantic | W 76–59 | 20–9 (12–5) | FAU Arena (1,040) Boca Raton, FL |
| 03/05/2016 5:00 pm, ASN | | at FIU | W 61–58 | 21–9 (13–5) | FIU Arena (2,422) Miami, FL |
| Conference USA tournament ||||||
| 03/10/2016 6:00 pm, ASN | (2) | vs. (7) Charlotte Quarterfinals | W 79–61 | 22–9 | Legacy Arena (9,797) Birmingham, AL |
| 03/11/2016 5:30 pm, CBSSN | (2) | vs. (6) Marshall Semifinals | W 99–90 | 23–9 | Legacy Arena (6,176) Birmingham, AL |
| 03/12/2016 1:30 pm, FS1 | (2) | vs. (5) Old Dominion Championship | W 55–53 | 24–9 | Legacy Arena (5,519) Birmingham, AL |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/18/2016* 1:45 pm, CBS | (15 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 2 Michigan State First Round | W 90–81 | 25–9 | Scottrade Center (14,250) St. Louis, MO |
| 03/20/2016* 5:10 pm, TNT | (15 MW) | vs. (10 MW) Syracuse Second Round | L 50–75 | 25–10 | Scottrade Center (15,169) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Central Time. ||||||