# 2015–16 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Purdue Boilermakers men's basketball team represented Purdue University. Their head coach was Matt Painter, in his 11th season with the Boilers. The team played its home games in Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, Indiana and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 26–9, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a four-way tie for third place. As the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they defeated Illinois and Michigan to advance to the championship game. In a closely fought championship game, they lost to Michigan State 66–62. The Boilermakers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 5 seed, their second straight trip to the Tournament. In the First Round, they were upset by No. 12-seed Little Rock 85–83 in double overtime.

## Previous season

The Boilermakers finished the 2014–15 season 21–13, 12–6 in Big Ten play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. As the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they advanced to the semifinals where they lost to No. 1 seed Wisconsin. The Boilers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed. They lost in the Second Round to No. 8-seeded Cincinnati.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jon Octeus | 0 | G | 6'4" | 175 | Senior | Miramar, FL | Graduated |
| Bryson Scott | 1 | G | 6'1" | 201 | Sophomore | Fort Wayne, IN | Transferred (IPFW) |
| Anfernee Brown | 24 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Sophomore | East Chicago, IN | Left the team for personal reasons |
| Neal Beshears | 30 | F | 6'7" | 198 | Senior | Winchester, IN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Johnny Hill | 1 | G | 6'3" | 180 | RS Senior | Glendale Heights, IL | Elected to transfer from Texas–Arlington. Will be eligible to play immediately since Hill graduated from Texas–Arlington. |

## Class of 2015 recruits

Caleb Swanigan had multiple high caliber teams recruiting him. Swanigan verbally committed to Michigan State April 10, 2015, but decommitted from the school on May 7. Twelve days later, he committed to Purdue and was the first Indiana's Mr. Basketball recruit since Glenn Robinson. He was also Purdue's first McDonald's All-American since 1996.
Ryan Cline committed to Purdue on June 2, 2014. Cline, an Indiana native, was expected to improve Purdue's 3-point shooting. On his recruitment, Cline said, "From the first visit to (Purdue) when I saw all of their coaches there, it just blew me away," he said. "Getting to know them from that time, I knew they wanted me."
Grant Weatherford was Purdue's last commitment of this class, committing to Purdue on August 2, 2014. On Weatherford's potential impact as a freshman, Coach Painter said, "Well, he’s got to be able to get by some of those guys. Johnny Hill’s got a lot of experience. P.J. Thompson, you know, obviously played some for us last year, and both of those guys have really played well."
US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Caleb Swanigan C | Fort Wayne, IN | Homestead High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 275 lb (125 kg) | May 19, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 94 ||||||
| Ryan Cline SG | Carmel, IN | Carmel High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Jun 2, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80 ||||||
| Grant Weatherford PG | Cicero, IN | Hamilton Heights High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Aug 2, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 76 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Rivals: 27 ||||||
| 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 Purdue Signees". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014. "2015 Purdue Signees". Scout.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014. "2015 Purdue Signees". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 8, 2015* 5:00 pm | No. 23 | Northwestern Ohio | W 92–43 | | 18 – 2 tied | 11 – Swanigan | 7 – Mathias | Mackey Arena (11,695) West Lafayette, IN |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm | No. 23 | North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic | W 81–40 | 1–0 | 14 – 2 tied | 11 – Swanigan | 5 – Hill | Mackey Arena (12,623) West Lafayette, IN |
| Nov 15, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 23 | Vermont Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic | W 107–79 | 2–0 | 17 – Mathias | 13 – Swanigan | 5 – Davis | Mackey Arena (12,808) West Lafayette, IN |
| Nov 18, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 21 | Incarnate Word | W 96–61 | 3–0 | 17 – Haas | 12 – Haas | 5 – Mathias | Mackey Arena (11,536) West Lafayette, IN |
| Nov 21, 2015* Noon, ESPN3 | No. 21 | vs. Old Dominion Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic semifinals | W 61–39 | 4–0 | 18 – Hammons | 8 – Haas | 2 – 3 tied | Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 22, 2015* 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 21 | vs. Florida Hall of Fame Tip Off Classic championship game | W 85–70 | 5–0 | 18 – Davis | 7 – Hammons | 4 – Thompson | Mohegan Sun Arena (3,813) Uncasville, CT |
| Nov 28, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 16 | Lehigh | W 77–55 | 6–0 | 24 – Haas | 12 – Swanigan | 7 – Edwards | Mackey Arena (12,660) West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 1, 2015* 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 11 | at Pittsburgh ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 72–59 | 7–0 | 24 – Hammons | 12 – Hammons | 6 – Edwards | Peterson Events Center (9,439) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 5, 2015* 2:15 pm, BTN | No. 11 | New Mexico | W 70–58 | 8–0 | 21 – Haas | 11 – Hammons | 4 – 2 tied | Mackey Arena (14,221) West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 7, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | IUPUI | W 80–53 | 9–0 | 14 – Hammons | 14 – Swanigan | 4 – 2 tied | Mackey Arena (12,404) West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 9, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 11 | Howard | W 93–55 | 10–0 | 19 – Swanigan | 12 – Swanigan | 0 – Thompson | Mackey Arena (11,983) West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 12, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 11 | Youngstown State | W 95–64 | 11–0 | 15 – 2 tied | 11 – Hammons | 6 – Swanigan | Mackey Arena (14,026) West Lafayette, IN |
| Dec 19, 2015* 5:00 pm, BTN | No. 9 | vs. No. 17 Butler Crossroads Classic | L 68–74 | 11–1 | 25 – Swanigan | 11 – Swanigan | 7 – Thompson | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (19,156) Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 22, 2015* 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Vanderbilt | W 68–55 | 12–1 | 21 – Hammons | 10 – Hammons | 4 – Mathias | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Big Ten regular season |||||||||
| Dec 29, 2015 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | at Wisconsin | W 61–55 | 13–1 (1–0) | 24 – Hammons | 9 – Swanigan | 4 – Thompson | Kohl Center (17,287) Madison, WI |
| Jan 2, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 14 | Iowa | L 63–70 | 13–2 (1–1) | 12 – Stephens | 7 – Hammons | 3 – 3 tied | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 7, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 20 | Michigan | W 87–70 | 14–2 (2–1) | 17 – Hammons | 7 – 2 tied | 6 – Davis | Mackey Arena (13,063) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 10, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN | No. 20 | at Illinois | L 70–84 | 14–3 (2–2) | 12 – 2 tied | 8 – Hammons | 4 – Thompson | State Farm Center (12,246) Champaign, IL |
| Jan 13, 2016 8:30 pm, BTN | No. 25 | Penn State | W 74–57 | 15–3 (3–2) | 19 – Edwards | 9 – Swanigan | 4 – Mathias | Mackey Arena (13,802) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 18, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at Rutgers | W 107–57 | 16–3 (4–2) | 12 – 4 tied | 13 – Swanigan | 3 – 2 tied | The RAC (5,085) Piscataway, NJ |
| Jan 21, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 22 | Ohio State | W 75–64 | 17–3 (5–2) | 16 – Hammons | 10 – Swanigan | 3 – Mathias | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 24, 2016 1:00 pm, BTN | No. 22 | at No. 9 Iowa | L 71–83 | 17–4 (5–3) | 19 – Edwards | 8 – 2 tied | 3 – 2 tied | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 27, 2016 9:00 pm, BTN | No. 21 | at Minnesota | W 68–64 | 18–4 (6–3) | 24 – Edwards | 8 – 3 tied | 4 – Edwards | Williams Arena (10,484) Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 30, 2016 4:30 pm, BTN | No. 21 | Nebraska | W 89–74 | 19–4 (7–3) | 32 – Hammons | 12 – Swanigan | 7 – Thompson | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 6, 2016 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | at No. 4 Maryland | L 61–72 | 19–5 (7–4) | 18 – Hammons | 10 – Hammons | 7 – Edwards | Xfinity Center (17,950) College Park, MD |
| Feb 9, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | No. 8 Michigan State | W 82–81 $^{OT}$ | 20–5 (8–4) | 24 – Davis | 13 – Hammons | 3 – 3 tied | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 13, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 18 | at Michigan | L 56–61 | 20–6 (8–5) | 14 – Swanigan | 10 – Edwards | 3 – Edwards | Crisler Arena (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Feb 16, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | No. 17 | Northwestern | W 71–61 | 21–6 (9–5) | 18 – Hammons | 12 – Hammons | 3 – Hill | Mackey Arena (12,868) West Lafayette, IN |
| Feb 20, 2016 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 17 | at No. 22 Indiana Rivalry/Crimson and Gold Cup | L 73–77 | 21–7 (9–6) | 14 – Swanigan | 8 – Swanigan | 4 – Edwards | Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN |
| Feb 27, 2016 4:00 pm, ESPN | No. 20 | No. 10 Maryland | W 83–79 | 22–7 (10–6) | 19 – Hammons | 7 – 4 tied | 4 – 3 tied | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Mar 1, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | No. 15 | at Nebraska | W 81–62 | 23–7 (11–6) | 20 – Edwards | 6 – Davis | 6 – Hill | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,572) Lincoln, NE |
| Mar 6, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN | No. 15 | Wisconsin | W 91–80 | 24–7 (12–6) | 27 – Swanigan | 8 – Swanigan | 5 – Edwards | Mackey Arena (14,846) West Lafayette, IN |
| Big Ten tournament |||||||||
| Mar 11, 2016 2:30 pm, ESPN | (4) No. 13 | vs. (12) Illinois Quarterfinals | W 89–58 | 25–7 | 16 – Haas | 12 – Swanigan | 6 – Hill | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,355) Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 12, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS | (4) No. 13 | vs. (8) Michigan Semifinals | W 76–59 | 26–7 | 27 – Hammons | 11 – Hammons | 6 – Davis | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (18,339) Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar 13, 2016 3:00 pm, CBS | (4) No. 13 | vs. (2) No. 2 Michigan State Championship | L 62–66 | 26–8 | 19 – Edwards | 9 – Hammons | 3 – Davis | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (16,429) Indianapolis, IN |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| Mar 17, 2016* 4:20 pm, TBS | (5 MW) No. 12 | vs. (12 MW) Little Rock First Round | L 83–85 $^{2OT}$ | 26–9 | 24 – Edwards | 15 – Hammons | 4 – Mathias | Pepsi Center (19,499) Denver, CO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region Source. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | 23 | | 21 | 16 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 14 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 18 | 18 | 17 | 20 | 15 | 13 | 12 | N/A* |
| Coaches | 24 | | 23 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 10 | 19 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings