# 2015–16 Pacific Tigers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Pacific Tigers men's basketball team represented the University of the Pacific during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Alex G. Spanos Center and were members of the West Coast Conference. The Tigers were led by third-year head coach Ron Verlin. On December 12, 2015, Verlin was suspended indefinitely amid an NCAA investigation. Assistant coach Mike Burns was named the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. The Tigers also self-imposed a postseason ban for 2016 which included the WCC Tournament. They finished the season 8–20, 6–12 in WCC play to finish in a three-way tie for seventh place
On March 3, 2016, it was announced that Ron Verlin was no longer employed by the university. Interim coach Mike Burns was also released from his employment with the school.
On March 16, the school announced that Damon Stoudamire would be the new head coach.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2014–15 season 12–19, 4–14 in WCC play to finish in a tie for ninth place. They lost in the first round of the WCC tournament to San Francisco.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Aaron Hendricks | 4 | G | 6'0" | 185 | RS Sophomore | Loomis, CA | Walk-on; left the team |
| Dulani Robinson | 5 | G | 5'9" | 165 | Junior | Oakland, CA | Transferred to Texas Southern |
| Cole Currie | 10 | G | 6'2" | 165 | Sophomore | La Crescenta, CA | Left the team due to personal resasons |
| Gabriel Aguirre | 11 | F | 6'10" | 250 | Senior | São Paulo, Brazil | Graduated |
| Kaleb Warner | 25 | F | 6'6" | 190 | Freshman | Seattle, WA | Transferred to North Idaho College |
| Thomas Peters | 30 | F | 6'6" | 200 | RS Sophomore | Campbell, CA | Walk on; didn't return |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Maleke Haynes | 0 | G | 5"11" | 160 | Sophomore | Woodland Hills, CA | Junior college transferred from Saddleback College |
| Tonko Vuko | 4 | F | 6'8" | 228 | Junior | Split, Croatia | Junior college transferred from Weatherford College |
| Jack Williams | 11 | F | 6'8" | 195 | Sophomore | Valencia, CA | Transferred from Long Beach State. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility. |

## Recruiting Class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Anthony Townes F | Modesto, California | Modesto Christian | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Jan 7, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 63 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 98 Rivals: nr ESPN: nr ||||||
| 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: "Pacific 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. "2015 Pacific Basketball Commits". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

## Allegations of academic fraud

On December 12, 2015 head coach Ron Verlin and assistant Dwight Young were suspended by the University after allegations of academic fraud came to light involving the two. Assistant coach Mike Burns was given the interim title. As a result of these allegations, the University placed a self-imposed postseason ban and also put on some scholarship restrictions.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/07/2015* 7:30 pm | Caroll (MT) | W 79–72 | | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,598) Stockton, CA |
| Regular season |||||
| 11/13/2015* 6:30 pm, P12N | at No. 12 Arizona | L 61–79 | 0–1 | McKale Center (14,644) Tucson, AZ |
| 11/17/2015* 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | Cal State Fullerton | L 76–77 | 0–2 | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,913) Stockton, CA |
| 11/21/2015* 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | Nevada | L 82–85 $^{2OT}$ | 0–3 | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,169) Stockton, CA |
| 11/23/2015* 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | Notre Dame de Namur | W 79–44 | 1–3 | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,620) Stockton, CA |
| 11/28/2015* 6:30 pm | vs. Eastern Washington Sacramento State Tournament | L 63–70 | 1–4 | Colberg Court (551) Sacramento, CA |
| 11/29/2015* 5:35 pm | at Sacramento State Sacramento State Tournament | L 71–79 | 1–5 | Colberg Court (827) Sacramento, CA |
| 12/04/2015* 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | UC Irvine | L 67–70 | 1–6 | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,111) Stockton, CA |
| 12/12/2015* 4:00 pm, MW Net | at Fresno State | L 52–71 | 1–7 | Save Mart Center (5,434) Fresno, CA |
| 12/15/2015* 5:00 pm | at Green Bay | L 88–93 | 1–8 | Resch Center (2,283) Green Bay, WI |
| 12/21/2015 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | at Santa Clara | W 73–72 $^{OT}$ | 2–8 (1–0) | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,705) Stockton, CA |
| 12/23/2015 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | at San Francisco | L 76–89 | 2–9 (1–1) | War Memorial Gymnasium (1,382) San Francisco, CA |
| 12/31/2015 6:00 pm, TheW.tv | San Diego | W 77–75 | 3–9 (2–1) | Alex G. Spanos Center (1,778) Stockton, CA |
| 01/02/2016 3:00 pm, CSNBA | BYU | L 67–81 | 3–10 (2–2) | Alex G. Spanos Center (3,175) Stockton, CA |
| 01/07/2016 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | at Pepperdine | L 76–81 | 3–11 (2–3) | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,289) Malibu, CA |
| 01/09/2016 3:00 pm, CSNBA | at Loyola Marymount | W 60–58 | 4–11 (3–3) | Gersten Pavilion (1,595) Los Angeles, CA |
| 01/14/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | at Saint Mary's | L 62–78 | 4–12 (3–4) | McKeon Pavilion (2,983) Moraga, CA |
| 01/16/2016* 6:00 pm, TheW.tv | Bethesda University | W 88–30 | 5–12 | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,205) Stockton, CA |
| 01/21/2016 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | Portland | W 70–61 | 6–12 (4–4) | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,502) Stockton, CA |
| 01/23/2016 1:00 pm, TWCSN | Gonzaga | L 61–71 | 6–13 (4–5) | Alex G. Spanos Center (4,309) Stockton, CA |
| 01/30/2016 8:00 pm, CSNBA | Saint Mary's | L 65–68 | 6–14 (4–6) | Alex G. Spanos Center (3,010) Stockton, CA |
| 02/04/2016 7:00 pm, CSNBA | at San Diego | L 43–54 | 6–15 (4–7) | Jenny Craig Pavilion (1,422) San Diego, CA |
| 02/06/2016 1:00 pm, TWCSN | at BYU | W 77–72 | 7–15 (5–7) | Marriott Center (16,069) Provo, UT |
| 02/11/2016 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | Loyola Marymount | L 72–77 | 7–16 (5–8) | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,190) Stockton, CA |
| 02/13/2016 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | Pepperdine | L 63–65 | 7–17 (5–9) | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,626) Stockton, CA |
| 02/18/2016 6:00 pm, CSNBA | at Gonzaga | L 68–90 | 7–18 (5–10) | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| 02/20/2016 7:00 pm, CSNBA | at Portland | L 67–80 | 7–19 (5–11) | Chiles Center (3,103) Portland, OR |
| 02/25/2015 7:00 pm, TheW.tv | San Francisco | W 79–70 | 8–19 (6–11) | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,381) Stockton, CA |
| 02/27/2015 6:00 pm, CSNBA | at Santa Clara | L 65–69 | 8–20 (6–12) | Leavey Center (3,808) Santa Clara, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. |||||