# 2015–16 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 2015–16 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Frank Martin who was in his fourth season at South Carolina. The team played their home games at Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Georgia. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated High Point in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to Georgia Tech.

## Previous season

The Gamecocks finished the season 17–16, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Georgia.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Tyrone Johnson | 4 | G | 6'3" | 196 | Senior | Plainfield, NJ | Graduated |
| Shamiek Sheppard | 12 | G/F | 6'6" | 215 | Freshman | Brooklyn, NY | Suspended |
| Reggie Theus Jr. | 15 | F | 6'6" | 218 | Sophomore | Los Angeles, CA | Transferred to Cal State Northridge |
| Demetrius Henry | 21 | F/C | 6'9" | 227 | Sophomore | Miami, FL | Suspended |
| Austin Constable | 31 | G | 5'11" | 180 | Junior | West Chester, PA | Left team |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| PJ Dozier PG | Columbia, SC | Spring Valley High School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Nov 12, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Chris Silva PF | Roselle, NJ | Roselle Catholic High School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 205 lb (93 kg) | Sep 19, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Eric Cobb C | Jacksonville, FL | Potters House Christian | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 245 lb (111 kg) | May 18, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ray Doby PF | Saint Louis, MO | St. John's NW Military Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Jun 7, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Travon Bunch C | Racine, WI | Score Sports Academy | 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) | 186 lb (84 kg) | Mar 4, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: ||||||
| Jamall Gregory SG | Washington, D.C. | Elev8 Basketball Academy | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 1, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN: N/A ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 28 Rivals: 23 ESPN: 23 ||||||
| 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: "South Carolina 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "2015 South Carolina Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved August 7, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 8, 2015* 4:00 pm | | Allen | W 71–43 | – | Colonial Life Arena Columbia, SC |
| Non-conference games ||||||
| November 14, 2015* 7:00 pm | | Norfolk State | W 84–69 | 1–0 | Colonial Life Arena (10,623) Columbia, SC |
| November 16, 2015* 7:30 pm, SECN | | Oral Roberts | W 84–66 | 2–0 | Colonial Life Arena (9,640) Columbia, SC |
| November 20, 2015* 6:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. DePaul Paradise Jam Quarterfinals | W 76–61 | 3–0 | Sports and Fitness Center (N/A) St. Thomas, VI |
| November 22, 2015* 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Hofstra Paradise Jam Semifinals | W 94–84 | 4–0 | Sports and Fitness Center (N/A) St. Thomas, VI |
| November 23, 2015* 9:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. Tulsa Paradise Jam Championship | W 83–75 | 5–0 | Sports and Fitness Center (2,002) St. Thomas, VI |
| November 27, 2015* 2:00 pm | | Lipscomb | W 92–76 | 6–0 | Colonial Life Arena (8,793) Columbia, SC |
| November 30, 2015* 7:00 pm, SECN | | Western Carolina | W 76–53 | 7–0 | Colonial Life Arena (8,957) Columbia, SC |
| December 5, 2015* 4:00 pm, SECN | | South Florida | W 81–63 | 8–0 | Colonial Life Arena (10,721) Columbia, SC |
| December 15, 2015* 7:00 pm | | Drexel | W 79–54 | 9–0 | Colonial Life Arena (8,481) Columbia, SC |
| December 18, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Clemson Rivalry | W 65–59 | 10–0 | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (14,446) Greenville, SC |
| December 22, 2015* 9:00 pm, CBSSN | No. 25 | vs. St. John's Mohegan Sun Showcase | W 75–61 | 11–0 | Mohegan Sun Arena (2,355) Uncasville, CT |
| December 30, 2015* 7:00 pm | No. 24 | Francis Marion | W 78–56 | 12–0 | Colonial Life Arena (10,401) Columbia, SC |
| January 2, 2016* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 24 | Memphis | W 86–76 | 13–0 | Colonial Life Arena (13,035) Columbia, SC |
| SEC regular season ||||||
| January 5, 2016 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 22 | at Auburn | W 81–69 | 14–0 (1–0) | Auburn Arena (7,556) Auburn, AL |
| January 9, 2016 3:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 22 | Vanderbilt | W 69–65 | 15–0 (2–0) | Colonial Life Arena (15,055) Columbia, SC |
| January 13, 2016 9:00 pm, SECN | No. 19 | at Alabama | L 50–73 | 15–1 (2–1) | Coleman Coliseum (12,443) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| January 16, 2016 1:00 pm, SECN | No. 19 | Missouri | W 81–72 | 16–1 (3–1) | Colonial Life Arena (15,389) Columbia, SC |
| January 19, 2016 7:00 pm, SECN | No. 24 | at Ole Miss | W 77–74 $^{OT}$ | 17–1 (4–1) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (7,427) Oxford, MS |
| January 23, 2016 12:00 pm, SECN | No. 24 | at Tennessee | L 69–78 | 17–2 (4–2) | Thompson–Boling Arena (13,928) Knoxville, TN |
| January 26, 2016 7:00 pm, SECN | | Mississippi State | W 84–74 | 18–2 (5–2) | Colonial Life Arena (12,764) Columbia, SC |
| January 30, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | W 78–64 | 19–2 (6–2) | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| February 2, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | at Georgia | L 56–69 | 19–3 (6–3) | Stegeman Coliseum (6,427) Athens, GA |
| February 6, 2016 4:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 25 | at No. 8 Texas A&M | W 81–78 | 20–3 (7–3) | Reed Arena (11,240) College Station, TX |
| February 10, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | LSU | W 94–83 | 21–3 (8–3) | Colonial Life Arena (16,009) Columbia, SC |
| February 13, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 22 Kentucky | L 62–89 | 21–4 (8–4) | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| February 16, 2016 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Missouri | L 67–72 | 21–5 (8–5) | Mizzou Arena (5,017) Columbia, MO |
| February 20, 2016 12:00 pm, SECN | | Florida | W 73–69 $^{OT}$ | 22–5 (9–5) | Colonial Life Arena (18,000) Columbia, SC |
| February 24, 2016 9:00 pm, SECN | | Tennessee | W 84–58 | 23–5 (10–5) | Colonial Life Arena (13,224) Columbia, SC |
| February 27, 2016 2:30 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 58–68 | 23–6 (10–6) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,488) Starkville, MS |
| March 3, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Georgia | L 72–74 | 23–7 (10–7) | Colonial Life Arena (15,397) Columbia, SC |
| March 5, 2016 5:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | W 76–61 | 24–7 (11–7) | Bud Walton Arena (14,548) Fayetteville, AR |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 2016 9:30 pm, SECN | (3) | vs. (6) Georgia Quarterfinals | L 64–65 | 24–8 | Bridgestone Arena (18,049) Nashville, TN |
| NIT ||||||
| March 15, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | (1) | (8) High Point First Round – South Carolina Bracket | W 88–66 | 25–8 | Colonial Life Arena (2,566) Columbia, SC |
| March 21, 2016* 9:00 pm, ESPN | (1) | (4) Georgia Tech Second Round – South Carolina Bracket | L 66–83 | 25–9 | Colonial Life Arena (2,856) Columbia, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked. :
| 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 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | NR | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 22 | 19 | 24 | RV | 25 | RV | RV | RV | NR | NR | NR | N/A |
| Coaches | NR | NR | NR | RV | RV | 25 | 23 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | NR | NR |

## Awards

| Player | Position | Award | electors |
| Michael Carrera | Forward | All-SEC 2nd Team | Associated Press |
| Duane Notice | Guard | SEC Sixth Man of the Year | Associated Press |
| Sindarius Thornwell | Guard | SEC All-Defense | Associated Press |
| Source: CBB Reference ||||