# 2015–16 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball season

The 2015–16 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball season began with practices in October 2015 and ended with the 2016 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament in March 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Paradise, Nevada. The regular season began on the first weekend of November 2015, with the conference schedule starting in December 2015.
This was the fifth season under the Pac-12 Conference name and the 57th since the conference was established under its current charter as the Athletic Association of Western Universities in 1959. Including the history of the Pacific Coast Conference, which operated from 1915 to 1959 and is considered by the Pac-12 as a part of its own history, this was the Pac-12's 101st season of men's basketball.

## Preseason

* October 15, 2015 – Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day, Pac-12 Networks Studios, San Francisco
Men's Basketball Media Preseason Poll :
| Place | Team | Points | First place votes |
| 1. | Arizona | 406 | (18) |
| 2. | California | 378 | (9) |
| 3. | Utah | 360 | (7) |
| 4. | Oregon | 338 | (1) |
| 5. | UCLA | 304 | (1) |
| 6. | Oregon State | 235 | --- |
| 7. | Colorado | 188 | --- |
| 8. | Arizona State | 165 | --- |
| 9. | Stanford | 145 | --- |
| 10. | USC | 111 | --- |
| 11. | Washington | 96 | --- |
| 12. | Washington State | 65 | --- |
 first place votes

### Recruiting classes

Rankings :
| Team | ESPN | Rivals | Scout | 247 Sports | Signees |
| Arizona | #4 | #3 | #4 | #4 | 4 |
| Arizona State | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| California | #5 | #7 | #3 | #7 | 4 |
| Colorado | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Oregon | #22 | #15 | - | #22 | 4 |
| Oregon State | #19 | #23 | #24 | #23 | 6 |
| Stanford | - | #29 | - | - | 3 |
| UCLA | #25 | #24 | #17 | #21 | 4 |
| USC | #30 | #30 | #22 | #28 | 2 |
| Utah | - | - | - | - | 2 |
| Washington | #12 | #10 | #6 | #16 | 8 |
| Washington State | - | - | - | - | 4 |

## Rankings

The Pac-12 had 4 teams ranked and 3 others receiving votes in the preseason Coaches' Poll. It had four teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll and one other receiving votes.
Legend :
| | Improvement in ranking |
| | Drop in ranking |
| RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 |
| | No votes received |
| | | 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 |
| Arizona | AP | 12 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 18 | 12 | 18 | 23 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 18 | 15 | 16 | – |
| Arizona | C | 10 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 20 | 14 | 12 | 10 | 16 | 14 | 17 | 22 |
| Arizona State | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| Arizona State | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| California | AP | 14 | 15 | 14 | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 23 | – |
| California | C | 14 | 14 | 13 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 24 | 23 | RV |
| Colorado | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| Colorado | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV |
| Oregon | AP | RV | 25 | 21 | 15 | 24 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 16 | 11 | 16 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 5 | – |
| Oregon | C | RV | RV | 23 | 16 | 23 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 17 | 12 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 6 |
| Oregon State | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| Oregon State | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Stanford | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| Stanford | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| UCLA | AP | RV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 22 | RV | 25 | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| UCLA | C | RV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| USC | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | 21 | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| USC | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | 25 | RV | RV | 23 | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Utah | AP | 16 | 16 | RV | RV | 25 | RV | 24 | 21 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 13 | 12 | 13 | – |
| Utah | C | 16 | 16 | RV | RV | 24 | RV | RV | 22 | RV | RV | | RV | RV | RV | RV | 23 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 20 |
| Washington | AP | NV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| Washington | C | NV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | RV | RV | RV | RV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |
| Washington State | AP | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | – |
| Washington State | C | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV | NV |

## Pac-12 regular season
### Conference Schedule

This table summarizes the head-to-head results between teams in conference play.
| | Arizona | Arizona St | California | Colorado | Oregon | Oregon St | Stanford | UCLA | USC | Utah | Washington | Washington St |
| vs. Arizona | – | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–2 |
| vs. Arizona State | 2–0 | – | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. California | 1–1 | 0–2 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. Colorado | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Oregon | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–1 |
| vs. Oregon State | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| vs. Stanford | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | – | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 0–0 | 0–1 |
| vs. UCLA | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 |
| vs. USC | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | – | 0–0 | 1–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Utah | 0–1 | 0–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–0 | 0–2 |
| vs. Washington | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 0–0 | – | 0–1 |
| vs. Washington State | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 | – |
| Total | 12–6 | 5–13 | 12–6 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 6–12 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–15 |

## Head coaches

Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and Pac-12 records are from time at current school.
| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | Pac-12 record | NCAA Tournaments | NCAA Final Fours | NCAA Championships |
| Arizona | Sean Miller | Xavier | 8th | 188–61 (.755) | 91–35 (.722) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| Arizona State | Bobby Hurley | Buffalo | 2nd | 15–17 (.469) | 5–13 (.278) | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| California | Cuonzo Martin | Tennessee | 3rd | 41–25 (.621) | 19–17 (.528) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Colorado | Tad Boyle | Northern Colorado | 7th | 130–79 (.622) | 56–50 (.528) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Oregon | Dana Altman | Creighton | 7th | 154–64 (.706) | 69–39 (.639) | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| Oregon State | Wayne Tinkle | Montana | 3rd | 36–27 (.571) | 17–19 (.472) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Stanford | Johnny Dawkins | Duke (associate HC) | 8th | 156–115 (.576) | 66–78 (.458) | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UCLA | Steve Alford | New Mexico | 4th | 64–37 (.634) | 28–22 (.560) | 9 | 0 | 0 |
| USC | Andy Enfield | Florida Gulf Coast | 4th | 44–54 (.449) | 13–36 (.265) | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Utah | Larry Krystkowiak | New Jersey Nets (assistant) | 6th | 95–73 (.565) | 42–47 (.472) | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington | Lorenzo Romar | Saint Louis | 15th | 288–171 (.627) | 141–111 (.560) | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| Washington State | Ernie Kent | Oregon | 3rd | 22–30 (.423) | 8–28 (.222) | 6 | 0 | 0 |

## Postseason
### Pac-12 tournament

The conference tournament is scheduled for Wednesday–Saturday March, 9-12, 2016 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena located in Paradise, Nevada. The top four teams had a bye on the first day, March 9, 2016. Teams were seeded by conference record, with ties broken by record between the tied teams followed by record against the regular-season champion, if necessary.
| First round Wednesday March 9 | First round Wednesday March 9 | First round Wednesday March 9 | Quarterfinals Thursday March 10 | Quarterfinals Thursday March 10 | Quarterfinals Thursday March 10 | Semifinals Friday March 11 | Semifinals Friday March 11 | Semifinals Friday March 11 | Championship Saturday March 12 | Championship Saturday March 12 | Championship Saturday March 12 |
| | | | 1 | Oregon | 83 | | | | | | |
| | | | 8 | Washington | 77 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Washington | 91 | 8 | Washington | 77 | | | | | | |
| 9 | Stanford | 68 | | | | | | | | | |
| 9 | Stanford | 68 | | | | 1 | Oregon | 95* | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Arizona | 89 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Arizona | 82 | | | | | | |
| | | | 5 | Colorado | 78 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Colorado | 80 | 5 | Colorado | 78 | | | | | | |
| 12 | Washington State | 56 | | | | | | | | | |
| 12 | Washington State | 56 | | | | | | | 1 | Oregon | 88 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Utah | 57 |
| | | | 2 | Utah | 80 | | | | | | |
| | | | 7 | USC | 72 | | | | | | |
| 7 | USC | 95 | 7 | USC | 72 | | | | | | |
| 10 | UCLA | 71 | | | | | | | | | |
| 10 | UCLA | 71 | | | | 2 | Utah | 82* | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | California | 78 | | | |
| | | | 3 | California | 76 | | | | | | |
| | | | 6 | Oregon State | 68 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Oregon State | 75 | 6 | Oregon State | 68 | | | | | | |
| 11 | Arizona State | 66 | | | | | | | | | |
* denotes each overtime period played

### NCAA tournament

| Seed | Region | School | First Round | Second Round | Sweet 16 | Elite Eight | Final Four | Championship |
| 1 | West | Oregon | #16 Holy Cross, W 91–52 | #8 Saint Joseph's, W 69–64 | #4 Duke, W 82–68 | #2 Oklahoma, L 68–80 | | |
| 3 | Midwest | Utah | #14 Fresno State, W 80–69 | #11 Gonzaga, L 59–82 | | | | |
| 4 | South | California | #13 Hawaii, L 66–77 | | | | | |
| 6 | South | Arizona | #11 Wichita State, L 55–65 | | | | | |
| 7 | West | Oregon State | #10 VCU, L 67–75 | | | | | |
| 8 | South | Colorado | #9 Connecticut, L 67–74 | | | | | |
| 8 | East | USC | #9 Providence, L 69–70 | | | | | |
| | 7 Bids | W-L (%): | 2–5 .286 | 1–1 .500 | 1–0 1.000 | 0–1 .000 | 0–0 – | TOTAL: 4–7 .364 |

### National Invitation tournament

| Seed | Bracket | School | First Round | Second Round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals |
| 3 | South Carolina | Washington | vs. Long Beach State, W 107–102 | at San Diego State, L 78–93 | | | |
| | 1 Bid | W-L (%): | 1–0 1.000 | 0–1 .000 | 0–0 – | 0–0 – | TOTAL: 1–1 .500 |
* Index to colors and formatting
* Pac-12 member won
* Pac-12 member lost

## Awards and honors
### All-Pac-12 Tournament Teams

First Team Second Team

### Player of the Week

Source
* Nov. 16: Tyrone Wallace, Sr., California
* Nov. 23: Jakob Poeltl, So., Utah
* Nov. 30: Andrew Andrews, Sr., Washington
* Dec. 7: Thomas Welsh, So., UCLA
* Dec. 14: Allonzo Trier, Fr., Arizona
* Dec. 21: Jakob Poeltl, So., Utah (2)
* Dec. 28: Josh Hawkinson, Jr., Washington State
* Jan. 4: Andrew Andrews, Sr., Washington (2)
* Jan. 11: Bryce Alford, Jr., UCLA
* Jan. 18: Josh Scott, Sr., Colorado
* Jan. 25: Jakob Poeltl, So., Utah (3)
* Feb. 1: Dillon Brooks, So., Oregon
* Feb. 8: Ryan Anderson, RS Sr., Arizona
* Feb. 15: Jabari Bird, Jr., California
* Feb. 22: Jakob Poeltl, So., Utah (4)
* Feb. 29: Josh Scott, Sr., Colorado (2)
* Mar. 7: Gabe York, Sr., Arizona

### Conference awards

Voting was by conference coaches.

#### Individual awards

Pac-12 individual awards :
| Award | Recipient(s) |
| Player of The Year | Jakob Pöltl, So., Utah |
| Coach of the Year | Dana Altman, Oregon |
| Defensive Player of The Year | Gary Payton II, Sr., Oregon State |
| Freshman of The Year | Jaylen Brown, Fr., California |
| Scholar-Athlete of the Year | Brandon Taylor, Sr., Utah |
| Most Improved Player of The Year | George King, So., Colorado |

#### All-Pac-12
##### First team

| Name | School | Pos. | Yr. | Ht., Wt. | Hometown (Last School) |
| Rosco Allen | Stanford | F | Sr. | 6-9, 220 | Duapest, Hungary (Bishop Gorman HS) |
| Ryan Anderson | Arizona | F | Sr. | 6-9, 235 | Long Beach, California (Boston College) |
| Andrew Andrews | Washington | G | Sr. | 6-2, 200 | Portland, Ore. (Benson Tech HS) |
| Dillon Brooks | Oregon | F | So. | 6-7, 225 | Mississauga, Ont. (Findlay Prep) |
| Jaylen Brown | California | F | Fr. | 6-7, 225 | Atlanta, Ga. (Wheeler HS) |
| Elgin Cook | Oregon | F | Sr. | 6-6, 205 | Milwaukee, Wis. (Northwest Florida State) |
| Julian Jacobs | USC | G | Jr. | 6-4, 180 | Las Vegas, Nev. (Desert Pines HS) |
| Gary Payton II | Oregon State | G | Sr. | 6-3, 190 | Seattle (Salt Lake CC) |
| Jakob Poeltl | Utah | F | So. | 7-0, 248 | Vienna, Austria (Arkadia Traiskirchen) |
| Josh Scott | Colorado | F | Sr. | 6-10, 245 | Monument, Colorado (Lewis-Palmer HS) |

##### Second team

| Name | School | Pos. | Yr. | Ht., Wt. |
| Isaac Hamilton | UCLA | G | Jr. | 6-5, 185 |
| Dejounte Murray | Washington | G | Fr. | 6-4, 170 |
| Ivan Rabb | California | F | Fr. | 6-11, 220 |
| Kaleb Tarczewski | Arizona | C | Sr. | 7-0, 250 |
| Gabe York | Arizona | G | Sr. | 6-3, 190 |

#### All-Freshman Team

| Name | School | Pos. | Ht., Wt. |
| Jaylen Brown | California | F | 6-7, 225 |
| Tyler Dorsey | Oregon | G | 6-4, 180 |
| Dejounte Murray | Washington | G | 6-4, 170 |
| Ivan Rabb | California | F | 6-11, 220 |
| Allonzo Trier | Arizona | G | 6-6, 210 |

#### All-Defensive Team

| Name | School | Pos. | Yr. | Ht., Wt. |
| Chris Boucher | Oregon | F | Sr. | 6-10, 190 |
| Gary Payton II | Oregon State | G | Sr. | 6-3, 190 |
| Josh Scott | Colorado | F | Sr. | 6-10, 245 |
| Brandon Taylor | Utah | G | Sr. | 5-10, 170 |
| Kaleb Tarczewski | Arizona | C | Sr. | 7-0, 250 |

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | Team | School/club team |
| 1 | 3 | Jaylen Brown | SF | United States | Boston Celtics (from Brooklyn) | California (Fr.) |
| 1 | 8 | Marquese Chriss | PF | United States | Sacramento Kings (traded to Phoenix Suns) | Washington (Fr.) |
| 1 | 9 | Jakob Pöltl | C | Austria | Toronto Raptors (from Denver via New York) | Utah (So.) |
| 1 | 29 | Dejounte Murray | PG/SG | United States | San Antonio Spurs | Washington (Fr.) |
| 2 | 60 | Tyrone Wallace | PG | United States | Utah Jazz (from Golden State) | California (Sr.) |