# 2015–16 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Bruce Pearl, in his second season at Auburn. The team played their home games at the Auburn Arena in Auburn, Alabama as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 11–20, 5–13 in SEC play to finish in 13th place. They lost to Tennessee in the first round of the SEC tournament.

## Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2014–15 season 15–20 record, 4–14 in SEC play to finish in 13th place. They advanced to the semifinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Malcolm Canada | 00 | G | 6'3" | 225 | Senior | Austin, TX | Graduated |
| K. T. Harrell | 1 | G | 6'4" | 212 | Senior | Montgomery, AL | Graduated |
| K. C. Ross-Miller | 12 | G | 6'0" | 178 | RS Senior | Grand Prairie, TX | Graduated |
| Antoine Mason | 14 | G | 6'1" | 216 | Senior | Queens, NY | Graduated |
| Alex Thompson | 20 | F | 6'9" | 210 | Sophomore | Dothan, AL | Transferred to Samford |
| Jack Purchase | 24 | F | 6'8" | 198 | Freshman | Melbourne, Australia | Transferred to Hawaii |
| Matthew Atewe | 41 | C | 6'8" | 250 | Sophomore | Brampton, ON | Transferred to Washington |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| T. J. Dunans | 4 | G | 6'5" | 190 | Junior | Atlanta, GA | Junior college transferred from Columbia State Community College |
| Tyler Harris | 12 | F | 6'9" | 223 | RS Senior | Dix Hills, NY | Transferred from Providence. Haris will be eligible to play immediately since Harris graduated from Providence. |

## Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Horace Spencer PF | Henderson, NV | Findlay Prep | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Aug 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Danjel Purifoy SF | Centreville, AL | Hargrave Military | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Aug 22, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| New Williams PG/SG | Santa Monica, CA | Santa Monica | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 176 lb (80 kg) | Aug 31, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Bryce Brown SG | Decatur, GA | Columbia | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 173 lb (78 kg) | Nov 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 21 Rivals: 11 ESPN: 28 ||||||
| 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: "Auburn 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015. "2015 Auburn Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 27, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| October 30, 2015* 7:00 pm | | Brevard College | W 99−59 | 0−0 | Auburn Arena (6,999) Auburn, AL |
| November 5, 2015* 6:00 pm | | Indianapolis | W 114−109 $^{OT}$ | 0−0 | Auburn Arena (5,327) Auburn, AL |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 13, 2015* 8:30 pm, SECN+ | | UAB Rivalry | W 75−74 | 1−0 | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| November 17, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPN | | Colorado ESPN Tip-Off Marathon | L 84−91 | 1−1 | Auburn Arena (8,075) Auburn, AL |
| November 20, 2015* 8:30 pm, SECN+ | | Georgia Southern | W 92–62 | 2–1 | Auburn Arena (7,806) Auburn, AL |
| November 27, 2015* 7:30 pm, SECN | | Northwestern State | W 119−81 | 3−1 | Auburn Arena (8,529) Auburn, AL |
| December 2, 2015* 6:00 pm, BSN | | at Coastal Carolina | W 81−78 | 4−1 | HTC Center (3,286) Conway, SC |
| December 12, 2015* 12:00 pm, MTSU | | vs. Middle Tennessee | L 81−88 $^{OT}$ | 4−2 | Bridgestone Arena (7,322) Nashville, TN |
| December 15, 2015* 8:00 pm, SECN | | Mercer | W 78−71 | 5−2 | Auburn Arena (8,033) Auburn, AL |
| December 19, 2015* 11:00 am, FS1 | | at No. 10 Xavier | L 61−85 | 5−3 | Cintas Center (10,018) Cincinnati, OH |
| December 22, 2015* 1:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. New Mexico Diamond Head Classic Quarterfinals | W 83−78 | 6−3 | Stan Sheriff Center (7,161) Honolulu, HI |
| December 23, 2015* 3:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. Harvard Diamond Head Classic Semifinals | L 51−69 | 6−4 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,437) Honolulu, HI |
| December 25, 2015* 5:30 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Hawaii Diamond Head Classic Consolation | L 67−79 | 6−5 | Stan Sheriff Center (7,251) Honolulu, HI |
| January 2, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS | | Tennessee | W 83−77 | 7−5 (1−0) | Auburn Arena (8,614) Auburn, AL |
| January 5, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | No. 22 South Carolina | L 69−81 | 7−6 (1−1) | Auburn Arena (7,556) Auburn, AL |
| January 9, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Missouri | L 61–76 | 7–7 (1–2) | Mizzou Arena (6,533) Columbia, MO |
| January 12, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Vanderbilt | L 57–75 | 7–8 (1–3) | Memorial Gymnasium (10,414) Nashville, TN |
| January 16, 2016 3:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 14 Kentucky | W 75−70 | 8−8 (2−3) | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 19, 2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama Rivalry | W 83−77 | 9−8 (3−3) | Auburn Arena (9,121) Auburn, AL |
| January 23, 2016 7:00 pm, SECN | | at Florida | L 63−95 | 9−9 (3−4) | O'Connell Center (11,230) Gainesville, FL |
| January 27, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Ole Miss | L 63–80 | 9–10 (3–5) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (8,057) Oxford, MS |
| January 30, 2016* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Oklahoma State Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 63–74 | 9–11 | Auburn Arena (8,867) Auburn, AL |
| February 2, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | LSU | L 68–80 | 9–12 (3–6) | Auburn Arena (8,051) Auburn, AL |
| February 6, 2016 4:30 pm, SECN | | at Georgia | L 55–65 | 9–13 (3–7) | Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA |
| February 9, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Tennessee | L 45–71 | 9–14 (3–8) | Thompson-Boling Arena (13,740) Knoxville, TN |
| February 13, 2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Vanderbilt | L 57–86 | 9–15 (3–9) | Auburn Arena (7,954) Auburn, AL |
| February 17, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Arkansas | W 90–86 | 10–15 (4–9) | Bud Walton Arena (14,351) Fayetteville, AR |
| February 20, 2016 4:00 pm, SECN | | Ole Miss | L 59–69 | 10–16 (4–10) | Auburn Arena (8,046) Auburn, AL |
| February 24, 2015 6:00 pm, SECN | | Georgia | W 84–81 | 11–16 (5–10) | Auburn Arena (7,112) Auburn, AL |
| February 27, 2016 4:00 pm, SECN | | at Alabama Rivalry | L 57–65 | 11–17 (5–11) | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| March 1, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 20 Texas A&M | L 63–81 | 11–18 (5–12) | Auburn Arena (7,238) Auburn, AL |
| March 5, 2016 1:30 pm, SECN | | at Mississippi State | L 66–79 | 11–19 (5–13) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,722) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| March 9, 2016 8:00 pm, SECN | (13) | vs. (12) Tennessee First round | L 59–97 | 11–20 | Bridgestone Arena (9,787) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. Source. ||||||