# 2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team

The 2015–16 Penn State Nittany Lions basketball team represented Pennsylvania State University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Head coach Pat Chambers coached his fifth season with the team. They played its home games in University Park, Pennsylvania at the Bryce Jordan Center, with two games at Rec Hall, and were members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 16–16, 7–11 in Big Ten play to finish in tenth place. They lost to Ohio State in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

## Previous season

The Nittany Lions finished the 2014–15 season with an overall record of 18–16, with a record of 4–14 in the Big Ten regular season to finish in 13th place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament where they lost to Purdue.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| John Johnson | 1 | G | 6'1" | 175 | RS Junior | Pittsburgh, PA | Suspended |
| D. J. Newbill | 2 | G | 6'4" | 205 | RS Senior | Philadelphia, PA | Graduated |
| Geno Thorpe | 13 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Sophomore | Pittsburgh, PA | Transferred to South Florida |
| Kevin Montminy | 14 | G | 6'3" | 185 | Senior | Centre Hall, PA | Graduated |
| Alan Wisniewski | 34 | F | 6'9" | 230 | Senior | Sterling Heights, MI | Graduated |
| Ross Travis | 43 | F | 6'6" | 225 | Senior | Chaska, MN | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Terrence Samuel | 13 | G | 6'4" | 202 | Sophomore | Brooklyn, NY | Connecticut |
* Under NCAA transfer rules, Samuel will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Samuel will have three years of remaining eligibility entering the 2016–17 season.

## Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Josh Reaves SG | Fairfax, VA | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 1, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Mike Watkins C | Philadelphia, PA | The Phelps School | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jun 12, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Deividas Zemgulis PF | Kaunas, Lithuania | Saint Mary's Ryken | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | May 12, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 22, 2015. ||||||

### 2016 Recruiting Class

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Joe Hampton SF | Mouth of Wilson, VA | Oak Hill Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 265 lb (120 kg) | May 15, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Nazeer Bostick PF | Philadelphia, PA | Roman Catholic | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Apr 30, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| 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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 22, 2015. |||||||

## Personnel
### Coaching staff

| Position | Name | Year | Alma mater |
| Head coach | Patrick Chambers | 2011 | Philadelphia University (1994) |
| Associate head coach | Keith Urgo | 2011 | Fairfield University (2002) |
| Assistant coach | Dwayne Anderson | 2013 | Villanova University (2009) |
| Assistant coach | Ross Condon | 2011 | Villanova University (2007) |
| Director of Basketball Operations | David Caporaletti | 2011 | Philadelphia University (1993) |
| On campus recruiting coordinator | Nicholas Colella | 2015 | Penn State (2013) |
| Athletic trainer | Jon Salazer | 2001 | Penn State (1993) |
| Director of player development | Ryan Devlin | 2013 | Philadelphia University (2005) |
| Strength and conditioning coach | Brandon Spayd | 2013 | Juniata College (2010) |
| Graduate Manager | Evann Baker | 2015 | Quinnipiac University (2011) |
| Graduate Manager | Kevin Hacke | 2015 | West Virginia University (2013) |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 14, 2015* 1:00 pm | | VMI | W 62–50 | 1–0 | Bryce Jordan Center (5,959) University Park, PA |
| Nov 17, 2015* 5:00 pm, ESPNU | | DePaul Gavitt Tipoff Games | W 68–62 | 2–0 | Bryce Jordan Center (5,023) University Park, PA |
| Nov 20, 2015* 7:00 pm | | at Duquesne | L 52–78 | 2–1 | Consol Energy Center (3,520) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Nov 24, 2015* 6:00 pm, BTN | | Radford | L 74–86 | 2–2 | Bryce Jordan Center (4,675) University Park, PA |
| Nov 28, 2015* 1:00 pm | | Bucknell | W 62–58 | 3–2 | Bryce Jordan Center (5,097) University Park, PA |
| Dec 2, 2015* 7:15 pm, ESPNU | | at Boston College ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 67–58 | 4–2 | Conte Forum (2,165) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Dec 5, 2015* 12:00 pm, BTN | | Eastern Michigan | W 81–70 | 5–2 | Bryce Jordan Center (10,303) University Park, PA |
| Dec 8, 2015* 7:00 pm | | at George Washington | L 66–76 | 5–3 | Charles E. Smith Center (3,262) Washington, D.C. |
| Dec 10, 2015* 7:00 pm | | Canisius Las Vegas Classic | W 81–67 | 6–3 | Rec Hall (4,509) University Park, PA |
| Dec 12, 2015* 2:00 pm, BTN | | Louisiana–Monroe Las Vegas Classic | W 54–50 | 7–3 | Rec Hall (4,824) University Park, PA |
| Dec 19, 2015* 7:00 pm | | vs. Drexel | W 63–57 | 8–3 | Palestra Philadelphia, PA |
| Dec 22, 2015* 10:30 pm | | vs. Colorado Las Vegas Classic semifinals | L 70–71 | 8–4 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Dec 23, 2015* 9:00 pm, FS1 | | vs. Kent State Las Vegas Classic 3rd place game | W 75–69 | 9–4 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Big Ten regular season ||||||
| Dec 30, 2015 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at No. 4 Maryland | L 64–70 | 9–5 (0–1) | Xfinity Center (17,950) College Park, MD |
| Jan 2, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | at Michigan | L 56–79 | 9–6 (0–2) | Crisler Center (12,207) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 5, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN | | Minnesota | W 86–77 | 10–6 (1–2) | Bryce Jordan Center (5,892) University Park, PA |
| Jan 10, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | No. 5 Michigan State | L 65–92 | 10–7 (1–3) | Bryce Jordan Center (10,855) University Park, PA |
| Jan 13, 2016 8:30 pm, BTN | | at No. 25 Purdue | L 57–74 | 10–8 (1–4) | Mackey Arena (13,802) West Lafayette, IN |
| Jan 16, 2016 8:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Northwestern | W 71–62 | 11–8 (2–4) | Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,512) Evanston, IL |
| Jan 21, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | Wisconsin | L 60–66 | 11–9 (2–5) | Bryce Jordan Center (7,145) University Park, PA |
| Jan 25, 2016 7:00 pm, 11,542 | | at Ohio State | L 46–66 | 11–10 (2–6) | Value City Arena (11,542) Columbus, OH |
| Jan 30, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | vs. Michigan B1G Super Saturday | L 72–79 | 11–11 (2–7) | Madison Square Garden (12,108) New York City, NY |
| Feb 3, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 5 Iowa | L 49–73 | 11–12 (2–8) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,596) Iowa City, IA |
| Feb 6, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN | | No. 22 Indiana | W 68–63 | 12–12 (3–8) | Bryce Jordan Center (10,351) University Park, PA |
| Feb 13, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Nebraska | L 54–70 | 12–13 (3–9) | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,613) Lincoln, NE |
| Feb 17, 2016 6:30 pm, BTN | | No. 4 Iowa | W 79–75 | 13–13 (4–9) | Bryce Jordan Center (6,590) University Park, PA |
| Feb 20, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Rutgers | W 70–58 | 14–13 (5–9) | The RAC (5,307) Piscataway, NJ |
| Feb 25, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Nebraska | W 56–55 | 15–13 (6–9) | Bryce Jordan Center (7,387) University Park, PA |
| Feb 28, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 6 Michigan State | L 57–88 | 15–14 (6–10) | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Mar 3, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | Northwestern | L 61–71 | 15–15 (6–11) | Bryce Jordan Center (5,936) University Park, PA |
| Mar 6, 2016 12:00 pm, BTN | | Illinois | W 86–79 $^{2OT}$ | 16–15 (7–11) | Bryce Jordan Center (9,104) University Park, PA |
| Big Ten tournament ||||||
| Mar 10, 2016 6:30 pm, ESPN2 | (10) | vs. (7) Ohio State Second round | L 75–79 | 16–16 | Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,751) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
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