# 2015–16 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hokies were led by second year head coach Buzz Williams and played their home games at Cassell Coliseum. They were a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 20–15, 10–8 in ACC play to finish in a tie for seventh place. They defeated Florida State in the second round of the ACC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Miami (FL). They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Princeton in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to BYU.

## Last season

The Hokies finished the 2014–15 season 11–21, 2–16 in ACC play to finish in last place. They advanced to the second round of the ACC tournament where they lost to Miami (FL).

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Malik Müller | 1 | G | 6'3" | 220 | RS Freshman | Ehingen, Germany | Play professionally overseas |
| Joey van Zegeren | 2 | F | 6'10" | 235 | RS Junior | Hoogeveen, Netherlands | Transferred to Northwestern |
| Adam Smith | 3 | G | 6'1" | 170 | RS Junior | Jonesboro, GA | Graduate transferred to Georgia Tech |
| Christian Beyer | 22 | F | 6'7" | 220 | Senior | New Bern, NC | Graduated |
| Will Johnston | 25 | G | 6'4" | 205 | Senior | Midlothian, VA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Johnny Hamilton | 22 | C | 6'11" | 215 | Sophomore | Louisville, KY | Junior college transferred from Jacksonville College. |
| Ty Outlaw | 42 | F | 6'6" | 215 | Junior | Roxboro, NC | Junior college transferred from Lee College. |

## Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Chris Clarke SF | Virginia Beach, VA | Cape Henry Collegiate School | 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Nov 6, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Kerry Blackshear Jr. PF | Orlando, FL | Maynard Evans High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 220 lb (100 kg) | Oct 4, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Justin Robinson PG | Manassas, VA | St. James School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 178 lb (81 kg) | Oct 12, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NA Rivals: NA 247Sports: 23 ESPN: 19 ||||||
| 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: "Virginia Tech Commit List for 2015". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 21, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 21, 2014. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 21, 2014. ||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 14* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Alabama State Emerald Coast Classic | L 82–85 | 0–1 | Cassell Coliseum (6,519) Blacksburg, VA |
| Nov 18* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Jacksonville State Emerald Coast Classic | W 71–62 | 1–1 | Cassell Coliseum (4,984) Blacksburg, VA |
| Nov 21* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | VMI | W 76–52 | 2–1 | Cassell Coliseum (5,644) Blacksburg, VA |
| Nov 24* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Carolina A&T | W 90–60 | 3–1 | Cassell Coliseum (4,464) Blacksburg, VA |
| Nov 27* 7:00 pm, CBSSN | | vs. No. 4 Iowa State Emerald Coast Classic semifinals | L 77–99 | 3–2 | The Arena (2,222) Niceville, FL |
| Nov 28* 3:30 pm, CBSSN | | vs. UAB Emerald Coast Classic | W 82–77 $^{OT}$ | 4–2 | The Arena (2,222) Niceville, FL |
| Dec 1* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | Northwestern ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 79–81 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | Cassell Coliseum (4,879) Blacksburg, VA |
| Dec 5* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | W 80–45 | 5–3 | Cassell Coliseum (4,931) Blacksburg, VA |
| Dec 9* 7:00 pm | | at Radford New River Valley rivalry | W 74–65 | 6–3 | Dedmon Center (4,013) Radford, VA |
| Dec 13* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Lamar | W 88–53 | 7–3 | Cassell Coliseum (4,870) Blacksburg, VA |
| Dec 19* 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Grambling State | W 87–52 | 8–3 | Cassell Coliseum (4,649) Blacksburg, VA |
| Dec 22* 1:00 pm | | vs. Saint Joseph's Atlantic 10/ACC Showcase | L 62–79 | 8–4 | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| Dec 30* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 19 West Virginia | L 63–88 | 8–5 | Cassell Coliseum (9,567) Blacksburg, VA |
| ACC regular season ||||||
| Jan 2 2:00 pm, RSN | | NC State | W 73–68 $^{OT}$ | 9–5 (1–0) | Cassell Coliseum (4,971) Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 4 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | | No. 4 Virginia Commonwealth Clash | W 70–68 | 10–5 (2–0) | Cassell Coliseum (6,157) Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 9 12:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 14 Duke | L 58–82 | 10–6 (2–1) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Jan 13 9:00 pm, RSN | | Wake Forest | W 93–91 | 11–6 (3–1) | Cassell Coliseum (4,985) Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 16 12:00 pm, RSN | | at Georgia Tech | W 78–77 | 12–6 (4–1) | Hank McCamish Pavilion (6,470) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 20 7:00 pm, RSN | | at Notre Dame | L 81–83 | 12–7 (4–2) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (7,888) South Bend, IN |
| Jan 24 3:00 pm, ESPNU | | No. 2 North Carolina | L 70–75 | 12–8 (4–3) | Cassell Coliseum (9,567) Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 27 8:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 16 Louisville | L 83–91 | 12–9 (4–4) | Cassell Coliseum (7,084) Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 31 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Pittsburgh | L 71–90 | 12–10 (4–5) | Peterson Events Center (10,049) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 2 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at Syracuse | L 60-68 $^{OT}$ | 12–11 (4–6) | Carrier Dome (21,409) Syracuse, NY |
| Feb 6 4:00 pm, RSN | | Clemson | W 60–57 | 13–11 (5–6) | Cassell Coliseum (9,567) Blacksburg, VA |
| Feb 9 8:00 pm, ACCN | | at No. 7 Virginia Commonwealth Clash | L 49–67 | 13–12 (5–7) | John Paul Jones Arena (14,395) Charlottesville, VA |
| Feb 17 9:00 pm, RSN | | at No. 11 Miami (FL) | L 49–65 | 13–13 (5–8) | BankUnited Center (6,614) Coral Gables, FL |
| Feb 20 3:00 pm, ACCN | | Florida State | W 83–73 | 14–13 (6–8) | Cassell Coliseum (9,567) Blacksburg, VA |
| Feb 23 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Boston College | W 71–56 | 15–13 (7–8) | Conte Forum (1,018) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| Feb 28 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Wake Forest | W 81–74 | 16–13 (8–8) | LJVM Coliseum (9,404) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Mar 2 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Pittsburgh | W 65–61 | 17–13 (9–8) | Cassell Coliseum (6,949) Blacksburg, VA |
| Mar 5 4:00 pm, ACCN | | No. 7 Miami (FL) | W 77–62 | 18–13 (10–8) | Cassell Coliseum (8,911) Blacksburg, VA |
| ACC tournament ||||||
| Mar 9 9:00 pm, ESPN2 | (6) | vs. (11) Florida State Second Round | W 96–85 | 19–13 | Verizon Center (18,561) Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 11 9:30 pm, ESPN | (6) | vs. (3) No. 11 Miami (FL) Quarterfinals | L 82–88 | 19–14 | Verizon Center (20,719) Washington, D.C. |
| National Invitation tournament ||||||
| Mar 16* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | (3) | (6) Princeton First Round – St. Bonaventure Bracket | W 86–81 $^{OT}$ | 20–14 | Cassell Coliseum (8,241) Blacksburg, VA |
| Mar 18* 9:30 pm, ESPNU | (3) | at (2) BYU Second Round – St. Bonaventure Bracket | L 77–80 | 20–15 | Marriott Center (12,379) Provo, UT |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||