# 2015–16 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 2015–16 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Johnny Jones, who was in his fourth season at LSU. They played their home games at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a three-way tie for third place. They defeated Tennessee in the quarterfinals of the 2016 SEC tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Texas A&M. On March 13, the day after losing to Texas A&M by 33 points, they announced they would not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Previous season and offseason

LSU completed the 2014–15 season with an overall record of 22–11 and 11–7 in SEC play to finish in a four-way tie for third place in the final SEC standings. They lost in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament to Auburn. The Tigers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to NC State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Jarell Martin | 1 | F | 6'9" | 239 | Sophomore | Baton Rouge, LA | NBA Draft |
| Antonio Robinson | 13 | G | 6'1" | 170 | Senior | Bossier City, LA | Graduated |
| Carlton Speight | 24 | G | 6'4" | 200 | Freshman | New Orleans, Louisiana | Walk-on; did not return to team |
| Jordan Mickey | 25 | F | 6' 8" | 238 | Sophomore | Arlington, TX | NBA Draft |
| John Odo | 31 | F | 6'10" | 245 | Senior | Lagos, Nigeria | Graduated |

### incoming transfers

* Craig Victor II, transfer from Arizona.

### Class of 2015 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Antonio Blakeney SG | Orlando, Florida | Oak Ridge High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Jan 2, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Brandon Sampson SG | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Madison Prep Academy | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 20, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ben Simmons PF | Melbourne, Australia | Montverde Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Oct 14, 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: "LSU 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015. "2015 LSU Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 12, 2015. ||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov. 6, 2015* 7:00 pm | No. 21 | Southwest Baptist | W 98–72 | – | 19 – Sampson | 9 – Simmons | 5 – Simmons | Maravich Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov. 13, 2015* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 21 | McNeese State | W 81–70 | 1–0 | 22 – Blakeney | 13 – Simmons | 5 – Simmons | Maravich Center (11,697) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Nov. 16, 2015* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 23 | Kennesaw State Legends Classic | W 91–69 | 2–0 | 22 – Simmons | 9 – Simmons | 6 – Tied | Maravich Center (9,654) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Nov. 19, 2015* 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 23 | South Alabama Legends Classic | W 78–66 | 3–0 | 23 – Simmons | 16 – Simmons | 5 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (9,758) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Nov. 23, 2015* 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 22 | vs. Marquette Legends Classic semifinals | L 80–81 | 3–1 | 21 – Simmons | 19 – Simmons | 7 – Simmons | Barclays Center (5,775) Brooklyn, NY |
| Nov. 24, 2015* 4:30 pm, ESPNU | No. 22 | vs. NC State Legends Classic 3rd place game | L 72–83 $^{OT}$ | 3–2 | 19 – Quarterman | 16 – Simmons | 10 – Simmons | Barclays Center (4,777) Brooklyn, NY |
| Nov. 30, 2015* 6:00 pm | | at College of Charleston | L 58–70 | 3–3 | 15 – Simmons | 18 – Simmons | 5 – Patterson | TD Arena (4,761) Charleston, SC |
| Dec. 2, 2015* 7:00 pm | | North Florida | W 119–108 | 4–3 | 43 – Simmons | 14 – Simmons | 7 – Simmons | Maravich Center (8,981) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec. 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Houston | L 98–105 $^{OT}$ | 4–4 | 32 – Hornsby | 14 – Simmons | 6 – Quarterman | Hofheinz Pavilion (7,918) Houston, TX |
| Dec. 16, 2015* 6:00 pm, SECN | | Gardner–Webb | W 78–57 | 5–4 | 14 – Hornsby | 12 – Simmons | 4 – Simmons | Maravich Center (8,896) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec. 19, 2015* 7:00 pm, SECN | | Oral Roberts | W 100–77 | 6–4 | 24 – Simmons | 7 – Robinson III | 7 – Simmons | Maravich Center (10,095) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec. 22, 2015* 7:00 pm, SECN | | American | W 79–51 | 7–4 | 23 – Simmons | 5 – Tied | 6 – Simmons | Maravich Center (9,902) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Dec. 29, 2015* 7:00 pm, SECN | | Wake Forest | L 71–77 | 7–5 | 21 – Simmons | 12 – Simmons | 3 – Gray | Maravich Center (12,104) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan. 2, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Vanderbilt | W 90–82 | 8–5 (1–0) | 36 – Simmons | 14 – Simmons | 4 – Simmons | Memorial Gymnasium (13,380) Nashville, TN |
| Jan. 5, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 9 Kentucky | W 85–67 | 9–5 (2–0) | 21 – Quarterman | 12 – Victor II | 7 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (13,573) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan. 9, 2016 12:30 pm, CBS | | at Florida | L 62–68 | 9–6 (2–1) | 28 – Simmons | 17 – Simmons | 4 – Simmons | O'Connell Center (11,350) Gainesville, FL |
| Jan. 13, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Ole Miss | W 90–81 | 10–6 (3–1) | 18 – Victor II | 6 – Victor II | 7 – Simmons | Maravich Center (12,133) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan. 16, 2016 7:30 pm, SECN | | Arkansas | W 76–74 | 11–6 (4–1) | 16 – Tied | 18 – Simmons | 3 – Tied | Maravich Center (13,610) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan. 19, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | | at No. 10 Texas A&M | L 57–71 | 11–7 (4–2) | 12 – Quarterman | 11 – Simmons | 5 – Simmons | Reed Arena (13,888) College Station, TX |
| Jan. 23, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Alabama | W 72–70 | 12–7 (5–2) | 23 – Simmons | 8 – Simmons | 5 – Simmons | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan. 26, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN | | Georgia | W 89–85 | 13–7 (6–2) | 22 – Tied | 14 – Simmons | 5 – Quarterman | Maravich Center (10,749) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Jan. 30, 2016* 1:00 pm, ESPN | | No. 1 Oklahoma Big 12/SEC Challenge | L 75–77 | 13–8 | 18 – Quarterman | 9 – Simmons | 5 – Simmons | Maravich Center (13,882) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb. 2, 2016 6:00 pm, SECN | | at Auburn | W 80–68 | 14–8 (7–2) | 21 – Simmons | 13 – Simmons | 7 – Simmons | Auburn Arena (8,051) Auburn, AL |
| Feb. 6, 2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | | Mississippi State | W 88–77 | 15–8 (8–2) | 31 – Blakeney | 9 – Simmons | 7 – Simmons | Maravich Center (13,123) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb. 10, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at South Carolina | L 83–94 | 15–9 (8–3) | 22 – Blakeney | 6 – Tied | 6 – Simmons | Colonial Life Arena (16,009) Columbia, SC |
| Feb. 13, 2016 12:00 pm, CBS | | No. 15 Texas A&M | W 76–71 | 16–9 (9–3) | 16 – Tied | 11 – Simmons | 7 – Simmons | Maravich Center (12,928) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb. 17, 2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | Alabama | L 69–76 | 16–10 (9–4) | 21 – Victor II | 10 – Simmons | 4 – Blakeney | Maravich Center (10,703) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Feb. 20, 2016 4:30 pm, ESPNU | | at Tennessee | L 65–81 | 16–11 (9–5) | 21 – Simmons | 9 – Simmons | 5 – Quarterman | Thompson–Boling Arena (19,721) Knoxville, TN |
| Feb. 23, 2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Arkansas | L 65–85 | 16–12 (9–6) | 23 – Simmons | 12 – Simmons | 6 – Tied | Bud Walton Arena (9,522) Fayetteville, AR |
| Feb. 27, 2016 7:30 pm, ESPN | | Florida | W 96–91 | 17–12 (10–6) | 32 – Blakeney | 11 – Simmons | 5 – Simmons | Maravich Center (13,468) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Mar. 2, 2016 8:00 pm, SECN | | Missouri | W 80–71 | 18–12 (11–6) | 22 – Simmons | 14 – Simmons | 7 – Simmons | Maravich Center (9,652) Baton Rouge, LA |
| Mar. 5, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS | | at No. 22 Kentucky | L 77–94 | 18–13 (11–7) | 23 – Quarterman | 11 – Simmons | 4 – Simmons | Rupp Arena (24,414) Lexington, KY |
| SEC Tournament |||||||||
| Mar. 11, 2016 2:30 pm, SECN | (4) | vs. (12) Tennessee Quarterfinals | W 84–75 | 19–13 | 22 – Blakeney | 9 – Victor II | 7 – Quarterman | Bridgestone Arena (15,222) Nashville, TN |
| Mar. 12, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | vs. (1) No. 17 Texas A&M Semifinals | L 38–71 | 19–14 | 10 – Simmons | 12 – Simmons | 2 – Sampson | Bridgestone Arena (19,108) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||
Source: