# 2015–16 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Mississippi State Bulldogs basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bulldogs, led by first year head coach Ben Howland, played their home games at the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Mississippi as a member of the Southeastern Conference. They finished the season 14–17, 7–11 in SEC play to finish in 11th place. They lost to Georgia in the second round of the SEC tournament.

## Previous season

The Bulldogs finished the 2014–15 season 13–19, 6–12 in SEC play to finish in a tie for 11th place. They lost in the first round of the SEC tournament to Auburn. On March 21, head coach Rick Ray was fired. Shortly thereafter, Ben Howland was hired as head coach.

## Before the season
### Departures

The Bulldogs lost 4 scholarship players, two to graduation and two transfers. The team also had 2 senior walkons graduate.
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Maurice Dunlap | 0 | Guard | 6'2" | 175 | Freshman | Greenwood, MS | Transferred to Jones County JC |
| Trivante Bloodman | 3 | Guard | 6'0" | 190 | Senior | Bronx, NY | Graduated |
| Isaiah Butler | 5 | Guard | 6'2" | 214 | Senior | Brandon, MS | Graduated (Walk-on) |
| Jeffery Johnson | 10 | Guard | 6'2" | 173 | Senior | Memphis, TN | Graduated (Walk-on) |
| Roquez Johnson | 25 | Forward | 6'7" | 214 | Senior | Montgomery, AL | Graduated |
| Oliver Black | 33 | Guard | 6'9" | 215 | Freshman | Jackson, MS | Transferred to Arkansas–Little Rock |

### Recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Aric Holman PF | Owensboro, KY | Owensboro (KY) | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | May 21, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Malik Newman PG | Jackson, MS | Callaway (MS) | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 174 lb (79 kg) | Apr 24, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Joseph Strugg PF | Montgomery, AL | George Washington Carver (AL) | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 210 lb (95 kg) | Jun 11, 2013 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Quinndary Weatherspoon SG | Canton, MS | Velma Jackson (MS) | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 184 lb (83 kg) | Jul 30, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 16 Rivals: 25 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: "Mississippi State 2015 Basketball Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "2015 Mississippi State Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014. ||||||
In addition, the Bulldogs added a transfer in Xavian Stapleton from Louisiana Tech. Stapleton will have to sit out the 2015–16 but will then have 3 years of eligibility.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| 11/06/2015* 7:00 pm | Fort Valley State | W 95–56 | | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| 11/13/2015* 8:00 pm, SECN | Eastern Washington | W 106–88 | 1–0 | Humphrey Coliseum (9,931) Starkville, MS |
| 11/16/2015* 7:00 pm | Southern | L 72–76 | 1–1 | Humphrey Coliseum (5,895) Starkville, MS |
| 11/19/2015* 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | vs. Miami (FL) Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals | L 79–105 | 1–2 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,947) San Juan, PR |
| 11/20/2015* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | vs. Texas Tech Puerto Rico Tip-Off consolation round | L 72–74 | 1–3 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum San Juan, PR |
| 11/22/2015* 11:00 am, ESPN3 | vs. Missouri State Puerto Rico Tip-Off 7th place game | W 84–70 | 2–3 | Roberto Clemente Coliseum San Juan, PR |
| 11/28/2015* 12:00 pm | Tennessee–Martin | W 76–51 | 3–3 | Humphrey Coliseum (7,150) Starkville, MS |
| 12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, SECN | Texas Southern | W 86–73 | 4–3 | Humphrey Coliseum (6,239) Starkville, MS |
| 12/12/2015* 4:05 pm, ASN | at UMKC | L 67–72 | 4–4 | Municipal Auditorium (2,886) Kansas City, MO |
| 12/16/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | at Florida State | L 66–90 | 4–5 | Donald L. Tucker Center (5,466) Tallahassee, FL |
| 12/19/2015* 3:00 pm, SECN | Tulane | W 69–59 | 5–5 | Humphrey Coliseum (4,804) Starkville, MS |
| 12/23/2015* 7:00 pm, SECN | vs. Northern Colorado | W 93–69 | 6–5 | Mississippi Coliseum (4,512) Jackson, MS |
| 12/31/2015* 1:00 pm | North Carolina Central | W 71–48 | 7–5 | Humphrey Coliseum (2,016) Starkville, MS |
| SEC regular season |||||
| 01/06/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | No. 21 Texas A&M | L 60–61 | 7–6 (0–1) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,693) Starkville, MS |
| 01/09/2016 2:30 pm, SECN | at Arkansas | L 68–82 | 7–7 (0–2) | Bud Walton Arena (11,157) Fayetteville, AR |
| 01/12/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN | at No. 14 Kentucky | L 74–80 | 7–8 (0–3) | Rupp Arena (23,897) Lexington, KY |
| 01/16/2016 2:30 pm, SECN | Tennessee | L 75–80 | 7–9 (0–4) | Humphrey Coliseum (5,926) Starkville, MS |
| 01/19/2016 6:00 pm, ESPNU | at Florida | L 78–81 | 7–10 (0–5) | O'Connell Center (8,250) Gainesville, FL |
| 01/23/2016 1:00 pm, SECN | Ole Miss | W 83–77 | 8–10 (1–5) | Humphrey Coliseum (8,932) Starkville, MS |
| 01/26/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | at South Carolina | L 74–84 | 8–11 (1–6) | Colonial Life Arena (12,764) Columbia, SC |
| 01/30/2016 7:30 pm, SECN | at Missouri | W 76–62 | 9–11 (2–6) | Mizzou Arena (7,175) Columbia, MO |
| 02/02/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | Alabama | L 80–82 $^{OT}$ | 9–12 (2–7) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,265) Starkville, MS |
| 02/06/2016 5:00 pm, ESPN2 | at LSU | L 77–88 | 9–13 (2–8) | Maravich Center (13,123) Baton Rouge, LA |
| 02/09/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | Arkansas | W 78–46 | 10–13 (3–8) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,272) Starkville, MS |
| 02/13/2016 7:00 pm, SECN | Georgia | L 57–66 | 10–14 (3–9) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,811) Starkville, MS |
| 02/16/2016 8:00 pm, SECN | Vanderbilt | W 75–74 | 11–14 (4–9) | Humphrey Coliseum (6,194) Starkville, MS |
| 02/20/2016 1:30 pm, SECN | at Alabama | W 67–61 | 12–14 (5–9) | Coleman Coliseum (15,383) Tuscaloosa, AL |
| 02/24/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN2 | at No. 21 Texas A&M | L 66–68 | 12–15 (5–10) | Reed Arena (8,312) College Station, TX |
| 02/27/2016 1:30 pm, SECN | South Carolina | W 68–58 | 13–15 (6–10) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,488) Starkville, MS |
| 03/02/2016 6:00 pm, SECN | at Ole Miss | L 78–86 | 13–16 (6–11) | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,500) Oxford, MS |
| 03/05/2016 1:30 pm, SECN | Auburn | W 79–66 | 14–16 (7–11) | Humphrey Coliseum (7,722) Starkville, MS |
| SEC tournament |||||
| 03/10/2016 8:30 pm | vs. Georgia Second round | L 69–79 | 14–17 | Bridgestone Arena (11,750) Nashville, TN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||