# 2015–16 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was Louisville's 102nd season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in their second season in the Atlantic Coast Conference and were coached by Rick Pitino, in his 15th season at U of L. The team played its home games on Denny Crum Court at the KFC Yum! Center in downtown Louisville. They finished the season 23–8, 12–6 in ACC play to finish in fourth place.
The University of Louisville self-imposed a postseason ban for the 2015–16 season amid an ongoing NCAA investigation over an escort sex scandal involving recruits between 2010 and 2014. None of the players on this team were involved in the allegations. The ban included both the ACC tournament and the NCAA tournament.

## Previous season

The Cardinals finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 27–9, 12–6 to finish in fourth place in ACC play. Louisville lost its first ever ACC tournament game to North Carolina, but received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Louisville defeated UC Irvine, Northern Iowa, and NC State to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to Michigan State.

## Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Terry Rozier | 0 | G | 6'1" | 190 | Sophomore | Cleveland, OH | Declared for 2015 NBA draft |
| Anton Gill | 1 | G | 6'4" | 190 | Sophomore | Raleigh, NC | Transferred to Nebraska |
| Chris Jones | 3 | G | 5'10" | 175 | Senior | Memphis, TN | Dismissed from the team |
| Trent Gilbert | 15 | G | 6'0" | 180 | Freshman | Georgetown, KY | Walk-on; transferred to Gulf Coast State College |
| Shaqquan Aaron | 21 | G | 6'7" | 170 | Freshman | Seattle, WA | Transferred to USC |
| Akoy Agau | 22 | F | 6'8" | 230 | Sophomore | Omaha, NE | Transferred to Georgetown |
| Montrezl Harrell | 24 | F | 6'8" | 240 | Junior | Tarboro, NC | Declared for 2015 NBA draft |
| Wayne Blackshear | 25 | G/F | 6'5" | 215 | Senior | Chicago, IL | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Damion Lee | 0 | G/F | 6'6" | 200 | RS Senior | Baltimore, MD | Drexel |
| Trey Lewis | 3 | G | 6'2" | 190 | RS Senior | Garfield Heights, OH | Cleveland State |
| Jay Henderson | 11 | G | 6'4" | 180 | RS Freshman | Orlando, Florida | St. John's |

## Class of 2015 signees

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Deng Adel SF | Melbourne, Australia | Victory Rock Prep | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 190 lb (86 kg) | Jul 14, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Donovan Mitchell SG | Greenwich, CT | Brewster Academy | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Aug 7, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ray Spalding PF | Louisville, KY | Trinity High School | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Jul 20, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Ryan McMahon SG | Sarasota, FL | Cardinal Mooney High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Jul 20, 2014 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 8 Rivals: 7 ESPN: 8 ||||||
| 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: "Louisville Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "2015 Louisville Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### Class of 2016 signees

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| V. J. King SF | Fairfax, VA | Paul VI High School | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 179 lb (81 kg) | Jun 12, 2015 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 8 Rivals: 7 ESPN: 8 |||||||
| 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: "Louisville Basketball Commitment List". Rivals.com. "2016 Louisville Basketball Commitment List". Scout.com. "ESPN". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Nov 1, 2015* 1:30 pm, WAVE-TV | | Bellarmine | W 71–55 | | 14 – Johnson | 10 – Tied | 8 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (18,612) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 9, 2015* 7:00 pm, WAVE-TV | | Kentucky Wesleyan | W 77–68 | | 19 – Lee | 8 – Mathiang | 4 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (15,794) Louisville, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Samford | W 86–45 | 1–0 | 14 – Tied | 7 – Mathiang | 6 – Lewis | KFC Yum! Center (20,347) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 17, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Hartford Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational | W 87–52 | 2–0 | 18 – Tied | 9 – Onuaku | 6 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (18,910) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 21, 2015* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Florida Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational | W 89–61 | 3–0 | 24 – Lee | 12 – Spalding | 6 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (20,413) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 24, 2015* 7:00 pm, RSN | | St. Francis Brooklyn Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational | W 85–41 | 4–0 | 21 – Lee | 12 – Onuaku | 7 – Lewis | KFC Yum! Center (19,112) Louisville, KY |
| Nov 28, 2015* 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | | vs. Saint Louis Brooklyn Hoops Holiday Invitational | W 77–57 | 5–0 | 22 – Lewis | 13 – Mathiang | 4 – Snider | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| Dec 2, 2015* 7:15 pm, ESPN | No. 24 | at No. 3 Michigan State ACC–Big Ten Challenge | L 67–71 | 5–1 | 23 – Lee | 6 – Tied | 5 – Lee | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI |
| Dec 5, 2015* 12:00 pm, ESPN3 | No. 24 | Grand Canyon | W 111–63 | 6–1 | 24 – Lee | 7 – Tied | 8 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (20,380) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 12, 2015* 2:00 pm, RSN | No. 22 | Eastern Michigan | W 86–53 | 7–1 | 16 – Lee | 7 – Tied | 7 – Mitchell | KFC Yum! Center (20,649) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 16, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | Kennesaw State | W 94–57 | 8–1 | 18 – Lee | 7 – Tied | 8 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (19,288) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 19, 2015* 12:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 19 | WKU | W 78–56 | 9–1 | 16 – Snider | 12 – Onuaku | 4 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (21,606) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 22, 2015* 9:00 pm, RSN | No. 16 | UMKC Billy Minardi Classic | W 75–47 | 10–1 | 17 – Lewis | 9 – Tied | 3 – Mitchell | KFC Yum! Center (19,419) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 23, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 16 | Utah Valley Billy Minardi Classic | W 98–86 | 11–1 | 21 – Lewis | 7 – Lewis | 4 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (19,147) Louisville, KY |
| Dec 26, 2015* 12:00 pm, CBS | No. 16 | at No. 12 Kentucky Battle for the Bluegrass | L 73–75 | 11–2 | 27 – Lee | 10 – Onuaku | 3 – Mitchell | Rupp Arena (24,412) Lexington, KY |
| ACC regular season |||||||||
| Jan 3, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 18 | Wake Forest | W 65–57 | 12–2 (1–0) | 18 – Mitchell | 15 – Onuaku | 2 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (21,302) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 7, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 16 | at NC State | W 77–72 | 13–2 (2–0) | 21 – Snider | 14 – Onuaku | 4 – Mitchell | PNC Arena (17,762) Raleigh, NC |
| Jan 10, 2016 12:00 pm, RSN | No. 16 | at Clemson | L 62–66 | 13–3 (2–1) | 14 – Onuaku | 10 – Tied | 3 – Lewis | Bon Secours Wellness Arena (9,562) Greenville, SC |
| Jan 14, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPN | No. 21 | No. 20 Pittsburgh | W 59–41 | 14–3 (3–1) | 18 – Tied | 10 – Onuaku | 4 – Lewis | KFC Yum! Center (21,632) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 20, 2016 9:00 pm, ESPNU | No. 17 | Florida State | W 84–65 | 15–3 (4–1) | 20 – Snider | 14 – Onuaku | 5 – Lewis | KFC Yum! Center (21,349) Louisville, KY |
| Jan 23, 2016 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 17 | at Georgia Tech | W 75–71 | 16–3 (5–1) | 17 – Lee | 11 – Onuaku | 4 – Onuaku | Hank McCamish Pavilion (7,829) Atlanta, GA |
| Jan 27, 2016 8:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV | No. 16 | at Virginia Tech | W 91–83 | 17–3 (6–1) | 29 – Lee | 9 – Johnson | 6 – Lee | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA |
| Jan 30, 2016 1:00 pm, CBS | No. 16 | No. 11 Virginia | L 47–63 | 17–4 (6–2) | 12 – Tied | 7 – Spalding | 2 – Tied | KFC Yum! Center (21,714) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 1, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 19 | No. 2 North Carolina Big Monday | W 71–65 | 18–4 (7–2) | 24 – Lee | 10 – Onuaku | 7 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (22,781) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 6, 2016 12:00 pm, ACCN/WHAS-TV | No. 19 | Boston College | W 79–47 | 19–4 (8–2) | 16 – Lewis | 13 – Onuaku | 4 – Adel | KFC Yum! Center (21,803) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 8, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at Duke Big Monday | L 65–72 | 19–5 (8–3) | 17 – Mitchell | 6 – tied | 4 – Lee | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| Feb 13, 2016 4:00 pm, ESPN2 | No. 13 | at Notre Dame | L 66–71 | 19–6 (8–4) | 13 – Lee | 5 – Spalding | 4 – Snider | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,149) South Bend, IN |
| Feb 17, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | Syracuse | W 72–58 | 20–6 (9–4) | 15 – Lee | 15 – Onuaku | 6 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (21,654) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 20, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPN | No. 18 | No. 20 Duke | W 71–64 | 21–6 (10–4) | 24 – Lee | 11 – Onuaku | 5 – Lewis | KFC Yum! Center (22,785) Louisville, KY |
| Feb 24, 2016 8:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV | No. 11 | at Pittsburgh | W 67–60 | 22–6 (11–4) | 14 – Snider | 7 – Adel | 7 – Snider | Petersen Events Center (10,425) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 27, 2016 2:00 pm, ACCN/WHAS-TV | No. 11 | at No. 12 Miami (FL) | L 65–73 | 22–7 (11–5) | 14 – Snider | 8 – Onuaku | 6 – Onuaku | BankUnited Center (7,342) Coral Gables, FL |
| Mar 1, 2016 8:00 pm, ACCN/WAVE-TV | No. 11 | Georgia Tech | W 56–53 | 23–7 (12–5) | 17 – Onuaku | 11 – Onuaku | 4 – Snider | KFC Yum! Center (22,043) Louisville, KY |
| Mar 5, 2016 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 11 | at No. 4 Virginia | L 46–68 | 23–8 (12–6) | 11 – Mitchell | 6 – Mitchell | 2 – tied | John Paul Jones Arena (14,088) Charlottesville, VA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Post | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 22 | 19 | 16 | 18 | 16 | 21 | 17 | 16 | 19 | 13 | 18 | 11 | 11 | 14 | 16 | N/A |
| Coaches | RV | RV | RV | 22 | 19 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 16 | 20 | 16 | 14 | 18 | RV | NR* | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |
* Following the announcement of their self-imposed postseason ban, they were no longer eligible for ranking in the coaches poll.