2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by third year head coach Chris Collins. They were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena. They finished the season 20–12, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Michigan in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.

2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	20–12 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach	Chris Collins (3rd season)
Assistant coaches	Brian James Patrick Baldwin Armon Gates
Home arena	Welsh-Ryan Arena
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 14 Indiana	15	–	3		.833			27	–	8		.771
No. 2 Michigan State †	13	–	5		.722			29	–	6		.829
No. 18 Maryland	12	–	6		.667			27	–	9		.750
No. 12 Purdue	12	–	6		.667			26	–	9		.743
No. 25 Iowa	12	–	6		.667			22	–	11		.667
Wisconsin	12	–	6		.667			22	–	13		.629
Ohio State	11	–	7		.611			22	–	13		.629
Michigan	10	–	8		.556			23	–	13		.639
Northwestern	8	–	10		.444			20	–	12		.625
Penn State	7	–	11		.389			16	–	16		.500
Nebraska	6	–	12		.333			16	–	18		.471
Illinois	5	–	13		.278			15	–	19		.441
Minnesota	2	–	16		.111			11	–	20		.355
Rutgers	1	–	17		.056			7	–	25		.219
† 2016 Big Ten tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2014–15 Season 15–17, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten tournament to Indiana.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Johnnie Vassar	0	G	6'0"	185	Freshman	Chicago, IL	Transferred
Dave Sobolewski	3	G	6'1"	180	Senior	Naperville, IL	Graduated
Nick Segura	21	F	6'6"	183	Freshman	McLean, VA	Transferred
JerShon Cobb	23	G	6'5"	208	RS Senior	Decatur, GA	Graduated
Jeremiah Kreisberg	50	C	6'10"	235	Senior	Berkeley, CA	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Joey van Zegeren	1	F	6'10"	235	RS Senior	Hoogeveen, Netherlands	Transferred from Virginia Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Van Zegeren will play for the 2015–16 season because he already redshirted a year at Virginia Tech.

Incoming recruits

Class of 2015 recruits

 

Jordan Ash in the 2015 IHSA 3A championship game victory

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaron Falzon PF	Newton, MA	Northfield Mount Hermon	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 13, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 83
Dererk Pardon PF	Cleveland, OH	Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jun 7, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 79
Jordan Ash SG	Westchester, IL	Saint Joseph High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Mar 19, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN grade: 77
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 9, 2014.

Class of 2016 recruits

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Rapolas Ivanauskas SF	Barrington, IL	Barrington	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 18, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: N/A
Isiah Brown PG	Lynnwood, WA	Lakeside	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	May 31, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 79
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 4, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 1 Joey van Zegeren 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Sr Canarias Basketball Academy Virginia Tech Hoogeveen, Netherlands F 4 Vic Law 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Saint Rita South Holland, IL C 5 Dererk Pardon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Villa Angela-St. Joseph Cleveland, OH G 10 Charlie Hall (W) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Crossroads Danville, IL G 14 Tre Demps 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 198 lb (90 kg) RS Sr Ronald Reagan San Antonio, TX G/F 20 Scottie Lindsey 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Fenwick HS Hillsdale, IL C 22 Alex Olah 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Sr Traders Point Christian Acad. Timișoara, Romania G 23 Jordan Ash 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr St. Joseph Bolingbrook, IL G 30 Bryant McIntosh 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 177 lb (80 kg) So Greensburg Community HS New Castle, IN F 32 Nathan Taphorn 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Pekin Community HS Pekin, IL G/F 34 Sanjay Lumpkin 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Jr Benilde-St. Margaret's Wayzata, MN F 35 Aaron Falzon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Northfield Mount Hermon Newton, MA F 44 Gavin Skelly 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 219 lb (99 kg) So Westlake HS Westlake, OH	Head coach Chris Collins (Duke) Assistant coach(es) Brian James (Illinois State) Patrick Baldwin (Northwestern) Armon Gates (Kent State) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2015-07-06

Schedule and results

Source^[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 5, 2015* 7:00 pm		Quincy (IL)	W 80–64		Welsh-Ryan Arena  Evanston, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm		UMass Lowell	W 79–57	1–0	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,011) Evanston, IL
Nov 18, 2015* 7:00 pm		Fairfield CBE Hall of Fame Classic	W 79–72	2–0	Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,574) Evanston, IL
Nov 20, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Columbia CBE Hall of Fame Classic	W 83–80 ^OT	3–0	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,117) Evanston, IL
Nov 23, 2015* 8:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 9 North Carolina CBE Hall of Fame Classic semifinals	L 69–80	3–1	Sprint Center (13,598) Kansas City, MO
Nov 24, 2015* 6:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. Missouri CBE Hall of Fame Classic 3rd place game	W 67–62	4–1	Sprint Center (13,198) Kansas City, MO
Nov 28, 2015* 7:00 pm		New Orleans	W 90–63	5–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,015) Evanston, IL
Dec 1, 2015* 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at Virginia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 81–79 ^OT	6–1	Cassell Coliseum (4,879) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 5, 2015* 2:00 pm		SIU Edwardsville	W 81–56	7–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,318) Evanston, IL
Dec 13, 2015* 6:00 pm, BTN		Chicago State	W 77–35	8–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,621) Evanston, IL
Dec 15, 2015* 7:00 pm		Mississippi Valley State	W 78–48	9–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,704) Evanston, IL
Dec 19, 2015* 1:00 pm, FS1		at DePaul	W 78–70 ^OT	10–1	Allstate Arena (6,351) Rosemont, IL
Dec 21, 2015* 6:00 pm, BTN		Sacred Heart	W 103–67	11–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,574) Evanston, IL
Dec 27, 2015* 7:00 pm, BTN		Loyola (MD)	W 74–59	12–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,401) Evanston, IL
Big Ten regular season
Dec 30, 2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU		at Nebraska	W 81–72	13–1 (1–0)	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,924) Lincoln, NE
Jan 2, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		No. 4 Maryland	L 59–72	13–2 (1–1)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Jan 6, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		Ohio State	L 56–65	13–3 (1–2)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,439) Evanston, IL
Jan 9, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN		at Minnesota	W 77–52	14–3 (2–2)	Williams Arena (10,436) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 12, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		Wisconsin	W 70–65	15–3 (3–2)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,264) Evanston, IL
Jan 16, 2016 7:30 pm, ESPNU		Penn State	L 62–71	15–4 (3–3)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,512) Evanston, IL
Jan 19, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		at No. 7 Maryland	L 56–62 ^OT	15–5 (3–4)	Xfinity Center (17,144) College Park, MD
Jan 23, 2016 11:00 am, ESPNU		at No. 25 Indiana	L 57–89	15–6 (3–5)	Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN
Jan 28, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN		No. 12 Michigan State	L 45–76	15–7 (3–6)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Jan 31, 2016 2:00 pm, BTN		at No. 3 Iowa	L 71–85	15–8 (3–7)	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA
Feb 4, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		Minnesota	W 84–58	16–8 (4–7)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,015) Evanston, IL
Feb 9, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		at Ohio State	L 63–71	16–9 (4–8)	Value City Arena (11,376) Columbus, OH
Feb 13, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		Illinois	W 58–56	17–9 (5–8)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Feb 16, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		at No. 17 Purdue	L 61–71	17–10 (5–9)	Mackey Arena (12,868) West Lafayette, IN
Feb 24, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		at Michigan	L 63–72	17–11 (5–10)	Crisler Center (12,071) Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 27, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU		Rutgers	W 98–59	18–11 (6–10)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,833) Evanston, IL
Mar 3, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Penn State	W 71–61	19–11 (7–10)	Bryce Jordan Center (5,936) University Park, PA
Mar 6, 2016 1:00 pm, BTN		Nebraska	W 65–54	20–11 (8–10)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,702) Evanston, IL
Big Ten tournament
Mar 10, 2016 11:00 am, BTN	(9)	vs. (8) Michigan Second round	L 70–72 ^OT	20–12	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,707) Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

1. "2015-16 Northwestern Men's Basketball Schedule".