2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by 14th year head coach Kermit Davis, played their home games at the Murphy Center and were members of Conference USA (C-USA). They finished the season 25–10, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in second place. They defeated Charlotte, Marshall, and Old Dominion to be champions of the C-USA tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #15 seed, in the first round they upset #2 seed and #2 nationally ranked Michigan State to become the eighth #15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game. In the second round they lost to Syracuse.

2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceConference USA
Record25–10 (13–5 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMurphy Center
Seasons
2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
UAB162 .889267 .788
Middle Tennessee135 .7222510 .714
Marshall126 .6671716 .515
Louisiana Tech126 .6672310 .697
Old Dominion126 .6672513 .658
UTEP108 .5561914 .576
Charlotte99 .5001419 .424
Western Kentucky810 .4441816 .529
North Texas711 .3891220 .375
Rice711 .3891220 .375
FIU711 .3891319 .406
Florida Atlantic513 .278825 .242
Southern Miss*513 .278821 .276
UTSA315 .167527 .156
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban.
2016 C-USA Tournament winner

Previous season

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The Blue Raiders finished the 2014–15 season 19–17, 9–9 in C-USA play to finish in sixth place. They advanced to the championship game of the C-USA tournament where they lost to UAB. They were invited to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Kent State.

Departures

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NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownNotes
DeVante Jones1G5'10"160JuniorChicago, ILDismissed from the team
Andrew Rogan14G6'3"170FreshmanMurfreesboro, TNWalk on; didn't return
JaQuel Richmond15G6'1"180FreshmanGreensboro, NCTransferred to UNC Wilmington
Marcus Tarrance23G6'6"210SeniorMemphis, TNGraduated
Gavin Gibson32G6'4"200JuniorChattanooga, TNWalk on; didn't return
Jacquez Rozier42F6'7"220SeniorWaynesboro, GAGraduated

Incoming Transfers

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NameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownPrevious School
Aldonis Foote15F6'5"215JuniorPeoria, ILJunior college transferred from Trinity Valley Community College
JaCorey Williams22F6'8"218SeniorBirmingham, ALTransferred from Arkansas. Under NCAA transfer rules, Williams will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility.
Quavius Copeland24G6'0"175SophomoreGreenville, SCJunior college transferred from Gulf Coast State College

Note: Justin Coleman was a junior college transferred from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College was going to be enrolled at the start of the fall of 2015. Later, Coleman was dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.

Recruiting class of 2015

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
NameHometownHigh school / collegeHeightWeightCommit date
Karl Gamble
PF
Columbia, SCA. C. Flora High School6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)205 lb (93 kg)May 19, 2014 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
Joan Duran
PF
Chattanooga, TNHamilton Heights Christian Academy6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg)Jan 27, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: ScoutN/A   RivalsN/A   247SportsN/A    ESPN grade: NR
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 July 27, 2015.

Note: Jalen Perry was a 2015 high school graduate from Louisville, KY was going to be enrolled at the start of the fall of 2015. Later, Perry was dismissed from the team due to violations of team rules.

Roster

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2015–16 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F0Darnell Harris6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)231 lb (105 kg)SrHamilton
Northwest Florida State
Milwaukee, WI
G/F2Perrin Buford6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)220 lb (100 kg)SrHillcrest
Southwest Tennessee State
Decatur, AL
F3Joshua Phillips6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)230 lb (104 kg)JrPope John Paul IIHendersonville, TN
F4Xavier Haberham6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)205 lb (93 kg)RS JrEast Laurens
Hill College
Dublin, GA
G5Jacob Ivory5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)168 lb (76 kg)SoEast MurrahJackson, MS
G10Jaquawn Raymond6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)200 lb (91 kg)RS SrStatesboro
North Carolina State
Statesboro, GA
G11Edward Simpson, Jr.6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)195 lb (88 kg)SoSt. MartinOcean Springs, MS
G15Aldonis Foote6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg)JrTrinity Valley CCPeoria, IL
G20Giddy Potts6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)220 lb (100 kg)SoAthensAthens, AL
F22JaCorey Williams (I)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)218 lb (99 kg)SrArkansasBirmingham, AL
G24Quavius Copeland6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)175 lb (79 kg)SoSouthside
Gulf Coast State College
Greenville, SC
F25Karl Gamble6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg)FrA.C. FloraColumbia, SC
F30Reggie Upshaw Jr.6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)232 lb (105 kg)JrBaylor SchoolChattanooga, TN
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule

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[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank#Opponent#ResultRecordSite (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/12/2015*
6:30 pm
FaulknerW 84–63 
Murphy Center (2,512)
Murfreesboro, TN
Non-conference regular season
11/17/2015*
7:00 pm, ASN
at Murray StateL 65–76 0–1
CFSB Center (3,070)
Murray, KY
11/21/2015*
7:00 pm
at Tennessee StateW 69–66 1–1
Gentry Complex (1,500)
Nashville, TN
11/26/2015*
8:30 pm, CBSSN
at Alaska Anchorage
Great Alaska Shootout Quarterfinals
W 75–72 2–1
Alaska Airlines Center (2,478)
Anchorage, AK
11/27/2015*
11:00 pm, CBSSN
vs. UNC Asheville
Great Alaska Shootout semifinals
W 63–61 3–1
Alaska Airlines Center (2,822)
Anchorage, AK
11/28/2015*
11:30 pm, CBSSN
vs. Toledo
Great Alaska Shootout championship
W 78–70 4–1
Alaska Airlines Center (3,132)
Anchorage, AK
12/02/2015*
8:00 pm, FSN
VCUL 56–62 4–2
Murphy Center (8,882)
Murfreesboro, TN
12/05/2015*
5:00 pm, ASN
South AlabamaW 68–55 5–2
Murphy Center (4,106)
Murfreesboro, TN
12/12/2015*
12:00 pm, MT10
vs. AuburnW 88–81 6–2
Bridgestone Arena (7,322)
Nashville, TN
12/17/2015*
6:00 pm, ASN
BelmontW 83–62 7–2
Murphy Center (5,555)
Murfreesboro, TN
12/22/2015*
6:00 pm
at Georgia StateL 62–64 7–3
GSU Sports Arena (1,819)
Atlanta, GA
12/27/2015*
4:30 pm, FSN
vs. South Dakota StateL 61–65 7–4
Sanford Pentagon (3,200)
Sioux Falls, SD
12/30/2015*
6:00 pm
Trevecca NazareneW 82–67 8–4
Murphy Center (3,122)
Murfreesboro, TN
Conference USA regular season
01/03/2016
2:00 pm, ASN
at UABL 67–78 8–5
(0–1)
Bartow Arena (4,279)
Birmingham, AL
01/07/2016
6:00 pm, ASN
UTEPW 78–72 9–5
(1–1)
Murphy Center (4,105)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/09/2016
3:00 pm, ASN
UTSAW 79–71 10–5
(2–1)
Murphy Center (4,632)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/14/2016
6:00 pm
at CharlotteW 73–72 11–5
(3–1)
Dale F. Halton Arena (3,914)
Charlotte, NC
01/16/2016
3:00 pm, FSN
at Old DominionW 64–61 12–5
(4–1)
Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,067)
Norfolk, VA
01/21/2016
6:30 pm
North TexasW 86–64 13–5
(5–1)
Murphy Center (3,826)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/23/2016
5:00 pm
RiceW 87–73 14–5
(6–1)
Murphy Center (4,104)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/28/2016
6:00 pm
at MarshallL 66–82 14–6
(6–2)
Cam Henderson Center (5,724)
Huntington, WV
01/30/2016
7:00 pm, FCS
at WKUW 66–64 15–6
(7–2)
E. A. Diddle Arena (5,259)
Bowling Green, KY
02/04/2016
6:30 pm, MT10
Florida AtlanticW 85–73 16–6
(8–2)
Murphy Center (5,411)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/06/2016
6:00 pm
FIUW 67–66 17–6
(9–2)
Murphy Center (5,298)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/11/2016
8:00 pm, ASN
at Louisiana TechL 63–73 17–7
(9–3)
Thomas Assembly Center (5,011)
Ruston, LA
02/13/2016
7:00 pm
at Southern MissW 76–54 18–7
(10–3)
Reed Green Coliseum (2,917)
Hattiesburg, MS
02/21/2016
5:00 pm, CBSSN
UABL 67–77 18–8
(10–4)
Murphy Center (7,822)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/25/2016
6:00 pm, ASN
WKUL 72–78 18–9
(10–5)
Murphy Center (4,333)
Murfreesboro, TN
02/27/2016
5:00 pm
MarshallW 83–74 19–9
(11–5)
Murphy Center (4,051)
Murfreesboro, TN
03/03/2016
6:00 pm
at Florida AtlanticW 76–59 20–9
(12–5)
FAU Arena (1,040)
Boca Raton, FL
03/05/2016
5:00 pm, ASN
at FIUW 61–58 21–9
(13–5)
FIU Arena (2,422)
Miami, FL
Conference USA tournament
03/10/2016
6:00 pm, ASN
(2) vs. (7) Charlotte
Quarterfinals
W 79–61 22–9
Legacy Arena (9,797)
Birmingham, AL
03/11/2016
5:30 pm, CBSSN
(2) vs. (6) Marshall
Semifinals
W 99–90 23–9
Legacy Arena (6,176)
Birmingham, AL
03/12/2016
1:30 pm, FS1
(2) vs. (5) Old Dominion
Championship
W 55–53 24–9
Legacy Arena (5,519)
Birmingham, AL
NCAA tournament
03/18/2016*
1:45 pm, CBS
(15 MW) vs. (2 MW) No. 2 Michigan State
First Round
W 90–81 25–9
Scottrade Center (14,250)
St. Louis, MO
03/20/2016*
5:10 pm, TNT
(15 MW) vs. (10 MW) Syracuse
Second Round
L 50–75 25–10
Scottrade Center (15,169)
St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest Region.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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