2015–16 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team

2015–16 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
A blue block M with maize-colored borders and the word Michigan across the middle.
Conference Big Ten Conference
2015–16 record ( Big Ten)
Head coach John Beilein
Assistant coach Jeff Meyer
Assistant coach LaVall Jordan
Assistant coach Bacari Alexander
Home arena Crisler Center
2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Illinois 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Indiana 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Iowa 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Maryland 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Michigan 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Michigan State 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Minnesota 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Nebraska 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Northwestern 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Ohio State 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Penn State 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Purdue 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Rutgers 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
Wisconsin 0 – 0   –     0 – 0   –
† 2016 Big Ten Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015–16 Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team represents the University of Michigan during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team will play its home games in Ann Arbor, Michigan for the 49th consecutive year at the Crisler Center, which has a capacity of 12,707. This season marks the program's 100th season and its 99th consecutive year as a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team is led by 9th year head coach John Beilein.

The 2014–15 Wolverines had entered the season coming off the school's winningest two-year streatch in history,[1] but it did not reach the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament after losing starters Caris LeVert and Derrick Walton to season-ending injuries in January.[2][3][4] The 2015–16 team follows the first season in five years in which the school did not make the NCAA Tournament.[5]

2015-16 recruits

On March 11, 2015, Michigan offered a scholarship to German Euroleague player Moritz "Moe" Wagner and he committed to Michigan on April 5.[6][7]

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Moritz Wagner
PF		 Berlin, Germany Alba Berlin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) N/A Apr 5, 2015 
Scout: N/A   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars
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:

2016-17 recruits

On August 7, 2014, Jon Teske, who lived in Grand Rapids, Michigan suburb Grandville until he was 10 and his family moved to Medina, Ohio, committed to Michigan via Twitter.[8][9][10] On April 16, Austin Davis of Onsted, Michigan committed to Michigan.[11][12]

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jon Teske
C		 Medina, OH Medina Senior High School (OH) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Aug 7, 2014 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars
Austin Davis
C		 Onsted, MI Onsted High School (MI) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 241.3 lb (109.5 kg) Apr 16, 2015 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN:3/5 stars
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:

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Bielfeldt, MaxMax Bielfeldt 44 F 6'7" 245 Senior Peoria, Illinois Graduated with eligibility remaining; released from scholarship
Hatch, AustinAustin Hatch 30 G 6'6" 215 Freshman Fort Wayne, Indiana Ended playing career on medical advice

Preseason

A midseason injury during the 2014–15 Michigan Wolverines' season impacted Caris LeVert's decision to return as a senior.

In April 2015, Spike Albrecht had offseason surgery on his right hip to correct for a genetic condition that may also necessitate left hip surgery.[13][14] Following the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament several pollsters (including ESPN,[15] USA Today,[16] NBC Sports[17]) omitted Michigan from the expected preseason top 25, however some that immediately projected Caris LeVert to return to Michigan included Michigan in the rankings: CBS Sports (#18)[18] and Sports Illustrated (#16).[19] Bleacher Report ranked Michigan at 25 noting lower expectations if he declared.[20] On April 21, LeVert announced that he would return for his senior season.[21][22] That same day, Max Bielfeldt was released from his athletic scholarship with one year of eligibility remaining.[23] Despite all 13 of its scholarships being committed at the time, Michigan continued to recruit five-star 2015 McDonald's All-American Jaylen Brown and four-star Kenny Williams for the class of 2015.[24]

A scholarship for one of the potential recruits became available on April 27, when Beilein and rising sophomore Austin Hatch announced that Hatch, who had survived two plane crashes that killed his parents, siblings, and stepmother, would no longer play for the team due to medical issues stemming from injuries he suffered in the second crash. Michigan applied for and received a "medical exemption waiver" from the NCAA for Hatch; the waiver allows a school to keep a student-athlete who has career-ending medical issues on scholarship. Hatch will transition to being a student assistant coach; as such, he will be able to participate fully in the program but will no longer be on the active roster.[25][26]

Schedule

Michigan will participate in the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis along with Gonzaga, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Connecticut, Washington, and Charlotte. Each of these eight teams will travel to the Bahamas for a 3-game tournament from November 25–27, 2015, and each team will play one game per day.[27] Michigan will play Penn State at the Madison Square Garden on January 30, 2016 as part of "Big Ten Day", a day-night doubleheader featuring a hockey and a basketball matchup between both schools.[28] Michigan will also play SMU in Dallas as part of a home-and-away.[29] Michigan will also host Xavier in the inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games on November 20, 2015.[30]

Date Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (Attendance)
Regular Season
11/20/2015* Xavier
(Gavitt Tipoff Games)		  TBA ESPN or BTN  -   - —   - —   - —  Crisler Center (-)
11/25/2015* vs. TBA
(Battle 4 Atlantis)		  TBA ESPN/AXS TV  -   - —   - —   - —  Imperial Arena (-)
11/26/2015* vs. TBA
(Battle 4 Atlantis)		  TBA ESPN/AXS TV  -   - —   - —   - —  Imperial Arena (-)
11/27/2015* vs. TBA
(Battle 4 Atlantis)		  TBA ESPN/AXS TV  -   - —   - —   - —  Imperial Arena (-)
TBA* TBA
(ACC-Big Ten Challenge)		  TBA ESPN  -   - —   - —   - —  TBA (-)

Big Ten Games

Dates, tip times, and broadcast information will not be released until late summer or the fall. Here is the breakdown of Michigan's Big Ten schedule:[31]

Home Away Home/Away
Indiana Illinois Iowa
Michigan State Nebraska Maryland
Northwestern Ohio State Minnesota
Rutgers Wisconsin Penn State*
Purdue

References

  1. ↑ "Postgame Notes: Kentucky 75, #7 Michigan 72". MGoBlue. CBS Interactive. 2014-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  2. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (2015-01-18). "Caris LeVert to have foot surgery". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-01-19.
  3. ↑ Norlander, Matt (2015-01-18). "Surgery for Caris LeVert to sideline Michigan star for rest of the season". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2015-01-19.
  4. ↑ "Postgame Notes: Wisconsin 71, Michigan 60". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2015-03-13. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
  5. ↑ "Michigan Receives No. 2 Seed, Will Face Wofford in NCAA Opener". MGoBlue.com. CBS Interactive. 2014-03-16. Retrieved 2014-03-16.
  6. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2015-03-11). "Report: Michigan offers scholarship to German forward Moritz Wagner". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  7. ↑ Borzello, Jeff (2015-04-05). "Moritz Wagner commits to Michigan". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  8. ↑ Snyder, Mark (2014-08-08). "Ohio center Jon Teske commits to Michigan basketball class of 2016". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  9. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2014-08-07). "Michigan basketball lands commitment from 2016 3-star center Jon Teske". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  10. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2014-08-10). "Jon Teske stands to be among John Beilein's tallest recruits, bring new element to Michigan". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  11. ↑ McCabe, Mick (2015-04-17). "Onsted's Davis thrilled to commit to U-M". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  12. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2015-04-16). "Michigan lands commitment from 2016 big man Austin Davis". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
  13. ↑ Dauster, Rob (2015-04-08). "Spike Albrecht undergoes hip surgery, out 4-to-5 months". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  14. ↑ "Spike Albrecht undergoes hip surgery, faces 4-5 months of rehab". ESPN. Associated Press. 2015-04-08. Retrieved 2015-04-09.
  15. ↑ Brennan, Eamonn (2015-04-07). "Way-Too-Early Top 25 for 2015-16". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  16. ↑ Gleeson, Scott (2015-04-07). "Who belongs in early 2015-16 college basketball top 25?". USA Today. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  17. ↑ Dauster, Rob (2015-04-06). "2015-2016 College Basketball Way-Too Early Preseason Top 25". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  18. ↑ Parrish, Gary (2015-04-06). "Virginia Cavs headline Ridiculously Early Preseason Top 25 (and one)". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  19. ↑ Davis, Seth (2015-04-08). "Virginia, UNC, Kentucky lead Way-Too-Early College Basketball Top 25". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  20. ↑ Moore, C. J. (2015-04-06). "Preseason NCAA Basketball Rankings 2015-16: Super-Early Top 25 Experts' Poll". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 2015-04-16.
  21. ↑ Chiappelli, Kirstie (2015-04-21). "Caris LeVert announces return to Michigan for senior season". Sporting News. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  22. ↑ Goodman, Jeff (2015-04-21). "Caris LeVert to return to Michigan for senior season". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-04-21.
  23. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2015-04-21). "Max Bielfeldt granted release from Michigan, says odds of returning or walking on 'aren't very high'". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
  24. ↑ Quinn, Brendan F. (2015-04-21). "Caris LeVert's return fills Wolverines' last roster spot, but Michigan's still recruiting". MLive.com. Retrieved 2015-04-22.
  25. ↑ "Guard Hatch to Alter Status as Member of Wolverine Program". MGoBlue.com (Press release). CBS Interactive. April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  26. ↑ O'Neil, Dana (2015-04-27). "Austin Hatch to take medical scholarship, retain full scholarship at Michigan". ESPN. Retrieved 2015-04-28.
  27. ↑ "Michigan to play in 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis". UM Hoops.com. November 28, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  28. ↑ "U-M/Penn State Hockey-Hoops Doubleheader in 2016 Part of B1G Partnership". MGoBlue.com. December 9, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  29. ↑ "Report: Michigan, SMU to begin home-and-home series". UM Hoops.com. May 12, 2014. Retrieved February 21, 2015.
  30. ↑ "Wolverines to Host Xavier in Inaugural Gavitt Tipoff Games". MGoBlue.com. April 22, 2015. Retrieved April 25, 2015.
  31. ↑ "Big Ten announces 2015-16 single plays". UM Hoops.com. February 19, 2015. Retrieved February 21, 2015.