2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball team

2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball
Atlantic 10 regular season co-champions
NCAA Tournament, Second round
Conference Atlantic 10 Conference
2015–16 record 25–11 (14–4 A-10)
Head coach Will Wade (1st season)
Assistant coach Rasheen Davis (1st year)
Assistant coach Wes Long (1st year)
Assistant coach Jamil Jones (1st year)
Home arena Stuart C. Siegel Center
201516 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
Dayton 14 4   .778     25 8   .758
VCU 14 4   .778     25 11   .694
St. Bonaventure 14 4   .778     22 9   .710
Saint Joseph's 13 5   .722     28 8   .778
George Washington 11 7   .611     28 10   .737
Davidson 10 8   .556     20 13   .606
Rhode Island 9 9   .500     17 15   .531
Fordham 8 10   .444     17 14   .548
Richmond 7 11   .389     16 16   .500
UMass 6 12   .333     14 18   .438
Duquesne 6 12   .333     17 17   .500
George Mason 5 13   .278     11 21   .344
Saint Louis 5 13   .278     11 21   .344
La Salle 4 14   .222     9 22   .290
2016 A10 Tournament winner

The 2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball team represented Virginia Commonwealth University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It was the 48th season of the University fielding a men's basketball program. The program was led by Will Wade, who was leading the program for his first season after previously coaching Chattanooga. Wade replaced former head coach, Shaka Smart, who resigned from VCU for the vacancy at Texas.

Led by a core of rising juniors and seniors, including Mo Alie-Cox and Melvin Johnson, the Rams finished the season 25–11, 14–4 in A-10 play to finish tied for the A-10 conference championship. They defeated Massachusetts and Davidson to advance to the championship game of the A-10 Tournament where they lost to Saint Joseph's.. The Rams receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, making it their sixth-consecutive NCAA Tournament bid. The Rams were a #10 seed in the West Region. They defeated #7 seed Oregon State in the First Round before losing to Oklahoma in the Second Round.

Previous season

The Rams finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 26–10, 12–6 in A-10 play to finish tied for third-place. In the A-10 Tournament, the Rams won their first conference tournament championship since 2012 (while members of the Colonial Athletic Association), and their first A-10 title, defeating Dayton in the championship game. The Rams received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the Second Round to Ohio State.

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Brianté Weber 2 G 6'2" 165 Senior Chesapeake, VA Graduated
Treveon Graham 21 F/G 6'6" 220 Senior Washington, DC Graduated
Terry Larrier 22 F 6'8" 175 Freshman Bronx, NY Transferred to Connecticut
Jarred Guest 23 F 6'8" 225 Senior Columbia, SC Graduated
Antravious Simmons 25 F 6'9" 250 RS Freshman Miami, FL Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast

Incoming Transfers

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
Ahmed Mohamed 23 F 6'9" 245 Junior Alexandria, Egypt Junior college transferred from Lee College
Korey Billbury 24 G 6'3" 200 RS Senior Tulsa, OK Transferred from Oral Roberts. Will be eligible to play immediately since Billbury graduated from Oral Roberts.

2015–16 team recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Jonathan Nwankwo
PF
Mount Vernon, NY Victory Rock Prep 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (110 kg) Jun 5, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 80
Samir Doughty
SG
Philadelphia, PA Math, Civics and Sciences Charter School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jun 4, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 76
Gerron Scissum
SF
Huntsville, AL Lee High School 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Apr 21, 2015 
Recruiting star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 0
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:

Roster

2015–16 VCU Rams men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 1 Lewis, JeQuanJeQuan Lewis 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Dickson, TN
G 2 Doughty, SamirSamir Doughty 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Philadelphia, PA
G 3 Riullano, JordanJordan Riullano (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Bronx, NY
F 4 Tillman, JustinJustin Tillman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Redford, MI
G 5 Brooks, DougDoug Brooks 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Lake Wales, FL
G 10 Williams, JonathanJonathan Williams 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Newark, NJ
F 11 Gilmore, MichaelMichael Gilmore 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Tallahassee, FL
F 12 Alie-Cox, MoMo Alie-Cox 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) RS Jr Middleburg, VA
G 14 Burston, ToreyTorey Burston (W) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Richmond, VA
G 20 Burgess, JordanJordan Burgess 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Jr Midlothian, VA
F 22 Scissum, GerronGerron Scissum 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Huntsville, AL
F 23 Hamdy Mohamed, AhamadAhamad Hamdy Mohamed 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Alexandria, Egypt
G 24 Billbury, KoreyKorey Billbury 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Sr Tulsa, OK
G 32 Johnson, MelvinMelvin Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Bronx, NY
F 33 Nwankwo, JohnathanJohnathan Nwankwo 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Bronx, NY
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule

[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition

November 6, 2015*
7:00 pm
California (PA) W 96–60   
 21  Johnson  11  Billbury  7  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Non-conference regular season

November 13, 2015*
7:00 pm, WTVR 6.3
Prairie View A&M
2K Sports Classic
W 75–50  1–0
 13  Tied  11  Tillman  7  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

November 16, 2015*
7:00 pm, CSNMA
Radford
2K Sports Classic
W 92–74  2–0
 24  Johnson  8  Alie-Cox  8  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

November 20, 2015*
7:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 5 Duke
2K Sports Classic semifinals
L 71–79  2–1
 20  Johnson  8  Tillman  6  Lewis  Madison Square Garden (18,238)
New York City, NY

November 22, 2015*
3:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. Wisconsin
2K Sports Classic
L 73–74  2–2
 21  Johnson  8  Mohamed  3  Burgess  Madison Square Garden (17,287)
New York City, NY

November 25, 2015*
7:00 pm
American W 72–44  3–2
 13  Johnson  14  Tillman  3  Tied  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

November 28, 2015*
4:00 pm, CSNMA
Old Dominion
Rivalry
W 76–67  4–2
 16  Lewis  6  Hamdy-Mohamed  3  Tied  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

December 2, 2015*
8:00 pm, FSN
at Middle Tennessee W 62–56  5–2
 19  Johnson  7  Tied  5  Johnson  Murphy Center (8,882)
Murfreesboro, TN

December 6, 2015*
2:00 pm, ESPNU
vs. Florida State
Philips Arena Showcase
L 71–76  5–3
 36  Johnson  7  Gilmore  4  Lewis  Philips Arena (1,789)
Atlanta, GA

December 15, 2015*
9:00 pm, ESPN2
at Georgia Tech L 64–77  5–4
 18  Tillman  7  Alie-Cox  4  Lewis  McCamish Pavilion (5,219)
Atlanta, GA

December 19, 2015*
4:00 pm, CBSSN
No. 23 Cincinnati L 63–69  5–5
 22  Billbury  9  Billbury  4  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

December 22, 2015*
7:00 pm, CSNMA
Buffalo W 90–69  6–5
 22  Johnson  6  Billbury  4  Williams  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

December 27, 2015*
5:00 pm, WTVR
Liberty W 85–57  7–5
 15  Johnson  11  Tillman  3  3 tied  Siegel Center 
Richmond, VA

December 30, 2015*
7:00 pm, WTVR
North Florida W 80–68  8–5
 23  Johnson  9  Burgess  10  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA
Atlantic 10 regular season

January 3, 2016
5:00 pm, CBSSN
George Mason
Rivalry
W 71–47  9–5
(1–0)
 22  Johnson  8  Tied  6  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

January 5, 2016
7:00 pm, ASN
at Saint Joseph's W 85–82  10–5
(2–0)
 25  Johnson  8  Billbury  6  Lewis  Hagan Arena (3,752)
Philadelphia, PA

January 10, 2016
4:00 pm, NBCSN
at Saint Louis W 72–56  11–5
(3–0)
 16  Alie-Cox  5  Johnson  4  Tied  Chaifetz Arena (8,719)
St. Louis, MO

January 13, 2016
7:00 pm, ASN
Fordham W 88–54  12–5
(4–0)
 27  Tillman  10  Tillman  7  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

January 16, 2016
2:00 pm, CBSSN
at Richmond
Capital City Classic
W 94–89 OT 13–5
(5–0)
 29  Lewis  11  Tillman  6  Johnson  Robins Center (7,201)
Richmond, VA

January 20, 2016
7:00 pm, MASN
Duquesne W 93–71  14–5
(6–0)
 16  Tied  8  Lewis  4  Brooks  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

January 23, 2016
2:30 pm, NBCSN
St. Bonaventure W 84–76  15–5
(7–0)
 26  Lewis  8  Tied  7  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

January 29, 2016
6:00 pm, ESPN2
at Davidson W 79–69  16–5
(8–0)
 22  Lewis  11  Alie-Cox  5  Lewis  John M. Belk Arena (5,295)
Davidson, NC

February 3, 2016
7:00 pm
at La Salle W 88–70  17–5
(9–0)
 30  Johnson  7  Billbury  3  Allie-Cox  Tom Gola Arena (1,711)
Philadelphia, PA

February 6, 2016
12:00 pm, CBSSN
George Washington L 69–71  17–6
(9–1)
 16  Lewis  9  Billbury  5  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

February 11, 2016
7:00 pm, ESPNU
at Massachusetts L 63–69  17–7
(9–2)
 15  Tied  4  Tied  5  Lewis  Mullins Center (2,698)
Amherst, MA

February 13, 2016
6:00 pm, CBSSN
Saint Louis W 85–52  18–7
(10–2)
 20  Billbury  11  Tillman  7  Williams  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

February 16, 2016
7:30 pm, CBSSN
Rhode Island W 83–67  19–7
(11–2)
 21  Alie-Cox  6  Billbury  6  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

February 19, 2016
7:00 pm, ESPN2
Richmond
Capital City Classic
W 87–74  20–7
(12–2)
 22  Johnson  12  Alie-Cox  10  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

February 24, 2016
7:00 pm
at George Mason
Rivalry
L 69–76  20–8
(12–3)
 24  Johnson  13  Tillman  4  Johnson  EagleBank Arena (5,138)
Fairfax, VA

February 27, 2016
12:30 pm, NBCSN
at George Washington W 69–65  21–8
(13–3)
 17  Williams  7  Alie-Cox  5  Williams  Charles E. Smith Center (4,385)
Washington, D.C.

March 2, 2016
7:00 pm, CBSSN
Davidson W 70–60  22–8
(14–3)
 18  Alie-Cox  9  Alie-Cox  8  Lewis  Siegel Center (7,637)
Richmond, VA

March 5, 2016
8:00 pm, CBSSN
at Dayton L 67–68 OT 22–9
(14–4)
 16  Billbury  21  Tillman  3  Williams  UD Arena (13,455)
Dayton, OH
Atlantic 10 Tournament

March 11, 2016
6:30 PM, NBCSN
(2) vs. (10) Massachusetts
Quarterfinals
W 85–70  23–9
 19  Johnson  9  Tillman  3  Tied  Barclays Center (8,223)
Brooklyn, NY

March 12, 2016
4:00 PM, CBSSN
(2) vs. (6) Davidson
Semifinals
W 76–54  24–9
 17  Billbury  7  Billbury  3  Tied  Barclays Center (10,439)
Brooklyn, NY

March 13, 2016
12:00 PM, CBS
(2) vs. (4) St. Joseph's
Championship
L 74–87  24–10
 19  Tied  8  Tillman  7  Lewis  Barclays Center (8,413)
Brooklyn, NY
NCAA Tournament

March 18, 2016*
1:30 PM, TNT
(10 W) vs. (7 W) Oregon State
First round
W 75–67  25–10
 21  Lewis  8  Alie-Cox  8  Lewis  Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,662)
Oklahoma City, OK

March 20, 2016*
5:30 PM, CBS
(10 W) vs. (2 W) No. 7 Oklahoma
Second round
L 81–85  25–11
 23  Johnson  9  Burgess  9  Lewis  Chesapeake Energy Arena (15,279)
Oklahoma City, OK
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West Region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

References

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