2015–16 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 2015–16 Butler Bulldogs Butler Bulldogs wordmark.svg 250 Big East Conference Big East 22–11 10–8 Chris Holtmann 2nd Terry Johnson 9th Michael Lewis 5th Ryan Pedon 1st Hinkle Fieldhouse NCAA tournament Second Round The 2015–16 Butler Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Butler University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Chris Holtmann, serving his second year. The Bulldogs played their home games at Hinkle Fieldhouse, which has a capacity of approximately 9,100.Hinkle capacity This was Butler's third season in the Big East Conference. They finished the season 22–11, 10–8 in Big East play to finish in a tie for fourth place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament to Providence. The Bulldogs received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Texas Tech in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to Virginia. Previous season The Bulldogs finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 23–11, 12–6 in Big East play to finish in a tie for second place. Butler received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #6 seed and defeated Texas in the second round before losing in the Third Round to Notre Dame. Off season With starting point guard Alex Barlow graduating in May 2015, Butler needed to add some depth in the guard position to back up Kellen Dunham and Tyler Lewis, who will be coming off of a redshirt season in 2014–15 due to transfer rules. On March 29, 2015, Jordan Gathers, a 6'3" combo guard from St. Bonaventure in the Atlantic 10 Conference announced his commitment to Butler after sitting out a season due to a hip injury.St. Bonaventure guard commits to Butler http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/butler/2015/03/29/st-bonaventure-guard-commits-to-butler/70649686/ indystar.com Indy Star April 18, 2015 Barely a week and a half later, Butler gained another transfer from the Atlantic 10, this time in Kethan Savage from George Washington University.George Washington transfer commits to Butler http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/04/11/report-george-washington-transfer-kethan-savage-commits-to-butler/ nbcsports.com NBC Sports April 18, 2015 Savage, a 6'3" guard, will have to sit out a year per NCAA transfer regulations and will be available for the 2016–17 season. Gathers completed his degree at St. Bonaventure in three and a half years and therefore is immediately eligible to play. There were also some changes in the coaching staff in the off season. On April 27, Butler announced the hire of Ryan Pedon, former assistant to Illinois head coach (and former Butler assistant) John Groce, as an assistant coach. Emerson Kampen, who was promoted to an assistant coaching position following Chris Holtmann's appointment as interim HC, was named Butler's new basketball analyst for the 2014–15 season.Butler Announces Men's Basketball Coaching Appointments http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2014-15/releases/20150427jlvrsf butlersports.com Butler University May 11, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150518210416/http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2014-15/releases/20150427jlvrsf 2015-05-18 dead Another major change occurred in August when it was announced that the playing surface in Hinkle Fieldhouse — the oldest playing surface still in use in the NCAA — was being sanded down to prepare for the new Bulldog logo at center court. The new design does not include the word "Butler" underneath the bulldog, and replaces the word "Bulldogs" on both end lines with "Butler." Also, the home sideline will have "Hinkle Fieldhouse" painted on it. Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Jackson Aldridge 11 G 6'0" 180 Senior Lane Cove, Australia Graduated Alex Barlow 3 G 5'11" 185 Senior Springboro, OH Graduated Kameron Woods 31 F 6'9" 200 Senior Middletown, KY Graduated 2015 recruiting class no no 2015 Nate Fowler Center Cincinnati, OH Archbishop Moeller HS 6 10 240 27-May-2014 3 3 80 4 Sean McDermott Shooting Guard Pendleton, IN Pendleton Heights HS 6 5 170 30-May-2014 3 3 NR N/A Jordan Gathers Shooting Guard (Transfer) Woodland Hills, CA William Howard Taft HS / St. Bonaventure 6 3 200 29-Mar-2015 3 3 NR N/A Kethan Savage Shooting Guard (Transfer) Alexandria, VA Episcopal HS / George Washington 6 3 203 11-Apr-2015 3 N/A 88 2 2015 2015 Butler Commitments Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball Recruiting 2015 Butler Bulldogs Men's Basketball Recruiting 2015 butler 512 2086 2015-04-18 yes Roster 2015 Butler Bulldogs #11284B #FFFFFF #FFFFFF #11284B y Steven Bennett W 25 G 6 2 196 JR New Castle, IN New Castle Andrew Chrabascz 45 F 6 7 225 JR Portsmouth, RI Cushing Kellen Dunham y 24 G 6 6 200 SR Pendleton, IN Pendleton Heights Roosevelt Jones y 21 F/G 6 4 225 SR y O'Fallon, IL O'Fallon Kelan Martin y 30 F 6 6 235 SO Louisville, KY Ballard Tyler Wideman y 4 F 6 8 246 SO Merrillville, IN Lake Central Jackson Davis 13 F 6 8 233 SO Lexington, KY Lafayette Austin Etherington 0 F 6 6 220 SR y Cicero, IN Hamilton Heights (Indiana) Tyler Lewis 1 G 5 11 169 JR y Statesville, NC Oak Hill Academy (VA) (N.C. State) Trey Pettus W 10 G 6 4 198 JR St. Louis, MO MICDS Nate Fowler 51 C 6 10 250 FR Cincinnati, OH Archbishop Moeller Sean McDermott basketball y 22 G 6 6 182 FR Pendleton, IN Pendleton Heights yes Jordan Gathers 5 G 6 3 205 SR Woodland Hills, CA William Howard Taft (St. Bonaventure) Kethan Savage y 11 G 6 3 201 JR y Alexandria, VA Episcopal (George Washington) yes Chris Holtmann (Taylor) Terry Johnson (IPFW) Michael Lewis (Indiana) Ryan Pedon (Wooster) http://butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2015-16/roster April 28, 20152015-16 Butler Bulldogs http://butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2015-16/roster Butlersports.com Butler University April 28, 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20150712113042/http://www.butlersports.com/sports/m-baskbl/2015-16/roster July 12, 2015 dead mdy-all Schedule yes yes |- !colspan=12 style="background:#11284B; color:#FFFFFF;"| Exhibition Oct 31, 2015 2:00pm yes 24 Taylor Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN WISH-TV 79–44 6,892 Tied 14 Wideman 11 Jones 3 Nov 7, 2015 7:00pm yes 24 Saint Joseph's Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN WISH-TV 106–66 8,960 Jones 19 Davis 11 Lewis 8 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#11284B; color:#FFFFFF;"| Non-conference regular season Nov 14, 2015 7:30pm yes 24 The Citadel Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS2 144–71 8,440 1–0 Dunham 24 Jones 11 Chrabascz 8 Nov 19, 2015 1:30pm yes yes 22 Missouri State Roberto Clemente Coliseum San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Tip-Off Quarterfinals ESPNU 93–59 1,601 2–0 Tied 18 Jones 10 Lewis 10 Nov 20, 2015 1:00pm yes yes 22 Temple Roberto Clemente Coliseum San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Tip-Off Semifinals ESPN2 74–69 1,814 3–0 Tied 16 Jones 11 Dunham 5 Nov 22, 2015 7:30pm yes yes 22 Miami (FL) Roberto Clemente Coliseum San Juan, Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Tip-Off Championship ESPN2 75–85 5,309 3–1 Dunham 23 Wideman 10 Jones 5 Nov 28, 2015 5:00pm yes SIU Edwardsville Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS2 89–73 7,026 4–1 Dunham 32 Tied 6 Jones 11 Dec 2, 2015 7:00pm yes yes Cincinnati 17 Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, OH CBSSN 78–76 11,125 5–1 Dunham 24 Wideman 9 Lewis 4 Dec 5, 2015 12:00pm yes Indiana State Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 85–71 8,142 6–1 Martin 24 Jones 8 Jones 7 Dec 7, 2015 7:00pm yes 18 VMI Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FSN 93–66 6,202 7–1 Martin 20 Tied 8 Lewis 5 Dec 12, 2015 2:30pm yes 18 Tennessee Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 94–86 9,100 8–1 Martin 25 Martin 11 Jones 10 Dec 19, 2015 5:00pm yes yes 17 Purdue 9 Bankers Life Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN Crossroads Classic BTN 74–68 19,156 9–1 Jones 19 Jones 11 Jones 5 Dec 22, 2015 8:30pm yes 9 Southern Utah Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS2 88–52 7,128 10–1 Wideman 15 Jones 10 Lewis 8 Dec 28, 2015 7:00pm yes 9 IUPUI Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS2 92–54 8,210 11–1 Martin 19 Tied 6 Lewis 7 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#11284B; color:#FFFFFF;"| Big East Conference Play Dec 31, 2015 2:30pm 9 Providence 12 Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN CBSSN 73–81 9,100 11–2 0–1 Martin 20 Martin 9 Jones 4 Jan 2, 2016 1:00pm yes 9 Xavier 6 Cintas Center Cincinnati, OH Big East New Year's Marathon FS1 69–88 10,498 11–3 0–2 Jones 14 Martin 7 Jones 6 Jan 5, 2016 8:00pm   18 DePaul Allstate Arena Rosemont, IL FSN 77–72 5,427 12–3 1–2 Dunham 24 Wideman 5 Lewis 7 Jan 10, 2015 7:30pm 18 Villanova 11 Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 55–60 9,144 12–4 1–3 Jones 20 Wideman 6 Wideman 3 Jan 16, 2016 Noon 23 St. John's Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 78–58 9,144 13–4 2–3 Dunham 24 Martin 10 Jones 4 Jan 19, 2016 6:30pm yes 18 Providence 16 Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence, RI FS1 68–71 10,918 13–5 2–4 Dunham 21 Martin 11 Jones 5 Jan 23, 2016 7:30pm yes 18 Creighton CenturyLink Center Omaha, NE FS1 64–72 17,677 13–6 2–5 Martin 22 Martin 11 Jones 4 Jan 27, 2016 7:00pm DePaul Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN CBSSN 67–53 7,611 14–6 3–5 Jones 23 Wideman 9 Jones 4 Jan 30, 2016 Noon yes Marquette BMO Harris Bradley Center Milwaukee, WI FS1 69–75 15,234 14–7 3–6 Martin 27 Wideman 8 Jones 6 Feb 2, 2016 7:00pm Georgetown Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 87–76 8,080 15–7 4–6 Martin 35 Chrabascz 9 Jones 5 Feb 6, 2016 4:30pm yes St. John's Carnesecca Arena Queens, NY FSN 89–56 5,602 16–7 5–6 Martin 18 Jones 14 Jones 10 Feb 10, 2016 6:30pm yes Seton Hall Prudential Center Newark, NJ FS1 81–75 7,476 17–7 6–6 Martin 23 Martin 10 Chrabascz 6 Feb 13, 2016 2:30pm Xavier 5 Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FOX 57–74 9,344 17–8 6–7 Martin 15 Martin 12 Jones 4 Feb 16, 2016 7:00pm Creighton Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 88–75 7,330 18–8 7–7 Martin 21 Martin 8 Tied 6 Feb 20, 2016 2:30pm yes Villanova 1 The Pavilion Villanova, PA FOX 67–77 6,500 18–9 7–8 Martin 19 Dunham 8 Wideman 3 Feb 27, 2016 Noon yes Georgetown Verizon Center Washington, D.C. CBS 90–87 10,142 OT 19–9 8–8 Dunham 29 Wideman 8 Chrabascz 4 Mar 2, 2016 8:30pm Seton Hall Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FS1 85–78 7,392 20–9 9–8 Dunham 22 Martin 9 Jones 5 Mar 5, 2016 2:30pm Marquette Hinkle Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN FSN 95–74 9,244 21–9 10–8 Etherington 18 Martin 9 Jones 6 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#11284B; color:#FFFFFF;"| Big East tournament Mar 10, 2016 2:30pm yes 5 Providence 4 Madison Square Garden New York, NY Quarterfinals FS1 60–74 14,863 21–10 Dunham 17 Martin 10 Jones 5 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#11284B; color:#FFFFFF;"| NCAA tournament Mar 17, 2016 12:40pm yes yes 9 MW Texas Tech 8 MW PNC Arena Raleigh, NC First Round truTV 71–61 19,722 22–10 Dunham 23 Jones 8 Jones 6 Mar 19, 2016 7:10 pm yes yes 9 MW Virginia 1 MW 4 PNC Arena Raleigh, NC Second Round TBS 69–77 19,433 22–11 Chrabascz 25 Tied 5 Tied 2 AP Poll Eastern Time MW Midwest Region Rankings 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings + Ranking movementLegend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Received votes. Poll Pre Wk 1 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 24 24 22 RV RV 18 17 9 9 18 23 18 RV NR NR NR NR NR RV RV N/A Coaches 22 22 20 RV 25 21 18 12 10 19 23 24 RV RV NR NR NR NR RV RV RV Awards Name Award(s)Kellen DunhamPreseason All-Big East First TeamProvidence's Kris Dunn Named Preseason Player of the Year http://www.bigeast.com/news/2015/10/13/MBB_1013153109.aspx?path=mbball December 7, 2015 October 14, 2015 Big East ConferenceBig East Player of the Week – Nov. 29–Dec.5Butler's Dunham Named MBB Player of the Week http://www.bigeast.com/news/2015/12/7/MBB_1207150457.aspx December 7, 2015 December 7, 2015 Big East ConferenceAll-Big East Honorable MentionFour Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team http://www.bigeast.com/news/2016/3/6/MBB_0306160917.aspx March 8, 2016 March 6, 2015 Big East ConferenceBig East Sportsmanship AwardProvidence's Dunn Named Defensive Player of the Year, Other Awards Announced http://www.bigeast.com/news/2016/3/7/MBB_0307165534.aspx March 8, 2016 March 7, 2016 Big East ConferenceBig East Scholar-Athlete of the YearButler's Kellen Dunham Named BIG EAST Men's Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year http://www.bigeast.com/news/2016/3/9/BES_0309165327.aspx March 9, 2016 March 9, 2016 Big East ConferenceRoosevelt JonesPreseason All-Big East First TeamProvidence's Kris Dunn Named Preseason Player of the Year http://www.bigeast.com/news/2015/10/13/MBB_1013153109.aspx?path=mbball December 7, 2015 October 14, 2015 Big East ConferencePuerto Rico Tip-Off All-Tournament TeamPuerto Rico native Rodriguez Named Tourney MVP http://espnevents.com/puerto-rico-tip-off/news-and-updates/puerto-rico-native-rodriguez-named-tourney-mvp/ December 9, 2015 November 23, 2015 ESPN https://web.archive.org/web/20151206043417/http://espnevents.com/puerto-rico-tip-off/news-and-updates/puerto-rico-native-rodriguez-named-tourney-mvp/ 2015-12-06 deadBig East Player of the Week – Dec. 13–19Butler's Jones, Xavier's Sumner Earn MBB Weekly Honors http://www.bigeast.com/news/2015/12/21/MBB_1221155033.aspx December 21, 2015 December 21, 2015 Big East ConferenceCBS Sports National Player of the Week – Week 13Butler's Roosevelt Jones wins player of the week after rare triple-double http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/25477329/on-heels-of-historic-triple-double-butlers-roosevelt-jones-is-player-of-the-week February 8, 2016 February 8, 2016 CBS SportsAll-Big East Second TeamFour Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team http://www.bigeast.com/news/2016/3/6/MBB_0306160917.aspx March 8, 2016 March 6, 2016 Big East ConferenceKelan MartinBig East Player of the Week – Dec. 6–12Butler's Martin, Marquette's Ellenson Take MBB Weekly Honors http://www.bigeast.com/news/2015/12/14/MBB_1214151002.aspx December 14, 2015 December 14, 2015 Big East ConferenceBig East Player of the Week – Jan. 31–Feb. 6Butler's Martin, Xavier's Sumner Claim MBB Weekly Awards http://www.bigeast.com/news/2016/2/8/MBB_0208162350.aspx February 8, 2016 February 8, 2016 Big East ConferenceAll-Big East Second TeamFour Named Unanimously to MBB All-BIG EAST First Team http://www.bigeast.com/news/2016/3/6/MBB_0306160917.aspx March 8, 2016 March 6, 2016 Big East Conference References 2 Butler Category:Butler Bulldogs men's basketball seasons Butler Butler Butler