The 2015–16 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Tom Crean, who was in his eighth season with the Hoosiers. The team played its home games at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

This season marked the 40th anniversary of the 32–0 and National Championship 1975–76 Hoosiers team, a feat still unrivaled. To commemorate the anniversary, players' jerseys featured a patch on the back. The Hoosiers also held a public recognition of the undefeated team during halftime of the home game against Wisconsin on January 5, at which the announcement was made that a statue of the seniors and starters would be erected outside the south entrance of Assembly Hall. A new banner was revealed honoring the '76 team as NCAA's #1 All-Time March Madness Team. Tom Abernethy and Bobby Wilkerson, two players from the team, were inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame.

IU's season-opener victory against Eastern Illinois was a milestone game, as it marked 1,000 home wins in Indiana basketball history. IU finished the regular season by winning their 22nd conference title, tying them with in-state rival, Purdue, for the most conference titles.

Indiana finished the season 27–8 overall, 15–3 in the Big Ten to win the Big Ten regular season title outright. They received the #1 seed in the 2016 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, where they made an early quarterfinals exit by losing to Michigan. The Hoosiers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Indiana defeated Chattanooga and Kentucky to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in five years; however, in the Sweet Sixteen they fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels, 101–86.

Previous season The 2014–15 Hoosiers went 20–14 overall and 9–9 in the Big Ten Conference (tying for seventh place). Much of the Hoosiers' difficulties were caused by a lack of defense and post presence. The Hoosiers improved over the 13–14 season, in which they did not appear in any postseason tournament, by being selected to play in the NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed in the Midwest region. They made an early exit as the #7 Wichita State Shockers knocked them off in the second round.

Following the season, assistant coach Steve McClain was hired as the new head coach at the University of Illinois-Chicago. Tom Crean named Rob Judson, who spent the 2014–15 season as Indiana's director of basketball operations, as McClain's replacement.

Preseason

Departures Indiana departuresNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departure Stanford Robinson 22 SG 6'4" 205 Sophomore Landover, Maryland Transfer (Rhode Island) Max Hoetzel 3 F 6'9" 220 Freshman Calabasas, California Transfer (San Diego State) Jeremiah April 44 C 7'0" 240 Freshman Phoenix, Arizona Transfer (Trinity Valley CC) Devin Davis 15 F 6'7" 230 Sophomore Indianapolis, Indiana Dismissed/transfer (Odessa College) Hanner Mosquera-Perea 12 F 6'9" 225 Junior Istmina, Colombia Dismissed/transfer (East Tennessee State) Emmitt Holt 25 F 6'7" 230 Sophomore Webster, New York Dismissed/transfer (Indian Hills CC)

Recruiting class

On April 4, 2015, McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand All-Star Thomas Bryant committed to IU. With this commit, IU landed their fifth McDonald's All-American in a row, and secured a 6'10" rim-protector, which was something drastically missing from the previous season. Bryant made the announcement live on ESPN during the Dick's National Tournament.

In addition to the three high school recruits, Indiana received a commitment from Michigan graduate transfer Max Bielfeldt. The senior forward was eligible immediately to play for the Hoosiers.

A late addition of junior Pittsburgh transfer Josh Newkirk filled IU's last 2015–16 scholarship. Due to transfer rules and rehabilitating a knee injury from May, Newkirk would sit out the '15–'16 season. He would have two remaining seasons of eligibility left.

Roster

Schedule

!colspan=12 style="background:#7D110C; color:white;"| Exhibition

!colspan=12 style="background:#7D110C; color:white;"| Non-conference regular season

!colspan=12 style="background:#7D110C; color:white;"| Big Ten regular season

!colspan=12 style="background:#7D110C; color:white;"| Big Ten tournament

!colspan=12 style="background:#7D110C; color:white;"| NCAA tournament

Player statistics +Individual player statistics (final) MinutesScoringTotal FGs3-point FGsFree-throwsReboundsPlayerGPGSTotAvgPtsAvgFGFGAPct3FG3FAPctFTFTAPctOffDefTotAvgATOBlkStlAnunoby, OG34046613.71654.966116.5691329.4482042.4764248902.618282627Bielfeldt, Max35561217.52868.2113219.5162964.4533144.70559991584.525391629Blackmon Jr., James131231924.520615.873152.4803780.4632327.8521737544.22225516Bryant, Thomas353579122.641511.9157230.683515.33396136.706701322025.834583217Burton, Ryan220773.5140.659.55647.57101.00037100.51101Ferrell, Yogi3535121534.760717.3196428.45879188.420136164.82934991333.819588138Hartman, Collin352476521.91755.065144.4512981.3581619.84235741093.160371028Johnson, Robert302274724.92428.184187.44951114.4472336.63912881003.39451519Morgan, Juwan3002739.1712.42141.512511.4552430.8002341642.1515119Niego, Harrison2301104.8110.5413.30828.25013.333510150.76407Priller, Tim110171.540.413.33302.000221.0003250.50102Taylor, Quentin7091.330.412.5000012.5000220.30000Tharp, Jackson4051.300.00000000001100Williams, Troy353491626.246413.3163318.5132675.347112162.691501542045.870932839Zeisloft, Nick35870320.12286.572172.41965156.4171921.9051146571.6291737Total357050289195.310212034.502345830.416504689.731364839120338.8560458137239Opponents357050244769.99052037.444218636.343419615.681361698116433.3424458106215 Legend  GP  Games played  GS  Games started Avg  Average per game  FG Field-goals made FGA Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds Def Defensive rebounds  A Assists  TO Turnovers Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals High  Team high

Rankings

See also 2015–16 Indiana Hoosiers women's basketball team

References