The 2015–16 George Washington Colonials men's basketball team represented George Washington University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonials, led by fifth year head coach Mike Lonergan, played their home games at the Charles E. Smith Center and were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 28–10, 11–7 in A-10 play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Saint Louis in the second round of the A-10 tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Saint Joseph's. They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament. As a #4 seed, they defeated Hofstra, Monmouth, and Florida to advance to the semifinals at Madison Square Garden. At MSG, they defeated San Diego State and Valparaiso to become the 2016 NIT champions.
On September 17, 2016, following an investigation into allegations of verbal abuse of his players, head coach Mike Lonergan was fired. He finished at George Washington with a five-year record of 97–70.
Previous season The Colonials finished the 2014–15 season 22–13, 10–8 in A-10 play to finish in a three way tie for sixth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the A-10 tournament where they lost to Rhode Island. They were invited to the National Invitation Tournament where they defeated Pittsburgh in the first round before losing in the second round to Temple.
Departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes Nick Griffin 5 G 6'3" 173 Sophomore Rockville, MD Transferred to Saint Peter's Kethan Savage 11 G 6'3" 200 Junior Fairfax, VA Transferred to Butler Darian Bryant 15 G 6'4" 200 Freshman Washington, D.C. Transferred to Delaware State Ryan McCoy 20 F 6'9" 207 RS Junior Skillman, NJ Walk-on; graduated John Kopriva 34 F 6'8" 214 Senior Milwaukee, WI Graduated
Incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School Alex Mitola 1 G 5'11" 170 Senior Florham Park, NJ Transferred from Dartmouth. Will be eligible to play immediately since Mitola graduated from Dartmouth. Jaren Sina 23 G 6'2" 185 Junior Lake Hopatcong, NJ Transferred from Seton Hall. Under NCAA transfer rules, Sina will have to sit out from the 2015–16 season. Will have two years of remaining eligibility.
Incoming recruits
Roster
Rankings
Accolades
Honors and awards Tyler Cavanaugh All-Atlantic 10 (2nd team) Academic Academic All-Conference
Patricio Garino All-Atlantic 10 (2nd team) All-Atlantic 10 Defensive team Academic Academic All-Conference Team Argentina 2016 Summer Olympics
Alex Mitola Academic Academic All-Conference
Records Team Winningest team in program history (28-10) First postseason championship in program history (2016 NIT Champions)
Schedule
!colspan=9 style="background:#00285C; color:#EECFA1;"| Exhibition
!colspan=9 style="background:#00285C; color:#EECFA1;"| Non-conference regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#00285C; color:#EECFA1;"| Atlantic 10 regular season
!colspan=9 style="background:#00285C; color:#EECFA1;"| Atlantic 10 tournament
!colspan=9 style="background:#00285C; color:#EECFA1;"| NIT
See also 2015–16 George Washington Colonials women's basketball team
References