2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	† 2016 Big Ten Tournament winner ; Rankings from AP Poll

2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball
2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball
Conference	Big Ten Conference
2015–16 record	20–12 (8–10 Big Ten)
Head coach	Chris Collins (3rd season);
Assistant coaches	Brian James; Patrick Baldwin; Armon Gates;
Home arena	Welsh-Ryan Arena
	Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team represented Northwestern University in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by third year head coach Chris Collins. They were members of the Big Ten Conference and played their home games at Welsh-Ryan Arena. They finished the season 20–12, 8–10 in Big Ten play to finish in ninth place. They lost to Michigan in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.

Previous season[]

The Wildcats finished the 2014–15 Season 15–17, 6–12 in Big Ten play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They lost in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament to Indiana.

Departures[]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Johnnie Vassar	0	G	6'0"	185	Freshman	Chicago, IL	Transferred
Dave Sobolewski	3	G	6'1"	180	Senior	Naperville, IL	Graduated
Nick Segura	21	F	6'6"	183	Freshman	McLean, VA	Transferred
JerShon Cobb	23	G	6'5"	208	RS Senior	Decatur, GA	Graduated
Jeremiah Kreisberg	50	C	6'10"	235	Senior	Berkeley, CA	Graduated

Incoming transfers[]

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Joey van Zegeren	1	F	6'10"	235	RS Senior	Hoogeveen, Netherlands	Transferred from Virginia Tech. Under NCAA transfer rules, Van Zegeren will play for the 2015–16 season because he already redshirted a year at Virginia Tech.

Incoming recruits[]

Class of 2015 recruits[]

Jordan Ash in the 2015 IHSA 3A championship game victory

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Aaron Falzon PF	Newton, MA	Northfield Mount Hermon	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Oct 13, 2014
Aaron Falzon PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 83
Dererk Pardon PF	Cleveland, OH	Villa Angela-St. Joseph High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jun 7, 2014
Dererk Pardon PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 79
Jordan Ash SG	Westchester, IL	Saint Joseph High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Mar 19, 2014
Jordan Ash SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN grade: 77
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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 9, 2014.

Class of 2016 recruits[]

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Rapolas Ivanauskas SF	Barrington, IL	Barrington	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Apr 18, 2015
Rapolas Ivanauskas SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: N/A
Isiah Brown PG	Lynnwood, WA	Lakeside	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	155 lb (70 kg)	May 31, 2015
Isiah Brown PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved June 4, 2015.

Roster[]

2015–16 Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	1	Joey van Zegeren	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS Sr	Canarias Basketball Academy Virginia Tech	Hoogeveen, Netherlands
F	4	Vic Law	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Saint Rita	South Holland, IL
C	5	Dererk Pardon	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	Villa Angela-St. Joseph	Cleveland, OH
G	10	Charlie Hall (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr		Danville, IL
G	14	Tre Demps	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	198 lb (90 kg)	RS Sr	Ronald Reagan	San Antonio, TX
G/F	20	Scottie Lindsey	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	So	Fenwick HS	Hillsdale, IL
C	22	Alex Olah	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	270 lb (122 kg)	Sr	Traders Point Christian Acad.	Timișoara, Romania
G	23	Jordan Ash	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	St. Joseph	Bolingbrook, IL
G	30	Bryant McIntosh	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	177 lb (80 kg)	So	Greensburg Community HS	New Castle, IN
F	32	Nathan Taphorn	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Pekin Community HS	Pekin, IL
G/F	34	Sanjay Lumpkin	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	RS Jr	Benilde-St. Margaret's	Wayzata, MN
F	35	Aaron Falzon	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Northfield Mount Hermon	Newton, MA
F	44	Gavin Skelly	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	219 lb (99 kg)	So	Westlake HS	Westlake, OH

Head coach

Chris Collins (Duke)

Assistant coach(es)

Brian James (Illinois State)
Patrick Baldwin (Northwestern)
Armon Gates (Kent State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2015-07-06

Schedule and results[]

Source^[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 5, 2015* 7:00 pm		Quincy (IL)	W 80–64		Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm		UMass Lowell	W 79–57	1–0	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,011) Evanston, IL
Nov 18, 2015* 7:00 pm		Fairfield CBE Hall of Fame Classic	W 79–72	2–0	Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,574) Evanston, IL
Nov 20, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Columbia CBE Hall of Fame Classic	W 83–80 ^OT	3–0	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,117) Evanston, IL
Nov 23, 2015* 8:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. No. 9 North Carolina CBE Hall of Fame Classic semifinals	L 69–80	3–1	Sprint Center (13,598) Kansas City, MO
Nov 24, 2015* 6:30 pm, ESPN3		vs. Missouri CBE Hall of Fame Classic 3rd place game	W 67–62	4–1	Sprint Center (13,198) Kansas City, MO
Nov 28, 2015* 7:00 pm		New Orleans	W 90–63	5–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,015) Evanston, IL
Dec 1, 2015* 6:00 pm, ESPNU		at Virginia Tech ACC–Big Ten Challenge	W 81–79 ^OT	6–1	Cassell Coliseum (4,879) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 5, 2015* 2:00 pm		SIU Edwardsville	W 81–56	7–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,318) Evanston, IL
Dec 13, 2015* 6:00 pm, BTN		Chicago State	W 77–35	8–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,621) Evanston, IL
Dec 15, 2015* 7:00 pm		Mississippi Valley State	W 78–48	9–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,704) Evanston, IL
Dec 19, 2015* 1:00 pm, FS1		at DePaul	W 78–70 ^OT	10–1	Allstate Arena (6,351) Rosemont, IL
Dec 21, 2015* 6:00 pm, BTN		Sacred Heart	W 103–67	11–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,574) Evanston, IL
Dec 27, 2015* 7:00 pm, BTN		Loyola (MD)	W 74–59	12–1	Welsh-Ryan Arena (6,401) Evanston, IL
Big Ten regular season
Dec 30, 2015 3:00 pm, ESPNU		at Nebraska	W 81–72	13–1 (1–0)	Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,924) Lincoln, NE
Jan 2, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		No. 4 Maryland	L 59–72	13–2 (1–1)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Jan 6, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		Ohio State	L 56–65	13–3 (1–2)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,439) Evanston, IL
Jan 9, 2016 1:30 pm, BTN		at Minnesota	W 77–52	14–3 (2–2)	Williams Arena (10,436) Minneapolis, MN
Jan 12, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		Wisconsin	W 70–65	15–3 (3–2)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,264) Evanston, IL
Jan 16, 2016 7:30 pm, ESPNU		Penn State	L 62–71	15–4 (3–3)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,512) Evanston, IL
Jan 19, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		at No. 7 Maryland	L 56–62 ^OT	15–5 (3–4)	Xfinity Center (17,144) College Park, MD
Jan 23, 2016 11:00 am, ESPNU		at No. 25 Indiana	L 57–89	15–6 (3–5)	Assembly Hall (17,472) Bloomington, IN
Jan 28, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN		No. 12 Michigan State	L 45–76	15–7 (3–6)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Jan 31, 2016 2:00 pm, BTN		at No. 3 Iowa	L 71–85	15–8 (3–7)	Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,400) Iowa City, IA
Feb 4, 2016 8:00 pm, BTN		Minnesota	W 84–58	16–8 (4–7)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,015) Evanston, IL
Feb 9, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		at Ohio State	L 63–71	16–9 (4–8)	Value City Arena (11,376) Columbus, OH
Feb 13, 2016 7:00 pm, BTN		Illinois	W 58–56	17–9 (5–8)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117) Evanston, IL
Feb 16, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		at No. 17 Purdue	L 61–71	17–10 (5–9)	Mackey Arena (12,868) West Lafayette, IN
Feb 24, 2016 6:00 pm, BTN		at Michigan	L 63–72	17–11 (5–10)	Crisler Center (12,071) Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 27, 2016 1:00 pm, ESPNU		Rutgers	W 98–59	18–11 (6–10)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,833) Evanston, IL
Mar 3, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Penn State	W 71–61	19–11 (7–10)	Bryce Jordan Center (5,936) University Park, PA
Mar 6, 2016 1:00 pm, BTN		Nebraska	W 65–54	20–11 (8–10)	Welsh-Ryan Arena (7,702) Evanston, IL
Big Ten Tournament
Mar 10, 2016 11:00 am, BTN	(9)	vs. (8) Michigan Second round	L 70–72 ^OT	20–12	Bankers Life Fieldhouse (15,707) Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References[]

^ "2015-16 Northwestern Men's Basketball Schedule".

[schedule-1] "2015-16 Northwestern Men's Basketball Schedule".

[1]

v t Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball
Venues	Old Patten Gymnasium (1910–1940) Patten Gymnasium (1940–1952) Welsh–Ryan Arena (1952–present) Allstate Arena (2017–2018)
Rivalries	Illinois
Culture & lore	"Go U Northwestern" Willie the Wildcat
People	Statistical leaders
Seasons	1905–06 1930–31 1986–87 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
Helms and Premo-Porretta national championship in bold

2015–16 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 14 Indiana	15	–	3	.833	27	–	8	.771
No. 2 Michigan State †	13	–	5	.722	29	–	6	.829
No. 18 Maryland	12	–	6	.667	27	–	9	.750
No. 12 Purdue	12	–	6	.667	26	–	9	.743
No. 25 Iowa	12	–	6	.667	22	–	11	.667
Wisconsin	12	–	6	.667	22	–	13	.629
Ohio State	11	–	7	.611	22	–	13	.629
Michigan	10	–	8	.556	23	–	13	.639
Northwestern	8	–	10	.444	20	–	12	.625
Penn State	7	–	11	.389	16	–	16	.500
Nebraska	6	–	12	.333	16	–	18	.471
Illinois	5	–	13	.278	15	–	19	.441
Minnesota	2	–	16	.111	11	–	20	.355
Rutgers	1	–	17	.056	7	–	25	.219

† 2016 Big Ten Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll