2015–16 Florida Gators men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 2015–16 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida in the sport of basketball during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . This was the Gators' first season since 1995-96 without long-time head coach Billy Donovan , as he left the Gators to become the new head coach of the NBA 's Oklahoma City Thunder . The Gators, led by first year head coach Mike White , competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and played their home games in the O'Connell Center on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They finished the season 21–15, 9–9 in SEC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They lost to Texas A&M in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament . They received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament , where they defeated North Florida and Ohio State to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to George Washington .
Previous season
The Gators finished the 2014–15 season 16–17, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in a tie for eighth place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky. They did not participate in a postseason tournament for the first time in 17 years.
Departures
Recruiting class of 2015
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
KeVaughn Allen SG
North Little Rock High School
North Little Rock, AR
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Apr 30, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 4
Kevarrius Hayes PF
Suwannee High School
Live Oak, FL
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jun 17, 2013
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 4
Keith Stone PF
Zion Lutheran Christian School
Deerfield Beach, FL
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
240 lb (110 kg)
Oct 20, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN grade: 4
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : 11 Rivals : 11 ESPN : 13
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:
Recruiting class of 2016
Roster
2015–16 Florida Gators men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Hometown
G
0
Kasey Hill
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jr
Umatilla, Florida
G/F
1
DeVon Walker
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
RS Jr
Winter Haven, Florida
G
2
Brandone Francis
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
RS Fr
La Romana, Dominican Republic
F
3
Devin Robinson
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
So
Chesterfield, Virginia
G
4
KeVaughn Allen
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
183 lb (83 kg)
Fr
Little Rock, Arkansas
F
5
Alex Murphy
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
RS Sr
Wakefield, Rhode Island
F
10
Dorian Finney-Smith
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
RS Sr
Portsmouth, Virginia
G
11
Chris Chiozza
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
So
Memphis, Tennessee
G
12
Zach Hodskins (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
203 lb (92 kg)
So
Alpharetta, Georgia
F
13
Kevarrius Hayes
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Live Oak, Florida
G
14
Lexx Edwards (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
220 lb (100 kg)
RS Sr
Orlando, Florida
C
15
John Egbunu
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
255 lb (116 kg)
RS So
Bauchi , Nigeria
G
20
Jhonny Victor (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
178 lb (81 kg)
RS Fr
Orlando, Florida
F
23
Keith Stone
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
233 lb (106 kg)
Fr
Deerfield Beach, Florida
F
24
Justin Leon
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
196 lb (89 kg)
Jr
Conway, Arkansas
F/C
32
Schuyler Rimmer
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
245 lb (111 kg)
Jr
Orlando, Florida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: November 17, 2015
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 5 *7:00 pm
Palm Beach Atlantic
W 89–42
–
12 – Tied
10 – Robinson
7 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (8,123)Gainesville, FL
Regular season
November 13 *9:30 pm, CBSSN
at Navy Veterans Classic
W 59–41
1–0
13 – Robinson
12 – Finney-Smith
5 – Hill
Alumni Hall (5,710)Annapolis, MD
November 16 *8:00 pm
North Carolina A&T Hall of Fame Tip Off
W 104–54
2–0
15 – Tied
10 – Finney-Smith
8 – Hill
O'Connell Center (8,605)Gainesville, FL
November 21 *2:30 pm, ESPN3
vs. Saint Joseph's Hall of Fame Tip Off
W 74–63
3–0
13 – Tied
10 – Robinson
4 – Chiozza
Mohegan Sun Arena (4,507)Uncasville, CT
November 22 *5:30 pm, ESPN2
vs. No. 21 Purdue Hall of Fame Tip Off
L 70–85
3–1
19 – Egbunu
8 – Finney-Smith
4 – Finney-Smith
Mohegan Sun Arena (3,813)Uncasville, CT
November 25 *3:00 pm, SECN
Vermont Hall of Fame Tip Off
W 86–62
4–1
20 – Finney-Smith
8 – Robinson
6 – Finney-Smith
O'Connell Center (8,003)Gainesville, FL
November 27 *6:30 pm, SECN
Florida Gulf Coast
W 70–50
5–1
23 – Finney-Smith
11 – Egbunu
3 – Tied
O'Connell Center (10,323)Gainesville, FL
December 1 *7:00 pm, SECN
Richmond
W 76–56
6–1
17 – Egbunu
14 – Egbunu
7 – Finney-Smith
O'Connell Center (8,231)Gainesville, FL
December 8 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 17 Miami (FL)
L 55–66
6–2
14 – Egbunu
6 – Tied
3 – Chiozza
BankUnited Center (7,972)Coral Gables, FL
December 12 *6:00 pm, ESPN2
at No. 1 Michigan State
L 52–58
6–3
13 – Tied
9 – Robinson
3 – Tied
Breslin Center (14,797)East Lansing, MI
December 19 *8:00 pm, FS1
vs. Oklahoma State Orange Bowl Classic
W 72–70
7–3
16 – Finney-Smith
9 – Finney-Smith
8 – Hill
BB&T Center (9,483)Sunrise, FL
December 22 *7:00 pm
Jacksonville
W 89–65
8–3
15 – Allen
7 – Hayes
7 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (9,083)Gainesville, FL
December 29 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
Florida State Rivalry
L 71–73
8–4
32 – Allen
7 – Tied
5 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (10,121)Gainesville, FL
January 2 8:00 pm, ESPNU
Georgia
W 77–63
9–4 (1–0)
18 – Allen
12 – Egbunu
6 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (9,053)Gainesville, FL
January 6 7:00 pm, ESPN2
at Tennessee
L 69–83
9–5 (1–1)
18 – Allen
11 – Finney-Smith
5 – Hill
Thompson–Boling Arena (14,387)Knoxville, TN
January 9 1:30 pm, CBS
LSU
W 68–62
10–5 (2–1)
14 – Tied
9 – Leon
8 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (11,350)Gainesville, FL
January 12 7:00 pm, SECN
at No. 15 Texas A&M
L 68–71
10–6 (2–2)
17 – Finney-Smith
12 – Finney-Smith
8 – Chiozza
Reed Arena (9,766)College Station, TX
January 16 8:00 pm, ESPN2
at Ole Miss
W 80–71
11–6 (3–2)
27 – Allen
10 – Finney-Smith
9 – Chiozza
The Pavilion at Ole Miss (9,333)Oxford, MS
January 19 7:00 pm, ESPNU
Mississippi State
W 81–78
12–6 (4–2)
20 – Finney-Smith
13 – Finney-Smith
5 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (8,250)Gainesville, FL
January 23 8:00 pm, SECN
Auburn
W 95–63
13–6 (5–2)
24 – Finney-Smith
9 – Egbunu
8 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (11,230)Gainesville, FL
January 26 9:00 pm, ESPNU
at Vanderbilt
L 59–60
13–7 (5–3)
16 – Allen
14 – Finney-Smith
3 – Chiozza
Memorial Gymnasium (11,351)Nashville, TN
January 30 *12:00 pm, ESPN
No. 9 West Virginia Big 12/SEC Challenge
W 88–71
14–7
24 – Finney-Smith
6 – Rimmer
6 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (11,611)Gainesville, FL
February 3 7:00 pm, SECN
Arkansas
W 87–83
15–7 (6–3)
22 – Finney-Smith
9 – Finney-Smith
8 – Chiozza
O'Connell Center (9,013)Gainesville, FL
February 6 4:00 pm, CBS
at No. 20 Kentucky Rivalry
L 61–80
15–8 (6–4)
24 – Finney-Smith
8 – Finney-Smith
4 – Chiozza
Rupp Arena (24,406)Lexington, KY
February 9 9:00 pm, ESPNU
Ole Miss
W 77–72
16–8 (7–4)
16 – Finney-Smith
10 – Egbunu
6 – Hill
O'Connell Center (8,345)Gainesville, FL
February 13 5:30 pm, SECN
Alabama
L 55–61
16–9 (7–5)
12 – Tied
12 – Robinson
2 – Tied
O'Connell Center (12,045)Gainesville, FL
February 16 9:00 pm, ESPN
at Georgia
W 57–53
17–9 (8–5)
19 – Allen
8 – Leon
5 – Hill
Stegeman Coliseum (8,021)Athens, GA
February 20 12:00 pm, SECN
at South Carolina
L 69–73 OT
17–10 (8–6)
18 – Finney-Smith
13 – Finney-Smith
7 – Hill
Colonial Life Arena (18,000)Columbia, SC
February 23 7:00 pm, SECN
Vanderbilt
L 74–87
17–11 (8–7)
15 – Leon
11 – Finney-Smith
5 – Hill
O'Connell Center (9,035)Gainesville, FL
February 27 8:30 pm, ESPN
at LSU
L 91–96
17–12 (8–8)
22 – Egbunu
7 – Finney-Smith
7 – Chiozza
Maravich Center (13,468)Baton Rouge, LA
March 1 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 22 Kentucky Rivalry
L 79–88
17–13 (8–9)
27 – Egbunu
5 – Tied
5 – Finney-Smith
O'Connell Center (10,684)Gainesville, FL
March 5 7:30 pm, SECN
at Missouri
W 82–72
18–13 (9–9)
20 – Finney-Smith
7 – Tied
8 – Chiozza
Mizzou Arena (7,013)Columbia, MO
SEC Tournament
March 10 1:00 pm, SECN
(8)
vs. (9) Arkansas Second Round
W 68–61
19–13
18 – Hill
9 – Tied
5 – Hill
Bridgestone Arena (12,270)Nashville, TN
March 11 1:00 pm, SECN
(8)
vs. (1) No. 17 Texas A&M Quarterfinals
L 66–72
19–14
18 – Hill
9 – Finney-Smith
2 – Hill
Bridgestone Arena (15,222)Nashville, TN
National Invitation Tournament
March 15 *9:00 pm, ESPNU
(2)
at (7) North Florida First Round – Monmouth Bracket
W 97–68
20–14
15 – Finney-Smith
10 – Egbunu
7 – Chiozza
UNF Arena (6,011)Jacksonville, FL
March 20 *Noon, ESPN
(2)
at (3) Ohio State Second Round – Monmouth Bracket
W 74–66
21–14
16 – Finney-Smith
12 – Finney-Smith
5 – Hill
Value City Arena (8,185)Columbus, OH
March 23 *7:00 pm, ESPN2
(2)
at (4) George Washington Quarterfinals – Monmouth Bracket
L 77–82
21–15
22 – Allen
8 – Finney-Smith
7 – Hill
Charles E. Smith Center (3,399)Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in
Eastern Time .
See also
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics