2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

The 2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by head coach Ray Harper in his fourth season. They played their home games at E. A. Diddle Arena and were second year members of Conference USA. They finished the season 18–16, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in eighth place. They defeated North Texas and UAB to advance to the semifinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Old Dominion. Despite having 18 wins and a better they .500 record, they did not participate in a postseason tournament.^[1]

2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Conference	Conference USA
Record	18–16 (8–10 C-USA)
Head coach	Ray Harper (4th season)
Assistant coaches	David Boyden Shawn Forrest Chris Shumate
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
UAB	16	–	2		.889			26	–	7		.788
Middle Tennessee †	13	–	5		.722			25	–	10		.714
Marshall	12	–	6		.667			17	–	16		.515
Louisiana Tech	12	–	6		.667			23	–	10		.697
Old Dominion	12	–	6		.667			25	–	13		.658
UTEP	10	–	8		.556			19	–	14		.576
Charlotte	9	–	9		.500			14	–	19		.424
Western Kentucky	8	–	10		.444			18	–	16		.529
North Texas	7	–	11		.389			12	–	20		.375
Rice	7	–	11		.389			12	–	20		.375
FIU	7	–	11		.389			13	–	19		.406
Florida Atlantic	5	–	13		.278			8	–	25		.242
Southern Miss*	5	–	13		.278			8	–	21		.276
UTSA	3	–	15		.167			5	–	27		.156
† 2016 C-USA Tournament winner *Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban.

On March 17, 2016, head coach Ray Harper resigned after three players were suspended by a university disciplinary committee.^[2][3][4] He finished at WKU with a record of 90–62. On March 28, the school hired Rick Stansbury as head coach.^[5]

Previous season

The Hilltoppers finished the season 20–12, 13–5 in C-USA play to finish in a tie for the second place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to UAB. Despite having 20 wins they didn't play in a postseason tournament.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Ayinde Sprewell	0	G	6'3"	188	Junior	Orlando, FL	Graduate transferred to St. Thomas
Kevin Kaspar	1	G	6'0"	173	Senior	Istanbul, Turkey	Graduated
Derrick Clayton	2	G	6'6"	184	Freshman	Castro Valley, CA	Transferred to Palm Beach State College
Trency Jackson	3	G	6'2"	188	RS Senior	Jackson, MS	Graduated
Brandon Price	5	G	5'9"	151	Sophomore	Radcliff, KY	Transferred to Georgia Southwestern
Jordan Green	10	F	6'7"	193	Freshman	Lexington, KY	Transferred to Coppin State
Avery Patterson	15	G	6'0"	190	Freshman	Decatur, GA	Transferred to Columbia State Community College
Rob Marberry	33	F	6'8"	230	Freshman	Nashville, TN	Walk-on; transferred to Lipscomb
George Fant	44	F	6'6"	250	Senior	Bowling Green, KY	Graduated
T. J. Price	52	G	6'4"	223	Senior	Slidell, LA	Graduated

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Aaron Cosby	2	G	6'3"	205	RS Senior	Louisville, KY	Transferred from Illinois. Cosby will be eligible to play immediately since Cosby graduated from Illinois.
Phabian Glasco	13	F	6'7"	225	Junior	Tulsa, OK	Junior college transferred from Connors State College
Willie Carmichael III	24	F	6'8"	210	Sophomore	Apopka, FL	Transferred from Tennessee. Under NCAA transfer rules, Carmichael III will have to sit out for the 2015–16 season. Will have three years of remaining eligibility.
Frederick Edmond	25	G	6'4"	190	Junior	Lansing, MI	Junior college transferred from College of Southern Idaho
Anton Waters	42	F	6'6"	205	Junior	Baltimore, MD	Junior college transferred from Gulf Coast State College

Class of 2015 recruits

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Chris McNeal PG	Memphis, TN	South Side High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Jul 7, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (NR)
Marlon Hunter Jr. SG	Memphis, TN	Houston High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Nov 6, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (NR)
Kristaps Gluditis PG	Riga, Latvia	Get Better Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Apr 28, 2015
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (NR)
Nathan Smith C	London, England	Get Better Academy	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	220 lb (100 kg)
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    (NR)
Overall recruit ranking:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, 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. Retrieved July 30, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 1 Chris McNeal 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Jackson, Tennessee G 2 Aaron Cosby 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Louisville, Kentucky G 3 Marlon Hunter 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee F 13 Phabian Glasco 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Tulsa, Oklahoma F 14 Benjamin Lawson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Hitchin, England G 15 Dylan Sanford (W) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Owensboro, Kentucky C 20 Aleksej Rostov 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Riga, Latvia F 21 Nigel Snipes 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS Sr Marietta, Georgia C 22 Nathan Smith 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr London, England F 23 Justin Johnson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Hazard, Kentucky F 24 Willie Carmichael (I)  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Apopka, Florida G 25 Fredrick Edmond 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Lansing, Michigan G 32 Keifer Dalton (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Albany, Kentucky F 42 Anton Waters 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Baltimore, Maryland G 51 Chris Harrison-Docks 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Okemos, Michigan	Head coach Ray Harper (Kentucky Wesleyan) Assistant coach(es) Lawrence Brenneman (Geneva) David Boyden (Western Kentucky) Shawn Forrest (Arkansas–Pine Bluff) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

^[6]

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/02/2015* 7:00 pm		Lindsey Wilson	W 84–71		E. A. Diddle Arena (2,881) Bowling Green, KY
11/06/2015* 7:00 pm		Kentucky Wesleyan	W 75–68		E. A. Diddle Arena (3,207) Bowling Green, KY
Non-conference regular season
11/14/2015* 7:00 pm		Campbellsville Gulf Coast Showcase Opening Round	W 97–77	1–0	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,424) Bowling Green, KY
11/18/2015* 6:00 pm, ASN		at Belmont	L 85–90	1–1	Curb Event Center (3,253) Nashville, TN
11/21/2015* 12:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Stony Brook	W 67–66	2–1	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,684) Bowling Green, KY
11/23/2015* 5:00 pm		vs. Drake Gulf Coast Showcase quarterfinals	L 79–81 OT	2–2	Germain Arena (523) Estero, FL
11/24/2015* 1:30 pm		vs. Central Michigan Gulf Coast Showcase consolation round	W 88–60	3–2	Germain Arena (823) Estero, FL
11/25/2015* 2:30 pm		vs. Duquesne Gulf Coast Showcase 5th place game	L 73–81	3–3	Germain Arena (1,077) Estero, FL
12/01/2015* 7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Eastern Kentucky	W 86–84	4–3	E. A. Diddle Arena (4,026) Bowling Green, KY
12/05/2015* 7:30 pm, FS1		at No. 12 Xavier	L 64–95	4–4	Cintas Center (10,250) Cincinnati, OH
12/13/2015* 2:00 pm, ASN		Indiana State	W 75–62	5–4	E. A. Diddle Arena (2,810) Bowling Green, KY
12/16/2015* 8:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Alabama A&M	W 79–70	6–4	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,109) Bowling Green, KY
12/19/2015* 11:00 am, ESPNU		at No. 19 Louisville	L 56–78	6–5	KFC Yum! Center (21,606) Louisville, KY
12/22/2015* 8:00 pm, ASN		Detroit	W 79–74	7–5	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,031) Bowling Green, KY
12/28/2015* 7:00 pm		Brescia	W 93–66	8–5	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,388) Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA regular season
01/03/2016 12:00 pm, ASN		at Marshall	L 76–94	8–6 (0–1)	Cam Henderson Center (4,623) Huntington, WV
01/07/2016 7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		FIU	L 72–75	8–7 (0–2)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,394) Bowling Green, KY
01/09/2016 2:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Florida Atlantic	W 86–82 OT	9–7 (1–2)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,607) Bowling Green, KY
01/14/2016 7:00 pm, ASN		at Rice	L 73–83	9–8 (1–3)	Tudor Fieldhouse (1,664) Houston, TX
01/16/2016 7:00 pm		at North Texas	W 81–76	10–8 (2–3)	The Super Pit (1,903) Denton, TX
01/21/2016 6:00 pm, ASN		at Old Dominion	L 62–68	10–9 (2–4)	Ted Constant Convocation Center (6,535) Norfolk, VA
01/23/2016 6:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		at Charlotte	L 71–88	10–10 (2–5)	Dale F. Halton Arena (4,197) Charlotte, NC
01/28/2016 6:30 pm, FS1		UAB	W 69–62	11–10 (3–5)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,892) Bowling Green, KY
01/30/2016 7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Middle Tennessee	L 64–66	11–11 (3–6)	E. A. Diddle Arena (5,259) Bowling Green, KY
02/04/2016 7:00 pm		at UTSA	W 83–71	12–11 (4–6)	Convocation Center (1,003) San Antonio, TX
02/06/2016 4:00 pm, FS1		at UTEP	L 89–93 OT	12–12 (4–7)	Don Haskins Center (12,000) El Paso, TX
02/13/2016 7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Marshall	L 93–96 OT	12–13 (4–8)	E. A. Diddle Arena (4,373) Bowling Green, KY
02/18/2016 7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Old Dominion	L 56–59	12–14 (4–9)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,182) Bowling Green, KY
02/20/2016 2:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Charlotte	W 59–54	13–14 (5–9)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,570) Bowling Green, KY
02/25/2016 6:00 pm, ASN		at Middle Tennessee	W 78–72	14–14 (6–9)	Murphy Center (4,333) Murfreesboro, TN
02/27/2016 11:00 am, FSN		at UAB	L 67–71	14–15 (6–10)	Bartow Arena (7,510) Birmingham, AL
03/03/2016 8:00 pm, ASN		Southern Miss	W 75–60	15–15 (7–10)	E. A. Diddle Arena (3,405) Bowling Green, KY
03/05/2016 7:00 pm, FCS/WKYU		Louisiana Tech	W 96–90 OT	16–15 (8–10)	E. A. Diddle Arena (4,591) Bowling Green, KY
Conference USA Tournament
03/09/2016 12:00 pm, ASN	(8)	vs. (9) North Texas Second round	W 84–76	17–15	Legacy Arena (3,888) Birmingham, AL
03/10/2016 12:00 pm, ASN	(8)	vs. (1) UAB Quarterfinals	W 88–77	18–15	Legacy Arena (9,797) Birmingham, AL
03/11/2016 3:00 pm, CBSSN	(8)	vs. (5) Old Dominion Semifinals	L 77–89	18–16	Legacy Arena (6,176) Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

See also

• 2015–16 WKU Lady Toppers basketball team