2015–16 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Utah Runnin' Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They played their home games at the Jon M. Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City as members of the Pac-12 Conference. The Utes were led by fifth year head coach Larry Krystkowiak. They the season 27–9, 13-5 in Pac-12 play to finish in second place. They defeated USC and California to advance to the championship game of the Pac-12 tournament where they lost to Oregon. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Fresno State in the first round to advance to the second round where they lost to Gonzaga.

2015–16 Utah Utes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Pac-12 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
AP	No. 13
Record	27–9 (13–5 Pac–12)
Head coach	Larry Krystkowiak (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Tommy Connor DeMarlo Slocum Andy Hill
Home arena	Jon M. Huntsman Center
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Pac-12 Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Oregon †	14	–	4		.778			31	–	7		.816
No. 13 Utah	13	–	5		.722			27	–	9		.750
No. 17 Arizona	12	–	6		.667			25	–	9		.735
No. 23 California	12	–	6		.667			23	–	11		.676
Colorado	10	–	8		.556			22	–	12		.647
USC	9	–	9		.500			21	–	13		.618
Oregon State	9	–	9		.500			19	–	13		.594
Washington	9	–	9		.500			19	–	15		.559
Stanford	8	–	10		.444			15	–	15		.500
UCLA	6	–	12		.333			15	–	17		.469
Arizona State	5	–	13		.278			15	–	17		.469
Washington State	1	–	17		.056			9	–	22		.290
† Pac-12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The 2014–15 Utah Utes finished the season 26–9, 13–5 in the Pac-12, to finish in a tie for second place. In the Pac-12 tournament, the Utes made it to the semifinals where they lost to Oregon. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a 5-seed where they defeated Stephen F. Austin in the second round, and Georgetown in the third round to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to Duke.^[1]

Off-season

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Dallin Bachynski	31	C	7'0"	265	Senior	Calgary, Alberta	Graduated
Delon Wright	55	G	6'5"	190	Senior	Los Angeles, California	Graduated/2015 NBA draft
Jeremy Olsen	41	C	6'10"	240	RS Junior	Lawrenceville, Georgia	Retired from basketball for medical reasons[2]

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Lorenzo Bonam	15	G	6'4"	215	Junior	Inkster, Michigan	Junior college transfer from Gillette College.
Gabe Bealer	30	G/F	6'5"	180	Junior	Lancaster, California	Junior college transfer from City College of San Francisco.

2015 recruiting class

College recruiting information

Name	Hometown	School	Height	Weight	Commit date
Makol Mawien C/F	West Valley City, Utah	Granger HS	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Aug 7, 2014
	Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    ESPN:
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 Utah Basketball Commitment List". Rivals. Retrieved April 2, 2015. "Utah Utes 2015 Player Commits". ESPN. Retrieved April 2, 2015. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved April 2, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Brekkott Chapman 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Roy HS Roy, Utah G 1 Isaiah Wright 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Borah HS Boise, Idaho G 5 Austin Eastman (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Billings HS Billings, Montana G 10 Jake Connor (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 183 lb (83 kg) RS Fr Highland HS Salt Lake City, Utah G 11 Brandon Taylor 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Pacific Hills School Los Angeles, California G/F 14 Dakarai Tucker 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Sr Junípero Serra HS Los Angeles, California G 15 Lorenzo Bonam 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Jr Robichaud HS/Gillette College Inkster, Michigan F 20 Chris Reyes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 236 lb (107 kg) Jr Damien HS/Citrus College La Verne, California F 21 Jordan Loveridge 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr West Jordan HS West Jordan, Utah G 25 Kenneth Ogbe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 194 lb (88 kg) Jr Urspring Academy Ehingen, Germany G/F 30 Gabe Bealer 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 183 lb (83 kg) Jr Antelope HS/CCSF San Francisco, California F/C 34 Jayce Johnson  7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Santa Monica HS Mission Viejo, California F 35 Kyle Kuzma 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 221 lb (100 kg) So Rise Academy Burton, Michigan F/C 40 Makol Mawien 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Granger HS West Valley City, Utah F 41 Austin Montgomery (W) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Fr Lakeview Academy Gainesville, Georgia C 42 Jakob Poeltl 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 248 lb (112 kg) So Arkadia Traiskirchen Vienna, Austria	Head coach Larry Krystkowiak (Montana) Assistant coach(es) Tommy Connor (Utah) DeMarlo Slocum (Georgia Southern) Andy Hill (Eastern Washington) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: February 11, 2016

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov. 5* 6:00 PM, P12N	No. 16	Cal State Monterey Bay	W 124–70	–	20 – Taylor	10 – Tied	6 – Wright	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Non-conference regular season
Nov. 13* 7:30 PM, P12N	No. 16	Southern Utah Old Oquirrh Bucket	W 82–71	1–0	26 – Poeltl	12 – Kuzma	5 – Tied	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,050) Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov. 16* 7:30 PM, ESPN2	No. 16	San Diego State College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon	W 81–76	2–0	21 – Loveridge	12 – Poeltl	3 – Bonam	Jon M. Huntsman Center (13,587) Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov. 19* 5:00 PM, ESPN2	No. 16	vs. Texas Tech Puerto Rico Tip-Off quarterfinals	W 73–63	3–0	20 – Bonam	9 – Poeltl	4 – Tied	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (1,947) San Juan, PR
Nov. 20* 5:00 PM, ESPNU	No. 16	vs. Miami (FL) Puerto Rico Tip-Off semifinals	L 66–90	3–1	18 – Loveridge	6 – Poeltl	4 – Chapman	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (2,001) San Juan, PR
Nov. 22* 2:30 PM, ESPNU	No. 16	vs. Temple Puerto Rico Tip-Off 3rd place game	W 74–68	4–1	32 – Poeltl	11 – Poeltl	3 – Tied	Roberto Clemente Coliseum (5,309) San Juan, PR
Nov. 27* 7:00 PM, P12N		Idaho State	W 102–72	5–1	19 – Poeltl	12 – Kuzma	4 – Loveridge	Jon M. Huntsman Center (13,185) Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec. 2* 8:00 PM, P12N		BYU Old Oquirrh Bucket/Deseret First Duel	W 83–75	6–1	26 – Poeltl	13 – Poeltl	9 – Taylor	Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,131) Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec. 5* 12:00 PM, P12N		IPFW	W 96–79	7–1	21 – Poeltl	8 – Kuzma	6 – Poeltl	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,241) Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec. 12* 1:30 PM, ESPN2	No. 25	at Wichita State	L 50–67	7–2	11 – Poeltl	9 – Poeltl	3 – Taylor	Intrust Bank Arena (15,004) Wichita, Kansas
Dec. 16* 6:00 PM, P12N		Savannah State	W 99–53	8–2	18 – Kuzma	7 – Tied	7 – Bonam	Jon M. Huntsman Center (11,911) Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec. 19* 10:00 AM, ESPN		vs. No. 7 Duke Madison Square Garden Showcase	W 77–75 OT	9–2	21 – Kuzma	14 – Poeltl	9 – Bonam	Madison Square Garden (13,174) New York City, New York
Dec. 22* 7:00 PM, P12N	No. 24	Delaware State	W 105–58	10–2	15 – Kuzma	7 – Tied	6 – Tied	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,041) Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec. 28* 7:00 PM, P12N	No. 21	College of Idaho	W 115–74	11–2	17 – Tied	9 – Poeltl	5 – Wright	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,329) Salt Lake City, Utah
Pac-12 regular season
Jan. 1 7:00 PM, ESPNU	No. 21	at Stanford	L 68–70 OT	11–3 (0–1)	16 – Poeltl	12 – Kuzma	5 – Bonam	Maples Pavilion (4,065) Stanford, California
Jan. 3 5:30 PM, P12N	No. 21	at California	L 58–71	11–4 (0–2)	19 – Poeltl	10 – Poeltl	5 – Taylor	Haas Pavilion (10,188) Berkeley, California
Jan. 8 7:00 PM, FS1		at Colorado	W 56–54	12–4 (1–2)	17 – Bonam	11 – Poeltl	3 – Bonam	Coors Events Center (8,701) Boulder, Colorado
Jan. 14 8:00 PM, P12N		Oregon	L 59–77	12–5 (1–3)	12 – Taylor	7 – Poeltl	4 – Wright	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,733) Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan. 17 6:30 PM, ESPNU		Oregon State	W 59–53	13–5 (2–3)	15 – Poeltl	9 – Kuzma	4 – Taylor	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,417) Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan. 21 9:00 PM, FS1		at Washington State	W 92–71	14–5 (3–3)	22 – Loveridge	6 – Reyes	5 – Poeltl	Beasley Coliseum (2,717) Pullman, Washington
Jan. 24 7:30 PM, ESPNU		at Washington	W 80–75 OT	15–5 (4–3)	29 – Poeltl	10 – Tied	4 – Poeltl	Alaska Airlines Arena (8,073) Seattle, Washington
Jan. 27 9:00 PM, ESPNU		California	W 73–64	16–5 (5–3)	21 – Poeltl	9 – Poeltl	6 – Tied	Jon M. Huntsman Center (13,055) Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan. 30 3:00 PM, P12N		Stanford	W 96–74	17–5 (6–3)	23 – Poeltl	7 – Tied	5 – Bonam	Jon M. Huntsman Center (14,109) Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb. 4 9:00 PM, ESPNU		at Oregon State	L 69–71	17–6 (6–4)	20 – Poeltl	9 – Poeltl	4 – Taylor	Gill Coliseum (5,242) Corvallis, Oregon
Feb. 7 2:00 PM, ESPN2		at No. 16 Oregon	L 66–76	17–7 (6–5)	18 – Kuzma	10 – Loveridge	3 – Tied	Matthew Knight Arena (6,807) Eugene, Oregon
Feb. 10 7:00 PM, ESPN2		Washington	W 90–82	18–7 (7–5)	23 – Poeltl	6 – Poeltl	7 – Kuzma	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,616) Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb. 14 1:00 PM, P12N		Washington State	W 88–47	19–7 (8–5)	25 – Poeltl	10 – Poeltl	5 – Wright	Jon M. Huntsman Center (11,646) Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb. 18 8:00 PM, ESPN2		at UCLA	W 75–73	20–7 (9–5)	17 – Loveridge	11 – Poeltl	7 – Taylor	Pauley Pavilion (7,249) Los Angeles, California
Feb. 21 4:00 PM, P12N		at USC	W 80–69	21–7 (10–5)	29 – Poeltl	13 – Poeltl	10 – Taylor	Galen Center (7,931) Los Angeles, California
Feb. 25 7:00 PM, P12N	No. 22	Arizona State	W 81–46	22–7 (11–5)	15 – Chapman	9 – Chapman	4 – Taylor	Jon M. Huntsman Center (12,523) Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb. 27 12:00 PM, ESPN	No. 22	No. 9 Arizona	W 70–64	23–7 (12–5)	19 – Taylor	10 – Poeltl	3 – Chapman	Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,508) Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar. 5 7:30 PM, ESPNU	No. 13	Colorado	W 57–55	24–7 (13–5)	16 – Poeltl	8 – Poeltl	4 – Taylor	Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,000) Salt Lake City, Utah
Pac-12 Tournament
Mar. 10 7:00 PM, P12N	(2) No. 12	vs. (7) USC Quarterfinals	W 80–72	25–7	23 – Kuzma	8 – Poeltl	6 – Loveridge	MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, Nevada
Mar. 11 9:30 PM, FS1	(2) No. 12	vs. (3) No. 24 California Semifinals	W 82–78 OT	26–7	29 – Poeltl	11 – Proeltl	3 – Bonam	MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, Nevada
Mar. 12 7:00 PM, FS1	(2) No. 12	vs. (1) No. 8 Oregon Championship	L 57–88	26–8	13 – Peltl	5 – Kuzma	3 – Loveridge	MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916) Paradise, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar. 17* 5:27 PM, truTV	(3 MW) No. 13	vs. (14 MW) Fresno State First Round	W 80–69	27–8	17 – Bonam	18 – Poeltl	6 – Taylor	Pepsi Center (19,500) Denver, Colorado
Mar. 19* 6:40 PM, TNT	(3 MW) No. 13	vs. (11 MW) Gonzaga Second Round	L 59–82	27–9	15 – Kuzma	4 – Tied	4 – Taylor	Pepsi Center (19,551) Denver, Colorado
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Mountain Time.

Rankings

See also: 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Received votes. NV= Received no votes.

Poll	Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Wk 16	Wk 17	Wk 18	Post	Final
AP	16	16	RV	RV	25	RV	24	21	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	22	13	12	13	N/A
Coaches	16	16	RV	RV	24	RV	RV	22	RV	RV	NV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	13	12	14	20