2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team

The 2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rainbow Warriors, led by first year head coach Eran Ganot, played their home games at the Stan Sheriff Center, and were members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 13–3 in Big West play to tie for the Big West regular season championship. They beat Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara, and Long Beach State to become champions of the Big West tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #13 seed, they defeated #4 seeded California in the first round for the school's first ever victory in the NCAA Tournament.[1] They fell to Maryland in the second round.

2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball
Big West regular season champions
Big West tournament champions
Rainbow Classic champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig West Conference
Record28–6 (13–3 Big West)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Adam Jacobsen
  • Chris Acker (1st season)
  • John Montgomery
  • Jamie Smith (Director of Basketball Operations)
Home arenaStan Sheriff Center
Seasons
2015–16 Big West men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Hawai'i 13 3   .813 28 6   .824
UC Irvine 13 3   .813 28 10   .737
Long Beach State 12 4   .750 20 15   .571
UC Santa Barbara 11 5   .688 19 14   .576
UC Davis 6 10   .375 11 19   .367
UC Riverside 5 11   .313 14 19   .424
Cal State Northridge* 5 11   .313 10 20   .333
Cal Poly 4 12   .250 10 20   .333
Cal State Fullerton 3 13   .188 10 20   .333
*ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed ban due to academic fraud violations
2016 Big West tournament winner

In December, the NCAA placed a postseason ban on Hawaii for the 2017 season and reduced scholarships through 2018 for improper benefits and actions by the school.[2]

It was also the first time since 1997-98 that there were two sellouts in the same season.

Previous season

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The Rainbow Warriors finished the 2014–15 season 22–13, 8–8 in Big West play to finish in fifth place. They lost to UC Irvine in the finals of the Big West tournament.

Roster

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2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 Isaac Fleming 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Massanutten Military Academy Wilmington, DE
G 2 Niko Filipovich 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS So Bishop Montgomery HS Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
G 5 Roderick Bobbitt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Castro Valley HS
Indian Hills CC
Oakland, CA
G 10 Dyrbe Enos 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) RS Jr Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama Aiea, HI
G 11 Quincy Smith 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Deer Valley HS
City College of San Francisco
Antioch, CA
G 12 Sai Tummala 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) Sr Brophy Prep
Arizona State
Phoenix, AZ
G 13 Jakob Cornelissen 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Melbourne Grammar Melbourne, Australia
C 15 Stefan Jovanovic 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Bishop Montgomery HS Kraljevo, Serbia
G 21 Brocke Stepteau 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 160 lb (73 kg) RS Fr Dallas Jesuit Prep School Dallas, TX
G 22 Sheriff Drammeh 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Igelstavikens Gymnasium Stockholm, Sweden
G 24 Zach Buscher 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) RS Fr ʻIolani School Kailua, HI
F 25 Mike Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr El Camino Real HS Woodland Hills, CA
G 32 Aaron Valdes 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr La Serna HS Whittier, CA
F 33 Stefan Jankovic 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Huntington Prep
Missouri
Mississauga, ON
F RS Jack Purchase 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS So Carey Grammar
Auburn University
Melbourne, Australia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and Results

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Source:[1]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/05/2015*
7:00 pm
Chaminade W 101–96 OT
Stan Sheriff Center (4,680)
Honolulu, HI
Non-conference games
11/13/2015*
7:30 pm, OC Sports
Montana State
Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic
W 87–76  1–0
Stan Sheriff Center (6,259)
Honolulu, HI
11/15/2015*
4:30 pm, OC Sports
Coastal Carolina
Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic
W 74–63  2–0
Stan Sheriff Center (5,271)
Honolulu, HI
11/16/2015*
11:00 pm, ESPN2
Nevada
Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic
W 76–75  3–0
Stan Sheriff Center (5,471)
Honolulu, HI
11/22/2015*
7:30 pm, OC Sports
Nicholls State W 99–74  4–0
Stan Sheriff Center (5,576)
Honolulu, HI
11/28/2015*
3:07 pm, FSSW+
at Texas Tech L 74–82  4–1
United Supermarkets Arena (7,132)
Lubbock, TX
12/02/2015*
7:00 pm, OC Sports
Arkansas–Pine Bluff W 75–47  5–1
Stan Sheriff Center (5,182)
Honolulu, HI
12/05/2015*
7:00 pm, OC Sports
UH–Hilo W 86–67  6–1
Stan Sheriff Center (4,725)
Honolulu, HI
12/12/2015*
7:00 pm, OC Sports
Hawai'i Pacific W 83–71  7–1
Stan Sheriff Center (5,042)
Honolulu, HI
12/22/2015*
8:00 pm, ESPNU
Northern Iowa
Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals
W 68–52  8–1
Stan Sheriff Center (8,436)
Honolulu, HI
12/23/2015*
4:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 3 Oklahoma
Diamond Head Classic semifinals
L 81–84  8–2
Stan Sheriff Center (7,365)
Honolulu, HI
12/25/2015*
1:30 pm, ESPN2
Auburn
Diamond Head Classic 3rd place game
W 79–67  9–2
Stan Sheriff Center (7,251)
Honolulu, HI
12/29/2015*
7:00 pm, OC Sports
Mississippi Valley State W 77–48  10–2
Stan Sheriff Center (5,431)
Honolulu, HI
01/02/2016*
5:30 pm, OC Sports
Howard W 94–59  11–2
Stan Sheriff Center (6,043)
Honolulu, HI
Big West Conference games
01/06/2016
7:00 pm, OC Sports
Cal Poly W 86–73  12–2
(1–0)
Stan Sheriff Center (5,885)
Honolulu, HI
01/09/2016
7:00 pm, OC Sports
UC Santa Barbara W 65–57  13–2
(2–0)
Stan Sheriff Center (7,627)
Honolulu, HI
01/14/2016
9:00 pm, ESPN3
at UC Riverside W 80–71  14–2
(3–0)
UC Riverside Student Recreation Center (1,596)
Riverside, CA
01/16/2016
8:00 pm, ESPN3
at Cal State Fullerton W 86–79 OT 15–2
(4–0)
Titan Gym (993)
Fullerton, CA
01/23/2016
7:00 pm, OC Sports
UC Davis W 78–62  16–2
(5–0)
Stan Sheriff Center (9,289)
Honolulu, HI
01/30/2016
8:00 pm, OC Sports
Long Beach State L 64–78  16–3
(5–1)
Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
Honolulu, HI
02/04/2016
9:00 pm
at UC Santa Barbara W 76–64  17–3
(6–1)
The Thunderdome (1,722)
Santa Barbara, CA
02/06/2016
5:00 pm, ESPNU
at Cal Poly W 75–60  18–3
(7–1)
Mott Athletic Center (3,032)
San Luis Obispo, CA
02/11/2016
8:00 pm, OC Sports
UC Irvine W 74–52  19–3
(8–1)
Stan Sheriff Center (9,826)
Honolulu, HI
02/13/2016
7:00 pm, OC Sports
Cal State Fullerton W 76–59  20–3
(9–1)
Stan Sheriff Center (8,401)
Honolulu, HI
02/18/2016
5:00 pm, ESPN3
at Cal State Northridge W 69–63  21–3
(10–1)
Matadome (1,683)
Northridge, CA
02/20/2016
6:30 pm, ESPNU
at UC Irvine W 75–71  22–3
(11–1)
Bren Events Center (4,312)
Irvine, CA
02/25/2016
7:00 pm, OC Sports
UC Riverside L 71–77  22–4
(11–2)
Stan Sheriff Center (7,957)
Honolulu, HI
02/27/2016
7:00 pm, ESPN2
Cal State Northridge W 89–78  23–4
(12–2)
Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
Honolulu, HI
03/03/2016
5:00 pm
at UC Davis W 67–65  24–4
(13–2)
The Pavilion (2,247)
Davis, CA
03/05/2016
2:00 pm, Prime Ticket
at Long Beach State L 72–74  24–5
(13–3)
Walter Pyramid (3,722)
Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
03/10/2016
12:00 pm, Prime Ticket
(1) vs. (8) Cal State Fullerton
Quarterfinals
W 75–44  25–5
Honda Center 
Anaheim, CA
03/11/2016
4:00 pm, ESPN3
(1) vs. (4) UC Santa Barbara
Semifinals
W 88–76  26–5
Honda Center 
Anaheim, CA
03/12/2016
6:30 pm, ESPN2
(1) vs. (3) Long Beach State
Championship
W 64–60  27–5
Honda Center (5,610)
Anaheim, CA
NCAA tournament
3/18/2016
8:00 am, TBS
(13 S) vs. (4 S) No. 23 California
First Round
W 77–66  28–5
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (11,736)
Spokane, WA
3/20/2016
1:10 pm, TBS
(13 S) vs. (5 S) No. 18 Maryland
Second Round
L 60–73  28–6
Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (11,296)
Spokane, WA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South Region.
All times are in Hawaii Aleutian.

Rankings

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Ranking movement
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. (RV) Received votes but unranked. (NR) Not ranked.
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 Wk 19 Final
AP RV RV RV RV *N/A
Coaches RV RV RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

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  1. ^ "Hawaii bags first NCAA tournament win against embattled California". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Hawaii receives postseason ban in 2017, other sanctions from NCAA". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.