2015–16 Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas at Little Rock during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trojans, led by first-year head coach Chris Beard, played their home games at the Jack Stephens Center in Little Rock, Arkansas and were members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 30–5, 17–3 in Sun Belt play to win the Sun Belt regular season championship. They defeated Louisiana–Lafayette and Louisiana–Monroe to win the Sun Belt tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the Tournament as a No. 12 seed, they defeated Purdue in the first round before losing in the second round to Iowa State.

2015–16 Little Rock Trojans men's basketball
Sun Belt regular season champions
Sun Belt tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceSun Belt Conference
Record30–5 (17–3 Sun Belt)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaJack Stephens Center
Seasons
2015–16 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Little Rock 17 3   .850 30 5   .857
Louisiana–Monroe 15 5   .750 20 14   .588
Texas–Arlington 13 7   .650 24 11   .686
Louisiana–Lafayette 12 8   .600 19 15   .559
Georgia Southern 10 10   .500 14 17   .452
Georgia State 9 11   .450 16 14   .533
Texas State 8 12   .400 15 16   .484
South Alabama 8 12   .400 14 19   .424
Arkansas State 7 13   .350 11 20   .355
Appalachian State 7 13   .350 9 22   .290
Troy 4 16   .200 9 22   .290
2016 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner

This was the first season in which the school used "Little Rock" as its athletic brand; previously, it had alternately used "Arkansas–Little Rock" and "UALR".

Following the season, first-year head coach Chris Beard left the school to accept the head coaching position at Texas Tech.[1] On March 31, 2016, the school hired Wes Flanigan as head coach.[2]

Previous season

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The Trojans finished the 2014–15 season 13–18, 8–12 in Sun Belt play to finish in eighth place. They lost in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament to South Alabama.

On March 18, 2015, head coach Steve Shields was fired.[3] He compiled a record of 192–178 in eight seasons. In early April, the school hired Chris Beard as head coach.[4]

Roster

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2015–16 Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 0 Roger Woods 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Jackson, MS
G 1 Jalen Jackson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr West Memphis, AR
F 2 Daniel Green 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Colleyville, TX
G 3 Josh Hagins 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Bossier City, LA
F 5 Oliver Black 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Jackson, MS
F 10 Maurius Hill 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Homewood, IL
G 11 Jermaine Ruttley 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Radcliff, KY
F 12 Lis Shoshi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Peje, Kosovo
G 13 Marcus Johnson Jr. 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Charlotte, NC
F 14 Mareik Isom 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Austin, TX
F 15 Stetson Billings 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Strong, AR
G 20 Ben Marcus 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Pine Bluff, AR
G 21 Dayshawn Watkins 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr North Little Rock, AR
G 22 Thomas Brandsma 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Colleyville, TX
G 23 Kemy Osse 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 208 lb (94 kg) Jr Montreal, QC
G 24 Evan Moorman 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Memphis, TN
G 30 Deondre Burns 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Yazoo City, MS
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
  • Wes Flanigan
  • Brian Burg
  • Mark Adams

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

Roster
Last update: August 22, 2015

Schedule and results

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[5]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/07/2015*
7:00 pm
UA–Fort Smith W 70–60 
Jack Stephens Center 
Little Rock, AR
Regular season
11/14/2015*
3:00 pm
Central Baptist W 76–57  1–0
Jack Stephens Center (1,936)
Little Rock, AR
11/18/2015*
5:15 pm
Centenary W 95–49  2–0
Jack Stephens Center (2,275)
Little Rock, AR
11/21/2015*
3:00 pm, FSSD
at San Diego State
Las Vegas Invitational
W 49–43  3–0
Viejas Arena (12,414)
San Diego, CA
11/26/2015*
1:00 pm
vs. East Carolina
Las Vegas Invitational
W 54–46  4–0
Orleans Arena (3,125)
Paradise, NV
11/28/2015*
3:00 pm, ESPN3
at Tulsa W 64–60  5–0
Reynolds Center (3,821)
Tulsa, OK
12/01/2015*
7:00 pm
Central Arkansas W 79–73  6–0
Jack Stephens Center (3,638)
Little Rock, AR
12/05/2015*
7:00 pm
at Idaho W 64–54  7–0
Cowan Spectrum (1,154)
Moscow, ID
12/12/2015*
9:00 pm, FS1
at DePaul W 66–44  8–0
McGrath–Phillips Arena (1,740)
Chicago, IL
12/16/2015*
7:00 pm
at Central Arkansas W 77–54  9–0
Farris Center (3,055)
Conway, AR
12/20/2015*
1:00 pm
Northern Arizona W 84–57  10–0
Jack Stephens Center (3,130)
Little Rock, AR
12/21/2015*
2:00 pm, FSSW
at Texas Tech L 53–65  10–1
United Supermarkets Arena (5,955)
Lubbock, TX
12/30/2015
7:00 pm
at South Alabama W 69–60  11–1
(1–0)
Mitchell Center (2,314)
Mobile, AL
01/02/2016
4:15 pm
at Troy W 67–61  12–1
(2–0)
Trojan Arena (1,223)
Troy, AL
01/07/2016
7:15 pm
Louisiana–Lafayette W 77–57  13–1
(3–0)
Jack Stephens Center (3,218)
Little Rock, AR
01/09/2016
6:00 pm
Louisiana–Monroe W 58–57  14–1
(4–0)
Jack Stephens Center (3,629)
Little Rock, AR
01/14/2016
7:15 pm
Appalachian State W 81–55  15–1
(5–0)
Jack Stephens Center (3,543)
Little Rock, AR
01/18/2016
7:30 pm, ESPN3
at Arkansas State L 73–76  15–2
(5–1)
Convocation Center (2,136)
Jonesboro, AR
01/21/2016
7:30 pm
at Texas State W 77–74 OT 16–2
(6–1)
Strahan Coliseum (3,357)
San Marcos, TX
01/23/2016
7:15 pm
at UT Arlington W 68–62  17–2
(7–1)
College Park Center (5,033)
Arlington, TX
01/28/2016
7:15 pm
Georgia Southern W 80–67  18–2
(8–1)
Jack Stephens Center (3,078)
Little Rock, AR
01/30/2016
6:00 pm, ESPN3
Georgia State W 63–53  19–2
(9–1)
Jack Stephens Center (4,682)
Little Rock, AR
02/04/2016
7:15 pm
Troy W 72–49  20–2
(10–1)
Jack Stephens Center (3,385)
Little Rock, AR
02/06/2016
6:00 pm
South Alabama W 74–43  21–2
(11–1)
Jack Stephens Center (3,959)
Little Rock, AR
02/11/2016
7:00 pm
at Louisiana–Monroe L 82–86  21–3
(11–2)
Fant–Ewing Coliseum (3,761)
Monroe, LA
02/13/2016
4:15 pm
at Louisiana–Lafayette W 68–64  22–3
(12–2)
Cajundome (5,347)
Lafayette, LA
02/18/2016
6:30 pm, ESPN3
at Georgia State W 57–49  23–3
(13–2)
GSU Sports Arena (1,516)
Atlanta, GA
02/20/2016
6:00 pm
at Georgia Southern W 75–61  24–3
(14–2)
Hanner Fieldhouse (1,702)
Statesboro, GA
02/25/2016
7:15 pm
UT Arlington W 72–60  25–3
(15–2)
Jack Stephens Center (5,253)
Little Rock, AR
02/27/2016
6:00 pm
Texas State W 73–68  26–3
(16–2)
Jack Stephens Center (5,168)
Little Rock, AR
03/01/2016
7:15 pm
Arkansas State W 89–80  27–3
(17–2)
Jack Stephens Center (5,619)
Little Rock, AR
03/03/2016
6:30 pm, ESPN3
at Appalachian State L 63–69  27–4
(17–3)
Holmes Center (1,112)
Boone, NC
Sun Belt tournament
03/12/2016
1:00 pm, ESPN3
(1) vs. (4) Louisiana–Lafayette
Semifinals
W 72–65  28–4
Lakefront Arena 
New Orleans, LA
03/13/2016
12:00 pm, ESPN2
(1) vs. (2) Louisiana–Monroe
Championship
W 70–50  29–4
Lakefront Arena (1,665)
New Orleans, LA
NCAA tournament
03/17/2016*
3:20 pm, TBS
(12 MW) vs. (5 MW) No. 12 Purdue
First Round
W 85–83 2OT 30–4
Pepsi Center (19,499)
Denver, CO
03/19/2016*
5:10 pm, TNT
(12 MW) vs. (4 MW) No. 22 Iowa State
Second Round
L 61–78  30–5
Pepsi Center (19,551)
Denver, CO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest region.
All times are in Central Time.

References

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  1. ^ "UNLV hires Little Rock's Chris Beard as next coach". USA TODAY. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  2. ^ "Arkansas-Little Rock hires Flanigan as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  3. ^ "UALR men's basketball coach Steve Shields fired". March 18, 2015.
  4. ^ Dauster, Rob (April 7, 2015). "Chris Beard will be Arkansas-Little Rock's next head coach". CollegeBasketballTalk. Retrieved February 14, 2017.
  5. ^ "2015-16 Men's Basketball Schedule".