2015–16 Rice Owls men's basketball team

2015–16 Rice Owls men's basketball
ConferenceConference USA
Record12–20 (7–11 C-USA)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaTudor Fieldhouse
Seasons
2015–16 Conference USA men's basketball standings
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
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban.
† 2016 C-USA Tournament winner

The 2015–16 Rice Owls men's basketball team represented Rice University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Owls, led by second year head coach Mike Rhoades, played their home games at Tudor Fieldhouse and were members of Conference USA. They finished the season 12–20, 7–11 in C-USA play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They lost in the second round of the C-USA tournament to Charlotte.

Previous season

The Owls finished the season 12–20, 8–10 in C-USA play to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place. They advanced to the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament where they lost to Louisiana Tech.

Departures

Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Notes
Dan Peera 0 G 6'0" 180 Senior San Ramon, California Graduated
Jordan Reed 5 G 5'11" 170 Freshman Lucas, Texas Transferred to New Hampshire
Denzel Davis 10 F 6'8" 215 RS Freshman Orlando, Florida Left Rice (Personal)
Jeremy Jones 20 F 6'5" 205 Freshman San Antonio, Texas Transferred to Gonzaga[1]
J.T. Trauber 24 G 5'10" 165 Freshman Houston, Texas Left Team (Personal)
Van Green 31 G 6'3" 185 Senior Birmingham, Alabama Exhausted Eligibility
Seth Gearhart 41 F 6'7" 215 Senior Wilsonville, Oregon Graduated

Recruiting class of 2015

Connor Cashaw in the 2015 IHSA 4A championship game victory
College recruiting information
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Marcus Evans
PG 		Virginia Beach, VA Cape Henry Collegiate School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jun 29, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Connor Cashaw
SG 		Lincolnshire, IL Adlai E. Stevenson High School 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sep 30, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:2/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Marquez Letcher-Ellis
SF 		Houston, TX Montverde Academy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Oct 25, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 79
Amir Smith
SF 		Missouri City, TX Ridgepoint High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Apr 30, 2015 
Star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:2/5 stars   247Sports:2/5 stars    ESPN grade: NR
Chad Lott
PG 		Shreveport, LA Byrd High School 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) May 19, 2014 
Star ratings: Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports:3/5 stars    ESPN grade: 78
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • 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:

  • "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved July 16, 2014.

Roster

2015–16 Rice Owls men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 0 Connor Cashaw 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Lincolnshire, IL
G 1 Max Guercy (C) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Arleta, California
G 2 Marcus Evans 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Chesapeake, Virginia
G/F 4 Egor Koulechov 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS So Volgograd, Russia
F 12 Marquez Letcher-Ellis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Houston, Texas
G 15 Bishop Mency 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Chino Hills, California
G 21 Chad Lott Injured 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Shreveport, Louisiana
G 22 Marcus Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Acton, California
G 30 Oliver Xu (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Hong Kong
G/F 31 Harrison Brown (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Charlottesville, Virginia
F 32 Amir Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Missouri City, Texas
C 45 Nate Pollard 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Bountiful, Utah
C 54 Andrew Drone 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Junction, Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: 2015-07-29

Schedule

[2]

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
11/07/2015*
7:00 pm 		LeTourneau W 102–78 
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015*
10:30 pm, P12N 		at No. 14 California L 65–97  0–1
 Haas Pavilion (10,530)
Berkeley, CA
11/16/2015*
9:00 pm 		at San Francisco
Roundball Showcase 		L 54–80  0–2
 War Memorial Gymnasium (1,417)
San Francisco, CA
11/19/2015*
8:00 pm, ASN 		Oregon State L 69–77  0–3
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,981)
Houston, TX
11/22/2015*
5:00 pm 		Fresno State
Roundball Showcase 		L 65–82  0–4
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,749)
Houston, TX
11/25/2015*
8:00 pm, ASN 		Lamar
Roundball Showcase 		W 94–82  1–4
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,376)
Houston, TX
11/27/2015*
7:00 pm 		UC Riverside
Roundball Showcase 		W 87–81  2–4
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,169)
Houston, TX
11/29/2015*
5:00 pm 		Texas–Arlington L 74–92  2–5
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,668)
Houston, TX
12/02/2015*
7:30 pm 		at Houston Baptist L 73–77  2–6
 Sharp Gymnasium (887)
Houston, TX
12/05/2015*
7:00 pm 		St. Edward's W 93–72  3–6
 Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, TX
12/17/2015*
11:30 am 		St. Thomas W 67–54  4–6
 Tudor Fieldhouse (5,268)
Houston, TX
12/19/2015*
7:00 pm, ROOT 		at New Mexico W 90–89  5–6
 The Pit (12,507)
Albuquerque, NM
12/22/2015*
7:05 pm 		at South Alabama L 67–74  5–7
 Mitchell Center (1,937)
Mobile, AL
12/29/2015*
7:00 pm 		Incarnate Word L 76–82  5–8
 Tudor Fieldhouse (1,747)
Houston, TX
C-USA Regular season
01/01/2016
8:00 pm, ASN 		at UTEP L 60–61  5–9
(0–1) 		Don Haskins Center (7,154)
El Paso, TX
01/03/2016
3:00 pm 		at UTSA L 80–85  5–10
(0–2) 		Convocation Center (607)
San Antonio, TX
01/09/2016
1:00 pm, ASN 		at North Texas L 74–85  5–11
(0–3) 		The Super Pit (1,886)
Denton, TX
01/14/2016
7:00 pm, ASN 		WKU W 83–73  6–11
(1–3) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,664)
Houston, TX
01/16/2016
7:00 pm 		Marshall L 90–94  6–12
(1–4) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,196)
Houston, TX
01/21/2016
8:00 pm, CBSSN 		at UAB L 70–82  6–13
(1–5) 		Bartow Arena (5,535)
Birmingham, AL
01/23/2016
5:00 pm 		at Middle Tennessee L 73–87  6–14
(1–6) 		Murphy Center (4,104)
Murfreesboro, TN
01/30/2016
7:00 pm 		North Texas W 95–87  7–14
(2–6) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,515)
Houston, TX
02/04/2016
7:00 pm 		Louisiana Tech L 78–90  7–15
(2–7) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,660)
Houston, TX
02/06/2016
7:00 pm 		Southern Miss W 72–65  8–15
(3–7) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (2,760)
Houston, TX
02/11/2016
6:00 pm 		at Charlotte L 73-102  8–16
(3–8) 		Dale F. Halton Arena (3,127)
Charlotte, NC
02/13/2016
1:00 pm, ASN 		at Old Dominion W 75–66  9–16
(4–8) 		Ted Constant Convocation Center (7,075)
Norfolk, VA
02/18/2016
7:00 pm 		Florida Atlantic W 90–85  10–16
(5–8) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,400)
Houston, TX
02/20/2016
1:00 pm, ASN 		FIU W 86–70  11–16
(6–8) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (3,859)
Houston, TX
02/25/2016
7:00 pm 		at Southern Miss W 76–74 OT 12–16
(7–8) 		Reed Green Coliseum (2,547)
Hattiesburg, MS
02/27/2016
6:00 pm 		at Louisiana Tech L 69–88  12–17
(7–9) 		Thomas Assembly Center (5,527)
Ruston, LA
03/03/2016
7:00 pm 		Charlotte L 75–88  12–18
(7–10) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (1,349)
Houston, TX
03/05/2016
1:00 pm, ASN 		Old Dominion L 67–74  12–19
(7–11) 		Tudor Fieldhouse (3,418)
Houston, TX
Conference USA tournament
03/09/2016
6:00 pm, ASN 		vs. Charlotte
Second round 		L 69–79  12–20
 Legacy Arena (3,905)
Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time.

See also

2015–16 Rice Owls women's basketball team

References

  1. ^ "Jim Meehan: Interesting addition to Gonzaga's roster: walk-on 6-5 wing Jeremy Jones. Redshirt QB at Rice last season, then joined basketball team". September 2, 2015.
  2. ^ "2015-2016 Schedule". www.RiceOwls.com. Rice University. Archived from the original on April 22, 2016.