2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team represented Belmont University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bruins, led by 30th year head coach Rick Byrd, played their home games at the Curb Event Center and were members of the Ohio Valley Conference in the East Division. They finished the season 20–12, 12–4 in OVC play to be champions of the East Division and overall OVC regular season champions. They lost in the semifinals of the OVC tournament to Austin Peay. As a regular season conference champion who failed to win their conference tournament, they received an automatic bid to the National Invitation Tournament where they lost in the first round to Georgia.

2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball
OVC regular season champions OVC East Division champions
NIT, First Round
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Division	East Division
Record	20–12 (12–4 OVC)
Head coach	Rick Byrd (30th season)
Assistant coaches	Brian Ayers James Strong Mark Price
Home arena	Curb Event Center

2015–16 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
Belmont	12	–	4		.750			20	–	12		.625
Tennessee State	11	–	5		.688			20	–	11		.645
Tennessee Tech	11	–	5		.688			19	–	12		.613
Morehead State	11	–	5		.688			23	–	14		.622
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Jacksonville State	4	–	12		.250			8	–	23		.258
West
UT Martin	10	–	6		.625			20	–	15		.571
Murray State	10	–	6		.625			17	–	14		.548
Eastern Illinois	9	–	7		.563			13	–	17		.433
Austin Peay †	7	–	9		.438			18	–	18		.500
SIU Edwardsville	3	–	13		.188			6	–	22		.214
Southeast Missouri St.	2	–	14		.125			5	–	24		.172
† 2016 OVC tournament winner

Roster

2015–16 Belmont Bruins men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G/F 0 Alex Martin (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) RS Fr Overland Park, Kansas G 1 Austin Luke 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Rowlett, Texas F 2 Nick Smith 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Bentonville, Arkansas G/F 3 Dylan Windler 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Indianapolis, Indiana F 5 Jeff Laidig 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Mishawaka, Indiana G 20 Taylor Barnette 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Lexington, Kentucky G 21 Burton Sampson (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) RS So Knoxville, Tennessee G 23 Craig Bradshaw 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Ridgetop, Tennessee G 24 Micahel Benkert 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Greenwood, Indiana F 25 Mack Mercer 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Plymouth, Indiana G 30 Kevin McClain 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Jennings, Florida F 31 Josh Lester (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS So Antioch, Tennessee F 32 Amanze Egekeze 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Lake in the Hills, Illinois F 35 Evan Bradds 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS Jr Jamestown, Ohio C 41 Tyler Hadden 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS So Cincinnati, Ohio C 50 Seth Adelsperger 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Peru, Indiana	Head coach Rick Byrd (Tennessee) Assistant coach(es) Brian Ayers (Lipscomb) James Strong (Vanderbilt) Mark Price (Samford) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015* 8:00 pm, FSN		at Marquette Legends Classic	W 83–80	1–0	BMO Harris Bradley Center (12,628) Milwaukee, WI
11/16/2015* 9:00 pm, P12N		at Arizona State Legends Classic	L 74–83	1–1	Wells Fargo Arena (4,549) Tempe, AZ
11/18/2015* 6:00 pm, ASN		WKU	W 90–85	2–1	Curb Event Center (3,253) Nashville, TN
11/21/2015* 12:00 pm, ESPN3		at Evansville	L 88–93	2–2	Ford Center (4,227) Evansville, TN
11/23/2015* 3:00 pm		vs. South Alabama Legends Classic	W 98–85	3–2	KSU Convocation Center (1,262) Kennesaw, GA
11/24/2015* 5:30 pm		at Kennesaw State Legends Classic	W 80–55	4–2	KSU Convocation Center (812) Kennesaw, GA
11/28/2015* 8:00 pm, BYUtv		at BYU	L 81–95	4–3	Marriott Center (13,712) Provo, UT
12/01/2015* 7:00 pm		Lipscomb Battle of the Boulevard	W 105–89	5–3	Curb Event Center (3,094) Nashville, TN
12/03/2015* 7:00 pm		at Valparaiso	L 57–61	5–4	Athletics–Recreation Center (3,379) Valparaiso, IN
12/07/2015* 6:30 pm, ESPN3		at Lipscomb Battle of the Boulevard	W 93–84	6–4	Allen Arena (4,420) Nashville, TN
12/15/2015* 7:00 pm		Ouachita Baptist	W 80–54	7–4	Curb Event Center (1,124) Nashville, TN
12/17/2015* 6:00 pm, ASN		at Middle Tennessee	L 62–83	7–5	Murphy Center (5,555) Murfreesboro, TN
12/19/2015* 6:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cleveland State	L 75–77	7–6	Wolstein Center  Clelveland, OH
12/28/2015* 7:00 pm		Valparaiso	W 85–81	8–6	Curb Event Center (3,024) Nashville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference regular season
12/31/2015 12:00 pm		at Southeast Missouri State	W 92–82	9–6 (1–0)	Show Me Center (1,135) Cape Giraradeau, MO
01/06/2016 7:00 pm, ASN		at SIU Edwardsville	W 85–77	10–6 (2–0)	Vadalabene Center (1,007) Edwardsville, IL
01/09/2016 2:00 pm		Eastern Illinois	W 85–59	11–6 (3–0)	Curb Event Center (2,054) Nashville, TN
01/14/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Murray State	W 81–73	12–6 (4–0)	Curb Event Center (2,522) Nashville, TN
01/16/2016 7:00 pm		Austin Peay	W 76–58	13–6 (5–0)	Curb Event Center (2,407) Nashville, TN
01/21/2016 7:00 pm, ESPNU		at Tennessee–Martin	W 82–72	14–6 (6–0)	Skyhawk Arena (3,598) Martin, TN
01/23/2016 7:00 pm		Tennessee State	W 103–95	15–6 (7–0)	Curb Event Center (2,213) Nashville, TN
01/28/2016 7:00 pm		at Jacksonville State	W 72–63	16–6 (8–0)	Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,488) Jacksonville, AL
01/30/2016 7:00 pm		at Tennessee Tech	L 79–89	16–7 (8–1)	Eblen Center (4,428) Cookeville, TN
02/04/2016 7:00 pm		Morehead State	W 73–67	17–7 (9–1)	Curb Event Center (1,559) Nashville, TN
02/06/2016 5:00 pm		Eastern Kentucky	L 78–88	17–8 (9–2)	Curb Event Center (2,286) Nashville, TN
02/10/2016 7:30 pm		Jacksonville State	W 81–73	18–8 (10–2)	Curb Event Center (1,828) Nashville, TN
02/13/2016 11:00 am, CBSSN		at Morehead State	L 77–78	18–9 (10–3)	Ellis Johnson Arena (3,845) Morehead, KY
02/18/2016 8:00 pm, ESPNU		at Eastern Kentucky	W 86–78	19–9 (11–3)	McBrayer Arena (4,200) Richmond, KY
02/20/2016 5:00 pm		Tennessee Tech	W 95–86	20–9 (12–3)	Curb Event Center (5,074) Nashville, TN
02/28/2016 2:30 pm		at Tennessee State	L 72–87	20–10 (12–4)	Gentry Complex (6,845) Nashville, TN
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
03/04/2016 6:30 pm, ESPNU	(1)	vs. (8) Austin Peay Semifinals	L 96–97 OT	20–11	Nashville Municipal Auditorium (2,167) Nashville, TN
National Invitation tournament
03/16/2016* 6:00 pm, ESPN2	(6)	at (3) Georgia First Round – Valparaiso Bracket	L 84–93	20–12	Stegeman Coliseum (2,965) Athens, GA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.