2015–16 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team

The 2015–16 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team represented Syracuse University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Orange were led by 40th-year head coach Jim Boeheim and played its home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. They were third year members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Orange finished the season 23–14, 9–9 in ACC play to finish in a tie for 9th place. They lost to Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a #10 seed where they defeated Dayton, Middle Tennessee, Gonzaga, and Virginia to reach the Final Four for the sixth time in school history. At the Final Four, the Orange lost to North Carolina.

2015–16 Syracuse Orange men's basketball
Battle 4 Atlantis champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
Record	23–14 (9–9 ACC)
Head coach	Jim Boeheim (40th season)
Assistant coaches	Mike Hopkins Adrian Autry Gerry McNamara
Home arena	Carrier Dome

2015–16 ACC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 3 North Carolina †	14	–	4		.778			33	–	7		.825
No. 4 Virginia	13	–	5		.722			29	–	8		.784
No. 10 Miami (FL)	13	–	5		.722			27	–	8		.771
No. 16 Louisville*	12	–	6		.667			23	–	8		.742
Notre Dame	11	–	7		.611			24	–	12		.667
No. 19 Duke	11	–	7		.611			25	–	11		.694
Virginia Tech	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Clemson	10	–	8		.556			17	–	14		.548
Pittsburgh	9	–	9		.500			21	–	12		.636
Syracuse	9	–	9		.500			23	–	14		.622
Georgia Tech	8	–	10		.444			21	–	15		.583
Florida State	8	–	10		.444			20	–	14		.588
NC State	5	–	13		.278			16	–	17		.485
Wake Forest	2	–	16		.111			11	–	20		.355
Boston College	0	–	18		.000			7	–	25		.219
*Ineligible for both the 2016 ACC tournament and the 2016 NCAA tournament due to self-imposed postseason ban.
† 2016 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Orange finished the 2014–15 season with a record of 18–13, 9–9 to finish in 8th place in ACC play. Syracuse did not participate in the postseason due to a self-imposed postseason ban as a response to an ongoing NCAA investigation into potential past infractions by the team. Syracuse University initiated the case, which includes academics, when it self-reported potential athletic department violations to the NCAA in 2007. School officials said that none of the conduct occurred after 2012, and no current student-athlete is involved. The ban included the NCAA tournament, ACC tournament and NIT.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
B. J. Johnson	2	F	6'6"	175	Sophomore	Ardmore, PA	Transferred to La Salle
Carter Sanderson	3	G	6'2"	185	Senior	Nashville, TN	Graduated
Ron Patterson	4	G	6'2"	200	Freshman	Broad Ripple, IN	Transferred to IUPUI
Chris McCullough	5	F	6'10"	220	Freshman	Bronx, NY	Entered 2015 NBA draft
Rakeem Christmas	25	F	6'9"	242	Senior	Philadelphia, PA	Graduated/2015 NBA draft
Albert Nassar	33	F	6'6"	195	Senior	Stuart, FL	Graduate transfer to Nova Southeastern

Recruits

Malachi Richardson at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Malachi Richardson SG	Hamilton, NJ	Trenton Catholic Academy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Dec 13, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 95
Tyler Lydon PF	Pine Plains, NY	Brewster Academy	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Oct 17, 2013
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 83
Franklin Howard SG	Suitland, MD	Paul VI High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 14, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 81
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 Syracuse Signees". Rivals.com. "2015 Syracuse Signees". Scout.com. "2015 Syracuse Signees". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2015–16 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Michael Gbinije 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr Benedictine College Prep Richmond, Virginia G 1 Franklin Howard 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Paul IV Suitland, Maryland G 3 Shaun Belbey (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Christian Brothers Academy Brick, New Jersey F 4 Mike Sutton (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 194 lb (88 kg) So Norwich Norwich, New York G 10 Trevor Cooney 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Sanford Wilmington, Delaware G 11 Adrian Autry (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Fr Jamesville-DeWitt Jamesville, New York C 13 Paschal Chukwu 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Fr Fairfield Prep Westport, Connecticut G 14 Kaleb Joseph 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Cushing Academy Nashua, New Hampshire F 20 Tyler Lydon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr New Hampton School Elizaville, New York F 21 Tyler Roberson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Jr Roselle Catholic Union, New Jersey G 23 Malachi Richardson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Trenton Catholic Academy Trenton, New Jersey G 25 Evan Dourdas (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Fr Jamesville-DeWitt Jamesville, New York C 32 DaJuan Coleman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 268 lb (122 kg) Sr Jamesville-DeWitt Jamesville, New York G 33 Jonathan Radner (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Fr Berkley Huntington Woods, Michigan F 34 Doyin Akintobi-Adeyeye (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Uniondale Uniondale, New York C 35 Chinoso Obokoh 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Bishop Kearney Rochester, New York G 54 Ky Feldman (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Fr Agoura Agoura Hills, California G 55 Christian White (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Aquinas Institute Rochester, New York	Head coach Jim Boeheim, 40th yr. (Syracuse, 1966) Assistant coach(es) Mike Hopkins, 20th yr. (Syracuse, 1993) Gerry McNamara, 7th yr. (Syracuse, 2007) Adrian Autry, 5th yr. (Syracuse, 1994) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 2, 2015* 7:00 pm, TWCS		Le Moyne	W 97–58		21 – Gbinije	10 – Roberson	5 – Cooney	Carrier Dome (8,168) Syracuse, NY
Nov 8, 2015* 2:00 pm, TWCS		Florida Southern	W 96–54		18 – Richardson	7 – Coleman	5 – Gbinjie	Carrier Dome (7,760) Syracuse, NY
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Lehigh	W 57–47	1–0	16 – Gbinije	11 – Lydon	3 – Cooney	Carrier Dome (21,286) Syracuse, NY
Nov 17, 2015* 7:00 pm, RSN		St. Bonaventure	W 79–66	2–0	23 – Gbinije	12 – Roberson	6 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (21,379) Syracuse, NY
Nov 21, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Elon Battle 4 Atlantis Opening Round	W 66–55	3–0	20 – Roberson	16 – Roberson	4 – Cooney	Carrier Dome (16,529) Syracuse, NY
Nov 25, 2015* 2:30 pm, ESPN2		vs. Charlotte Battle 4 Atlantis Quarterfinals	W 83–70	4–0	26 – Gbinije	11 – Roberson	5 – Cooney	Imperial Arena (1,744) Nassau, BS
Nov 26, 2015* 3:30 pm, ESPN		vs. No. 18 UConn Battle 4 Atlantis Semifinals/Rivalry	W 79–76	5–0	17 – Tied	12 – Lydon	7 – Gbinije	Imperial Arena (3,009) Nassau, BS
Nov 27, 2015* 3:00 pm, ESPN		vs. No. 25 Texas A&M Battle 4 Atlantis Championship	W 74–67	6–0	20 – Gbinije	8 – Lydon	5 – Cooney	Imperial Arena (2,309) Nassau, BS
Dec 2, 2015* 7:15 pm, ESPN2	No. 14	Wisconsin ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 58–66 OT	6–1	19 – Gbinije	7 – Richardson	5 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (22,360) Syracuse, NY
Dec 5, 2015* 1:07 pm, FOX	No. 14	at Georgetown	L 72–79	6–2	23 – Gbinije	8 – Roberson	5 – Gbinije	Verizon Center (18,231) Washington, D.C.
Dec 8, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPNU		Colgate	W 78–51	7–2	17 – Tied	7 – Roberson	6 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (21,201) Syracuse, NY
Dec 13, 2015* 12:00 pm, FS1		at St. John's	L 72–84	7–3	21 – Gbinije	10 – Lydon	5 – Cooney	Madison Square Garden (13,473) New York City, NY
Dec 19, 2015* 12:00 pm, RSN		Cornell	W 67–46	8–3	15 – Roberson	12 – Roberson	8 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (18,295) Syracuse, NY
Dec 22, 2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Montana State	W 82–60	9–3	17 – Gbinije	7 – Lydon	5 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (17,202) Syracuse, NY
Dec 27, 2015* 2:00 pm, ESPNU		Texas Southern	W 80–67	10–3	15 – Gbinije	7 – Gbinije	4 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (21,601) Syracuse, NY
ACC regular season
Dec 30, 2015 9:00 pm, ESPN2		at Pittsburgh	L 61–72	10–4 (0–1)	15 – Tied	7 – Roberson	7 – Gbinije	Peterson Events Center (10,429) Pittsburgh, PA
Jan 2, 2016 2:30 pm, ACCN		at No. 13 Miami (FL)	L 51–64	10–5 (0–2)	20 – Richardson	11 – Roberson	4 – Gbinije	Bank United Center (7,972) Coral Gables, FL
Jan 5, 2016 8:00 pm, ACCN		Clemson	L 73–74 OT	10–6 (0–3)	22 – Gbinije	9 – Richardson	5 – Cooney	Carrier Dome (16,305) Syracuse, NY
Jan 9, 2016 8:00 pm, ESPN		No. 6 North Carolina	L 73–84	10–7 (0–4)	27 – Cooney	7 – Tied	5 – Richardson	Carrier Dome (26,811) Syracuse, NY
Jan 13, 2016 7:00 pm, RSN		Boston College	W 62–44	11–7 (1–4)	15 – Richardson	12 – Roberson	3 – Tied	Carrier Dome (16,701) Syracuse, NY
Jan 16, 2016 12:00 pm, ACCN		at Wake Forest	W 83–55	12–7 (2–4)	25 – Cooney	13 – Roberson	3 – Cooney	LJVM Coliseum (11,592) Winston-Salem, NC
Jan 18, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 20 Duke	W 64–62	13–7 (3–4)	14 – 4 Tied	20 – Roberson	9 – Gbinije	Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC
Jan 23, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 13 Virginia	L 65–73	13–8 (3–5)	24 – Gbinije	7 – Roberson	3 – Gbinije	John Paul Jones Arena (13,305) Charlottesville, VA
Jan 28, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 25 Notre Dame	W 81–66	14–8 (4–5)	22 – Cooney	9 – Roberson	5 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (22,861) Syracuse, NY
Jan 30, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPNU		Georgia Tech	W 60–57	15–8 (5–5)	16 – Gbinije	8 – Roberson	3 – Gbinije	Carrier Dome (25,235) Syracuse, NY
Feb 2, 2016 8:00 pm, ACCN		Virginia Tech	W 68–60 OT	16–8 (6–5)	17 – Gbinije	15 – Roberson	4 – Richardson	Carrier Dome (21,409) Syracuse, NY
Feb 11, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN		Florida State	W 85–72	17–8 (7–5)	22 – Gbinije	10 – Lydon	5 – Richardson	Carrier Dome (22,056) Syracuse, NY
Feb 14, 2016 1:00 pm, ACCN		at Boston College	W 75–61	18–8 (8–5)	20 – Lydon	6 – Roberson	5 – Richardson	Conte Forum (8,606) Chestnut Hill, MA
Feb 17, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 18 Louisville	L 58–72	18–9 (8–6)	19 – Cooney	7 – Tied	6 – Howard	KFC Yum! Center (21,654) Louisville, KY
Feb 20, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2		Pittsburgh	L 52–66	18–10 (8–7)	21 – Lydon	8 – Coleman	5 – Richardson	Carrier Dome (28,696) Syracuse, NY
Feb 27, 2016 2:00 pm, ACCN		NC State	W 75–66	19–10 (9–7)	34 – Gbinije	7 – Coleman	7 – Richardson	Carrier Dome (27,141) Syracuse, NY
Feb 29, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN		at No. 8 North Carolina	L 70–75	19–11 (9–8)	17 – Gbinije	11 – Roberson	7 – Gbinije	Dean Smith Center (20,714) Chapel Hill, NC
Mar 5, 2016 2:00 pm, ESPN2		at Florida State	L 73–78	19–12 (9–9)	21 – Gbinije	5 – Tied	5 – Gbinije	Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (7,769) Tallahassee, FL
ACC Tournament
Mar 9, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPN/ACCN	(9)	vs. (8) Pittsburgh Second round	L 71–72	19–13	24 – Gbinije	11 – Coleman	5 – Howard	Verizon Center (18,561) Washington, D.C.
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 2016* 12:15 pm, CBS	(10 MW)	vs. (7 MW) Dayton First Round	W 70–51	20–13	21 – Richardson	18 – Roberson	4 – Gbinije	Scottrade Center (14,250) St. Louis, MO
Mar 20, 2016* 6:15 pm, TNT	(10 MW)	vs. (15 MW) Middle Tennessee Second Round	W 75–50	21–13	23 – Gbinije	9 – Roberson	4 – Cooney	Scottrade Center (15,169) St. Louis, MO
Mar 25, 2016* 9:40 pm, CBS	(10 MW)	vs. (11 MW) Gonzaga Sweet Sixteen	W 63–60	22–13	20 – Gbinije	12 – Roberson	3 – Gbinije, Howard	United Center (21,490) Chicago, IL
Mar 27, 2016* 6:09 pm, TBS	(10 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 4 Virginia Elite Eight	W 68–62	23–13	23 – Richardson	8 – Roberson	6 – Gbinije	United Center (20,155) Chicago, IL
Apr 2, 2016* 8:49 pm, TBS	(10 MW)	vs. (1 E) No. 3 North Carolina Final Four	L 66–83	23–14	22 – Cooney	9 – Roberson	2 – Gbinije	NRG Stadium (75,505) Houston,TX
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest Region. All times are in Eastern 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 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	NR	NR	NR	14	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	N/A
Coaches	NR	NR	NR	19	RV	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	NR	RV	NR	NR	NR	NR	10

2016–17 Recruiting

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Matthew Moyer SF	Columbus, OH	South Kent School	6 ft 7.5 in (2.02 m)	202.5 lb (91.9 kg)	Aug 8, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 84
Tyus Battle SG	Edison, NJ	St. Joseph High School	6 ft 5.5 in (1.97 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jul 13, 2015
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout:   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 88
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: "2016 Syracuse Signees". Rivals.com. "2016 Syracuse Signees". Scout.com. "2016 Syracuse Signees". ESPN.com. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.