The 2015–16 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was

Tom Crean Tom or Thomas Crean may refer to: *Thomas Crean (1873–1923), Irish rugby union player, British Army soldier and doctor *Tom Crean (explorer) (1877–1938), Irish seaman and Antarctic explorer *Tom Crean (basketball) Thomas Aaron Crean (born Ma ...

, who was in his eighth season with the Hoosiers. The team played its home games at

Assembly Hall An assembly hall is a hall to hold public meetings or meetings of an organization such as a school, church, or deliberative assembly. An example of the last case is the Assembly Hall (Washington, Mississippi) where the general assembly of the st ...

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

, as a member of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. This season marked the 40th Anniversary of the 32–0 and National Championship 1975–76 Hoosiers team, a feat still unrivaled. To commemorate the anniversary, players' jerseys featured a commemorative patch on the back of the jersey. The Hoosiers also held a public recognition of the undefeated team during halftime of the home game against Wisconsin on January 5, during which the announcement was made that a statue of the seniors and starters will be erected outside the south entrance of Assembly Hall. A new banner was also revealed honoring the '76 team as NCAA's #1 All-Time March Madness Team.

Tom Abernethy Thomas Craig Abernethy (born May 6, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers and won a national championship in 1976. Abernethy was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in th ...

and Bobby Wilkerson, two players from the team, were inducted into the IU Athletics Hall of Fame. IU's season-opener victory against

Eastern Illinois Eastern Illinois University is a public university in Charleston, Illinois. Established in 1895 as the Eastern Illinois State Normal School, a teacher's college offering a two-year degree, Eastern Illinois University gradually expanded into a co ...

was a milestone game, as it marked 1,000 home wins in Indiana basketball history. IU finished the regular season by winning their 22nd conference title, tying them with in-state rival,

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, for the most conference titles. Indiana finished the season 27–8 overall, 15–3 in the Big Ten to win the Big Ten regular season title outright. They received the #1 seed in the 2016 Big Ten men's basketball tournament, where they made an early Quarterfinals exit by losing to

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

. The Hoosiers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Indiana defeated

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

to advance to the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in five years; however, in the Sweet Sixteen they fell to the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

, 86–101.

Previous season

The 2014–15 Hoosiers went 20–14 overall and 9–9 in the Big Ten Conference (tying for seventh place). Much of the Hoosiers' difficulties were caused by a lack of defense and post presence. The Hoosiers improved over the 13–14 season, in which they did not appear in any postseason tournament, by being selected to play in the NCAA Tournament as a #10 seed in the Midwest region. They made an early exit as the #7

Wichita State Shockers The Wichita State Shockers are the athletic teams that represent Wichita State University, located in Wichita, Kansas, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the NCAA Division I ranks, primarily competing in the American Athletic Conference ( ...

knocked them off in the second round. Following the season, assistant coach Steve McClain was hired as the new head coach at the

University of Illinois-Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois sy ...

. Tom Crean named Rob Judson, who spent the 2014–15 season as Indiana's Director of Basketball Operations, as McClain's replacement.

Preseason

Departures

Recruiting class

20150401 MCDAAG Thomas Bryant boxing out

On April 4, 2015, McDonald's All-American and Jordan Brand All-Star, Thomas Bryant committed to IU. With this commit, IU landed their fifth McDonald's All-American in a row, as well as secured a 6'10" rim-protector, which was something drastically missing from the previous season. Bryant made the announcement live on ESPN during the Dick's National Tournament. 20150303 Max Bielfeldt (1)

In addition to the three high school recruits, Indiana received a commitment from

graduate transfer Max Bielfeldt. The senior forward is eligible immediately to play for the Hoosiers. A late addition of junior

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

transfer, Josh Newkirk, filled IU's last 2015–16 scholarship. Due to transfer rules and rehabilitating a knee injury from May, Newkirk will sit out the '15–'16 season. He will have two remaining seasons of eligibility left.

Roster

Schedule

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Player statistics

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2015-16 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball seasons

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

2015 in sports in Indiana 2016 in sports in Indiana