2015–16 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 2015–16 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The team was led by seventh-year head coach Sean Miller , and played their home games at McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona as a member of the Pac-12 Conference . They finished the season 25–9, 12–6 in Pac-12 play to tie with California for third place. They defeated Colorado in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Oregon . Arizona received an at-large bid to the fourth-straight NCAA tournament , the program's 31st appearance, as a 6-seed in the South Region. They lost in the first round to Wichita State .
Previous season
The 2014–15 Arizona Wildcats finished the season with an overall record of 34–4 and a 16–2 conference record to win their second straight Pac-12 regular season championship (14th overall). Arizona claimed the longest active home winning streak in D-I men's college basketball (38th home win at 2nd all-time, 82nd home win at 5th all-time) after BYU defeated Gonzaga in the regular season finale, snapping the nation's longest active home winning streak of 41 games, as well as Gonzaga's school record 22-game winning streak. In the Pac-12 Tournament as a #1 seed, Arizona defeated #8 seed California Golden Bears ; 73–51, and #4 seed UCLA Bruins ; 70–64. The Wildcats then went on to beat Oregon Ducks ; 80–52 in the Pac-12 Tournament championship game, and claimed their 5th Pac-12 tournament title for the first time since 2002, along with punching their 32nd ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Arizona entered the NCAA tournament as a #2 seed in the West region, and defeated #15 seed Texas Southern Tigers 93–72, then #10 seed Ohio State Buckeyes ; 73–58, and #6 seed Xavier Musketeers , to gain its third trip (2nd straight) to the Elite Eight, as well as Sean Miller 's first as head coach. The Wildcats then fell to #1 seed Wisconsin Badgers ; 85–78 for the second time (from the Elite Eight 's by 1 point overtime loss in last year).
Off-season
Departures
Incoming transfers
2015 recruiting class
Allonzo Trier at the 2015 McDonald's All-American Boys Game
College recruiting information
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Justin Simon CG
Temecula, California
Temecula Valley HS /Brewster Academy
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
May 6, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Ray Smith SF
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas HS
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
180 lb (82 kg)
Jul 13, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Allonzo Trier SG
Seattle, Washington
Findlay Prep
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Aug 3, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Chance Comanche C
Beverly Hills, California
Beverly Hills HS
6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Sep 14, 2014
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout : #4 Rivals : #3 247Sports : #4 ESPN : #4
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:
College recruiting information (2016)
Name
Hometown
High school / college
Height
Weight
Commit date
Lauri Markkanen PF
Helsinki , Finland
Helsinki Basketball Academy
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
225 lb (102 kg)
Oct 17, 2015
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Kobi Simmons CG
Alpharetta, Georgia
St. Francis HS
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
175 lb (79 kg)
Jan 16, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
Rawle Alkins SG
Middle Village, New York
Word of God Christian Academy
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Mar 7, 2016
Star ratings : Scout : Rivals : 247Sports : ESPN :
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:
Personnel
On April 13, assistant coach Damon Stoudamire left the team to rejoin the Memphis staff under head coach and former UA player Josh Pastner . On May 22 Mark Phelps , joined the Arizona staff.
Roster
2015–16 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
G
0
Parker Jackson-Cartwright
5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
So
Sierra Canyon School
Los Angeles, California
G
1
Gabe York
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Sr
Orange Lutheran HS
West Covina, California
F
2
Ray Smith
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Las Vegas HS
Las Vegas, Nevada
G
3
Justin Simon
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
Fr
Brewster Academy
Temecula, California
G
5
Kadeem Allen
6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
200 lb (91 kg)
RS Jr
Hutchinson C.C.
Wilmington, North Carolina
G
11
Allonzo Trier
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
210 lb (95 kg)
Fr
Findlay Prep
Seattle, Washington
F
12
Ryan Anderson
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
235 lb (107 kg)
RS Sr
Boston College
Lakewood, California
C
14
Dušan Ristić
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
255 lb (116 kg)
So
Sunrise Christian Academy
Novi Sad , Serbia
C
21
Chance Comanche
6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
Fr
Beverly Hills HS
Beverly Hills, California
F
23
Mark Tollefsen
6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
205 lb (93 kg)
RS Sr
San Francisco
Danville, California
G
24
Elliott Pitts
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
190 lb (86 kg)
Jr
De La Salle HS
Dublin, California
C
35
Kaleb Tarczewski
7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
250 lb (113 kg)
Sr
St. Mark's School
Claremont, New Hampshire
G
44
Trey Mason (W)
6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Jr
Loyola HS
Los Angeles, California
G
50
Jacob Hazzard (W)
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
170 lb (77 kg)
Sr
Loyola HS
Los Angeles, California
G
51
Paulo Cruz (W)
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
195 lb (88 kg)
Fr
Francis Parker School
San Diego, California
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Roster Last update: January 19, 2016
Oct 24, 2015 – Freshman Ray Smith to miss entire 2015–16 season due to a torn ACL in his right knee.[ 5]
Dec 1, 2015 – Senior Kaleb Tarczewski missed 8 games due to left foot injury.[ 6] Returned for Pac-12 season play against Arizona State.
Jan 10, 2015 – Freshman Allonzo Trier missed 7 games due to a right hand injury.[ 7] Returned Feb. 6 game at Washington.
Junior Elliott Pitts out since Dec. 9 game against Fresno State, due to an undisclosed personal issue.[ 8] After the Feb. 17 game against Arizona State, Sean Miller announced Pitts would not return for the remainder of the season.[ 9]
Depth chart
Pos.
Starting 5
Bench 1
Bench 2
Bench 3
C
Kaleb Tarczewski
Dušan Ristić
PF
Ryan Anderson
Chance Comanche
SF
Allonzo Trier
Mark Tollefsen
Elliott Pitts
Ray Smith
SG
Gabe York
Justin Simon
Trey Mason
Paulo Cruz
PG
Kadeem Allen
Parker Jackson-Cartwright
Jacob Hazzard
Coaching staff
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
High points
High rebounds
High assists
Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 8, 2015 *6:00 pm, P12N
No. 12
Chico State
W 90–54
–
19 – Anderson
10 – Anderson
4 – Allen
McKale Center (14,268)Tucson, Arizona
Non-conference regular season
Nov 13, 2015 *7:30 pm, P12N
No. 12
Pacific
W 79–61
1–0
19 – Anderson
12 – Anderson
5 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Nov 16, 2015 *6:00 pm, P12N
No. 12
Bradley
W 90–60
2–0
22 – Trier
7 – Tarczewski
7 – Pitts
McKale Center (14,238)Tucson, Arizona
Nov 19, 2015 *6:30 pm, P12N
No. 12
Boise State Wooden Legacy campus-site game
W 88–76
3–0
23 – York
15 – Anderson
6 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Nov 22, 2015 *6:00 pm, P12N
No. 12
Northwestern State
W 61–42
4–0
18 – York
10 – Ristić
6 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,396)Tucson, Arizona
Nov 26, 2015 *9:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 11
vs. Santa Clara Wooden Legacy Quarterfinals
W 75–73 OT
5–0
17 – Anderson
11 – Anderson
7 – Jackson-Cartwright
Titan Gym (2,460)Fullerton, California
Nov 27, 2015 *9:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 11
vs. Providence Wooden Legacy Semifinals
L 65–69
5–1
27 – Anderson
12 – Anderson
4 – Allen
Titan Gym (2,873)Fullerton, California
Nov 29, 2015 *2:30 pm, ESPNU
No. 11
vs. Boise State Wooden Legacy 3rd Place Game
W 68–59
6–1
13 – Tied
7 – Tied
2 – Tied
Honda Center (4,393)Anaheim, California
Dec 5, 2015 *1:15 pm, ESPN
No. 19
at No. 13 Gonzaga
W 68–63
7–1
18 – York
6 – 3 Tied
2 – 3 Tied
McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000)Spokane, Washington
Dec 9, 2015 *7:00 pm, P12N
No. 13
Fresno State
W 85–72
8–1
27 – Trier
8 – Anderson
5 – Allen
McKale Center (14,262)Tucson, Arizona
Dec 13, 2015 *6:00 pm, P12N
No. 13
Missouri
W 88–52
9–1
17 – Tollefsen
10 – Comanche
5 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Dec 16, 2015 *8:00 pm, P12N
No. 13
Northern Arizona
W 92–37
10–1
19 – Tollefsen
12 – Anderson
7 – Allen
McKale Center (13,566)Tucson, Arizona
Dec 19, 2015 *7:30 pm, ESPN2
No. 13
UNLV
W 82–70
11–1
20 – Ristić
13 – Anderson
5 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Dec 22, 2015 *7:00 pm, P12N
No. 8
Long Beach State
W 85–70
12–1
20 – Trier
14 – Anderson
4 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Pac-12 regular season
Jan 3, 2016 12:00 pm, FS1
No. 8
at Arizona State Rivalry
W 94–82
13–1 (1–0)
22 – York
10 – Anderson
6 – York
Wells Fargo Arena (8,044)Tempe, Arizona
Jan 7, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 7
at UCLA Rivalry
L 84–87
13–2 (1–1)
15 – Anderson
15 – Anderson
4 – Allen
Pauley Pavilion (12,026)Los Angeles, California
Jan 9, 2016 5:00 pm, P12N
No. 7
at USC
L 101–103 4OT
13–3 (1–2)
25 – Trier
12 – Tarczewski
5 – York
Galen Center (6,854)Los Angeles, California
Jan 14, 2016 7:00 pm, FS1
No. 18
Washington
W 99–67
14–3 (2–2)
21 – Anderson
13 – Tarczewski
11 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,479)Tucson, Arizona
Jan 16, 2016 7:30 pm, P12N
No. 18
Washington State
W 90–66
15–3 (3–2)
15 – Anderson
8 – Tied
7 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,502)Tucson, Arizona
Jan 21, 2016 9:00 pm, P12N
No. 12
at Stanford
W 71–57
16–3 (4–2)
19 – York
9 – Ristić
4 – Tied
Maples Pavilion (5,275)Stanford, California
Jan 23, 2016 6:30 pm, ESPN
No. 12
at California
L 73–74
16–4 (4–3)
15 – York
9 – Anderson
6 – Jackson-Cartwright
Haas Pavilion (11,858)Berkeley, California
Jan 28, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 18
No. 23 Oregon
L 75–83
16–5 (4–4)
22 – Anderson
10 – Anderson
10 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Jan 30, 2016 7:30 pm, P12N
No. 18
Oregon State
W 80–63
17–5 (5–4)
24 – York
12 – Anderson
6 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Feb 3, 2016 8:00 pm, P12N
No. 23
at Washington State
W 79–64
18–5 (6–4)
31 – Anderson
12 – Anderson
4 – Jackson-Cartwright
Beasley Coliseum (3,189)Pullman, Washington
Feb 6, 2016 2:30 pm, FOX
No. 23
at Washington
W 77–72
19–5 (7–4)
22 – Anderson
15 – Anderson
3 – Allen
Alaska Airlines Arena (9,266)Seattle, Washington
Feb 12, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 17
UCLA Rivalry
W 81–75
20–5 (8–4)
18 – Trier
14 – Tarczewski
4 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Feb 14, 2016 6:00 pm, FS1
No. 17
No. 23 USC
W 86–78
21–5 (9–4)
17 – York
9 – Tied
5 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Feb 17, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 12
Arizona State Rivalry
W 99–61
22–5 (10–4)
20 – Trier
15 – Tarczewski
7 – Jackson-Cartwright
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Feb 24, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2
No. 9
at Colorado
L 72–75
22–6 (10–5)
19 – Anderson
10 – Anderson
3 – Tied
Coors Events Center (11,309)Boulder, Colorado
Feb 27, 2016 12:00 pm, ESPN
No. 9
at No. 22 Utah
L 64–70
22–7 (10–6)
23 – Trier
10 – Tarczewski
3 – York
Jon M. Huntsman Center (15,508)Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 3, 2016 7:00 pm, ESPN
No. 18
No. 25 California
W 64–61
23–7 (11–6)
19 – York
12 – Tarczewski
6 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Mar 5, 2016 2:00 pm, CBS
No. 18
Stanford
W 94–62
24–7 (12–6)
32 – York
12 – Anderson
6 – Allen
McKale Center (14,644)Tucson, Arizona
Pac-12 Tournament
Mar 10, 2016 3:30 pm, P12N
(4) No. 15
vs. (5) Colorado Quarterfinals
W 82–78
25–7
23 – Trier
11 – Tarczewski
2 – 3 Tied
MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916)Paradise, Nevada
Mar 11, 2016 7:00 pm, P12N
(4) No. 15
vs. (1) No. 8 Oregon Semifinals
L 89–95 OT
25–8
21 – York
12 – Tarczewski
5 – Jackson-Cartwright
MGM Grand Garden Arena (12,916)Paradise, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 2016 *6:20 pm, TNT
(6 S) No. 17
vs. (11 S) Wichita State First Round
L 55–65
25–9
11 – Allen
11 – Anderson
2 – Tied
Dunkin' Donuts Center (11,559)Providence, Rhode Island
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South Region.
All times are in
Mountain Time .
Ranking movement
Ranking movementLegend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. RV=Received votes.
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
Post
Final
AP
12
12
11
19
13
13
8
8
7
18
12
18
23
17
12
9
18
15
17
N/A*
Coaches
10
10
10
14
12
12
8
7
6
16
11
15
20
14
12
10
16
14
16
22
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
Player statistics
Player
GP
GS
MPG
FGM-FGA
3PM-3PA
FTM-FTA
RPG
APG
SPG
BPG
PPG
Kadeem Allen
34
28
24.9
100–215
18–50
67–95
3.1
3.5
1.0
0.8
8.4
Ryan Anderson
33
33
29.2
174–319
2–7
155–208
10.1
0.8
0.7
0.6
15.3
Chance Comanche
23
0
6.0
16–33
0–0
11–16
1.6
0.2
0.0
0.3
1.9
Paulo Cruz
6
0
2.7
0–2
0–2
0–0
0
0
0
0
0
Jacob Hazzard
7
0
3.7
6–10
4–6
2–2
0.1
0.3
0
0
2.6
Parker Jackson-Cartwright
34
6
21.2
57–142
27–72
37–57
1.6
3.4
0.6
0.2
5.2
Elliott Pitts
7
2
21.3
7–26
2–16
0–2
2.3
1.8
1.1
0
2.3
Dušan Ristić
34
9
16.5
94–171
3–8
52–82
3.8
0.8
0.1
0.7
7.1
Justin Simon
24
0
7.5
23–46
1–3
9–21
1.2
0.3
0.3
0.2
2.3
Kaleb Tarczewski
26
24
27.4
80–150
0–0
84–118
9.3
0.6
0.3
1.4
9.4
Mark Tollefsen
34
13
21.9
90–175
26–73
31–39
3.0
1.3
0.6
0.7
7.0
Allonzo Trier
27
21
28.0
122–262
40–110
115–145
3.3
1.1
0.5
0.2
14.8
Gabe York
34
34
33.3
177–419
98–233
59–78
3.2
2.2
0.9
0.3
15.0
Honors
Award Watchlists
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award – Kaleb Tarczewski
Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 – Kaleb Tarczewski
Jerry West Award – Allonzo Trier
Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 – Ryan Anderson
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame - 2016 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Finalist – Ryan Anderson
Lute Olson National Player of the Year Award Finalist – Ryan Anderson
Weekly awards
Name
awards
Allonzo Trier
Pac-12 Player of the Week – Dec.14
Ryan Anderson
Pac-12 Player of the Week – Feb. 8 Naismith Trophy Player of the Week – Feb. 7 Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week – Feb. 7
Gabe York
Pac-12 Player of the Week – Mar. 7
Season awards
See also
2015–16 Arizona Wildcats women's basketball team
References
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "UA basketball: Ashley declares for NBA draft" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 9, 2015 .
^ "Hollis-Jefferson Declares for NBA Draft" . ArizonaWildcats.com . Arizona Athletics. Retrieved April 7, 2015 .
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "Arizona basketball: Johnson leaving for NBA" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved April 24, 2015 .
^ Borzello, Jeff. "Craig Victor transferring to LSU" . ESPN.go.com . Retrieved January 9, 2015 .
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "Arizona Wildcats: Miller confirms Smith out for season" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved January 13, 2016 .
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "Arizona basketball: Tarczewski out 4-6 weeks" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved January 13, 2016 .
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "Arizona basketball: Trier breaks hand, out 4-6 weeks" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved January 13, 2016 .
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "Arizona-Missouri postgame: On Allen's recovery, Pitts' issue, and finals week" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved January 13, 2016 .
^ Pascoe, Bruce. "Elliott Pitts leaves Arizona Wildcats for remainder of season" . Tucson.com . Arizona Daily Star. Retrieved February 18, 2016 .
^ "Arizona Combined Team Statistics" (PDF) . University of Arizona. Retrieved March 21, 2016 .
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics