2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball | |
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NIT, First round
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Conference | Southeastern Conference |
2015–16 record | 18–15 (8–10 SEC) |
Head coach | Avery Johnson (1st year) |
Assistant coach | Antoine Pettway (3rd year) |
Assistant coach | Scott Pospichal (1st year) |
Assistant coach | Bob Simon (1st year) |
Home arena |
Coleman Coliseum (Capacity: 15,383) |
2015–16 SEC men's basketball standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
#15 Texas A&M | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 28 | – | 9 | .757 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
#10 Kentucky † | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 27 | – | 9 | .750 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Carolina | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 25 | – | 9 | .735 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vanderbilt | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 19 | – | 14 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LSU | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 19 | – | 14 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ole Miss | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 12 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 20 | – | 14 | .588 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 21 | – | 15 | .583 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arkansas | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 16 | – | 16 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alabama | 8 | – | 10 | .444 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mississippi State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee | 6 | – | 12 | .333 | 15 | – | 19 | .441 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Auburn | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 11 | – | 20 | .355 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Missouri* | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 10 | – | 21 | .323 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
*Ineligible for postseason play due to self-imposed postseason ban. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† 2016 SEC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
The 2015–16 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team (variously "Alabama", "UA", "Bama" or "The Tide") represented the University of Alabama in the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Crimson Tide played its home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Avery Johnson was in his inaugural season as head coach of the team. He was hired on April 6, 2015, to replace Anthony Grant, who was fired on March 15 after serving as Alabama's head coach for six seasons. The team finished the season 18–15, 8–10 in SEC play to finish in 10th place. They defeated Ole Miss in the second round of the SEC Tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Kentucky. The Crimson Tide received an invitation to the National Invitation Tournament as a #5 seed, where the team lost to Creighton in the first round.
Johnson's hiring sparked an atmosphere of excitement that was evident the moment he was hired and lasted throughout the season. When he was introduced to the school on April 8, he promised that his basketball program would aspire to reach the Final Four, something an Alabama team has never accomplished; in fact, Alabama has only reached the Elite Eight once, in 2004. In stark contrast to Grant's quiet, unassuming demeanor, Johnson offered enthusiasm and pep throughout the summer months, attending numerous dinners, visiting football practices, and appearing on television, all to further promote the basketball program. This evidently paid off, as the 2015–16 season destroyed the school record for home attendance, with an average of 13,110 people at each game in the 15,383-seat Coleman Coliseum. The previous record average was 12,484. The coliseum also sold out five times for the first time since the 2006–07 season.