2015–16 Big West men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Hawaii †	13	–	3	.813	28	–	5	.848
UC Irvine	13	–	3	.813	28	–	10	.737
Long Beach State	12	–	4	.750	20	–	15	.571
UC Santa Barbara	11	–	5	.688	19	–	14	.576
UC Davis	6	–	10	.375	11	–	19	.367
UC Riverside	5	–	11	.313	14	–	19	.424
Cal State Northridge*	5	–	11	.313	10	–	20	.333
Cal Poly	4	–	12	.250	10	–	20	.333
Cal State Fullerton	3	–	13	.188	10	–	20	.333
*ineligible for postseason due to self-imposed ban due to academic fraud violations

† 2016 Big West Tournament winner

The 2015–16 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Gauchos, led by 18th year head coach Bob Williams, played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, nicknamed the Thunderdome, as members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 19–14, 11–5 in Big West play to finish in fourth place. They defeated UC Davis in the quarterfinals of the Big West Tournament to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Hawaii. They were invited to the inaugural Vegas 16, which only had eight teams, where they defeated Northern Illinois to advance to the semifinals where they lost to Old Dominion.