2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team

2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball
2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball
Big West regular season champions; Big West tournament champions; Rainbow Classic champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	28–6 (13–3 Big West)
Head coach	Eran Ganot (1st season);
Assistant coaches	Adam Jacobsen; Chris Acker (1st season); John Montgomery; Jamie Smith (Director of Basketball Operations);
Home arena	Stan Sheriff Center
	Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

The 2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rainbow Warriors, led by first year head coach Eran Ganot, played their home games at the Stan Sheriff Center, and were members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 28–6, 13–3 in Big West play to tie for the Big West regular season championship. They beat Cal State Fullerton, UC Santa Barbara, and Long Beach State to become champions of the Big West tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As a #13 seed, they defeated #4 seeded California in the first round for the school's first ever victory in the NCAA Tournament.^[1] They fell to Maryland in the second round.

2015–16 Big West men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Hawai'i †	13	–	3	.813	28	–	6	.824
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

In December, the NCAA placed a postseason ban on Hawaii for the 2017 season and reduced scholarships through 2018 for improper benefits and actions by the school.^[2]

It was also the first time since 1997-98 that there were two sellouts in the same season.

Previous season

The Rainbow Warriors finished the 2014–15 season 22–13, 8–8 in Big West play to finish in fifth place. They lost to UC Irvine in the finals of the Big West tournament.

Roster

2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Isaac Fleming	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Massanutten Military Academy	Wilmington, DE
G	2	Niko Filipovich	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	RS So	Bishop Montgomery HS	Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
G	5	Roderick Bobbitt	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Sr	Castro Valley HS Indian Hills CC	Oakland, CA
G	10	Dyrbe Enos	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	RS Jr	Kamehameha Schools-Kapalama	Aiea, HI
G	11	Quincy Smith	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Deer Valley HS City College of San Francisco	Antioch, CA
G	12	Sai Tummala	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	218 lb (99 kg)	Sr	Brophy Prep Arizona State	Phoenix, AZ
G	13	Jakob Cornelissen	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Fr	Melbourne Grammar	Melbourne, Australia
C	15	Stefan Jovanovic	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Bishop Montgomery HS	Kraljevo, Serbia
G	21	Brocke Stepteau	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	RS Fr	Dallas Jesuit Prep School	Dallas, TX
G	22	Sheriff Drammeh	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Igelstavikens Gymnasium	Stockholm, Sweden
G	24	Zach Buscher	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	RS Fr	ʻIolani School	Kailua, HI
F	25	Mike Thomas	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	El Camino Real HS	Woodland Hills, CA
G	32	Aaron Valdes	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Jr	La Serna HS	Whittier, CA
F	33	Stefan Jankovic	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Sr	Huntington Prep Missouri	Mississauga, ON
F	RS	Jack Purchase	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	RS So	Carey Grammar Auburn University	Melbourne, Australia

Head coach

Eran Ganot (Swarthmore College)

Assistant coach(es)

Adam Jacobsen (Pacific)
Chris Acker (Chaminade)
John Montgomery (Loyola Marymount)
Jamie Smith (North Carolina) - Director of Basketball Operations

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and Results

Source:[1]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
11/05/2015* 7:00 pm		Chaminade	W 101–96 ^OT		Stan Sheriff Center (4,680) Honolulu, HI
Non-conference games
11/13/2015* 7:30 pm, OC Sports		Montana State Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic	W 87–76	1–0	Stan Sheriff Center (6,259) Honolulu, HI
11/15/2015* 4:30 pm, OC Sports		Coastal Carolina Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic	W 74–63	2–0	Stan Sheriff Center (5,271) Honolulu, HI
11/16/2015* 11:00 pm, ESPN2		Nevada Outrigger Resorts Rainbow Classic	W 76–75	3–0	Stan Sheriff Center (5,471) Honolulu, HI
11/22/2015* 7:30 pm, OC Sports		Nicholls State	W 99–74	4–0	Stan Sheriff Center (5,576) Honolulu, HI
11/28/2015* 3:07 pm, FSSW+		at Texas Tech	L 74–82	4–1	United Supermarkets Arena (7,132) Lubbock, TX
12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, OC Sports		Arkansas–Pine Bluff	W 75–47	5–1	Stan Sheriff Center (5,182) Honolulu, HI
12/05/2015* 7:00 pm, OC Sports		UH–Hilo	W 86–67	6–1	Stan Sheriff Center (4,725) Honolulu, HI
12/12/2015* 7:00 pm, OC Sports		Hawai'i Pacific	W 83–71	7–1	Stan Sheriff Center (5,042) Honolulu, HI
12/22/2015* 8:00 pm, ESPNU		Northern Iowa Diamond Head Classic quarterfinals	W 68–52	8–1	Stan Sheriff Center (8,436) Honolulu, HI
12/23/2015* 4:00 pm, ESPN2		No. 3 Oklahoma Diamond Head Classic semifinals	L 81–84	8–2	Stan Sheriff Center (7,365) Honolulu, HI
12/25/2015* 1:30 pm, ESPN2		Auburn Diamond Head Classic 3rd place game	W 79–67	9–2	Stan Sheriff Center (7,251) Honolulu, HI
12/29/2015* 7:00 pm, OC Sports		Mississippi Valley State	W 77–48	10–2	Stan Sheriff Center (5,431) Honolulu, HI
01/02/2016* 5:30 pm, OC Sports		Howard	W 94–59	11–2	Stan Sheriff Center (6,043) Honolulu, HI
Big West Conference games
01/06/2016 7:00 pm, OC Sports		Cal Poly	W 86–73	12–2 (1–0)	Stan Sheriff Center (5,885) Honolulu, HI
01/09/2016 7:00 pm, OC Sports		UC Santa Barbara	W 65–57	13–2 (2–0)	Stan Sheriff Center (7,627) Honolulu, HI
01/14/2016 9:00 pm, ESPN3		at UC Riverside	W 80–71	14–2 (3–0)	UC Riverside Student Recreation Center (1,596) Riverside, CA
01/16/2016 8:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cal State Fullerton	W 86–79 ^OT	15–2 (4–0)	Titan Gym (993) Fullerton, CA
01/23/2016 7:00 pm, OC Sports		UC Davis	W 78–62	16–2 (5–0)	Stan Sheriff Center (9,289) Honolulu, HI
01/30/2016 8:00 pm, OC Sports		Long Beach State	L 64–78	16–3 (5–1)	Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) Honolulu, HI
02/04/2016 9:00 pm		at UC Santa Barbara	W 76–64	17–3 (6–1)	The Thunderdome (1,722) Santa Barbara, CA
02/06/2016 5:00 pm, ESPNU		at Cal Poly	W 75–60	18–3 (7–1)	Mott Athletic Center (3,032) San Luis Obispo, CA
02/11/2016 8:00 pm, OC Sports		UC Irvine	W 74–52	19–3 (8–1)	Stan Sheriff Center (9,826) Honolulu, HI
02/13/2016 7:00 pm, OC Sports		Cal State Fullerton	W 76–59	20–3 (9–1)	Stan Sheriff Center (8,401) Honolulu, HI
02/18/2016 5:00 pm, ESPN3		at Cal State Northridge	W 69–63	21–3 (10–1)	Matadome (1,683) Northridge, CA
02/20/2016 6:30 pm, ESPNU		at UC Irvine	W 75–71	22–3 (11–1)	Bren Events Center (4,312) Irvine, CA
02/25/2016 7:00 pm, OC Sports		UC Riverside	L 71–77	22–4 (11–2)	Stan Sheriff Center (7,957) Honolulu, HI
02/27/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN2		Cal State Northridge	W 89–78	23–4 (12–2)	Stan Sheriff Center (10,300) Honolulu, HI
03/03/2016 5:00 pm		at UC Davis	W 67–65	24–4 (13–2)	The Pavilion (2,247) Davis, CA
03/05/2016 2:00 pm, Prime Ticket		at Long Beach State	L 72–74	24–5 (13–3)	Walter Pyramid (3,722) Long Beach, CA
Big West tournament
03/10/2016 12:00 pm, Prime Ticket	(1)	vs. (8) Cal State Fullerton Quarterfinals	W 75–44	25–5	Honda Center Anaheim, CA
03/11/2016 4:00 pm, ESPN3	(1)	vs. (4) UC Santa Barbara Semifinals	W 88–76	26–5	Honda Center Anaheim, CA
03/12/2016 6:30 pm, ESPN2	(1)	vs. (3) Long Beach State Championship	W 64–60	27–5	Honda Center (5,610) Anaheim, CA
NCAA tournament
3/18/2016 8:00 am, TBS	(13 S)	vs. (4 S) No. 23 California First Round	W 77–66	28–5	Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (11,736) Spokane, WA
3/20/2016 1:10 pm, TBS	(13 S)	vs. (5 S) No. 18 Maryland Second Round	L 60–73	28–6	Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena (11,296) Spokane, WA
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South Region. All times are in Hawaii Aleutian.

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													RV	RV	RV	RV				*N/A
Coaches														RV	RV	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings

References

^ "Hawaii bags first NCAA tournament win against embattled California". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
^ "Hawaii receives postseason ban in 2017, other sanctions from NCAA". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

[:0-1] "Hawaii bags first NCAA tournament win against embattled California". Spokesman.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

[2] "Hawaii receives postseason ban in 2017, other sanctions from NCAA". CBSSports.com. Retrieved March 21, 2016.

[1]

2015–16 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball

Big West regular season champions Big West tournament champions Rainbow Classic champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
Conference	Big West Conference
Record	28–6 (13–3 Big West)
Head coach	Eran Ganot (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Adam Jacobsen Chris Acker (1st season) John Montgomery Jamie Smith (Director of Basketball Operations)
Home arena	Stan Sheriff Center
Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →