2015–16 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

2015–16 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
2015–16 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
Vegas 16, Quarterfinals
Conference	Mid-American Conference
	West Division
Record	21–13 (9–9 MAC)
Head coach	Mark Montgomery (5th season);
Assistant coach	Jon Borovich; Lou Dawkins; Jason Larson
Home arena	Convocation Center
	Seasons ← 2014–15 2016–17 →

2015–16 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
Akron	13	–	5	.722	26	–	9	.743
Ohio	11	–	7	.611	23	–	12	.657
Kent State	10	–	8	.556	19	–	13	.594
Buffalo †	10	–	8	.556	20	–	15	.571
Miami (OH)	6	–	12	.333	13	–	20	.394
Bowling Green	5	–	13	.278	16	–	18	.471
West
Ball State	10	–	8	.556	21	–	14	.600
Central Michigan	10	–	8	.556	17	–	16	.515
Northern Illinois	9	–	9	.500	21	–	13	.618
Eastern Michigan	9	–	9	.500	18	–	15	.545
Toledo	8	–	10	.444	17	–	15	.531
Western Michigan	7	–	11	.389	13	–	19	.406

† 2016 MAC tournament winner

The 2015–16 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team represented Northern Illinois University during the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Huskies, led by fifth year head coach Mark Montgomery, played their home games at the Convocation Center as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 21–13, 9–9 in MAC play to finish in a tie for third place in the West Division. They defeated Western Michigan in the first round of the MAC tournament to advance to the quarterfinals where they lost to Ohio. They were invited to the inaugural Vegas 16, which only had eight teams, where they lost in the quarterfinals to UC Santa Barbara.

Previous season

The Huskies finished the season 14–16, 8–10 in MAC play to finish in a tie for fourth place in the West Division. They lost in the first round of the MAC tournament to Akron.^[1]

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Notes
Pete Rakocevic	0	C	6'11"	245	RS Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduated
Aaron Armstead	2	G	6'4"	195	Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduated
Kevin Gray	13	F	6'8"	225	Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduated & transferred to Minnesota State
Keith Gray	21	F	6'8"	225	RS Junior	Chicago, IL	Graduated & transferred to Flagler College
Anthony Johnson	33	G	6'3"	190	RS Senior	Chicago, IL	Graduated
Jordan Threloff	42	F	6'9"	255	RS Senior	DeKalb, IL	Graduated

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Andrew Zelis	32	C	7'0"	245	Junior	Wheaton, IL	Junior college transferred from Kaskaskia College

Recruiting class of 2015

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Marshawn Wilson #27 PG	Oakdale, MN	Hill-Murray School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Mar 31, 2015
Marshawn Wilson #27 PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 80
Jaylen Key #39 PF	Milwaukee, WI	Homestead High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sep 7, 2014
Jaylen Key #39 PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
Levi Bradley SF	Milwaukee, WI	Pius XI High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 7, 2014
Levi Bradley SF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: 79
Laytwan Porter PG	Rockford, IL	Auburn High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sep 8, 2014
Laytwan Porter PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Austin Pauga SG	Naperville, IL	IMG Academy	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Oct 14, 2014
Austin Pauga SG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
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: "2015 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 20, 2015.

Recruiting class of 2016

US college sports recruiting information for 2016 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Eugene German PG	Gary, IN	21st Century Charter School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	150 lb (68 kg)	Jun 21, 2015
Eugene German PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Noah McCarty PF	Sterling, IL	Newman Central Catholic High School	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Aug 9, 2015
Noah McCarty PF	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
Nick Wagner PG	Galesville, WI	Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sep 6, 2015
Nick Wagner PG	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR
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: "2016 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 20, 2015.

Roster

2015–16 Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Marshawn Wilson	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Hill-Murray	Oakdale, MN
G	2	Laytwan Porter	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Fr	Auburn	Rockford, IL
G	3	Dontel Highsmith	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Jr	Dowagiac	Dowagiac, MI
G	5	Travon Baker	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Detroit Consortium	Detroit, MI
G/F	10	Darrell Bowie	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Sr	La Jolla Prep	Milwaukee, WI
G/F	11	Chuks Iroegbu	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	RS Sr	Franklin HS Washington State	Elk Grove, CA
G	12	Jordan Thomas (W)	5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Menomonee Falls (WI)	Northfield, IL
F	15	Jaylen Key	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Fr	Homestead	Mequon, WI
G	23	Aaric Armstead	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jr	La Jolla Prep	Chicago, IL
G	24	Michael Orris	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	RS Jr	Crete-Monee Kansas State	Crete, IL
G	25	Jay DeHaan (W)	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	So	Waubonsie Valley	Naperville, IL
G	31	Austin Pauga	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Fr	IMG Academy	Naperville, IL
C	32	Andrew Zelis	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Jr	Wheaton North Kaskaskia College	Wheaton, IL
G	33	Jon Siu (W)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Fr	Middlesex School	Hong Kong
C	34	Marin Maric	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Jr	La Lumiere School	Split, Croatia
G/F	42	Levi Bradley	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Pius XI	Milwaukee, WI

Head coach

Mark Montgomery (Michigan State)

Assistant coach(es)

Jon Borovich (Central Michigan)
Lou Dawkins (Tulsa)
Jason Larson (Grand Valley State)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/13/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	Cal State Northridge NIU Showcase	W 83–71	1–0	Convocation Center (995) DeKalb, IL
11/14/2015* 3:30 pm	South Dakota NIU Showcase	W 72–65	2–0	Convocation Center (913) DeKalb, IL
11/15/2015* 3:30 pm, ESPN3	Wright State NIU Showcase	W 65–59	3–0	Convocation Center (888) DeKalb, IL
11/21/2015* 1:00 pm	Eureka	W 100–52	4–0	Convocation Center (457) DeKalb, IL
11/25/2015* 7:00 pm	Indiana Northwest	W 87–55	5–0	Convocation Center (578) DeKalb, IL
11/28/2015* 9:00 pm	at Idaho	W 66–59	6–0	Memorial Gym (571) Moscow, ID
12/02/2015* 7:00 pm, ESPN3	Chicago State	W 80–58	7–0	Convocation Center (1,047) DeKalb, IL
12/04/2015* 7:00 pm	at Missouri	L 71–78	7–1	Mizzou Arena (6,214) Columbia, MO
12/16/2015* 6:00 pm, BTN	at Ohio State	L 54–67	7–2	Value City Arena (12,880) Columbus, OH
12/19/2015* 2:00 pm	FIU	W 78–75 ^2OT	8–2	Convocation Center (959) DeKalb, IL
12/22/2015* 7:00 pm	Roosevelt	W 85–52	9–2	Convocation Center (823) DeKalb, IL
12/29/2015* 7:00 pm	at UIC	W 70–65	10–2	UIC Pavilion (2,349) Chicago, IL
01/02/2016* 1:00 pm	Judson	W 91–48	11–2	Convocation Center (1,073) DeKalb, IL
MAC Regular season
01/06/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3	Ohio	W 80–69	12–2 (1–0)	Convocation Center (1,038) DeKalb, IL
01/09/2016 7:30 pm, ESPN3	Eastern Michigan	W 80–63	13–2 (2–0)	Convocation Center (1,349) DeKalb, IL
01/12/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3	at Toledo	W 71–66	14–2 (3–0)	Savage Arena (4,271) Toledo, OH
01/16/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3	at Western Michigan	L 69–83	14–3 (3–1)	University Arena (2,649) Kalamazoo, MI
01/19/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3	Central Michigan	W 75–70	15–3 (4–1)	Convocation Center (1,497) DeKalb, IL
01/22/2016 5:30 pm, CBSSN	Toledo	W 58–49	16–3 (5–1)	Convocation Center (3,166) DeKalb, IL
01/26/2016 6:00 pm	at Akron	L 66–76	16–4 (5–2)	James A. Rhodes Arena (3,205) Akron, OH
01/30/2016 2:30 pm, ESPN3	at Miami (OH)	L 59–72	16–5 (5–3)	Millett Hall (1,297) Oxford, OH
02/02/2016 8:00 pm, ASN	Buffalo	L 78–90	16–6 (5–4)	Convocation Center (1,494) DeKalb, IL
02/06/2016 1:00 pm	at Ohio	L 69–80	16–7 (5–5)	Convocation Center (8,773) Athens, OH
02/09/2016 6:00 pm	at Kent State	L 74–75	16–8 (5–6)	MAC Center (2,764) Kent, OH
02/13/2016 4:45 pm, ESPN3	Akron	W 80–79	17–8 (6–6)	Convocation Center (3,457) DeKalb, IL
02/16/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3	Bowling Green	W 71–60	18–8 (7–6)	Convocation Center (1,148) DeKalb, IL
02/19/2016 5:30 pm, CBSSN	at Ball State	L 59–63	18–9 (7–7)	John E. Worthen Arena (5,160) Muncie, IN
02/23/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3	at Central Michigan	L 64–76	18–10 (7–8)	McGuirk Arena (2,371) Mount Pleasant, MI
02/27/2016 3:30 pm, ESPN3	Western Michigan	W 76–67	19–10 (8–8)	Convocation Center (3,019) DeKalb, IL
03/01/2016 6:00 pm, ESPN3	at Eastern Michigan	L 71–75	19–11 (8–9)	Convocation Center (993) Ypsilanti, MI
03/04/2016 6:00 pm, CBSSN	Ball State	W 80–69	20–11 (9–9)	Convocation Center (2,102) DeKalb, IL
MAC tournament
03/07/2016 7:00 pm, ESPN3	Western Michigan First round	W 56–50	21–11	Convocation Center (1,594) DeKalb, IL
03/10/2016 5:30 pm, ESPN3	vs. Ohio Quarterfinals	L 62–79	21–12	Quicken Loans Arena (2,311) Cleveland, OH
Vegas 16
03/28/2016* 4:30 pm, CBSSN	vs. UC Santa Barbara Quarterfinals	L 63–70	21–13	Mandalay Bay Events Center Paradise, NV
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

^ "Akron throttles Northern Illinois 76-52 in first round of Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament". Akron Beacon Journal. March 9, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2024.

[1] "Akron throttles Northern Illinois 76-52 in first round of Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament". Akron Beacon Journal. March 9, 2015. Retrieved February 10, 2024.

[1]

v t e Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball
Venues	Chick Evans Field House (1956–2002) Convocation Center (2002–present)
Culture & lore	"Huskie Fight Song" Huskie Band
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25