2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season


The 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November with the 2K Sports Classic and ended with the Final Four in Indianapolis April 4–6. Practices officially began on October 3.

Season headlines

The 2014–15 season saw the final wave of membership changes resulting from a major realignment of NCAA Division I conferences. The cycle began in 2010 with the Big Ten and the then-Pac-10 publicly announcing their intentions to expand. The fallout from these conferences' moves later affected a majority of D-I conferences.
SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference
Appalachian State MountaineersSouthernSun Belt
Davidson WildcatsSouthernAtlantic 10
East Carolina PiratesC-USA
East Tennessee State BuccaneersAtlantic SunSouthern
Elon PhoenixSouthernCAA
Georgia Southern EaglesSouthernSun Belt
Idaho VandalsWACBig Sky
Louisville CardinalsACC
Maryland TerrapinsACCBig Ten
Mercer BearsAtlantic SunSouthern
Oral Roberts Golden EaglesSouthland
Rutgers Scarlet KnightsBig Ten
Tulane Green WaveC-USA
Tulsa Golden HurricaneC-USA
VMI KeydetsBig SouthSouthern
Western Kentucky HilltoppersSun BeltC-USA

This was also the final season for Texas–Pan American under that name. At the start of the 2015–16 school year, UTPA merged with the University of Texas at Brownsville to form the new University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. UTPA's athletic program and WAC membership were inherited by UTRGV.
It was also the final season for Northern Kentucky in the Atlantic Sun Conference and the final season for NJIT as an independent. On May 11, 2015, it was announced that Northern Kentucky would join the Horizon League effective July 1. The A-Sun soon filled the place left by Northern Kentucky, announcing on June 12 that NJIT would become a member effective on July 1.

Season outlook

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the AP and USA Today Coaches Polls.

Regular season

Early-season tournaments

*Although these tournaments include more teams, only the number listed play for the championship.

Conference winners and tournaments

Thirty-one athletic conferences each end their regular seasons with a single-elimination tournament. The teams in each conference that win their regular season title are given the number one seed in each tournament. The winners of these tournaments receive automatic invitations to the 2015 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament. The Ivy League does not have a conference tournament, instead giving their automatic invitation to their regular season champion.

Statistical leaders

Postseason tournaments

NCAA Tournament

Final Four – Lucas Oil Stadium

Tournament upsets

For this list, a "major upset" is defined as a win by a team seeded 7 or more spots below its defeated opponent.
DateWinnerScoreLoserRegionRound
March 19UAB 60–59Iowa State SouthRound of 64
March 19Georgia State 57–56Baylor WestRound of 64
March 21NC State 81–78Villanova EastRound of 32

National Invitation Tournament

After the NCAA Tournament field is announced, the NCAA invited 32 teams to participate in the National Invitation Tournament. The tournament began on March 17, 2015 with all games prior to the semifinals played on campus sites. The semifinals and final were held on March 31 and April 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

College Basketball Invitational

The sixth College Basketball Invitational Tournament began on March 17, 2015 and ended with Loyola-Chicago's two-game sweep of Louisiana-Monroe. This tournament featured 16 teams who were left out of the NCAA Tournament and NIT.

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament

The fifth CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament began on March 16 and ended with that championship game on April 2. The Evansville Purple Aces won their first postseason tournament, defeating Northern Arizona in the final. This tournament places an emphasis on selecting successful teams from "mid-major" conferences who were left out of the NCAA Tournament and NIT. 32 teams participated in this tournament.

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

The following players are recognized as the 2015 Consensus All-Americans:

Major player of the year awards

A number of teams changed coaches during and after the season.