2015–16 Southland Conference men's basketball season
The 2015–16 SLC men's basketball season was the 53rd season of Southland Conference basketball, taking place between November 2015 and March 2016. Practices began in October 2015, and the season ended with the 2016 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.
Preseason
Preseason Polls
Coaches Poll
Sports Information Directors' Poll
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Stephen F. Austin |
| 2 | Northwestern State |
| 3 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi |
| 4 | Sam Houston State |
| 5 | Incarnate Word |
| 6 | Lamar |
| 7 | Southeastern Louisiana |
| 8 | McNeese State |
| 9 | Houston Baptist |
| 10 | New Orleans |
| 11 | Nicholls State |
| 12 | Central Arkansas |
| 13 | Abilene Christian |
Preseason All-Conference Teams
Source:| Award | Recipients |
| First Team | Thomas Walkup Jalen West Zeek Woodley Rashawn Thomas Paul Baxter |
| Second Team | Ty Charles Zay Jackson Craig McFerrin Kyle Hittle Anthony Odunsi |
Southland Conference Preseason Player of the Year: Thomas Walkup, Stephen F. Austin
Regular season
Head Coaches
Note: Stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Overall and SLC records are from time at current school.| Team | Head coach | Previous job | Seasons at school | Overall record | SLC record | NCAA Tournaments |
| Abilene Christian | Joe Golding | Arkansas–Little Rock | 5th | 45–71 | 6–26 | 0 |
| Central Arkansas | Russ Pennell | Grand Canyon | 2nd | 0–2 | 2–16 | 0 |
| Houston Baptist | Ron Cottrell | Arkansas | 25th | 18–41 | 9–27 | 0 |
| Incarnate Word | Ken Burmeister | Trinity | 10th | 39–17 | 19–13 | 1 |
| Lamar | Tic Price | North Texas | 2nd | 16–19 | 10–13 | 2 |
| McNeese State | Dave Simmons | Northwestern State | 10th | 127–152 | 80–79 | 0 |
| New Orleans | Mark Slessinger | Northwestern State | 5th | 22–33 | 14–22 | 0 |
| Nicholls State | J. P. Piper | Nicholls | 12th | 121–201 | 76–106 | 0 |
| Northwestern State | Mike McConathy | Bossier Parish CC | 17th | 259–240 | 157–117 | 3 |
| Sam Houston State | Jason Hooten | Tarleton State | 6th | 99–69 | 53–33 | 0 |
| Southeastern Louisiana | Jay Ladner | Jones County JC | 2nd | 9–23 | 6–12 | 0 |
| Stephen F. Austin | Brad Underwood | South Carolina | 3rd | 61–8 | 35–1 | 2 |
| Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | Willis Wilson | Memphis | 5th | 50–77 | 36–34 | 0 |
Postseason
Southland Conference Tournament
- March 9–12, 2016: Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Leonard E. Merrill Center, Katy, Texas
NCAA tournament
- The winner of the conference tournament will be awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament.
National Invitation Tournament
College Basketball Invitational
CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament
Awards and honors
Regular season
SLC Player-of-the-Week
- Nov. 16 – Jalan West
- Nov. 23 – Thomas Walkup
- Nov. 31 – Rashawn Thomas
- Dec. 7 – Rashawn Thomas
- Dec. 14 – Rashawn Thomas
- Dec. 21 – Jontrell Walker
- Dec. 28 – Ja'Donte' Frye
- Jan. 4 – Anthony Odunsi
- Jan. 11 – Rashawn Thomas
- Jan. 18 – Rashawn Thomas
- Jan. 25 – Demetrious Floyd
- Feb. 1 – Kevin Hill
- Feb. 8 – Jordan Howard
- Feb. 15 – Zeek Woodley
- Feb. 22 –
- Mar. 1 –
Postseason