The Cougars, led by first year head coach Jon Harris, played their home games at the Vadalabene Center as members of the West Division of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

[8][9] Missing from the mix is Donovine Stewart, last season's leader in minutes played, assists, and steals and #2 in scoring and rebounding, who graduated with a year of eligibility remaining and was said to have been contacted about transferring by Illinois, Minnesota, USC, and others, with Illinois having requested his transcripts;[10] Stewart eventually transferred to Portland State but sat out the PSU @ SIUE game on December 12.

Although the final schedule was not released until August 2, SIUE's non-conference opponents for the upcoming campaign were announced in May.

The Cougars will host Saint Louis (11–21 in 2014-15), Portland State (15–14), Campbell (10–22), and Grand Canyon (17–15) at the Vadalabene Center.

[14] The 2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament is scheduled to begin on March 15, 2016, and will conclude with the championship game on April 4 at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.