# 2018–19 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Salukis, led by seventh-year head coach Barry Hinson, played their home games at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 17–15 overall, 10–8 in MVC play, finishing in a tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, the Salukis were upset by No. 6 seed Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals.
In an emotional news conference following the game, Southern Illinois head coach Barry Hinson, announced he was stepping down as the coach of the Salukis. On March 20, 2019, the school hired former SIU star point guard and Loyola assistant coach Bryan Mullins as head coach.

## Previous season

The Salukis finished the 2017–18 season 20–13, 11–7 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Missouri State in the quarterfinals before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals. Despite winning 20 games, the Salukis did not participate in a postseason tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Jonathan Wiley | 0 | G | 6'7" | 201 | Senior | Houston, TX | Graduated |
| Tyler Smithpeters | 11 | G | 6'4" | 203 | RS Senior | Harrisburg, IL | Graduated |
| Austin Weiher | 15 | F | 6'8" | 206 | RS Junior | Kent, WA | Graduate transferred |

### 2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Darius Beane PG | Carbondale, IL | Carbondale Community High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 165 lb (75 kg) | Aug 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Sam Shafer SG | Frankford, IL | Lincoln-Way East High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | May 1, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Amadou Fall SF | Senegal | St. Louis Christian Academy | 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) | 215 lb (98 kg) | Nov 10, 2017 |
| 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: "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. ||||||

### 2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Lance Jones SG | Evanston, IL | Evanston Township High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Mar 21, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Evan Taylor SF | Glen Ellyn, IL | Glenbard West High School | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | N/A | Jun 28, 2018 |
| 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: "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | | East Central | W 76–49 | | SIU Arena (3,554) Carbondale, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 9, 2018* 6:00 pm, SECN | | at No. 2 Kentucky | L 59–71 | 0–1 | Rupp Arena (20,277) Lexington, KY |
| Nov 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 25 Buffalo Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic | L 53–62 | 0–2 | SIU Arena (4,373) Carbondale, IL |
| Nov 17, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Arkansas–Pine Bluff Las Vegas Holiday Invitational | W 78–48 | 1–2 | SIU Arena (4,003) Carbondale, IL |
| Nov 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Howard Las Vegas Holiday Invitational | W 83–69 | 2–2 | SIU Arena (3,720) Carbondale, IL |
| Nov 22, 2018* 12:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Massachusetts Las Vegas Holiday Invitational semifinals | L 62–84 | 2–3 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Nov 23, 2018* 11:30 pm, FS1 | | vs. Tulsa Las Vegas Holiday Invitational 3rd place game | W 79–69 | 3–3 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Nov 27, 2018* 8:00 pm | | at Colorado State MW–MVC Challenge | W 82–67 | 4–3 | Moby Arena (2,566) Fort Collins, CO |
| Dec 1, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at SIU Edwardsville | W 82–61 | 5–3 | Vadalabene Center (3,360) Edwardsville, IL |
| Dec 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Saint Louis | W 61–56 | 6–3 | SIU Arena (5,021) Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 8, 2018* 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 83–73 | 7–3 | Show Me Center (3,432) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dec 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Murray State | L 52–80 | 7–4 | SIU Arena (5,107) Carbondale, IL |
| Dec 15, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at No. 14 Buffalo | L 65–73 | 7–5 | Alumni Arena (5,513) Amherst, NY |
| Dec 22, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Winthrop | L 71–79 | 7–6 | SIU Arena (5,009) Carbondale, IL |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Missouri State | W 75–70 | 8–6 (1–0) | SIU Arena (4,167) Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Iowa | W 58–51 | 9–6 (2–0) | McLeod Center (3,783) Cedar Falls, IA |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Drake | L 70–82 | 9–7 (2–1) | Knapp Center (2,638) Des Moines, IA |
| Jan 12, 2019 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | Valparaiso | L 61-65 | 9–8 (2–2) | SIU Arena (4,671) Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 15, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Illinois State | L 58–59 | 9–9 (2–3) | Redbird Arena (4,588) Normal, IL |
| Jan 20, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3 | | Bradley | L 54–57 | 9–10 (2–4) | SIU Arena (4,327) Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Iowa | W 70–62 | 10–10 (3–4) | SIU Arena (4,419) Carbondale, IL |
| Jan 27, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 50–75 | 10–11 (3–5) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,712) Chicago, IL |
| Jan 30, 2019 8:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | Indiana State | W 88–73 | 11–11 (4–5) | SIU Arena (4,076) Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 2, 2019 1:00 pm, CBSSN | | at Bradley | W 72–68 | 12–11 (5–5) | Carver Arena (5,968) Peoria, IL |
| Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH | | at Missouri State | L 59–65 | 12–12 (5–6) | JQH Arena (5,311) Springfield, MO |
| Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 78–73 | 13–12 (6–6) | SIU Arena (4,923) Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Drake | L 69–71 | 13–13 (6–7) | SIU Arena Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 16, 2019 11:00 am, FSMW/NBCSCH | | at Indiana State | W 79–57 | 14–13 (7–7) | Hulman Center Terre Haute, IN |
| Feb 20, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Valparaiso | L 52–55 | 14–14 (7–8) | Athletics–Recreation Center Valparaiso, IN |
| Feb 24, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN/ESPNU | | Loyola–Chicago | W 63–53 | 15–14 (8–8) | SIU Arena Carbondale, IL |
| Feb 27, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Evansville | W 98–91 | 16–14 (9–8) | Ford Center Evansville, IN |
| Mar 2, 2019 1:00 pm | | Illinois State | W 72–63 | 17–14 (10–8) | SIU Arena Carbondale, IL |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 2019 8:30 pm | (3) | vs. (6) Northern Iowa Quarterfinals | L 58–61 | 17–15 | Enterprise Center (7,936) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
Source