# 2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball season

The 2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball season, the conference's 56th, began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season on November 6, 2018. Conference play began on January 2, 2019 concluding on March 9, 2019. The Sam Houston State Bearkats won the regular season championship with a conference record of 16–2. The 2019 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament was held in Katy, Texas at the Merrell Center from March 13–17, 2019. The 2nd seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats won the conference tournament championship and received the conference automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Two other teams also received bids to post season tournaments. Conference regular season champion, Sam Houston State, received the conference automatic bid to the NIT tournament. New Orleans received a bid to the CIT tournament.

## Preseason
### Coaching changes

McNeese State University announced that it would not renew the contract of former head coach Dave Simmons on March 4, 2018. Heath Schroyer was named head coach on March 15, 2018.
Incarnate Word announced that Ken Burmeister would not return on March 6, 2018. Carson Cunningham was named as men's basketball head coach on March 23, 2018.

### 2018-19 Southland Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

| Rank | Team ( ) = first place votes | Votes |
| 1 | Stephen F. Austin(23) | 287 |
| 2 | Southeastern Louisiana (2) | 243 |
| 3 | New Orleans | 204 |
| 4 | Abilene Christian (1) | 196 |
| 5 | Lamar | 186 |
| 6 | Sam Houston State | 184 |
| 7 | McNeese State | 172 |
| 8 | Central Arkansas | 136 |
| 9 | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | 115 |
| T10 | Houston Baptist | 101 |
| T10 | Nicholls State | 101 |
| 12 | Northwestern State | 73 |
| 13 | Incarnate Word | 30 |

### Preseason All-Conference Teams

Source:
| Award | Recipients |
| First Team | Marlain Veal (Southeastern Louisiana) Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin) Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin) T. J. Holyfield (Stephen F. Austin) Ishmael Lane (Northwestern State) |
| Second Team | Josh Ibarra (Houston Baptist) Jalone Friday (Abilene Christian) Josh Nzeakor (Lamar) Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian) Marcus Harris (Sam Houston State) |

## Postseason
### Southland Conference tournament

* March 13–16, 2019: Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, Leonard E. Merrill Center, Katy, Texas
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Score | Television |
| First round – Wednesday, March 13, 2019 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:00 pm | No. 5 Lamar vs. No. 8 Houston Baptist | 81–79 | ESPN+ |
| 1 | 2 | 7:30 pm | No. 6 Texas A&M–CC vs. No. 7 Central Arkansas | 53–73 | ESPN+ |
| Second round – Thursday, March 14, 2019 ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5:00 pm | No. 4 New Orleans vs. No. 5 Lamar | 76–72 | ESPN+ |
| 2 | 4 | 7:30 pm | No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 7 Central Arkansas | 79–65 | ESPN+ |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 15, 2019 ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 5:00 pm | No. 1 Sam Houston State vs. No. 4 New Orleans | – | ESPN+ |
| 3 | 6 | 7:30 pm | No. 2 Abilene Christian vs. No. 3 Southeastern Louisiana | - | ESPN+ |
| Championship – Saturday, March 16, 2019 ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 8:30 pm | Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6 | – | ESPN2 |
| *Game times in CDT. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. ||||||
Source:

### NCAA tournament

Abilene Christian, winner of the conference tournament, was awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Abilene Christian's season ended losing to Kentucky in the first round.

### National Invitation tournament

Sam Houston State received the conference automatic bid to the NIT tournament. The Bearkats lost in the first round of the tournament to TCU.

### CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament

New Orleans received a bid to the CIT. The Privateers lost in an overtime game to Texas Southern in the first round.

## Awards and honors
### Regular season
#### SLC Player-of-the-Week

* Nov. 12 – Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian)
* Nov. 19 – Morgan Taylor (Incarnate Word)
* Nov. 26 – Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian)
* Dec. 3 – Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
* Dec. 10 – Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin)
* Dec. 17 – Roydell Brown (McNeese State)
* Dec. 27 – Nick Garth (Lamar)
* Jan. 2 – Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
* Jan. 7 – Ian DuBose (Houston Baptist)
* Jan. 14 – Payten Ricks (Abilene Christian)
* Jan. 21 – Kai Mitchell (Sam Houston State)
* Jan. 28 – Cameron Delaney (Sam Houston State)
* Feb. 4 – Christian Barrett (Lamar)
* Feb. 11 – Ishmael Lane (Northwestern State)
* Feb. 18 – Nick Garth (Lamar)
* Feb. 25 – Josh Delaney (Sam Houston State)
* Mar. 4 – Nick Garth (Lamar)
* Mar. 10 – Jerimiah Jefferson (Nicholls)

### Postseason
#### SLC All-Conference Teams and Awards

Source:
| Award | Recipients |
| Coach of the Year | Joe Golding (Abilene Christian) |
| Player of the Year | Cameron Delaney (Sam Houston State) |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Ishmael Lane (Northwestern State) |
| Freshman of the Year | Gerrale Gates (New Orleans) |
| Newcomer of the Year | Kai Mitchell (Sam Houston State) |
| First Team | Cameron Delaney (Sam Houston State) Marlain Veal (Southeastern Louisiana) Ishmael Lane (Northwestern Louisiana) Moses Greenwood (Southeastern Louisiana) Nick Garth (Lamar) |
| Second Team | Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin) Josh Nzeakor (Lamar) Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian) Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin) Ian DuBose (Houston Baptist) |
| Third Team | Jaylen Franklin (Abilene Christian) Josh Delaney (Sam Houston State) Kai Mitchell (Sam Houston State) Ezekial Charles (New Orleans) Kareem South (Texas A&M–Corpus Christi) |
| Honorable Mention | Roydell Brown (McNeese State) Jeremiah Jefferson (Nicholls) Payten Ricks (Abilene Christian) Thatch Unruh (Central Arkansas) |
| All-Defensive Team | Ishmael Lane (Northwestern State) Jaylen Franklin (Abilene Christian) Braxton Bonds (Houston Baptist) Marlain Veal (Southeastern Louisiana) Hayden Koval (Central Arkansas) |
| First Team All-Academic | Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian) Jeremiah Jefferson (Nicholls) Hayden Koval (Central Arkansas) Ishmael Lane (Northwestern State) Oliver Lynch-Daniels (Houston Baptist) |
| Second Team All-Academic | Ezekial Charles (New Orleans) Ian DuBose (Houston Baptist) Hayden Farquhar (Abilene Christian) Scott Plaisance, Jr. (New Orleans) Kareem Smith (Texas A&M–Corpus Christi) |
| All-Tournament Team | Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian) Jaylen Franklin (Abilene Christian) Payten Ricks (Abilene Christian) Scott Plaisance, Jr. (New Orleans) Josh Nzeakor (Lamar) |
| Tournament MVP | Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian) |