# 2017–18 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team

The 2017–18 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the 2017–18 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Salukis, led by sixth-year head coach Barry Hinson, played their home games at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC). They finished the 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.

## Previous season

The Salukis finished the 2016–17 season 17–16, 9–9 in MVC play, to finish in a tie for third place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Loyola–Chicago in the quarterfinals before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Mike Rodriguez | 1 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Senior | Boston, MA | Graduated |
| Leo Vincent | 5 | G | 6'1" | 185 | Senior | Bensalem, PA | Graduated |
| Sean O'Brien | 33 | F | 6'7" | 215 | Senior | Mundelein, IL | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous school |
| Eric McGill | 2 | G | 6'2" | 170 | Junior | Memphis, TN | Junior college transferred from Panola College |
| Kavion Pippen | 33 | F | 6'10" | 220 | Junior | Hamburg, AR | Junior college transferred form Three Rivers College |

### 2017 recruiting class

Southern Illinois did not have any incoming players in the 2017 recruiting class.

## Preseason

In the conference's preseason poll, the Salukis were picked to finish in fifth place in the MVC. Senior forward Thik Bol was named to the preseason All-MVC second team.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 4, 2017* 7:00 p.m. | | Rockhurst | W 98–68 | | SIU Arena (4,055) Carbondale, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 10, 2017* 6:00 p.m., BSN | | at Winthrop | W 81–66 | 1–0 | Winthrop Coliseum (2,675) Rock Hill, SC |
| November 18, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Illinois–Springfield | W 69–64 | 2–0 | SIU Arena (4,166) Carbondale, IL |
| November 21, 2017* 6:00 p.m., RSN | | at No. 19 Louisville | L 42–84 | 2–1 | KFC Yum! Center (18,046) Louisville, KY |
| November 25, 2017* 7:00 p.m., 3,052 | | at Murray State | L 73–81 | 2–2 | CFSB Center (3,062) Murray, KY |
| November 29, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | SIU Edwardsville | W 86–59 | 3–2 | SIU Arena (3,333) Carbondale, IL |
| December 2, 2017* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | San Jose State MW–MVC Challenge | W 76–58 | 4–2 | SIU Arena (4,026) Carbondale, IL |
| December 6, 2017* 7:00 p.m., FSMW | | at Saint Louis | L 69–74 | 4–3 | Chaifetz Arena (5,633) St. Louis, MO |
| December 9, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Southeast Missouri State | L 69–75 | 4–4 | SIU Arena (4,493) Carbondale, IL |
| December 13, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Jackson State | W 69–51 | 5–4 | SIU Arena (2,151) Carbondale, IL |
| December 17, 2017* 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Lamar Las Vegas Classic campus game | W 71–61 | 6–4 | SIU Arena (2,136) Carbondale, IL |
| December 19, 2017* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | North Carolina A&T Las Vegas Classic campus game | W 102–64 | 7–4 | SIU Arena (3,058) Carbondale, IL |
| December 22, 2017* 10:00 p.m., FS1 | | vs. Nevada Las Vegas Classic | L 64–86 | 7–5 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| December 23, 2017* 7:30 p.m., FS1 | | vs. Duquesne Las Vegas Classic | W 74–64 | 8–5 | Orleans Arena Paradise, NV |
| Missouri Valley regular season ||||||
| December 28, 2017 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Northern Iowa | L 56–63 | 9–5 (1–0) | McLeod Center (4,933) Cedar Falls, IA |
| December 31, 2017 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Drake | L 67–70 | 9–6 (1–1) | SIU Arena (4,230) Carbondale, IL |
| January 3, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Evansville | W 65–63 | 10–6 (2–1) | SIU Arena (4,622) Carbondale, IL |
| January 6, 2018 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Valparaiso | L 72–83 | 10–7 (2–2) | Athletics–Recreation Center (2,966) Valparaiso, IN |
| January 9, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Bradley | L 62–68 | 10–8 (2–3) | Carver Arena (5,319) Peoria, IL |
| January 13, 2018 5:00 p.m., CBSSN | | Illinois State | W 74–70 | 11–8 (3–3) | SIU Arena (3,227) Carbondale, IL |
| January 17, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Loyola–Chicago | L 65–79 | 11–9 (3–4) | Joseph J. Gentile Arena (2,439) Chicago, IL |
| January 21, 2018 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Northern Iowa | W 64–53 | 12–9 (4–4) | SIU Arena (3,254) Carbondale, IL |
| January 24, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Indiana State | W 82–77 | 13–9 (5–4) | SIU Arena (3,929) Carbondale, IL |
| January 27, 2018 5:00 p.m., ESPNU | | at Missouri State | W 79–77 | 14–9 (6–4) | JQH Arena (6,724) Springfield, MO |
| January 30, 2018 7:00 p.m. | | at Drake | W 78–67 | 15–9 (7–4) | Knapp Center (3,198) Des Moines, IA |
| February 3, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Valparaiso | W 65–59 | 16–9 (8–4) | SIU Arena (5,694) Carbondale, IL |
| February 8, 2018 8:00 p.m., CBSSN | | at Illinois State | L 68–76 $^{OT}$ | 16–10 (8–5) | Redbird Arena (4,948) Normal, IL |
| February 11, 2018 3:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Bradley | W 74–57 | 17–10 (9–5) | SIU Arena (4,830) Carbondale, IL |
| February 14, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Missouri State | W 81–80 $^{OT}$ | 18–10 (10–5) | SIU Arena (4,285) Carbondale, IL |
| February 17, 2018 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Indiana State | W 76–72 $^{OT}$ | 19–10 (11–5) | Hulman Center (3,895) Terre Haute, IN |
| February 21, 2018 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Loyola–Chicago | L 56–75 | 19–11 (11–6) | SIU Arena (6,036) Carbondale, IL |
| February 24, 2018 1:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Evansville | L 44–75 | 19–12 (11–7) | Ford Center (4,312) Evansville, IN |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| March 2, 2018 6:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (2) | vs. (7) Missouri State Quarterfinals | W 67–63 | 20–12 | Scottrade Center (7,077) St. Louis, MO |
| March 3, 2018 5:05 p.m., CBSSN | (2) | vs. (3) Illinois State Semifinals | L 68–76 $^{OT}$ | 20–13 | Scottrade Center (8,415) St. Louis, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. ||||||
Sources: