# 2018–19 North Alabama Lions men's basketball team

The 2018–19 North Alabama Lions men's basketball team represented the University of North Alabama during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were led by head coach Tony Pujol in his first season at North Alabama. The Lions played their home games at the Flowers Hall in Florence, Alabama as first-time members of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
This season marked North Alabama's first of a four-year transition period from Division II to Division I. As a result, the Lions were not eligible for NCAA postseason play but could participate in the ASUN tournament. They could also play in the CIT or CBI if invited.

## Previous season

The Lions finished the 2017–18 season 15–13 overall, and 10–10 record in Gulf South Conference play, trying for sixth place. They lost in the first round of the Gulf South tournament, losing to West Florida. The 2017-18 season was the Lion's last season in Division II and the Gulf South Conference.

## Offseason
### Incoming recruits

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Position | Hometown | Height | Weight | Commit/sign sate |
| Jamari Blackmon | PG | Hoover, AL | 6'0" | 170 | 6/20/2018 |
| Christian Agnew | SG | Detroit, MI | 6'2" | 175 | 2/9/18 |
| Aleksa Matic | CG | Belgrade, Serbia | 6'4" | 198 | 6/20/18 |
| Sean Elmore | SG | Mountain Brook, AL | 6'2" | 175 | 10/24/17 |
| Andrew Morrissey | PF | Winnebago, IL | 6'9 | 235 | 6/20/18 |
| Cantavio Dutreil | PF | Gonaïves, Haiti | 6'7 | 205 | 6/20/18 |
| Emanuel Littles | PF | Lanett, AL | 6'8 | 200 | 1/5/17 |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| November 6, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | at Samford | L 74–91 | 0–1 | 17 – Blackmon | 5 – Stafford | 3 – tied | Pete Hanna Center (1,383) Birmingham, AL |
| November 10, 2018* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Blue Mountain | W 72–59 | 1–1 | 22 – Blackmon | 9 – Stafford | 4 – tied | Flowers Hall (987) Florence, AL |
| November 13, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at Saint Louis | L 58–69 | 1–2 | 16 – Diggs | 9 – Diggs | 4 – tied | Chaifetz Arena (4,972) St. Louis, MO |
| November 17, 2018* 11:00 a.m., ACCN Extra | | at Pittsburgh | L 66–71 | 1–3 | 19 – Smith | 10 – Littles | 7 – Blackmon | Peterson Events Center (3,540) Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 20, 2018* 6:00 p.m. | | Martin Methodist | W 80–68 | 2–3 | 19 – tied | 8 – Agnew | 4 – King | Flowers Hall (446) Florence, AL |
| November 24, 2018* 11:30 a.m. | | at Troy | L 58–77 | 2–4 | 16 – Smith | 12 – Littles | 2 – 3 tied | Trojan Arena (1,423) Troy, AL |
| November 28, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at Toledo | L 59–80 | 2–5 | 16 – Blackmon | 6 – Agnew | 3 – tied | Savage Arena (3,714) Toledo, OH |
| December 1, 2018* 12:00 p.m. | | Jacksonville State | L 65–76 | 2–6 | 22 – Blackmon | 9 – Blackmon | 6 – Blackmon | Flowers Hall (844) Florence, AL |
| December 4, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at UAB | L 67–73 | 2–7 | 19 – Smith | 7 – Stafford | 5 – Smith | Bartow Arena (3,222) Birmingham, AL |
| December 13, 2018* 11:00 a.m. | | Huntingdon | W 90–58 | 3–7 | 20 – Smith | 9 – Stafford | 3 – tied | Flowers Hall (1,244) Florence, AL |
| December 15, 2018* 5:00 p.m. | | at UNC Greensboro | L 48–53 | 3–8 | 17 – Blackmon | 9 – Dutreil | 3 – Smith | Fleming Gymnasium (1,545) Greensboro, NC |
| December 18, 2018* 7:30 p.m. | | at Jacksonville State | L 50–64 | 3–9 | 9 – Blackmon | 7 – Blackmon | 3 – tied | Pete Mathews Coliseum (1,295) Jacksonville, AL |
| December 21, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | at VMI | L 68–89 | 3–10 | 16 – Stafford | 9 – Littles | 2 – Agnew | Cameron Hall (600) Lexington, VA |
| December 28, 2018* 8:00 p.m., RTNW | | at No. 7 Gonzaga | L 51–96 | 3–11 | 18 – Agnew | 7 – Littles | 2 – Blackmon | McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000) Spokane, WA |
| December 30, 2018* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Eastern Illinois | L 70–81 | 3–12 | 19 – Blackmon | 9 – Stafford | 5 – Smith | Lantz Arena (1,010) Charleston, IL |
| ASUN regular season |||||||||
| January 5, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at North Florida | L 67–96 | 3–13 (0–1) | 20 – Agnew | 9 – Littles | 5 – Stafford | UNF Arena (1,509) Jacksonville, FL |
| January 8, 2019 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida Gulf Coast | W 61–56 | 4–13 (1–1) | 15 – King | 12 – Dutreil | 6 – Blackmon | Flowers Hall (850) Florence, AL |
| January 12, 2019 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | NJIT | W 61–55 | 5–13 (2–1) | 16 – tied | 11 – Littles | 3 – Stafford | Flowers Hall (908) Florence, AL |
| January 15, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville | W 91–88 | 6–13 (3–1) | 26 – Agnew | 14 – Littles | 4 – Blackmon | Swisher Gymnasium (792) Jacksonville, FL |
| January 19, 2019 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stetson | W 63–62 | 7–13 (4–1) | 15 – Smith | 18 – Littles | 3 – Stafford | Flowers Hall (1,251) Florence, AL |
| January 21, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Liberty | L 47–72 | 7–14 (4–2) | 13 – tied | 5 – Stafford | 4 – Smith | Vines Center (2,716) Lynchburg, VA |
| January 24, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 76–71 | 8–14 (5–2) | 18 – Smith | 10 – Stafford | 4 – 3 tied | Flowers Hall (811) Florence, AL |
| January 27, 2019 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at NJIT | L 70–76 $^{OT}$ | 8–15 (5–3) | 21 – Smith | 8 – Littles | 4 – Smith | Wellness and Events Center (911) Newark, NJ |
| February 2, 2019 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Lipscomb | L 80–102 | 8–16 (5–4) | 18 – Stafford | 6 – Stafford | 3 – Blackmon | Allen Arena (3,408) Nashville, TN |
| February 6, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Gulf Coast | L 64–71 | 8–17 (5–5) | 23 – Agnew | 7 – Littles | 2 – tied | Alico Arena (3,505) Fort Myers, FL |
| February 9, 2019 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | North Florida | L 73–82 | 8–18 (5–6) | 24 – Smith | 13 – Stafford | 4 – tied | Flowers Hall (1,003) Florence, AL |
| February 16, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Liberty | L 70–80 | 8–19 (5–7) | 17 – Smith | 6 – Blackmon | 3 – Smith | Flowers Hall (967) Florence, AL |
| February 19, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | W 76–61 | 9–19 (6–7) | 21 – Stafford | 10 – Stafford | 8 – Smith | KSU Convocation Center (608) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 23, 2019 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Stetson | L 60–63 | 9–20 (6–8) | 21 – King | 10 – Smith | 4 – Blackmon | Edmunds Center (300) DeLand, FL |
| February 27, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville | W 69–55 | 10–20 (7–8) | 24 – King | 14 – Littles | 4 – Stafford | Flowers Hall (1,112) Florence, AL |
| March 1, 2019 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Lipscomb | L 75–87 | 10–21 (7–9) | 22 – Blackmon | 11 – Stafford | 3 – Blackmon | Flowers Hall (1,268) Florence, AL |
| ASUN tournament |||||||||
| March 4, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | (6) | (3) North Florida Quarterfinals | L 66–76 | 10–22 | 15 – Blackmon | 11 – Smith | 5 – Blackmon | UNF Arena (1,924) Jacksonville, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central. |||||||||
Sources: