# 2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by eighth-year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 27–7, 14–4 to finish in 2nd place. In the Southland tournament, they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the semifinals before beating New Orleans in the final to win the Southland tournament. As a result, they received an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the first round to Kentucky.

## Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017–18 season 16–16, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament. They received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Drake.

## Schedule and results

Sources:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Arlington Baptist | W 107–54 | 1–0 | Moody Coliseum (1,500) Abilene, TX |
| Nov 9, 2018* 8:00 p.m. | | Arkansas State | W 94–73 | 2–0 | Moody Coliseum (1,209) Abilene, TX |
| Nov 15, 2018* 8:00 p.m. | | at Denver | W 67–61 | 3–0 | Magness Arena (804) Denver, CO |
| Nov 22, 2018* 5:00 p.m. | | vs. Elon Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic | W 72–56 | 4–0 | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA |
| Nov 23, 2018* 7:30 p.m. | | at Pacific Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic | W 73–71 | 5–0 | Alex G. Spanos Center (602) Stockton, CA |
| Nov 24, 2018* 10:00 p.m. | | vs. UC Riverside Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic | W 60–48 | 6–0 | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, CA |
| Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 p.m. | | Howard Payne | W 90–53 | 7–0 | Moody Coliseum (1,027) Abilene, TX |
| Dec 1, 2018* 5:00 p.m. | | at Pepperdine | L 62–77 | 7–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse (1,044) Malibu, CA |
| Dec 4, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Campbell | W 83–68 | 8–1 | Moody Coliseum (1,027) Abilene, TX |
| Dec 8, 2018* 10:30 am | | Schreiner | W 93–53 | 9–1 | Moody Coliseum (1,018) Abilene, TX |
| Dec 15, 2018* 6:00 pm | | at No. 11 Texas Tech Throwback Game | L 48–82 | 9–2 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (7,169) Lubbock, TX |
| Dec 21, 2018* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 70–68 | 10–2 | Show Me Center (672) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 p.m. | | McMurry | W 88–40 | 11–2 | Moody Coliseum (685) Abilene, TX |
| Southland regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | New Orleans | W 68–58 | 12–2 (1–0) | Moody Coliseum (525) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 5, 2019 6:30 p.m. | | at Sam Houston State | L 68–71 | 12–3 (1–1) | Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (771) Huntsville, TX |
| Jan 9, 2019 6:30 pm | | at McNeese State | W 73–72 | 13–3 (2–1) | H&HP Complex (1,782) Lake Charles, LA |
| Jan 12, 2019 4:00 pm | | at Southeastern Louisiana | W 75–72 | 14–3 (3–1) | University Center (563) Hammond, LA |
| Jan 16, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | Houston Baptist | W 75–68 | 15–3 (4–1) | Moody Coliseum (1,169) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 19, 2019 6:00 pm | | Northwestern State | W 78–69 | 16–3 (5–1) | Moody Coliseum (1,199) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 23, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Stephen F. Austin | L 60–61 | 16–4 (5–2) | William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,027) Nacogdoches, TX |
| Jan 26, 2019 3:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Arkansas | W 79–56 | 17–4 (6–2) | Moody Coliseum (1,669) Abilene, TX |
| Jan 30, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3 | | Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 78–71 | 18–4 (7–2) | Moody Coliseum (1,301) Abilene, TX |
| Feb 6, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Lamar | W 75–64 | 19–4 (8–2) | Montagne Center (2,438) Beaumont, TX |
| Feb 9, 2019 6:00 pm | | Sam Houston State | L 85–90 $^{2OT}$ | 19–5 (8–3) | Moody Coliseum (2,397) Abilene, TX |
| Feb 13, 2019 | | at Nicholls State | W 64–48 | 20–5 (9–3) | Stopher Gym (313) Thibodaux, LA |
| Feb 16, 2019 7:00 pm | | at Incarnate Word | W 68–48 | 21–5 (10–3) | McDermott Convocation Center (739) San Antonio, TX |
| Feb 23, 2019 3:30 pm | | Southeastern Louisiana | L 66–75 | 21–6 (10–4) | Moody Coliseum (1,399) Abilene, TX |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 p.m. | | at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi | W 73–64 | 22–6 (11–4) | American Bank Center (1,191) Corpus Christi, TX |
| Mar 2, 2019 4:00 p.m. | | at Central Arkansas | W 67–55 | 23–6 (12–4) | Farris Center (825) Conway, AR |
| Mar 6, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Stephen F. Austin | W 72–58 | 24–6 (13–4) | Moody Coliseum (1,235) Abilene, TX |
| Mar 9, 2019 4:00 p.m. | | Incarnate Word | W 81–52 | 25–6 (14–4) | Moody Coliseum (1,501) Abilene, TX |
| Southland tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (3) Southeastern Louisiana Semifinals | W 69–66 | 26–6 | Merrell Center (2,100) Katy, TX |
| Mar 16, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN2 | (2) | vs. (4) New Orleans Championship | W 77–60 | 27–6 | Merrell Center (1,751) Katy, TX |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 21, 2019* 6:10 pm, CBS | (15 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 7 Kentucky First Round | L 44–79 | 27–7 | VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (13,495) Jacksonville, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||