# 2018–19 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Western Michigan Broncos men's basketball team represented Western Michigan University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Broncos were led by 16th-year head coach Steve Hawkins, and played their home games at University Arena as members of the West Division of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 8–24 overall, 2–16 in MAC play to finish in last place in the West Division. As the No. 12 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the first round to Central Michigan.

## Previous season

The Broncos finished the 2016–17 season 17–15, 9–9 in MAC play to finish fourth in the West Division. As the No. 8 seed in the MAC tournament, they lost in the first round to Akron.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Kyle McDermed | 2 | G | 6'2" | 175 | Freshman | Frankfort, IL | Walk-on; transferred to Bryant & Stratton College |
| Thomas Wilder | 10 | G | 6'3" | 190 | Senior | Montgomery, IL | Graduated/signed to play professional in Germany with Riesen Ludwigsburg |
| Jarrin Randall | 12 | G | 5'11" | 165 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Transferred to Davenport |
| Reggie Jones | 23 | G/F | 6'6" | 215 | Sophomore | Marion, IN | Transferred to Tulsa |
| Drake LaMont | 42 | C | 6'10" | 250 | Senior | Plantation, FL | Graduated |

### Incoming Transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Kawanise Wilkins | 11 | G | 6'5" | 230 | Sophomore | Chicago, IL | Junior college transferred from Barton Community College |

### Recruiting class of 2018

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| William Boyer-Richard PG | Drummondville, QC | Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | N/A | Nov 17, 2017 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Adrian Martin SG | Sugar Hill, GA | Lanier High School | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 170 lb (77 kg) | Apr 17, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR ||||||
| Patrick Emilien SF | Toronto, ON | Athlete Institute Basketball Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Mar 21, 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: "2018 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "2018 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "2018 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. ||||||

### Recruiting class of 2019

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| B. Artis White PG | Detroit, MI | Detroit, MICanton High School | 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) | 132 lb (60 kg) | Sep 29, 2018 |
| Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A ESPN grade: NR |||||||
| Chase Barrs PF | Tampa, FL | Berkeley Prep | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 180 lb (82 kg) | Sep 29, 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 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "2019 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". Scout.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "2019 Western Michigan Basketball Commits". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. "2019 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 29, 2018. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 27, 2018* 2:00 pm | | Northwood | W 86–66 | | University Arena (1,319) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Nov 3, 2018* 2:00 pm | | Kalamazoo | W 110–70 | | University Arena (1,760) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Detroit Mercy | W 89–76 | 1–0 | University Arena (1,798) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Nov 10, 2018* 4:00 pm, SECN+ | | at Ole Miss Emerald Coast Classic | L 64–90 | 1–1 | The Pavilion at Ole Miss (5,205) Oxford, MS |
| Nov 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Oakland | W 85–77 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Athletics Center O'rena (2,897) Rochester, MI |
| Nov 17, 2018* 2:00 pm | | Aquinas | W 99–52 | 3–1 | University Arena (1,871) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Nov 19, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at Cincinnati Emerald Coast Classic | L 52–78 | 3–2 | Fifth Third Arena (8,998) Cincinnati, OH |
| Nov 23, 2018* 1:30 pm | | vs. Southern Emerald Coast Classic Visitors semifinals | W 85–70 | 4–2 | The Arena at NFSC (125) Niceville, FL |
| Nov 24, 2018* 1:30 pm | | vs. Nicholls State Emerald Coast Classic Visitors finals | L 61–62 $^{OT}$ | 4–3 | The Arena at NFSC (125) Niceville, FL |
| Dec 1, 2018* 2:00 pm | | USC Upstate | L 66–71 | 4–4 | University Arena (1,845) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Dec 8, 2018* 2:00 pm | | at Youngstown State | W 88–77 | 5–4 | Beeghly Center (3,449) Youngstown, OH |
| Dec 15, 2018* 2:00 pm, BTN | | at No. 5 Michigan | L 62–70 | 5–5 | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI |
| Dec 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Dayton | L 72–85 | 5–6 | UD Arena (12,590) Dayton, OH |
| Dec 22, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Milwaukee | L 66–67 | 5–7 | University Arena (2,078) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Dec 30, 2018* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | UC Riverside | W 73–64 | 6–7 | University Arena (2,085) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Akron | L 48–56 | 6–8 (0–1) | James A. Rhodes Arena (2,276) Akron, OH |
| Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm | | at Kent State | L 73–88 | 6–9 (0–2) | MAC Center (1,895) Kent, OH |
| Jan 12, 2019 7:00 pm | | Toledo | L 77–85 | 6–10 (0–3) | University Arena (2,310) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Jan 15, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 16 Buffalo | L 79–88 | 6–11 (0–4) | University Arena (2,179) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Jan 19, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at Bowling Green | L 48–79 | 6–12 (0–5) | Stroh Center (2,467) Bowling Green, OH |
| Jan 22, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ohio | L 76–81 | 6–13 (0–6) | Convocation Center (6,029) Athens, OH |
| Jan 26, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 67–93 | 6–14 (0–7) | University Arena (2,514) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 2, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 64–85 | 6–15 (0–8) | McGuirk Arena (3,325) Mount Pleasant, MI |
| Feb 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Bowling Green | L 72–85 | 6–16 (0–9) | University Arena (1,831) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 9, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Ball State | L 59–79 | 6–17 (0–10) | Worthen Arena (4,312) Muncie, IN |
| Feb 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Northern Illinois | W 76–74 | 7–17 (1–10) | University Arena (1,760) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 14, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kent State | L 63–82 | 7–18 (1–11) | University Arena (1,683) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Miami (OH) | W 84–79 | 8–18 (2–11) | University Arena (2,127) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Feb 23, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Eastern Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 76–77 | 8–19 (2–12) | Convocation Center (2,068) Ypsilanti, MI |
| Feb 26, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Northern Illinois | L 65–70 | 8–20 (2–13) | Convocation Center (1,115) DeKalb, IL |
| Mar 2, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Ball State | L 58–60 | 8–21 (2–14) | University Arena (2,441) Kalamazoo, MI |
| Mar 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Toledo | L 57–76 | 8–22 (2–15) | Savage Arena (4,233) Toledo, OH |
| Mar 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Central Michigan Michigan MAC Trophy | L 75–82 | 8–23 (2–16) | University Arena (2,686) Kalamazoo, MI |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | (12) | at (5) Central Michigan First Round | L 67–81 | 8–24 | McGuirk Arena (2,211) Mt. Pleasant, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Zone. ||||||
Source