# 2018–19 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Western Illinois Leathernecks men's basketball team represented Western Illinois University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Leathernecks, led by fifth-year head coach Billy Wright, played their home games at Western Hall in Macomb, Illinois as members of the Summit League. They finished the season 10–21, 4–12 in Summit League play to finish in 8th place. They beat top-seeded South Dakota State in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament, before losing to North Dakota State in the semifinals.

## Previous season

The Leathernecks finished the season 12–16, 3–11 in Summit League play to finish in last place. They lost in the quarterfinals of the Summit League tournament to South Dakota.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Oct 29, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Knox | W 99–36 | | Western Hall (269) Macomb, IL |
| Nov 1, 2018* 7:30 pm | | Iowa Wesleyan | W 108–64 | | Western Hall Macomb, IL |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:30 pm, FSN | | at Creighton | L 67–78 | 0–1 | CHI Health Center Omaha (16,449) Omaha, NE |
| Nov 10, 2018* 2:00 pm | | North Park | W 84–56 | 1–1 | Western Hall (487) Macomb, IL |
| Nov 14, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Dominican (IL) | W 95–56 | 2–1 | Western Hall (394) Macomb, IL |
| Nov 17, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at Eastern Illinois | L 66–68 $^{OT}$ | 2–2 | Lantz Arena (696) Charleston, IL |
| Nov 21, 2018* 3:30 pm | | at UT Martin | L 90–92 | 2–3 | Skyhawk Arena (1,005) Martin, TN |
| Nov 24, 2018* 1:00 pm, BTN Plus | | at Nebraska | L 49–73 | 2–4 | Pinnacle Bank Arena (15,800) Lincoln, NE |
| Nov 28, 2018* 7:00 pm | | SIU Edwardsville | W 83–58 | 3–4 | Western Hall (441) Macomb, IL |
| Dec 1, 2018* 6:30 pm | | at Southeast Missouri State | W 70–63 | 4–4 | Show Me Center (821) Cape Girardeau, MO |
| Dec 5, 2018* 6:00 pm | | at Stetson | L 64–68 | 4–5 | Edmunds Center (364) DeLand, FL |
| Dec 8, 2018* 7:00 pm | | Eastern Illinois | L 67–74 | 4–6 | Western Hall (522) Macomb, IL |
| Dec 15, 2018* 1:00 pm | | at IUPUI | L 68–82 | 4–7 | Indiana Farmers Coliseum (980) Indianapolis, IN |
| Dec 17, 2018* 8:00 pm | | at Northern Illinois | L 76–91 | 4–8 | Convocation Center (1,012) DeKalb, IL |
| Dec 20, 2018* 2:00 pm | | Chicago State WAC/Summit League Challenge | W 81–52 | 5–8 | Western Hall (352) Macomb, IL |
| Summit League regular season ||||||
| Dec 28, 2018 4:30 pm | | South Dakota State | L 58-100 | 5–9 (0–1) | Western Hall (441) Macomb, IL |
| Dec 30, 2018 4:30 pm | | Denver | W 78–60 | 6–9 (1–1) | Western Hall (342) Macomb, IL |
| Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm | | at Oral Roberts | L 63–82 | 6–10 (1–2) | Mabee Center (2,101) Tulsa, OK |
| Jan 10, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at North Dakota State | L 69–85 | 6–12 (1–3) | Scheels Center (2,461) Fargo, ND |
| Jan 12, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at North Dakota | L 65–71 | 6–12 (1–4) | Betty Engelstad Sioux Center (1,898) Grand Forks, ND |
| Jan 17, 2019 7:00 pm | | Omaha | L 71–80 | 6–13 (1–5) | Western Hall (426) Macomb, IL |
| Jan 19, 2019 7:00 pm | | Purdue Fort Wayne | W 87–58 | 7–13 (2–5) | Western Hall (496) Macomb, IL |
| Jan 26, 2019 3:30 pm, ESPN3 | | at South Dakota | W 65–59 | 8–13 (3–5) | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (2,702) Vermillion, SD |
| Feb 1, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota | L 73–74 | 8–14 (3–6) | Western Hall (476) Macomb, IL |
| Feb 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | North Dakota State | L 76–78 | 8–15 (3–7) | Western Hall (521) Macomb, IL |
| Feb 7, 2019 6:00 pm | | at Purdue Fort Wayne | L 64-79 | 8-16 (3-8) | Gates Sports Center Fort Wayne, IN |
| Feb 16, 2019 2:00 pm, ESPN3 | | South Dakota | L 67-80 | 8-17 (3-9) | Western Hall (591) Macomb, IL |
| Feb 20, 2019 7:00 pm | | at Omaha | L 63-77 | 8-18 (3-10) | Baxter Arena (2,666) Omaha, NE |
| Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3 | | Oral Roberts | W 75-66 | 9-18 (4-10) | Western Hall (572) Macomb, IL |
| Feb 28, 2019 8:00 pm | | at Denver | L 46-74 | 9-19 (4-11) | Magness Arena (1,145) Denver, CO |
| Mar 2, 2019 4:15 pm | | at South Dakota State | L 66-86 | 9-20 (4-12) | Frost Arena (3,746) Brookings, SD |
| Summit League tournament ||||||
| Mar 9,2019 6pm, ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (1) South Dakota State Quarterfinals | W 79-76 | 10-20 | Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD |
| Mar 11,2019 6pm, ESPN+ | (8) | vs. (4) North Dakota State Semifinals | L 73-76 | 10-21 | Premier Center Sioux Falls, SD |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||
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