# 2018–19 Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Eastern Kentucky Colonels men's basketball team represented Eastern Kentucky University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Colonels, led by first-year head coach A. W. Hamilton, played their home games at McBrayer Arena within Alumni Coliseum as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 13–18 overall, 6–12 in OVC play, finishing in a four-way tie for sixth place. Tiebreakers worked against them, so they failed to qualify to play in the OVC tournament for the fourth consecutive season.

## Previous season

The Colonels finished the season 11–20, 5–13 in OVC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. They failed to make the OVC tournament for the third consecutive season.
On February 26, 2018, the school fired Dan McHale as head coach after three seasons. He finished at EKU with a three-year record of 38–55. On March 23, NC State assistant A.W. Hamilton was hired as the new head coach of the Colonels.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||
| Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm | Kentucky Christian | W 136–92 | | McBrayer Arena (1,800) Richmond, KY |
| Non-conference regular season |||||
| Nov 7, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Marshall | L 77–105 | 0–1 | McBrayer Arena (5,189) Richmond, KY |
| Nov 10, 2018* 7:00 pm | at Chattanooga | W 81–78 | 1–1 | McKenzie Arena (2,568) Chattanooga, TN |
| Nov 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Midway | W 107–52 | 2–1 | McBrayer Arena (2,280) Richmond, KY |
| Nov 16, 2018* 7:30 pm | vs. No. 12 Kansas State Paradise Jam quarterfinals | L 68–95 | 2–2 | Sports and Fitness Center (2,162) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| Nov 17, 2018* 5:00 pm, FloSports.tv | vs. Northern Iowa Paradise Jam consolation 2nd round | L 85–90 | 2–3 | Sports and Fitness Center (1,253) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| Nov 19, 2018* 1:00 pm | vs. Kennesaw State Paradise Jam 7th place game | W 100–81 | 3–3 | Sports and Fitness Center (886) Saint Thomas, USVI |
| Nov 28, 2018* 7:30 pm, SECN | at No. 6 Tennessee | L 67–95 | 3–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena (15,036) Knoxville, TN |
| Dec 1, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | at High Point | W 70–69 | 4–4 | Millis Center (1,492) High Point, NC |
| Dec 5, 2018* 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | USC Upstate | W 79–77 | 5–4 | McBrayer Arena (2,640) Richmond, KY |
| Dec 8, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | Northern Kentucky | W 76–74 | 6–4 | McBrayer Arena (3,035) Richmond, KY |
| Dec 15, 2018* 8:00 pm, FS1 | at Xavier | L 77–95 | 6–5 | Cintas Center (10,112) Cincinnati, OH |
| Dec 22, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Duquesne | W 85–84 $^{OT}$ | 6–6 | Palumbo Center (1,421) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Dec 29, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | Brescia | W 145–72 | 7–6 | McBrayer Arena (1,589) Richmond, KY |
| Ohio Valley Conference regular season |||||
| Jan 3, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Austin Peay | L 75–93 | 7–7 (0–1) | Dunn Center (1,393) Clarksville, TN |
| Jan 5, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Murray State | L 85–97 | 7–8 (0–2) | CFSB Center (6,552) Murray, KY |
| Jan 10, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | at Tennessee State | L 81–82 | 7–9 (0–3) | Gentry Complex (411) Nashville, TN |
| Jan 12, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Belmont | L 93–109 | 7–10 (0–4) | Curb Event Center (2,282) Nashville, TN |
| Jan 17, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | UT Martin | W 97–73 | 8–10 (1–4) | McBrayer Arena (1,803) Richmond, KY |
| Jan 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Southeast Missouri State | W 85–83 | 9–10 (2–4) | McBrayer Arena (1,860) Richmond, KY |
| Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Jacksonville State | W 88–70 | 10–10 (3–4) | Seabury Center (1,280) Berea, KY |
| Jan 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Tennessee Tech | L 85–91 | 10–11 (3–5) | Davis-Reid Alumni Gym (1,410) Georgetown, KY |
| Jan 31, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN+ | at Eastern Illinois | L 66–67 | 10–12 (3–6) | Lantz Arena (1,451) Charleston, IL |
| Feb 2, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | at SIU Edwardsville | L 82–88 | 10–13 (3–7) | Vadalabene Center (1,060) Edwardsville, IL |
| Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Belmont | L 65–83 | 10–14 (3–8) | McBrayer Arena (1,620) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Tennessee State | W 75–65 | 11–14 (4–8) | McBrayer Arena (1,640) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 14, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+ | at Morehead State | L 72–78 | 11–15 (4–9) | Ellis Johnson Arena (2,023) Morehead, KY |
| Feb 16, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Murray State | L 70–102 | 11–16 (4–10) | McBrayer Arena (5,640) Richmond, KY |
| Feb 21, 2019 8:30 pm | at Tennessee Tech | W 67–66 | 12–16 (5–10) | Eblen Center (1,536) Cookeville, TN |
| Feb 23, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | at Jacksonville State | L 101–104 $^{2OT}$ | 12–17 (5–11) | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,423) Jacksonville, AL |
| Feb 28, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Austin Peay | W 82–80 | 13–17 (6–11) | McBrayer Arena (1,640) Richmond, KY |
| Mar 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | Morehead State | L 77–78 | 13–18 (6–12) | McBrayer Arena (3,226) Richmond, KY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||
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