# 1976–77 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team

The 1976–77 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Salukis were led by eighth-year head coach Paul Lambert and played their home games at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–7, 8–4 in MVC play to finish in first place. The Salukis won the MVC tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in the Division I tournament in program history.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 11, 1976* 7:35 p.m. | | Brazilian National Team | W 87–59 | | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 26, 1976* 7:00 p.m. | | vs. No. 20 Missouri Arch Classic | W 68–55 | 1–0 | |
| Nov 29, 1976* 7:35 p.m. | | William Jewell | W 73–60 | 2–0 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Dec 4, 1976* 7:35 p.m. | | UMKC | W 96–78 | 3–0 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Dec 6, 1976* 7:35 p.m. | | Northeastern State | W 63–61 | 4–0 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Dec 8, 1976* 7:35 p.m. | | Millikin | W 82–45 | 5–0 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Dec 10, 1976* 8:00 p.m. | | at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Classic | W 72–67 | 6–0 | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 11, 1976* 8:00 p.m. | | vs. Hofstra Pittsburgh Classic | L 66–67 | 6–1 | Fitzgerald Field House Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 15, 1976* 7:35 p.m. | | Cal Poly | W 79–50 | 7–1 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Dec 20, 1976* 7:00 p.m. | | at Georgia Southern | L 67–83 | 7–2 | Hanner Fieldhouse Statesboro, Georgia |
| Jan 3, 1977* 7:35 p.m. | | Benedictine (KS) | W 100–51 | 8–2 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Jan 8, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | Bradley | L 58–65 | 8–3 (0–1) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Jan 13, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | Wichita State | W 60–59 | 9–3 (1–1) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Jan 20, 1977 7:30 p.m. | | at West Texas A&M | L 74–78 $^{OT}$ | 9–4 (1–2) | |
| Jan 22, 1977 8:30 p.m. | | at New Mexico State | W 71–69 | 10–4 (2–2) | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Jan 29, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | Tulsa | W 85–51 | 11–4 (3–2) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Jan 31, 1977* 8:00 p.m. | | at Saint Louis | W 76–73 | 12–4 | Kiel Auditorium St. Louis, Missouri |
| Feb 5, 1977 7:30 p.m. | | at Wichita State | L 90–91 $^{2OT}$ | 12–5 (3–3) | Charles Koch Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| Feb 7, 1977* 7:35 p.m. | | Roosevelt | W 95–58 | 13–5 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 10, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | West Texas A&M | W 76–58 | 14–5 (4–3) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 12, 1977 7:30 p.m. | | at Bradley | W 82–81 | 15–5 (5–3) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 14, 1977* 7:35 p.m. | | Evansville | W 79–67 | 16–5 | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 17, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | New Mexico State | W 93–64 | 17–5 (6–3) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Feb 19, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | at Drake | W 66–57 | 18–5 (7–3) | Veterans Memorial Auditorium Des Moines, Iowa |
| Feb 21, 1977* 7:35 p.m. | | Evansville | W 72–60 | 19–5 | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, Indiana |
| Feb 24, 1977 7:30 p.m. | | at Tulsa | L 91–99 $^{OT}$ | 19–6 (7–4) | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Feb 26, 1977 7:35 p.m. | | Drake | W 80–61 | 20–6 (8–4) | SIU Arena Carbondale, Illinois |
| Missouri Valley tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1977* 8:00 p.m. | (1) | vs. (4) West Texas A&M Championship game | W 82–69 | 21–6 | Levitt Arena Wichita, Kansas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1977* 3:35 p.m. | | vs. No. 20 Arizona First round | W 81–77 | 22–6 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Mar 17, 1977* 9:35 p.m. | | vs. No. 9 Wake Forest Midwest Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 81–86 | 22–7 | Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||