# 2018–19 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gardner–Webb University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Bulldogs, led by sixth-year head coach Tim Craft, played their home games at the Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 23–12, 10–6 in Big South play to finish in a tie for third place. They defeated High Point, Campbell and Radford to be champions of the Big South tournament. They earned the Big South's automatic-bid to the NCAA tournament, their first NCAA Tournament bid in school history, where they lost in the first round to Virginia.

## Previous season

The Runnin' Bulldogs finished the 2017–18 season 14–18, 9–9 in Big South play to finish in a four-way tie for fifth place. As the No. 6 seed in the Big South tournament, they lost to Winthrop in the quarterfinals.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, MASN | | at VCU | L 57–69 | 0–1 | Siegel Center (7,637) Richmond, VA |
| Nov 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at No. 15 Virginia Tech | L 59–87 | 0–2 | Cassell Coliseum (7,736) Blacksburgh, VA |
| Nov 13, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Furman | L 86–88 $^{OT}$ | 0–3 | Timmons Arena (1,104) Greenville, SC |
| Nov 16, 2018* 7:00 pm | | at Savannah State | W 97–77 | 1–3 | Tiger Arena (755) Savannah, GA |
| Nov 23, 2018* 5:00 pm | | vs. Eastern Illinois Battle in the Blue Ridge | L 78–79 | 1–4 | U.S. Cellular Center (1,280) Asheville, NC |
| Nov 24, 2018* 7:30 pm | | vs. UNC Wilmington Battle in the Blue Ridge | W 81–72 | 2–4 | U.S. Cellular Center (1,250) Asheville, NC |
| Nov 25, 2018* 3:30 pm | | vs. Arkansas State Battle in the Blue Ridge | L 69–77 | 2–5 | U.S. Cellular Center (1,037) Asheville, NC |
| Nov 28, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at USC Upstate | W 74–61 | 3–5 | G. B. Hodge Center (635) Spartanburg, SC |
| Dec 1, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Savannah State | W 97–60 | 4–5 | Paul Porter Arena (1,559) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Dec 6, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN+ | | Bob Jones Battle in the Blue Ridge | W 105–37 | 5–5 | Paul Porter Arena (690) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Dec 8, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Johnson & Wales (NC) | W 102–55 | 6–5 | Paul Porter Arena (1,005) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Dec 13, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 81–77 $^{OT}$ | 7–5 | Paul Porter Arena (1,069) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Dec 17, 2018* 7:30 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Georgia Tech | W 79–69 | 8–5 | McCamish Pavilion (4,268) Atlanta, GA |
| Dec 19, 2018* 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | Brevard | W 106–29 | 9–5 | Paul Porter Arena (875) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 pm, ACCN Extra | | at Wake Forest | W 73–69 | 10–5 | LJVM Coliseum (5,975) Winston-Salem, NC |
| Big South regular season ||||||
| Jan 5, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Campbell | L 61–72 | 10–6 (0–1) | Gore Arena (1,983) Buies Creek, NC |
| Jan 12, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | USC Upstate | W 64–59 | 11–6 (1–1) | Paul Porter Arena (1,750) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Jan 17, 2019 9:00 pm, ESPNU | | at Radford | L 58–75 | 11–7 (1–2) | Dedmon Center (1,215) Radford, VA |
| Jan 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Hampton | W 87–74 $^{OT}$ | 12–7 (2–2) | Paul Porter Arena (1,250) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Jan 24, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Winthrop | L 88–97 | 12–8 (2–3) | Winthrop Coliseum (2,864) Rock Hill, SC |
| Jan 26, 2019 5:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Charleston Southern | L 60–74 | 12–9 (2–4) | CSU Field House (628) North Charleston, SC |
| Jan 30, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | High Point | W 69–67 | 13–9 (3–4) | Paul Porter Arena (985) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Feb 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | UNC Asheville | W 82–81 $^{OT}$ | 14–9 (4–4) | Paul Porter Arena (1,785) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Feb 7, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Longwood | W 89–88 $^{OT}$ | 15–9 (5–4) | Willett Hall (1,472) Farmville, VA |
| Feb 9, 2019 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Presbyterian | L 101–103 $^{OT}$ | 15–10 (5–5) | Templeton Physical Education Center (596) Clinton, SC |
| Feb 13, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Charleston Southern | W 77–74 | 16–10 (6–5) | Paul Porter Arena (1,150) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Feb 16, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Winthrop | W 64–60 | 17–10 (7–5) | Paul Porter Arena (2,049) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Feb 21, 2019 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UNC Asheville | W 65–55 | 18–10 (8–5) | Kimmel Arena (1,763) Asheville, NC |
| Feb 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at High Point | L 79–87 | 18–11 (8–6) | Millis Athletic Convocation Center (1,202) High Point, NC |
| Feb 27, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Presbyterian | W 78–70 | 19–11 (9–6) | Paul Porter Arena (1,285) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Mar 2, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Longwood | W 66–47 | 20–11 (10–6) | Paul Porter Arena (1,590) Boiling Springs, NC |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN3 | (4) | vs. (5) High Point Quarterfinals | W 75–69 | 21–11 | Gore Arena (2,948) Buies Creek, NC |
| Mar 7, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN+ | (4) | at (1) Campbell Semifinals | W 79–74 | 22–11 | Gore Arena (3,090) Buies Creek, NC |
| Mar 10, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPN | (4) | at (2) Radford Championship | W 76–65 | 23–11 | Dedmon Center (2,772) Radford, VA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 22, 2019* 3:10 pm, truTV | (16 S) | vs. (1 S) No. 2 Virginia First Round | L 56–71 | 23–12 | Colonial Life Arena (15,417) Columbia, SC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||
Despite both being members of the Big South, their meeting with USC Upstate on November 28 will be considered a non-conference game. The game was scheduled prior to USC Upstate joining the conference. Their meeting on January 12 will be a conference game.