2018–19 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Salukis, led by seventh-year head coach Barry Hinson, played their home games at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 17–15 overall, 10–8 in MVC play, finishing in a tie for third place. As the No. 3 seed in the MVC tournament, the Salukis were upset by No. 6 seed Northern Iowa in the quarterfinals.^[1]

2018–19 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	17–15 (10–8 MVC)
Head coach	Barry Hinson (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Brad Autry Anthony Beane Sr. Justin Walker
Home arena	SIU Arena
Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Loyola Chicago	12	–	6		.667			20	–	14		.588
Drake	12	–	6		.667			24	–	10		.706
Southern Illinois	10	–	8		.556			17	–	15		.531
Missouri State	10	–	8		.556			16	–	16		.500
Bradley †	9	–	9		.500			20	–	15		.571
Northern Iowa	9	–	9		.500			16	–	18		.471
Illinois State	9	–	9		.500			17	–	16		.515
Indiana State	7	–	11		.389			15	–	16		.484
Valparaiso	7	–	11		.389			15	–	18		.455
Evansville	5	–	13		.278			11	–	21		.344
† 2019 MVC tournament winner

In an emotional news conference following the game, Southern Illinois head coach Barry Hinson, announced he was stepping down as the coach of the Salukis.^[2] On March 20, 2019, the school hired former SIU star point guard and Loyola assistant coach Bryan Mullins as head coach.^[3]

Previous season

The Salukis finished the 2017–18 season 20–13, 11–7 in MVC play to finish in second place. In the MVC tournament, they defeated Missouri State in the quarterfinals before losing to Illinois State in the semifinals. Despite winning 20 games, the Salukis did not participate in a postseason tournament.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Jonathan Wiley	0	G	6'7"	201	Senior	Houston, TX	Graduated
Tyler Smithpeters	11	G	6'4"	203	RS Senior	Harrisburg, IL	Graduated
Austin Weiher	15	F	6'8"	206	RS Junior	Kent, WA	Graduate transferred

2018 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Darius Beane PG	Carbondale, IL	Carbondale Community High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Aug 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Sam Shafer SG	Frankford, IL	Lincoln-Way East High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	May 1, 2017
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Amadou Fall SF	Senegal	St. Louis Christian Academy	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Nov 10, 2017
	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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2019 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for 2019 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Lance Jones SG	Evanston, IL	Evanston Township High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Mar 21, 2018
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Evan Taylor SF	Glen Ellyn, IL	Glenbard West High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	N/A	Jun 28, 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 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

Roster

2018–19 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 1 David Swedura (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Prospect Mount Prospect, IL F 2 Sekou Dembele 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Central Park Christian School Bamako, Mali G 3 Marcus Bartley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS Sr Saint Louis Douglas MacArthur Decatur, IL G 4 Eric McGill 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Jr Panola College Bartlett Memphis, TN G 5 Darius Beane 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Fr Carbonale Carbondale, IL G 10 Aaron Cook Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Westminster Christian St. Louis, MO G 13 Sean Lloyd Jr. 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Mt. Zion Prep Philadelphia, PA F 15 Amadou Fall 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr St. Louis Christian Academy Kaolack, Senegal G 22 Armon Fletcher 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) RS Sr Edwardsville Edwardsville, IL G 23 Sam Shafer 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Lincoln Way East Frankfort, IL F 24 Rudy Stradnieks 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Lee Academy Riga, Latvia G 25 Brendon Gooch 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Althoff Belleville, IL C 33 Kavion Pippen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Hamburg Three Rivers College Hamburg, AR F 40 Thik Bol 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 225 lb (102 kg) RS Sr Benson Iowa Western CC Omaha, NE	Head coach Barry Hinson (Oklahoma State) Assistant coach(es) Jerome Beane, Sr. (Kansas State) Brad Autry (Northwestern Oklahoma State) Justin Walker (Eastern Illinois) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 1, 2018* 7:00 pm		East Central	W 76–49		SIU Arena (3,554) Carbondale, IL
Non-conference regular season
Nov 9, 2018* 6:00 pm, SECN		at No. 2 Kentucky	L 59–71	0–1	Rupp Arena (20,277) Lexington, KY
Nov 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		No. 25 Buffalo Charles Helleny Tip-Off Classic	L 53–62	0–2	SIU Arena (4,373) Carbondale, IL
Nov 17, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Arkansas–Pine Bluff Las Vegas Holiday Invitational	W 78–48	1–2	SIU Arena (4,003) Carbondale, IL
Nov 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Howard Las Vegas Holiday Invitational	W 83–69	2–2	SIU Arena (3,720) Carbondale, IL
Nov 22, 2018* 12:30 pm, FS1		vs. Massachusetts Las Vegas Holiday Invitational semifinals	L 62–84	2–3	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
Nov 23, 2018* 11:30 pm, FS1		vs. Tulsa Las Vegas Holiday Invitational 3rd place game	W 79–69	3–3	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
Nov 27, 2018* 8:00 pm		at Colorado State MW–MVC Challenge	W 82–67	4–3	Moby Arena (2,566) Fort Collins, CO
Dec 1, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at SIU Edwardsville	W 82–61	5–3	Vadalabene Center (3,360) Edwardsville, IL
Dec 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Saint Louis	W 61–56	6–3	SIU Arena (5,021) Carbondale, IL
Dec 8, 2018* 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Southeast Missouri State	W 83–73	7–3	Show Me Center (3,432) Cape Girardeau, MO
Dec 12, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	L 52–80	7–4	SIU Arena (5,107) Carbondale, IL
Dec 15, 2018* 1:00 pm, ESPN+		at No. 14 Buffalo	L 65–73	7–5	Alumni Arena (5,513) Amherst, NY
Dec 22, 2018* 3:00 pm, ESPN+		Winthrop	L 71–79	7–6	SIU Arena (5,009) Carbondale, IL
Missouri Valley regular season
Jan 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri State	W 75–70	8–6 (1–0)	SIU Arena (4,167) Carbondale, IL
Jan 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Northern Iowa	W 58–51	9–6 (2–0)	McLeod Center (3,783) Cedar Falls, IA
Jan 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake	L 70–82	9–7 (2–1)	Knapp Center (2,638) Des Moines, IA
Jan 12, 2019 3:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH		Valparaiso	L 61-65	9–8 (2–2)	SIU Arena (4,671) Carbondale, IL
Jan 15, 2019 6:00 pm, CBSSN		at Illinois State	L 58–59	9–9 (2–3)	Redbird Arena (4,588) Normal, IL
Jan 20, 2019 3:00 pm, ESPNU/ESPN3		Bradley	L 54–57	9–10 (2–4)	SIU Arena (4,327) Carbondale, IL
Jan 23, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Northern Iowa	W 70–62	10–10 (3–4)	SIU Arena (4,419) Carbondale, IL
Jan 27, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN		at Loyola–Chicago	L 50–75	10–11 (3–5)	Joseph J. Gentile Arena (4,712) Chicago, IL
Jan 30, 2019 8:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH		Indiana State	W 88–73	11–11 (4–5)	SIU Arena (4,076) Carbondale, IL
Feb 2, 2019 1:00 pm, CBSSN		at Bradley	W 72–68	12–11 (5–5)	Carver Arena (5,968) Peoria, IL
Feb 6, 2019 7:00 pm, FSMW/NBCSCH		at Missouri State	L 59–65	12–12 (5–6)	JQH Arena (5,311) Springfield, MO
Feb 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN3		Evansville	W 78–73	13–12 (6–6)	SIU Arena (4,923) Carbondale, IL
Feb 12, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Drake	L 69–71	13–13 (6–7)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, IL
Feb 16, 2019 11:00 am, FSMW/NBCSCH		at Indiana State	W 79–57	14–13 (7–7)	Hulman Center  Terre Haute, IN
Feb 20, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Valparaiso	L 52–55	14–14 (7–8)	Athletics–Recreation Center  Valparaiso, IN
Feb 24, 2019 3:00 pm, CBSSN/ESPNU		Loyola–Chicago	W 63–53	15–14 (8–8)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, IL
Feb 27, 2019 6:00 pm, ESPN+		at Evansville	W 98–91	16–14 (9–8)	Ford Center  Evansville, IN
Mar 2, 2019 1:00 pm		Illinois State	W 72–63	17–14 (10–8)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, IL
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 8, 2019 8:30 pm	(3)	vs. (6) Northern Iowa Quarterfinals	L 58–61	17–15	Enterprise Center (7,936) St. Louis, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

Source^[4]

References

1. "Arch Madness Game 6: UNI 61, Southern Illinois 58". MVC-Sports.com. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
2. Hefferman, Todd (March 9, 2019). "SIU basketball coach announces he's stepping down in emotional press conference: 'I am so sorry'". Chicago Tribune. Chicago, IL. Retrieved March 30, 2019.
3. [e-mail], TODD HEFFERMAN. "SIU hires former star point guard Mullins as head coach". pantagraph.com. Retrieved August 19, 2019.
4. "2018-19 Men's Basketball Schedule". siusalukis.com. Retrieved March 30, 2019.