The Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represents

Southern Illinois University Carbondale Southern Illinois University (SIU or SIUC) is a public research university in Carbondale, Illinois. Founded in 1869, SIU is the oldest and flagship campus of the Southern Illinois University system. The university enrolls students from all 50 st ...

in Carbondale, Illinois. The Salukis compete in the NCAA Division 1, and they play their home games at

Banterra Center Banterra Center (formerly SIU Arena) is an 8,284-seat multi-purpose arena, on the campus of Southern Illinois University, in Carbondale, Illinois, United States. Construction on the arena began in the spring of 1962 and took nearly two years to ...

. As of March 2019, Saluki Hall of Fame basketball player,

Bryan Mullins Bryan Mullins (born January 13, 1987) is a former American basketball player and current college basketball coach. He is currently head coach of the Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team. Playing career Mullins was a four-year letterwi ...

, has become the newest head coach of the Southern Illinois basketball program.

History

Prior to joining the NCAA, the Salukis competed in the NAIA men's basketball. Appearing five times, with a combined tournament record of 9 wins and 4 losses. Most notable tournament appearances came in 1945, in which the Salukis finished third, and then the following year in the 1946 tournament where the Salukis were NAIA national champions. The Salukis would not place again in the following three tournament appearances in 1947, 1948, 1960. Southern_Illinois_1967_NIT

In 1967, SIU, led by guard

Walt Frazier Walter "Clyde" Frazier Jr. (born March 29, 1945) is an American former professional basketball player of the National Basketball Association (NBA). As their floor general and top perimeter defender, he led the New York Knicks to the franchise's o ...

, who went on to be named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, won the National Invitation Tournament under coach

Jack Hartman Jack Hartman (October 7, 1925 – November 6, 1998) was an American gridiron football player and basketball coach. Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach ...

. At the time, the tournament was considered much more prestigious than it is today. The Salukis were members of the College Division (now Division II) and were therefore ineligible to compete for the NCAA Division I Tournament. In 1977, future NBA player

Mike Glenn Michael Theodore "Stinger" Glenn (born September 10, 1955) is an American former professional basketball player. College career Moving on to Southern Illinois University, Glenn was an All-Missouri Valley Conference college basketball player, gra ...

led the Salukis to the NCAA Division I Tournament Sweet Sixteen. From 1993 to 1995, SIU advanced to three straight NCAA Division I Tournaments. Prior to that, the Salukis participated in the National Invitation Tournament for four consecutive years from 1989 to 1992. Part of the SIU Saluki men's basketball team's 2003 season was chronicled in

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

's ''True Life: I Am A College Baller''. The Saluki men's basketball team garnered national attention by advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in 2002 and 2007. In the 2006–2007 season, the Salukis, coached by

Chris Lowery Christopher Michael Lowery (born July 7, 1972) is an American college basketball coach currently serving as an assistant men's basketball coach at Northwestern University under head coach Chris Collins. He was previously the head men's basketbal ...

, reached their highest ranking in the AP Coaches Poll and the ESPN/USA Today Poll with a position of #11, before dropping to #14 after losing the MVC to Creighton prior to entering the NCAA tournament. After achieving success at SIU, former coaches Bruce Weber and

Matt Painter Matthew Curtis Painter (born August 27, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is currently the men's basketball coach at Purdue University, having held that position since 2005. Before Purdue, Painter held coaching positions ...

accepted head coaching positions at schools in the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

. Weber took over at

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

in 2003 and Painter – an alumnus of and former basketball player at

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

– accepted the

Boilermakers A boilermaker is a tradesperson who fabricates steel, iron, or copper into boilers and other large containers intended to hold hot gas or liquid, as well as maintains and repairs boilers and boiler systems.Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Dep ...

' offer to become top assistant and designated successor to

Gene Keady Lloyd Eugene Keady (born May 21, 1936) is an American basketball coach. He is best known for his 25 years serving as the head men's basketball coach at Purdue University in Indiana. In his tenure leading the Boilermakers from 1980 to 2005, he went ...

in 2004, becoming head coach in March 2006. In 2009, the Salukis lost a longtime assistant coach to the head coaching ranks. Rodney Watson, following 21 seasons as the backup in Carbondale, accepted the head coaching position at the

University of Southern Indiana The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...

in Evansville, Indiana. In his first season with the Screamin Eagles, Watson led his team to a 23–0 record at the NCAA Div II powerhouse, taking over despite a one-year post-season ban as part of the transgressions of the former coaching staff. Prior to the 2018-2019 season, the Salukis became the first NCAA men's basketball team to win a completed game against the Cuban national team during a pre-season visit to the country. Nine Salukis have gone on to play in the NBA:

Chico Vaughn Charles "Chico" Vaughn (February 19, 1940 – October 25, 2013) was an American basketball player. At 6'2", he played the guard position. Vaughn is the highest scorer in Illinois high school boys basketball, tallying 3,358 points during his care ...

- St. Louis Hawks (1963–66), Detroit Pistons (1966-67)

- New York Knicks (1968–77), Cleveland Cavaliers (1978–80)

Dick Garrett Eldo "Dick" Garrett (born January 31, 1947) is a retired American professional basketball player. Career A 6'3" guard from Southern Illinois University, Garrett was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers with the 27th overall pick of the 1969 NBA d ...

- Los Angeles Lakers (1970), Buffalo Braves (1971-73), New York Knicks (1974), Milwaukee Bucks (1974)
Nate Hawthorne - Los Angeles Lakers (1974), Phoenix Suns (1975–76)
Joe C. Meriweather - Houston Rockets (1976), Atlanta Hawks (1977), New Orleans Jazz (1978–79), Kansas City Kings (1981–85)

- Buffalo Braves (1978), New York Knicks (1979-81), Atlanta Hawks (1982–85), Milwaukee Bucks (1986-87)

Ashraf Amaya Ashraf Omar Amaya (born November 23, 1971) is an American former professional basketball player. High school career Amaya attended Oak Park and River Forest High School for his freshman year, but he transferred to Walther Lutheran High School to ...

- Vancouver Grizzlies (1996), Washington Bullets (1997)
Chris Carr - Phoenix Suns (1996), Minnesota Timberwolves (1997–98), New Jersey Nets (1999), Golden State Warriors (2000), Chicago Bulls (2000), Boston Celtics (2001)

Troy Hudson Troy Elderon Hudson (born March 13, 1976) is an American retired professional basketball point guard. He played 11 years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after going undrafted in 1997. He averaged a career-high 14.2 points per game w ...

- Utah Jazz (1998), Los Angeles Clippers (1999-2000), Orlando Magic (2001-02), Minnesota Timberwolves (2003–07), Golden State Warriors (2007–08)

Yearly records (Division I)

Postseason results

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Salukis have appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament ten times. Their combined record is 6–10.

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Salukis have appeared in the NCAA Division II Tournament seven times. Their combined record is 17–9.

NAIA tournament results

The Salukis have appeared in five NAIA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 9–4. They were NAIA national champions in 1946.

NIT results

The Salukis have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) nine times. Their combined record is 8–8. They were NIT champions in 1967.