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 ...

Carbondale, Illinois Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...

. 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 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

, in which the Salukis finished third, and then the following year in the

1946 Events January * January 6 - The first general election ever in Vietnam is held. * January 7 – The Allies recognize the Austrian republic with its 1937 borders, and divide the country into four occupation zones. * January 10 ** The ...

tournament where the Salukis were NAIA national champions. The Salukis would not place again in the following three tournament appearances in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

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 The 50 Greatest Players in NBA History, also referred to as NBA's 50th Anniversary All-Time Team, were chosen in 1996 to honor the 50th anniversary of the founding of the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the third anniversary team ...

, won the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York Cit ...

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 He ...

. 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, gr ...

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

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 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

and

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

. In the 2006–2007 season, the Salukis, coached by Chris Lowery, 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 state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rock ...

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 ...

– accepted the Boilermakers' 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 caree ...

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

- New York Knicks (1968–77), Cleveland Cavaliers (1978–80)
Dick Garrett - Los Angeles Lakers (1970), Buffalo Braves (1971-73), New York Knicks (1974), Milwaukee Bucks (1974)

Nate Hawthorne Nate Hawthorne (January 19, 1951 – November 23, 2005) was an American former professional basketball player. He spent three seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), one with the Los Angeles Lakers ( 1973–74) and two with t ...

- 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 wi ...

- 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

(NIT) nine times. Their combined record is 8–8. They were NIT champions in 1967.