The 2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball season, the conference's 56th, began with practices in October 2018, followed by the start of the
2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
The 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began on November 6, 2018. The first tournament was the 2K Sports Classic and the season concluded with the Final Four at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on April 8, 2019. Pract ...
on November 6, 2018. Conference play began on January 2, 2019 concluding on March 9, 2019. The Sam Houston State Bearkats won the regular season championship with a conference record of 16–2. The
2019 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament was held in
Katy, Texas
Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city ...
at the
Merrell Center
The Leonard E. Merrell Center (commonly known as the Merrell Center) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Katy, Texas. It was built in 2005 and was the former home of the Katy Copperheads (National Indoor Football League) and the Katy Ruff Ri ...
from March 13–17, 2019. The 2nd seeded Abilene Christian Wildcats won the conference tournament championship and received the conference automatic bid to the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
tournament. Two other teams also received bids to post season tournaments. Conference regular season champion, Sam Houston State, received the conference automatic bid to the
NIT tournament.
New Orleans
New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...
received a bid to the
CIT tournament.
Preseason
Coaching changes
McNeese State University
McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...
announced that it would not renew the contract of former head coach
Dave Simmons on March 4, 2018.
Heath Schroyer
Heath Martin Schroyer (born March 15, 1972) is an American college basketball coach, currently the athletic director at McNeese State University, where he was head coach of the men's basketball team from 2018 until 2021. He has had previous head ...
was named head coach on March 15, 2018.
Incarnate Word announced that
Ken Burmeister
Ken Burmeister (June 3, 1947 – May 19, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the University of the Incarnate Word for 12 seasons from 2006 until 2018.
Burmeister graduated from St. Mary's University, Texas, ...
would not return on March 6, 2018.
Carson Cunningham
Carson Cunningham (born May 7, 1977) is an American basketball coach and author who is currently an assistant coach for the Missouri State Bears basketball team. He is the former head coach of the Incarnate Word Cardinals men's basketball team.
...
was named as men's basketball head coach on March 23, 2018.
2018-19 Southland Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
Preseason All-Conference Teams
''
Source:''
Postseason
Southland Conference tournament
* March 13–16, 2019: Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament,
Leonard E. Merrill Center,
Katy, Texas
Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city ...
Source:
NCAA tournament
Abilene Christian, winner of the conference tournament, was awarded an automatic bid to the NCAA Division I basketball tournament. Abilene Christian's season ended losing to
Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
in the first round.
National Invitation tournament
Sam Houston State received the conference automatic bid to the NIT tournament. The Bearkats lost in the first round of the tournament to
TCU TCU may stand for:
Education
* Tanzania Commission for Universities, regulatory body for Universities in Tanzania
* Texas Christian University, a private university in Fort Worth, Texas
** TCU Horned Frogs, the athletic programs of the school
* Tok ...
.
CollegeInsider.com Postseason tournament
New Orleans received a bid to the CIT. The Privateers lost in an overtime game to
Texas Southern
Texas Southern University (Texas Southern or TSU) is a public historically Black university in Houston. The university is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schoo ...
in the first round.
Awards and honors
Regular season
SLC Player-of-the-Week
* Nov. 12 – Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian)
* Nov. 19 – Morgan Taylor (Incarnate Word)
* Nov. 26 – Jaren Lewis (Abilene Christian)
* Dec. 3 – Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
* Dec. 10 – Shannon Bogues (Stephen F. Austin)
* Dec. 17 – Roydell Brown (McNeese State)
* Dec. 27 – Nick Garth (Lamar)
* Jan. 2 – Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
* Jan. 7 – Ian DuBose (Houston Baptist)
* Jan. 14 – Payten Ricks (Abilene Christian)
* Jan. 21 – Kai Mitchell (Sam Houston State)
* Jan. 28 – Cameron Delaney (Sam Houston State)
* Feb. 4 – Christian Barrett (Lamar)
* Feb. 11 – Ishmael Lane (Northwestern State)
* Feb. 18 – Nick Garth (Lamar)
* Feb. 25 – Josh Delaney (Sam Houston State)
* Mar. 4 – Nick Garth (Lamar)
* Mar. 10 – Jerimiah Jefferson (Nicholls)
Postseason
SLC All-Conference Teams and Awards
Source:
References
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