2018–19 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team

The 2018–19 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Edwardsville during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by fourth-year head coach Jon Harris, played their home games at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 10–21, 6–12 in OVC play to finish in a four-way tie for seventh place. As the No. 8 seed, they lost in the first round of the OVC Tournament to Morehead State.

2018–19 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
2018–19 record	10–21 (6–12 OVC)
Head coach	Jon Harris (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Charles "Bubba" Wells Brian Barone Mike Waldo Casey Wyllie (Director of Basketball Operations)
Home arena	Vadalabene Center

2018–19 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Belmont	16	–	2		.889			27	–	6		.818
Murray State†	16	–	2		.889			28	–	5		.848
Jacksonville State	15	–	3		.833			24	–	9		.727
Austin Peay	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
Morehead State	8	–	10		.444			13	–	20		.394
Eastern Illinois	7	–	11		.389			14	–	18		.438
UT Martin	6	–	12		.333			12	–	19		.387
SIU Edwardsville	6	–	12		.333			10	–	21		.323
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	12		.333			13	–	18		.419
Tennessee State	6	–	12		.333			9	–	21		.300
Southeast Missouri State	5	–	13		.278			10	–	21		.323
Tennessee Tech	4	–	14		.222			8	–	23		.258
† 2019 OVC Tournament winner

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2017–18 season 9–21, 5–13 in OVC play to finish in a three-way tie for ninth place. Due to Southeast Missouri State being ineligible for postseason play due to APR violations, the Cougars received the No. 8 seed in the OVC Tournament where they lost in the first round to Tennessee Tech.[1]

Preseason

In a vote of conference coaches and sports information directors, SIUE was picked to finish in 12th place in the OVC.[2]

Postseason

On March 11, 2019, SIUE announced that coach Jon Harris' contract had not been renewed after a four-year record of 31 wins and 88 losses.[3] Assistant coaches Brian Barone, Charles "Bubba" Wells, and Mike Waldo were all retained, with Barone being named as interim head coach.[4] Former head coach Marty Simmons, one of only three Cougars coaches with a winning record, has expressed an interest in returning.[3]

Roster

2018–19 SIU Edwardsville Cougars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 0 Treavon Martin 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Curie HS Chicago, IL F 1 D.J. Jackson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Fayette Ware HS Moscow, TN G 2 D'Quan Applewhite (xW) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) RS Jr Thornton Township HS Harvey, IL G 3 Daniel Kinchen 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr Alabama Southern CC/Stephenson HS Atlanta, GA G 5 Tyresse Williford 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Jr Wabash Valley CC/Marshall HS Chicago, IL F 10 Bill Awet 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So Victory Rock Prep Sydney, Australia G 13 Christian Ellis 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Modesto Christian HS Oakland, CA G 15 David McFarland 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr East Mississippi CC/Raymond HS Edwards, MS G 21 Blake Lindenmeyer (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Arcola HS Arcola, IL G 22 Justin Benton  6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Houston HS Memphis, TN C 23 Elochukwu Eze 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Fr Asheville Christian Academy Enugu, Nigeria F 24 Cameron Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Hazelwood Central HS St. Louis, MO G 25 Jaylen McCoy 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Wallace State CC/Saint James School Montgomery, AL G/F 30 Anselm Uzuegbunem 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Northern Oklahoma CC/Harding Charter Prep HS Oklahoma City, OK G 31 Jackson Best (W) 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Edwardsville HS Edwardsville, IL F 32 Brandon Jackson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Cardinal Ritter HS East St. Louis, IL	Head coach Jon Harris Assistant coach(es) Bubba Wells Brian Barone Mike Waldo Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 30 August 2019

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
November 2, 2018* 6:00 pm, ESPN+		Kentucky State	W 80–61		17 – B. Jackson	10 – Uzuegbunem	7 – Ellis	Vadalabene Center (1,107) Edwardsville, IL
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Pacific	L 65–74	0–1	17 – McFarland	7 – B. Jackson	4 – Williams	Vadalabene Center (1,387) Edwardsville, IL
November 10, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Winthrop	L 82–94	0–2	20 – McFarland	7 – Uzuegbunem	5 – Ellis	Vadalabene Center (1,358) Edwardsville, IL
November 21, 2018* 7:00 pm		at Valparaiso	L 70–75 ^OT	0-3	24 – Williford	7 – Ellis & B. Jackson	4 – Williford	Athletics–Recreation Center (1,940) Valparaiso, IN
November 25, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Incarnate Word	W 80–68	1–3	20 – Williford	6 – Williford	8 – Williford	Vadalabene Center (1,011) Edwardsville, IL
November 28, 2018* 7:00 pm		at Western Illinois	L 58-83	1–4	12 – McFarland	6 – Ellis	4 – Williford	Western Hall (441) Macomb, IL
December 1, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Southern Illinois	L 61–82	1–5	24 – McFarland	7 – B. Jackson	3 – Martin, McFarland & Williford	Vadalabene Center (3,360) Edwardsville, IL
December 8, 2018* 2:00 pm, ESPN+		Harris–Stowe	W 92–87	2–5	28 – B. Jackson	11 – B. Jackson	4 – Williford	Vadalabene Center (856) Edwardsville, IL
December 17, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Drake Las Vegas Classic campus game	L 66–79	2–6	21 – McFarland	6 – B. Jackson	2 – Kinchen	Knapp Center (2,375) Des Moines, IA
December 19, 2018* 9:30 pm, P12N		at Washington State Las Vegas Classic campus game	L 73–89	2–7	24 – McFarland	7 – McFarland	3 – McFarland & McCoy	Beasley Coliseum (1,776) Pullman, WA
December 22, 2018* 1:00 pm		Cal State Northridge Las Vegas Classic Visitors Bracket semifinals	L 79–85	2–8	18 – McFarland	7 – B. Jackson & D.J. Jackson	6 – Williford	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
December 23, 2018* 1:00 pm		Northern Colorado Las Vegas Classic Visitors Bracket 3rd place game	W 82–72	3–8	25 – Williford	8 – Williams	3 – Williford	Orleans Arena  Paradise, NV
December 30, 2018* 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Missouri S&T	W 79–66	4–8	16 – Williams	6 – B.Jackson, Uzuegbunem & Williford	6 – Williford	Vadalabene Center (1,137) Edwardsville, IL
Ohio Valley Conference regular season
January 3, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		Southeast Missouri State	W 94–88	5–8 (1–0)	27 – Williams	8 – B.Jackson	6 – Williford	Vadalabene Center (1,048) Edwardsville, IL
January 5, 2019 3:15 pm, ESPN+		at Eastern Illinois	L 81–84 ^OT	5–9 (1–1)	26 – B.Jackson	9 – B.Jackson	11 – Williford	Lantz Arena (1,088) Charleston, IL
January 10, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Tennessee Tech	L 69–78 ^OT	5–10 (1–2)	17 – McFarland	7 – B.Jackson	6 – Ellis	Eblen Center (1,674) Cookeville, TN
January 12, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN+		at Jacksonville State	L 54–90	5–11 (1–3)	10 – McFarland	5 – Uzuegbunem	2 – Williford	Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,189) Jacksonville, AL
January 17, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		Austin Peay	L 71–79	5–12 (1–4)	16 – Williams	8 – B. Jackson	4 – Ellis & Williford	Vadalabene Center (1,322) Edwardsville, IL
January 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Murray State	L 72–82	5–13 (1–5)	33 – Williford	6 – B. Jackson	4 – Williford	Vadalabene Center (2,178) Edwardsville, IL
January 24, 2019 7:45 pm, ESPN+		at Southeast Missouri State	W 87–86 ^3OT	6–13 (2–5)	21 – McFarland	15 – B. Jackson	5 – Williford	Show Me Center (1,188) Cape Girardeau, MO
January 26, 2019 3:30 pm, ESPN+		at UT Martin	L 69–85	6–14 (2–6)	19 – McFarland	8 – Martin	5 – Williford	Skyhawk Arena (1,031) Martin, TN
January 31, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Morehead State	W 83–76	7–14 (3–6)	23 – Williford	5 – Uzuegbunem	4 – Ellis	Vadalabene Center (1,079) Edwardsville, IL
February 2, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Kentucky	W 88–82 ^2OT	8–14 (4–6)	27 – Williford	13 – Uzuegbunem	6 – Ellis	Vadalabene Center (1,060) Edwardsville, IL
February 7, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Austin Peay	L 45–80	8–15 (4–7)	12 – B. Jackson	8 – B. Jackson	4 – Williford	Dunn Center (1,479) Clarksville, TN
February 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+		at Murray State	L 55–86	8–16 (4–8)	14 – McFarland	8 – B. Jackson	3 – McCoy	CFSB Center (8,007) Murray, KY
February 14, 2019 5:30 pm, ESPN+		Eastern Illinois	L 65–79	8–17 (4–9)	16 – B. Jackson	10 – B. Jackson	6 – McFarland	Vadalabene Center (1,012) Edwardsville, IL
February 16, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		UT Martin	L 69–73	8–18 (4–10)	15 – McFarland	6 – B. Jackson	5 – Williams	Vadalabene Center (1,011) Edwardsville, IL
February 21, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		at Tennessee State	W 85–84	9–18 (5–10)	22 – B. Jackson	7 – Uzuegbunem	3 – Williams	Gentry Complex (2,301) Nashville, TN
February 23, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		at Belmont	L 75–97	9–19 (5–11)	22 – B. Jackson	7 – Uzuegbunem	5 – Williford	Curb Event Center (4,094) Nashville, TN
February 28, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+		Tennessee Tech	W 76–68	10–19 (6–11)	16 – B. Jackson	8 – B. Jackson & Uzuegbunem	6 – Williford	Vadalabene Center (1,350) Edwardsville, IL
March 2, 2019 5:00 pm, ESPN+		Jacksonville State	L 72–97	10–20 (6–12)	19 – B. Jackson	4 – McFarland	5 – McCoy	Vadalabene Center (1,631) Edwardsville, IL
Ohio Valley Conference Tournament
March 6, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+	(8)	vs. (5) Morehead State First round	L 68–72	10–21	17 – B. Jackson	9 – B. Jackson	5 – McFarland	Ford Center  Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time Source[5].

References

1. "SIU-Edwardsville vs. Tennessee Tech - Game Recap - February 28, 2018 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2018-03-01.
2. "Belmont Picked As 2018-19 OVC Men's Basketball Favorites; Bruins' Windler Tabbed Preseason Player of the Year". Ohio Valley Conference. October 23, 2018. Retrieved 23 October 2018.
3. "COLLEGE MEN'S BASKETBALL: Harris out as SIUE coach; Simmons interested in job". The Telegraph/Hearst Newspapers. March 11, 2019. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
4. "Brian Barone Named SIUE Men's Basketball Interim Head Coach". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. March 12, 2019. Retrieved 12 March 2019.
5. "2018–19 SIUE Men's Basketball Schedule". Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Retrieved August 30, 2018.