2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team

The 2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team represented Abilene Christian University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wildcats were led by eighth-year head coach Joe Golding and played their home games at the Moody Coliseum in Abilene, Texas as members of the Southland Conference. They finished the season 27-7, 14-4 to finish in 2nd place. In the Southland tournament, they defeated Southeastern Louisiana in the semifinals before beating New Orleans in the final to win the Southland tournament. As a result, they received a automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the first round to Kentucky.

2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball
Southland tournament champions Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic Champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	27–7 (14–4 Southland)
Head coach	Joe Golding (8th season)
Assistant coaches	Brette Tanner Ted Crass Antonio Bostic
Home arena	Moody Coliseum

2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Sam Houston State	16	–	2		.889			21	–	12		.636
Abilene Christian †	14	–	4		.778			27	–	7		.794
Southeastern Louisiana	12	–	6		.667			17	–	16		.515
New Orleans	12	–	6		.667			19	–	14		.576
Lamar	12	–	6		.667			20	–	13		.606
Texas A&M–CC	9	–	9		.500			14	–	18		.438
Central Arkansas	8	–	10		.444			14	–	19		.424
Houston Baptist	8	–	10		.444			12	–	18		.400
Stephen F. Austin	7	–	11		.389			14	–	16		.467
Nicholls	7	–	11		.389			14	–	17		.452
Northwestern State	6	–	12		.333			11	–	20		.355
McNeese State	5	–	13		.278			9	–	22		.290
Incarnate Word	1	–	17		.056			6	–	25		.194
† 2019 Southland tournament winner

Previous season

The Wildcats finished the 2017–18 season 16–16, 8–10 in Southland play to finish in a three-way tie for eighth place. They failed to qualify for the Southland tournament. They received an invitation to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament where they lost in the first round to Drake.

Roster

2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 0 Jaylen Franklin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Little Rock, Arkansas F 1 Jaren Lewis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Orlando, Florida G 4 Damien Daniels 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) 140 lb (64 kg) Fr Kansas City, Missouri G 5 Payten Ricks 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Wichita, Kansas G 11 Tobias Cameron 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) RS Fr Gold Coast, Queensland G 14 Trey Lenox 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Hot Springs, Arkansas F 15 Hayden Farquhar 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Throckmorton, Texas G 22 Chase Cobb 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Richmond, Texas F 23 Hayden Howell  6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Midwest City, Oklahoma F 32 Joe Pleasant 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Overland Park, Kansas G 33 Paul Hiepler 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Camarillo, California C 34 Kolton Kohl 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) RS So San Angelo, Texas F 42 Clay Gayman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Nevada, Missouri	Head coach Joe Golding (Abilene Christian) Assistant coach(es) Brette Tanner (Emporia State) Ted Crass (Little Rock) Antonio Bostic (Stephen F. Austin) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: January 26, 2019

Schedule and results

Sources:

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 6, 2018* 7:00 p.m.		Arlington Baptist	W 107–54	1–0	Moody Coliseum (1,500) Abilene, TX
Nov 9, 2018* 8:00 p.m.		Arkansas State	W 94–73	2–0	Moody Coliseum (1,209) Abilene, TX
Nov 15, 2018* 8:00 p.m.		at Denver	W 67–61	3–0	Magness Arena (804) Denver, CO
Nov 22, 2018* 5:00 p.m.		vs. Elon Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic	W 72–56	4–0	Alex G. Spanos Center  Stockton, CA
Nov 23, 2018* 7:30 p.m.		at Pacific Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic	W 73–71	5–0	Alex G. Spanos Center (602) Stockton, CA
Nov 24, 2018* 10:00 p.m.		vs. UC Riverside Tiger's Thanksgiving Classic	W 60–48	6–0	Alex G. Spanos Center  Stockton, CA
Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 p.m.		Howard Payne	W 90–53	7–0	Moody Coliseum (1,027) Abilene, TX
Dec 1, 2018* 5:00 p.m.		at Pepperdine	L 62–77	7–1	Firestone Fieldhouse (1,044) Malibu, CA
Dec 4, 2018* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Campbell	W 83–68	8–1	Moody Coliseum (1,027) Abilene, TX
Dec 8, 2018* 10:30 am		Schreiner	W 93–53	9–1	Moody Coliseum (1,018) Abilene, TX
Dec 15, 2018* 6:00 pm		at No. 11 Texas Tech Throwback Game	L 48–82	9–2	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (7,169) Lubbock, TX
Dec 21, 2018* 6:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeast Missouri State	W 70–68	10–2	Show Me Center (672) Cape Girardeau, MO
Dec 29, 2018* 2:00 p.m.		McMurry	W 88–40	11–2	Moody Coliseum (685) Abilene, TX
Southland regular season
Jan 2, 2019 7:00 p.m.		New Orleans	W 68–58	12–2 (1–0)	Moody Coliseum (525) Abilene, TX
Jan 5, 2019 6:30 p.m.		at Sam Houston State	L 68–71	12–3 (1–1)	Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum (771) Huntsville, TX
Jan 9, 2019 6:30 pm		at McNeese State	W 73–72	13–3 (2–1)	H&HP Complex (1,782) Lake Charles, LA
Jan 12, 2019 4:00 pm		at Southeastern Louisiana	W 75–72	14–3 (3–1)	University Center (563) Hammond, LA
Jan 16, 2019 7:00 p.m.		Houston Baptist	W 75–68	15–3 (4–1)	Moody Coliseum (1,169) Abilene, TX
Jan 19, 2019 6:00 pm		Northwestern State	W 78–69	16–3 (5–1)	Moody Coliseum (1,199) Abilene, TX
Jan 23, 2019 6:30 pm, ESPN+		at Stephen F. Austin	L 60–61	16–4 (5–2)	William R. Johnson Coliseum (3,027) Nacogdoches, TX
Jan 26, 2019 3:30 pm, ESPN+		Central Arkansas	W 79–56	17–4 (6–2)	Moody Coliseum (1,669) Abilene, TX
Jan 30, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN3		Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 78–71	18–4 (7–2)	Moody Coliseum (1,301) Abilene, TX
Feb 6, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lamar	W 75–64	19–4 (8–2)	Montagne Center (2,438) Beaumont, TX
Feb 9, 2019 6:00 pm		Sam Houston State	L 85–90 2OT	19–5 (8–3)	Moody Coliseum (2,397) Abilene, TX
Feb 13, 2019		at Nicholls State	W 64–48	20–5 (9–3)	Stopher Gym (313) Thibodaux, LA
Feb 16, 2019 7:00 pm		at Incarnate Word	W 68–48	21–5 (10–3)	McDermott Convocation Center (739) San Antonio, TX
Feb 23, 2019 3:30 pm		Southeastern Louisiana	L 66–75	21–6 (10–4)	Moody Coliseum (1,399) Abilene, TX
Feb 27, 2019 7:00 p.m.		at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	W 73–64	22–6 (11–4)	American Bank Center (1,191) Corpus Christi, TX
Mar 2, 2019 4:00 p.m.		at Central Arkansas	W 67–55	23–6 (12–4)	Farris Center (825) Conway, AR
Mar 6, 2019 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Stephen F. Austin	W 72–58	24–6 (13–4)	Moody Coliseum (1,235) Abilene, TX
Mar 9, 2019 4:00 p.m.		Incarnate Word	W 81–52	25–6 (14–4)	Moody Coliseum (1,501) Abilene, TX
Southland tournament
Mar 15, 2019 7:30 pm, ESPN+	(2)	vs. (3) Southeastern Louisiana Semifinals	W 69–66	26–6	Merrell Center (2,100) Katy, TX
Mar 16, 2019 8:30 pm, ESPN2	(2)	vs. (4) New Orleans Championship	W 77–60	27–6	Merrell Center (1,751) Katy, TX
NCAA tournament
Mar 21, 2019* 6:10 pm, CBS	(15 MW)	vs. (2 MW) No. 7 Kentucky First Round	L 44–79	27–7	VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena (13,495) Jacksonville, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

See also

• 2018–19 Abilene Christian Wildcats women's basketball team