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 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 at the Merrell Center 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 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 received a bid to the CIT tournament
2019 Southland Conference Men 's Basketball Tournament
2019 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
2018–19 Southland Conference men's basketball season