1976–77 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team

The 1976–77 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team represented Southern Illinois University Carbondale during the 1976–77 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Salukis were led by eighth-year head coach Paul Lambert and played their home games at the SIU Arena in Carbondale, Illinois as members of the Missouri Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–7, 8–4 in MVC play to finish in first place. The Salukis won the MVC tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first appearance in the Division I tournament in program history.

1976–77 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball
MVC regular season and tournament champion
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	22–7 (8–4 MVC)
Head coach	Paul Lambert
Home arena	SIU Arena

1976–77 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Southern Illinois †	8	–	4		.667			22	–	7		.759
New Mexico State	8	–	4		.667			17	–	10		.630
Wichita State	7	–	5		.583			18	–	10		.643
West Texas State	7	–	5		.583			17	–	13		.567
Drake	5	–	7		.417			10	–	17		.370
Bradley	4	–	8		.333			9	–	18		.333
Tulsa	3	–	9		.250			6	–	21		.222
Indiana State		–			–			25	–	3		.893
Creighton		–			–			21	–	7		.750
† 1977 MVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1976–77 Southern Illinois Salukis men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown C 10 Al Grant 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Fr Cedartown Cedartown, Georgia G 12 Tom Harris 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jr Dunbar Vocational Chicago, Illinois G 14 Gary Fitzsimmons 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Jr McClintock HS Nebraska Chamblee, Georgia F 25 Richard Ford 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) So Parker Birmingham, Alabama F 30 Gary Wilson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Carver Columbus, Georgia G 31 Mark Winter — 180 lb (82 kg) So Carmi Carmi, Illinois G 32 Milt Huggins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) So Palmetto Palmetto, Georgia G 34 Mike Glenn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Coosa Rome, Georgia G 35 Jerry Kellum 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr Murphysboro John A. Logan College Murphysboro, Illinois F 40 Corky Abrams 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 211 lb (96 kg) Sr Douglass Atlanta, Georgia G 41 Wayne Abrams 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Douglass Atlanta, Georgia F 42 Barry Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Eldorado Eldorado, Illinois G/F 43 Al Williams 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Hamilton Memphis, Tennessee F/C 44 Dan Kieszkowski 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Rogers Michigan City, Indiana F/C 54 Mel Hughlett 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 226 lb (103 kg) RS Sr Carbondale Vincennes Southeastern Louisiana Carbondale, Illinois	Head coach Paul Lambert Assistant coach(es) George Iubelt Herman Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 11, 1976* 7:35 p.m.		Brazilian National Team	W 87–59		SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Regular season
Nov 26, 1976* 7:00 p.m.		vs. No. 20 Missouri Arch Classic	W 68–55	1–0
Nov 29, 1976* 7:35 p.m.		William Jewell	W 73–60	2–0	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Dec 4, 1976* 7:35 p.m.		UMKC	W 96–78	3–0	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Dec 6, 1976* 7:35 p.m.		Northeastern State	W 63–61	4–0	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Dec 8, 1976* 7:35 p.m.		Millikin	W 82–45	5–0	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Dec 10, 1976* 8:00 p.m.		at Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Classic	W 72–67	6–0	Fitzgerald Field House  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dec 11, 1976* 8:00 p.m.		vs. Hofstra Pittsburgh Classic	L 66–67	6–1	Fitzgerald Field House  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Dec 15, 1976* 7:35 p.m.		Cal Poly	W 79–50	7–1	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Dec 20, 1976* 7:00 p.m.		at Georgia Southern	L 67–83	7–2	Hanner Fieldhouse  Statesboro, Georgia
Jan 3, 1977* 7:35 p.m.		Benedictine (KS)	W 100–51	8–2	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Jan 8, 1977 7:35 p.m.		Bradley	L 58–65	8–3 (0–1)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Jan 13, 1977 7:35 p.m.		Wichita State	W 60–59	9–3 (1–1)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Jan 20, 1977 7:30 p.m.		at West Texas A&M	L 74–78 OT	9–4 (1–2)
Jan 22, 1977 8:30 p.m.		at New Mexico State	W 71–69	10–4 (2–2)	Pan American Center  Las Cruces, New Mexico
Jan 29, 1977 7:35 p.m.		Tulsa	W 85–51	11–4 (3–2)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Jan 31, 1977* 8:00 p.m.		at Saint Louis	W 76–73	12–4	Kiel Auditorium  St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 5, 1977 7:30 p.m.		at Wichita State	L 90–91 2OT	12–5 (3–3)	Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, Kansas
Feb 7, 1977* 7:35 p.m.		Roosevelt	W 95–58	13–5	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Feb 10, 1977 7:35 p.m.		West Texas A&M	W 76–58	14–5 (4–3)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Feb 12, 1977 7:30 p.m.		at Bradley	W 82–81	15–5 (5–3)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Feb 14, 1977* 7:35 p.m.		Evansville	W 79–67	16–5	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Feb 17, 1977 7:35 p.m.		New Mexico State	W 93–64	17–5 (6–3)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Feb 19, 1977 7:35 p.m.		at Drake	W 66–57	18–5 (7–3)	Veterans Memorial Auditorium  Des Moines, Iowa
Feb 21, 1977* 7:35 p.m.		Evansville	W 72–60	19–5	Roberts Municipal Stadium  Evansville, Indiana
Feb 24, 1977 7:30 p.m.		at Tulsa	L 91–99 OT	19–6 (7–4)	Tulsa Convention Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 26, 1977 7:35 p.m.		Drake	W 80–61	20–6 (8–4)	SIU Arena  Carbondale, Illinois
Missouri Valley tournament
Mar 5, 1977* 8:00 p.m.	(1)	vs. (4) West Texas A&M Championship game	W 82–69	21–6	Levitt Arena  Wichita, Kansas
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1977* 3:35 p.m.		vs. No. 20 Arizona First round	W 81–77	22–6	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Mar 17, 1977* 9:35 p.m.		vs. No. 9 Wake Forest Midwest Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 81–86	22–7	Myriad Convention Center  Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time.