This year, the Southeastern Men’s basketball team finished the 2025-26 season missing the SLC tournament for the first time in five years.
SLU ended the season with a 9-22 overall record and finished last in the SLC after finishing the season 6-16 against conference opponents.
With high expectations, the Lions started the season off strong with a huge win at home against Mississippi College, scoring points in the triple digits before losing on the road to Ole Miss, 88-58.
They traveled on with a 0-4 losing streak, suffering close losses to UL Lafayette, Georgia Tech and Mississippi State before getting their second win of the season against William Carey.
After they secured a win at home, they traveled to Wilmington, NC, to compete in the Live Oak Bank Holiday Classic and defeated Gardner-Webb and Navy before facing their first SLC opponent.
Once SLU reached conference play, the team lost to Northwestern State 76-68, with the Demons making a late comeback in the second half.
In conference play, the Lions struggled to find their footing through the losses. SLU only had wins against HCU and Lamar early in the season, SLC rival Nicholls, UIW at home and finished their season with a win over UNO.
Due to many close losses in the final minutes of SLC games, the Lions missed the conference tournament.
Through thick and thin, many players still had major key highlights during the season.
Former SLC Freshman of the Year in 2025, Jeremy Elyzee, has been a consistent key player on the team’s roster and recorded 23 blocks and 34 steals while averaging 11.1 points per game on offense.
After playing in all 31 games this season and consistently completing many of them, he scored double digits, with his top performances being 21 points against North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) and 23 points against UNO.
Next to him was the fifth-year forward Isaiah Gaines, who led the team against UNO in January with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The Lions this season have had many moments when the game clock nears the final few minutes of the match; SLU tends to rush to build a lead and slip up on the ball, resulting in more fouls from being overly aggressive and more mistakes.
In turn, it produces turnovers for the opposing team and makes more penalty-free throws.
With an average of 12.4 penalties per game, this results in 12.2 points on turnovers that could have given Southeastern a win rather than giving the ball away.
The majority of wins come from the home turf, rather than the road and prospects are looking up toward next season, with changes coming to coaching styles and in-game play.
