1985β86 LSU Tigers basketball | |
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NCAA tournament, Final Four | |
Conference | Southeastern Conference |
Record | 26β12 (9β9 SEC) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coaches |
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Home arena | LSU Assembly Center |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Kentucky β | 17 | – | 1 | .944 | 32 | – | 4 | .889 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alabama | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 24 | – | 9 | .727 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Auburn | 13 | – | 5 | .722 | 22 | – | 11 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 19 | – | 14 | .576 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LSU | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 26 | – | 12 | .684 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 17 | – | 13 | .567 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vanderbilt | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 13 | – | 15 | .464 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tennessee | 5 | – | 13 | .278 | 12 | – | 16 | .429 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ole Miss | 4 | – | 14 | .222 | 12 | – | 17 | .414 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mississippi State | 3 | – | 15 | .167 | 6 | – | 22 | .214 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
β
1986 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1985β86 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1985β86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It is best known for being the lowest seeded team (11th) in the NCAA tournament to reach the Final Four (later matched by George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, LoyolaβChicago in 2018, UCLA in 2021, and NC State in 2024). [1] They remain the only 11 seed to beat the 1, 2, and 3 seeds in their region in the same tournament.
The team is also remembered for overcoming numerous obstacles during that season. Star forward Jerry Reynolds had left LSU early for the NBA draft. The Tigers originally had two seven-footers and a third player near that height on their roster, but only one was available by the start of the seasonβ6β11 Damon Vance was declared academically ineligible, and 7-1 freshman and future NBA player Tito Horford either left the team or was dismissed, depending on the source. [2] [3] The other seven-footer, Zoran Jovanovich, suffered a season-ending knee injury during the team's Christmas break. [3] Two other players were declared academically ineligibleβDennis Brown, reportedly a solid engineering student, took too few courses in his major and was ruled out for the entire season, and star forward Nikita Wilson failed two courses in the fall semester, ruling him out for the spring semester. [3] As a result of these losses, Ricky Blanton switched positions from guard to center, and team captain Don Redden said at the time that the Tigers had "gone from an NBA-size team to a big junior high team." [2] The team was then hit with a chickenpox outbreak, with star forward John Williams and backup forward Bernard Woodside hospitalized for a week and the team quarantined for several days. LSU was forced to reschedule what was intended to be a nationally televised game against Auburn due to a lack of healthy players, and coach Dale Brown even went so far as to draft football player Chris Carrier as emergency cover. [2]
1985β86 LSU Tigers men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site city, state | ||||||
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Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
11/22/1985* |
No. 14 | Montana State | W 84β59 | 1β0 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
11/27/1985* |
No. 12 | at Washington | W 70β61 | 2β0 |
Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA | ||||||
11/30/1985* |
No. 12 | at BYUβHawaii | W 89β71 | 3β0 |
Laie, HI | ||||||
12/01/1985* |
No. 12 | at Hawaii Pacific | W 101β89 | 4β0 |
Honolulu, HI | ||||||
12/02/1985* |
No. 12 | at Hawaii Loa | W 77β68 | 5β0 |
Kaneohe, HI | ||||||
12/03/1985* |
No. 11 | at HawaiiβHilo | W 70β61 | 6β0 |
Hilo, HI | ||||||
12/14/1985* |
No. 11 | HardinβSimmons | W 87β71 | 7β0 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
12/16/1985* |
No. 11 | at Lamar | W 74β57 | 8β0 |
Montagne Center Beaumont, TX | ||||||
12/17/1985* |
No. 9 | at Texas | W 72β65 | 9β0 |
Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX | ||||||
12/20/1985* |
No. 9 |
Southeastern Louisiana LSU Invitational semifinal |
W 82β61 | 10β0 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
12/21/1985* |
No. 9 |
Southern LSU Invitational Final |
W 91β83 | 11β0 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
12/30/1985* |
No. 9 | Oral Roberts | W 82β64 | 12β0 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
SEC regular season | |||||||||||
01/02/1986 |
No. 8 | Georgia | W 85β73 | 13β0 (1β0) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
01/04/1986 |
No. 8 | Mississippi State | W 90β84 | 14β0 (2β0) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
01/09/1986 |
No. 8 | at Alabama | L 67β83 | 14β1 (2β1) |
Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL | ||||||
01/11/1986 |
No. 8 | at Tennessee | L 77β88 | 14β2 (2β2) |
Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN | ||||||
01/13/1986 |
No. 8 | Ole Miss | W 86β68 | 15β2 (3β2) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
01/18/1986 |
No. 14 | Vanderbilt | W 84β67 | 16β2 (4β2) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
01/22/1986 |
No. 14 | at Florida | L 65β74 | 16β3 (4β3) |
O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL | ||||||
01/29/1986 |
No. 17 | No. 8 Kentucky | L 52β54 | 16β4 (4β4) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
02/01/1986 |
No. 17 | at Georgia | L 76β92 | 16β5 (4β5) |
Georgia Coliseum Athens, GA | ||||||
02/02/1986* |
No. 17 | at Georgetown | L 72β74 | 16β6 |
Capital Centre Landover, MD | ||||||
02/04/1986 |
at Auburn | W 63β61 | 17β6 (5β5) |
Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL | |||||||
02/05/1986 |
at Mississippi State | W 68β62 | 18β6 (6β5) |
Humphrey Coliseum Mississippi State, MS | |||||||
02/09/1986 |
No. 20 Alabama | L 71β80 | 18β7 (6β6) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | |||||||
02/12/1986 |
Tennessee | W 75β50 | 19β7 (7β6) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | |||||||
02/15/1986 |
at Ole Miss | L 57β58 | 19β8 (7β7) |
Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS | |||||||
02/20/1986 |
at Vanderbilt | W 74β68 | 20β8 (8β7) |
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN | |||||||
02/22/1986 |
Florida | W 80β69 | 21β8 (9β7) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | |||||||
02/26/1986 |
Auburn | L 86β92 | 21β9 (9β8) |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | |||||||
03/01/1986 |
at No. 5 Kentucky | L 57β68 | 21β10 (9β9) |
Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | |||||||
SEC tournament | |||||||||||
03/06/1986 LSN |
(5) | vs. (4) Florida Quarterfinals |
W 72β66 | 22β10 |
Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
03/07/1986 LSN |
(5) | at (1) No. 4 Kentucky Semifinals |
L 58β61 | 22β11 |
Rupp Arena Lexington, KY | ||||||
NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
03/13/1986* |
(11 SE) | vs. (6 SE)
Purdue First round |
W 94β87 2 OT | 23β11 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
03/15/1986* |
(11 SE) | vs. (3 SE)
Memphis State Second round |
W 83β81 | 24β11 |
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA | ||||||
03/20/1986* |
(11 SE) | vs. (2 SE)
Georgia Tech Regional semifinals |
W 70β64 | 25β11 |
The Omni Atlanta, GA | ||||||
03/22/1986* |
(11 SE) | vs. (1 SE) Kentucky Regional Finals |
W 59β57 | 26β11 |
The Omni Atlanta, GA | ||||||
03/29/1986* |
(11 SE) | vs. (2 W)
Louisville Semifinals |
L 77β88 | 26β12 |
Reunion Arena Dallas, TX | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from
AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. |