1986–87 LSU Tigers basketball team

1986–87 LSU Tigers basketball
1986–87 LSU Tigers basketball
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	24–15 (8–10 SEC)
Head coach	Dale Brown (15th season);
Assistant coaches	Ron Abernathy (11th season); Bo Bahnsen; Johnny Jones (3rd season);
Home arena	LSU Assembly Center
	Seasons ← 1985–86 1987–88 →

1986–87 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 9 Alabama †	16	–	2	.889	28	–	5	.848
Florida	12	–	6	.667	23	–	11	.676
Georgia	10	–	8	.556	18	–	12	.600
Kentucky	10	–	8	.556	18	–	11	.621
Auburn	9	–	9	.500	18	–	13	.581
Ole Miss	8	–	10	.444	15	–	14	.517
LSU	8	–	10	.444	24	–	15	.615
Tennessee	7	–	11	.389	14	–	15	.483
Vanderbilt	7	–	11	.389	18	–	16	.529
Mississippi State	3	–	15	.167	7	–	21	.250

† 1987 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986–87 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1986-87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Dale Brown and played their home games at LSU Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

A year after becoming the lowest seeded team (11th) in the NCAA tournament to reach the Final Four, the Tigers nearly reached the Final Four for the second straight season as a double-digit seed. The Tigers finished below .500 during SEC regular season play (8–10, tied for 6th), but played terrific basketball for four consecutive days in an attempt to earn the SEC's automatic bid by nearly winning the SEC tournament. They were beaten by Alabama in the championship game, but it was enough to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region, LSU beat No. 7 seed Georgia Tech, No. 2 seed Temple,^[1] and No. 3 seed DePaul^[2] to reach the Elite Eight – the 4th of Coach Brown’s tenure. In the Midwest regional final, eventual National champion Indiana got by LSU by a single point, 77–76.^[3] The Tigers finished with a record of 24–15.

Roster

1986–87 LSU Tigers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	11	Anthony Wilson	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Sr	Plain Dealing HS	Plain Dealing, LA
G	12	Darryl Joe	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Fr	Panola College	Dallas, TX
G	20	Neboisha Bukumirovich	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	181 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Medical HS, Belgrade	Nikšić, Yugoslavia
G	21	Dennis Brown	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	169 lb (77 kg)	Sr	Woodlawn HS	Baton Rouge, LA
F	30	Bernard Woodside	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	207 lb (94 kg)	Jr	St. Agnes Cathedral HS	Hempstead, NY
G	31	Oliver Brown	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Sr	University HS	Baton Rouge, LA
F	33	Ricky Blanton	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jr	Miami Killian	Miami, FL
F	41	Nikita Wilson	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Sr	Leesville HS	Leesville, LA
F	42	Ben McDonald	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Fr	Denham Springs HS	Denham Springs, LA
C	43	José Vargas	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Jr	Evangelico Central	La Romana, Dominican Republic

Head coach

Dale Brown (Minot State)

Assistant coach(es)

Ron Abernathy (Morehead State)
Bo Bahnsen (LSU)
Johnny Jones (LSU)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

^[4]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 21, 1986*		Texas Christian Preseason NIT	L 74–83	0–1	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 4, 1986*		Arkansas State	W 73–61	1–1	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 6, 1986*		at McNeese State	W 77–62	2–1	Burton Coliseum Lake Charles, Louisiana
Dec 13, 1986*		No. 16 Georgia Tech	W 52–49	3–1	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 16, 1986		at Florida	L 75–96	3–2 (0–1)	Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida
Dec 19, 1986*		Hardin-Simmons	W 77–71	4–2	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 20, 1986*		New Orleans	L 71–82	4–3	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 22, 1986		Vanderbilt	L 61–63	4–4 (0–2)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Dec 29, 1986*		vs. West Virginia State Seasider Classic	W 93–76	5–4	Laie, Hawaii
Dec 30, 1986*		vs. Illinois-Chicago Seasider Classic	W 117–84	6–4	Laie, Hawaii
Dec 31, 1986*		vs. BYU–Hawaii Seasider Classic	W 85–70	7–4	Laie, Hawaii
Jan 1, 1987*		vs. Denison	W 99–45	8–4	Laie, Hawaii
Jan 5, 1987		at Ole Miss	L 63–73	8–5 (0–3)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi
Jan 7, 1987		at Tennessee	W 79–78	9–5 (1–3)	Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 10, 1987		Georgia	L 63–64	9–6 (1–4)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 12, 1987*		vs. No. 16 Oklahoma	L 85–94	9–7	Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jan 14, 1987		at No. 15 Alabama	L 65–69	9–8 (1–5)	Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 18, 1987 ABC		at Kentucky	W 76–41	10–8 (2–5)	Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 21, 1987		Florida	L 51–75	10–9 (2–6)	Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 24, 1987*		Western Kentucky	W 67–62	11–9	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 25, 1987		at Mississippi State	W 52–50	12–9 (3–6)	Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi
Jan 28, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT		No. 18 Auburn	W 75–73	13–9 (4–6)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 31, 1987		at Vanderbilt	L 65–66	13–10 (4–7)	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 4, 1987		Ole Miss	W 82–75	14–10 (5–7)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 7, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT		Tennessee	W 60–58	15–10 (6–7)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 9, 1987*		Northern Arizona	W 70–58	16–10	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 11, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT		at Georgia	L 57–63	16–11 (6–8)	Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia
Feb 14, 1987		No. 14 Alabama	L 52–60	16–12 (6–9)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 21, 1987		Kentucky	W 65–52	17–12 (7–9)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 25, 1987		Mississippi State	W 55–46	18–12 (8–9)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mar 1, 1987 JPT		at Auburn	L 62–100	18–13 (8–10)	Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
SEC tournament
Mar 5, 1987* JPT	(7)	vs. (10) Mississippi State First round	W 68–54	19–13	The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 6, 1987* JPT	(7)	vs. (2) Florida Quarterfinals	W 72–66	20–13	The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 7, 1987* JPT	(7)	vs. (3) Georgia Semifinals	W 89–88 ^{2OT^[5]}	21–13	The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 8, 1987* ABC	(7)	vs. (1) No. 9 Alabama Championship Game	L 62–69^[6]	21–14	The Omni Atlanta, Georgia
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1987*	(10 MW)	vs. (7 MW) Georgia Tech First round	W 85–79	22–14	Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois
Mar 15, 1987*	(10 MW)	vs. (2 MW) No. 8 Temple Second Round	W 72–62	23–14	Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois
Mar 20, 1987* CBS	(10 MW)	vs. (3 MW) No. 5 DePaul Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 63–58	24–14	Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 22, 1987* CBS	(10 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Indiana Midwest Regional Final – Elite Eight	L 76–77	24–15	Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time.

^[7]

References

^ "LSU Knocks Off No. 8 Temple, 72-62". Orlando Sentinel. March 16, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
^ "LSU Defense Ends Dream for DePaul". The Chicago Tribune. March 21, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
^ "Indiana, UNLV Barely Escape to New Orleans". The Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
^ "1986-87 Men's Basketball Roster". Louisiana State University Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
^ "Conference Tournaments: Nevada Las Vegas Wins Easily in Final". The New York Times. March 8, 1987. Retrieved August 15, 2021.
^ "Conference Finals: Missouri Edges Kansas by 67-65". The New York Times. March 9, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
^ "2020-21 LSU Men's Basketball Record Book". Louisiana State University Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

[1] "LSU Knocks Off No. 8 Temple, 72-62". Orlando Sentinel. March 16, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

[2] "LSU Defense Ends Dream for DePaul". The Chicago Tribune. March 21, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

[3] "Indiana, UNLV Barely Escape to New Orleans". The Los Angeles Times. March 23, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

[4] "1986-87 Men's Basketball Roster". Louisiana State University Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

[5] "Conference Tournaments: Nevada Las Vegas Wins Easily in Final". The New York Times. March 8, 1987. Retrieved August 15, 2021.

[6] "Conference Finals: Missouri Edges Kansas by 67-65". The New York Times. March 9, 1987. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

[7] "2020-21 LSU Men's Basketball Record Book". Louisiana State University Athletics. Retrieved August 14, 2021.

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v t e LSU Tigers men's basketball
Venues	State Field (1908–1924) Gym/Armory (1930–1937) John M. Parker Agricultural Coliseum (1937–1971) Pete Maravich Assembly Center (1972–present) LSU Basketball Practice Facility LSU Strength and Conditioning facility Martin J. Broussard Center for Athletic Training LSU Academic Center for Student-Athletes
Culture & lore	Traditions Mike the Tiger Bengal Brass One & Done
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics