1985–86 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

1985–86 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round (vacated)
Conference	Metro Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 12
Record	27-5 (28–6 unadjusted) (9–3 Metro)
Head coach	Dana Kirk (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Larry Finch (6th season) Lee Fowler
Home arena	Mid-South Coliseum

1985–86 Metro Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Louisville †	10	–	2		.833			32	–	7		.821
No. 12 Memphis State	9	–	3		.750			28	–	6		.824
Virginia Tech	7	–	5		.583			22	–	9		.710
Southern Mississippi	6	–	6		.500			17	–	12		.586
Cincinnati	5	–	7		.417			12	–	16		.429
Florida State	3	–	9		.250			12	–	17		.414
South Carolina	2	–	10		.167			12	–	16		.429
† 1986 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985–86 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Metro Conference during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.^[1]

Memphis State opened the season with 20 consecutive wins and peaked at No. 2 in the AP poll on January 27, 1986. The team went on to finish second in the conference regular season standings and lost in the championship game of the conference tournament (eventual National champion Louisville won both titles). After reaching the Sweet 16 each of the previous four seasons including a Final Four appearance the year prior, the Tigers fell in the second round^[2] of the 1986 NCAA Tournament and finished with a 28–6 record (9–3 Metro).

Roster

1985–86 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Andre Turner 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) Sr Memphis, Tennessee G 20 John Wilfong 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee G 30 Vincent Askew 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Memphis, Tennessee G 31 Dwight Boyd 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Memphis, Tennessee C 42 DeWayne Bailey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) So Memphis, Tennessee F 43 Baskerville Holmes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Memphis, Tennessee F 44 David Jensen 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Greenville, South Carolina C 50 William Bedford 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee	Head coach Dana Kirk (Marshall) Assistant coach(es) Larry Finch (Memphis) Lee Fowler (Vanderbilt) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

^[3]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 29, 1985*		Tennessee State Mid-South Classic	W 107–61	1–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Nov 30, 1985*		Middle Tennessee Mid-South Classic	W 73–63	2–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 3, 1985*		Kent State	W 83–69	3–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 6, 1985*		at Hawaii–Hilo Pearl Harbor Classic	W 95–52	4–0
Dec 7, 1985*		vs. Fresno State Pearl Harbor Classic	W 80–46	5–0
Dec 9, 1985*		at Texas Tech	W 80–55	6–0
Dec 14, 1985*		South Carolina State	W 119–73	7–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 17, 1985*		Ole Miss	W 73–56	8–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 23, 1985*		Murray State	W 82–59	9–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 27, 1985*		vs. Fresno State Holiday Bowl Classic	W 57–46	10–0
Dec 28, 1985*		vs. Charlotte Holiday Bowl Classic	W 106–82	10–0
Jan 4, 1986*	No. 9	No. 5 Kansas	W 83–80 ^OT[4]	11–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 6, 1986	No. 6	South Carolina	W 89–81	12–0 (1–0)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 9, 1986	No. 6	No. 17 Louisville	W 73–71	13–0 (2–0)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 3, 1986	No. 3	Cincinnati	W 74–55	20–0 (6–0)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 7, 1986*	No. 3	at No. 9 UNLV	L 66–67	20–1	Thomas & Mack Center  Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 1, 1986	No. 7	at No. 13 Louisville	L 69–70	25–4 (9–3)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Metro Conference Tournament
Mar 6, 1986*	No. 10	vs. South Carolina Quarterfinals	W 100–59	26–4	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 7, 1986*	No. 10	vs. Florida State Semifinals	W 73–71	27–4	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 8, 1986*	No. 10	at No. 11 Louisville Championship game	L 79–88	27–5	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1986*	(3 SE) No. 12	vs. (14 SE) Ball State Second round	W 95–63	28–5	LSU Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Mar 15, 1986*	(3 SE) No. 12	vs. (11 SE) LSU Second round	L 81–83	28–6	LSU Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast region. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

Main article: 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[5]

References

1. "1985-86 Memphis Tigers Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
2. "LSU Beats Memphis State With Basket at the Buzzer". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1986. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
3. "1985-86 Men's Basketball Roster". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
4. "Kansas Loses in Overtime". The New York Times. January 5, 1986. Retrieved March 29, 2022.
5. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 899–900. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.