1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
American college basketball season
Kansas defeated Duke in the Final Four to go on and earn their second-ever NCAA tournament championship in 1988
The 1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball season of 1987–1988 . The team won the 1987–1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship , the second in the school's history. They were led by Larry Brown in his fifth and final season as head coach. Their star player, Danny Manning , earned the team the nickname "Danny and the Miracles " because of the Jayhawks' improbable tournament run after an 11-loss season, the most ever by a national champion. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas . In the last three games of the NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks avenged their three home losses to Kansas State, Duke, and Oklahoma.
This season also marked the creation by a group of KU students of the now famous "Beware of THE PHOG" banner. It was first displayed for the Duke game on February 20, 1988, and then again for that season's final home game on March 5, the Senior Night celebrations honoring Danny Manning and the other KU seniors, Archie Marshall and Chris Piper. It came down after that, and the students gave the banner to Phog Allen's granddaughter Judy Morris. Morris told Kansas Assistant Athletic Director Floyd Temple she thought the banner should remain a fixture in Allen Fieldhouse, and Temple agreed.[ 1] [ 2]
Roster
Name
#
Position
Height
Weight
Year
Home Town
Sean Alvarado
52
Center
6-10
210
Senior(RS)
Washington, D.C.
Scooter Barry
10
Guard
6-3
175
Junior
Concord, California
Marvin Branch
54
Center
6-10
225
Junior
Detroit, Michigan
Jeff Gueldner
33
Guard/Forward
6-5
180
Sophomore
Charleston, Illinois
Keith Harris
45
Forward
6-6
205
Sophomore
Santa Monica, California
Otis Livingston
12
Guard
6-0
150
Junior
San Pedro, California
Mike Maddox
32
Forward
6-8
195
Freshman
Reseda, California
Danny Manning
25
Forward/Center
6-10
230
Senior
Lawrence, Kansas
Archie Marshall
23
Forward
6-7
190
Senior
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Mike Masucci
44
Center
6-10
200
Freshman
Grandview, Missouri
Marvin Mattox
54
Forward
6-4
210
Senior
Pomona, California
Lincoln Minor
11
Guard
6-3
165
Junior
Houston, Texas
Milt Newton
21
Guard/Forward
6-5
185
Junior
Washington, D.C.
Clint Normore
4
Guard
6-0
200
Junior
Wichita, Kansas
Chris Piper
24
Forward
6-8
200
Senior
Lawrence, Kansas
Kevin Pritchard
14
Guard
6-3
170
Sophomore
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Mark Randall
42
Forward
6-9
200
Sophomore(RS)
Englewood, Colorado
Schedule
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Regular Season
November 27, 1987 *
No. 7
vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational
W 89–62
1–0
Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii
November 28, 1987 *
No. 7
vs. No. 11 Iowa Maui Invitational
L 81–100[ 3]
1–1
Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii
November 29, 1987 *
No. 7
vs. Illinois Maui Invitational
L 75–81
1–2
Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii
December 1, 1987 *
No. 16
Pomona-Pitzer
W 94–38
2–2
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
December 3, 1987 *
No. 16
at Western Carolina
W 68–63
3–2
Ramsey Center Cullowhee, North Carolina
December 5, 1987 *
No. 16
St. John's
W 63–54
4–2
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
December 7, 1987 *
No. 18
Appalachian State
W 73–62
5–2
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
December 12, 1987 *
No. 18
Rider
W 110–72
6–2
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
December 19, 1987 * ABC
No. 17
at NC State
W 74–67
7–2
Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina
December 28, 1987 *
No. 17
vs. Memphis State
W 64–62
8–2
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York
December 30, 1987 *
No. 17
vs. St. John's
L 56–70
8–3
Madison Square Garden New York City, New York
January 4, 1988 *
No. 18
at Washington
W 67–57
9–3
Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington
January 6, 1988 *
No. 18
American
W 90–69
10–3
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
January 9, 1988
No. 18
Missouri Border War
W 78–74
11–3
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
January 13, 1988
No. 16
at No. 14 Iowa State
L 78–88
11–4
Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa
January 16, 1988 *
No. 16
Hampton
W 95–69
12–4
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
January 23, 1988 *
No. 16
at Notre Dame
L 76–80
12–5
Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, Indiana
January 27, 1988
at Nebraska
L 68–70
12–6
Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska
January 30, 1988
Kansas State
L 61–72
12–7
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
February 3, 1988
No. 7 Oklahoma
L 65–73
12–8
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
February 6, 1988
Colorado
W 73–62
13–8
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
February 10, 1988
at Oklahoma State
W 78–68
14–8
Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma
February 13, 1988
Iowa State
W 82–72
15–8
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
February 16, 1988
Nebraska
W 70–48
16–8
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
February 18, 1988 ESPN
at Kansas State
W 64–63
17–8
Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas
February 20, 1988 *
No. 6 Duke
L 70–74 OT
17–9
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
February 24, 1988
at No. 4 Oklahoma
L 87–95
17–10
Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma
February 27, 1988
at No. 15 Missouri Border War
W 82–77
18–10
Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri
March 2, 1988
at Colorado
W 85–64
19–10
Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado
March 5, 1988
Oklahoma State
W 75–57
20–10
Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas
Big 8 Tournament
March 11, 1988 *
vs. Oklahoma State Big 8 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals
W 74–58
21–10
Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
March 12, 1988 *
vs. Kansas State Big 8 Conference Tournament Semifinals
L 54–69
21–11
Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
March 18, 1988 *
vs. No. 18 Xavier first round
W 85–72
22–11
Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska
March 20, 1988 *
vs. Murray State Second Round
W 61–58
23–11
Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska
March 25, 1988 *
vs. Vanderbilt Sweet Sixteen
W 77–64
24–11
Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan
March 27, 1988 * CBS
vs. No. 20 Kansas State Elite Eight
W 71–58
25–11
Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan
April 2, 1988 * CBS
vs. No. 5 Duke Final Four
W 66–59
26–11
Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
April 4, 1988 * CBS
vs. No. 4 Oklahoma National Championship game
W 83–79
27–11
Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
[ 4]
Rankings
Poll
Pre
Wk 1
Wk 2
Wk 3
Wk 4
Wk 5
Wk 6
Wk 7
Wk 8
Wk 9
Wk 10
Wk 11
Wk 12
Wk 13
Wk 14
Wk 15
Wk 16
Wk 17
Wk 18
Wk 19
Final
AP
7
16
18
17
18
17
18
16
16
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
Awards and honors
Team players drafted into the NBA
[ 8]
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons Helms and NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics