1985–86 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1985–86 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1985–86 college basketball season . The team's head coach was Sonny Smith , who was in his eighth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama . They finished the season 22–11, 13–5 in SEC play. They lost to Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament . They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Arizona , St. John's , and UNLV to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to Louisville .[ 1]
The only real loss of note from the prior season for Auburn was starting center Carey Holland. Also, center Darren Guest would be found academically ineligible and eventually transfer. Key additions were freshman forward Mike Jones and guard Aundrae Davis, a sophomore transfer from West Virginia University who would not be eligible until the next season. Senior Chuck Person would have a stellar season and make several All-America teams.
Roster
1985–86 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
F 45
Chuck Person 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) —
Sr Brantley High School
Brantley, AL
G 15
Frank Ford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) —
Jr Osceola High School
Kissimmee, Florida
F 34
Chris Morris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) —
So Frederick Douglass High School
Atlanta, Georgia
F 13
Mike Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) —
Fr
Columbus, Georgia
C 40
Jeff Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) —
So Midfield High School
Midfield, Alabama
G 12
Gerald White 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) —
Jr Richmond Academy
Augusta, Georgia
G 10
Terrence Howard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) —
So Southwest High School
Southwest, AL
G 14
Johnny Lynn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) —
So Beech High School
Hendersonville, Tennessee
F 31
Vern Strickland 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) —
Sr Emma Sansom High School
Gadsden, Alabama
G 11
Melvin Haralson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) —
Fr
Jackson, Mississippi
F 25
Gary Godfrey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) —
Sr North Shore High School
North Palm Beach, Florida
Head coach Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible(W) Walk-on
Schedule and results
Date
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance)
Regular season
Nov 22, 1985 * No. 10
vs. West Virginia Big Apple NIT L 58-75 0-1
Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT
Nov 26, 1985 * No. 19
Birmingham-Southern W 61-51 1-1
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Dec 3, 1985 * No. 19
West Virginia W 84-59 2-1
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Dec 6, 1985 * No. 19
vs. Kentucky Wesleyan Wendy's Classic W 80-71 3-1
E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
Dec 7, 1985 * No. 19
vs. Western Kentucky Wendy's Classic L 58-71 3-2
E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
Dec 10, 1985 *
at No. 16 UAB
L 56-62 3-3
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (15,502)Birmingham, AL
Dec 14, 1985 *
vs. Stetson
W 77-54 4-3
Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL
Dec 17, 1985 *
at Southwestern Louisiana
L 64-66 4-4
Cajundome Lafayette, LA
Dec 22, 1985 *
vs. Central Florida Red Lobster Classic W 78-49 5-4
Orange County Civic Center Orlanda, FL
Dec 23, 1985 *
vs. Boston College Red Lobster Classic W 89-85 6-4
Orange County Civic Center Orlanda, FL
Jan 4, 1986
at Florida
L 59-62 6-5 (0-1)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL
Jan 6, 1986
No. 11 Kentucky
W 60-56 7-5 (1-1)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Jan 8, 1986
Tennessee W 55-45 8-5 (2-1)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Jan 11, 1986
at Mississippi State
W 72-56 9-5 (3-1)
Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS
Jan 16, 1986
at Alabama
L 56-60 9-6 (3-2)
Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL
Jan 18, 1986
Georgia W 84-69 10-6 (4-2)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Jan 22, 1986
at Mississippi
W 73-61 11-6 (5-2)
C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS
Jan 25, 1986
No. 14 LSU
L 61-63 11-7 (5-3)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Jan 29, 1986
Vanderbilt W 97-70 12-7 (6-3)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Jan 31, 1986
at No. 8 Kentucky
L 71-81 12-8 (6-4)
Rupp Arena Lexington, KY
Feb 6, 1986
Florida W 67-65 13-8 (7-4)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Feb 8, 1986
at Tennessee
L 79-80 13-9 (7-5)
Stokely Center Knoxville, TN
Feb 12, 1986
Mississippi State W 69-64 14-9 (8-5)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Feb 15, 1986
No. 18 Alabama
W 71-69 15-9 (9-5)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Feb 19, 1986
at Georgia
W 87-86 16-9 (10-5)
Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA
Feb 22, 1986
Mississippi W 75-73 17-9 (11-5)
Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL
Feb 26, 1986
at LSU
W 92-86 18-9 (12-5)
Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA
March 1, 1986
at Vanderbilt
W 79-65 19-9 (13-5)
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN
SEC Tournament
Mar 6, 1986 LSN (2)
vs. (10) Mississippi State Quarterfinals L 63–65 19–10
Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1986 *(8 W)
vs. (9 W) Arizona First round W 73–63 20–10
Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California
Mar 16, 1986 *(8 W)
vs. (1 W) No. 4 St. John's Second Round W 81–65 21–10
Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California
Mar 20, 1986 * CBS (8 W)
vs. (4 W) No. 11 UNLV West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen W 70–63 22–10
The Summit Houston, Texas
Mar 22, 1986 * CBS(8 W)
vs. (2 W) No. 7 Louisville West Regional Final – Elite Eight L 76–84 22–11
The Summit Houston, Texas
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
Sources [1]
Team players in the NBA draft
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics
