1985–86 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team

1985–86 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 10
Record23–6
Head coach
Home arenaAthletic & Convocation Center
Seasons
1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball independents standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 10 Notre Dame - – -   – 23 – 6   .793
Chicago State - – -   – 22 – 6   .786
Eastern Washington - – -   – 20 – 8   .714
Texas–Pan American - – -   – 20 – 8   .714
Marquette - – -   – 19 – 11   .633
DePaul - – -   – 18 – 13   .581
New Orleans - – -   – 16 – 12   .571
Dayton - – -   – 17 – 13   .567
Southwestern Louisiana - – -   – 15 – 13   .536
Miami (Fla.) - – -   – 14 – 14   .500
Tennessee State - – -   – 14 – 14   .500
Utica - – -   – 13 – 14   .481
Florida A&M - – -   – 12 – 16   .429
Brooklyn - – -   – 9 – 22   .290
U.S. International - – -   – 8 – 20   .286
Texas–San Antonio - – -   – 7 – 24   .226
Central Florida - – -   – 6 – 22   .214
Rankings from AP Poll


The 1985–86 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1985-86 college basketball season. The Irish were led by head coach Digger Phelps, in his 15th season, and played their home games at the Athletic & Convocation Center in Notre Dame, Indiana. The Irish completed a perfect season at home (15–0). Notre Dame earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they were upset by Arkansas–Little Rock in the opening round.[1] The team finished with a 23–6 record and a No. 10 ranking in the final AP poll.

Roster

1985–86 Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 4 David Rivers 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Jersey City, New Jersey
F 15 Donald Royal 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr New Orleans, Louisiana
F/C 41 Tim Kempton 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Jamaica, New York
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
Nov 22, 1985*
 No. 12 Saint Joseph's (IN) W 79–49  1–0
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Nov 30, 1985*
 No. 11 Butler W 87–56  1–0
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 3, 1985*
 No. 10 at No. 19 Indiana L 67–82  1–1
 Assembly Hall 
Bloomington, Indiana
Dec 7, 1985*
 No. 10 Loyola–Chicago W 71–58  2–1
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 9, 1985*
 No. 17 Oregon W 72–63  3–1
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 21, 1985*
 No. 19 Valparaiso W 98–54  4–1
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Dec 30, 1985*
 No. 17 Creighton W 80–54  5–1
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 4, 1986*
 No. 17 at La Salle W 77–63  6–1
 The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 7, 1986*
 No. 16 at Providence W 78–72  7–1
 Providence Civic Center 
Providence, Rhode Island
Jan 11, 1986*
 No. 16 at DePaul W 70–54  8–1
 Rosemont Horizon 
Rosemont, Illinois
Jan 13, 1986*
 No. 13 at BYU L 76–80  8–2
 Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Jan 18, 1986*
 No. 13 UCLA W 74–64  9–2
 Athletic & Convocation Center (11,345)
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 20, 1986*
 No. 16 Hofstra W 91–67  10–2
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 22, 1986*
 No. 16 American W 67–56  11–2
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Jan 26, 1986*
 No. 16 at No. 1 North Carolina L 61–73  11–3
 Dean Smith Center 
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jan 29, 1986*
 No. 14 Utah W 94–64  12–3
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 1, 1986*
 No. 14 Marquette W 72–70  13–3
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 3, 1986*
 No. 14 Maryland W 69–62  14–3
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 5, 1986*
 No. 14 at Dayton L 65–67  14–4
 University of Dayton Arena 
Dayton, Ohio
Feb 8, 1986*
 No. 14 at No. 8 Syracuse W 85–81  15–4
 Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, New York
Feb 11, 1986*
 No. 14 Fordham W 81–58  16–4
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Feb 16, 1986*
 No. 14 at No. 2 Duke L 74–75  16–5
 Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, North Carolina
Feb 19, 1986*
 No. 14 vs. Manhattan W 102–47  17–5
 Madison Square Garden 
New York, New York
Feb 22, 1986*
 No. 14 at Miami (FL) W 126–73  18–5
 Knight Center 
Miami, Florida
Feb 25, 1986*
 No. 12 DePaul W 70–59  19–5
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
Mar 1, 1986*
 No. 12 at Marquette W 74–66  20–5
 MECCA Arena 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mar 3, 1986*
 No. 12 at New Orleans W 75–67  21–5
 Lakefront Arena 
New Orleans, Louisiana
Mar 8, 1986*
 No. 12 Dayton W 69–55  22–5
 Athletic & Convocation Center 
Notre Dame, Indiana
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1986*
 (3 MW) No. 10 vs. (14 MW) Arkansas–Little Rock
First round 		L 83–90  23–6
 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome 
Minneapolis, Minnesota
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll/UPI Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[2]

Rankings

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

[3]

References

  1. ^ "LITTLE ROCK FALLS ON IRISH". The Chicago Tribune. March 15, 1986. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  2. ^ "2019-20 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Notre Dame Athletics. p. 120. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
  3. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 932–933. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.