1985–86 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1985–86 season. Led by head coach Pete Gillen, the Musketeers finished with a 25–5 record (10–2 MCC), and won MCC regular season and MCC tournament titles to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Musketeers lost to No. 5 seed Alabama in the opening round.

1985–86 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
MCC Regular season champions MCC tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Midwestern Collegiate Conference
Record	25–5 (10–2 MCC)
Head coach	Pete Gillen (1st season)
Home arena	Cincinnati Gardens

1985–86 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Xavier †	10	–	2		.833			25	–	5		.833
Saint Louis	8	–	4		.667			18	–	12		.600
Detroit	7	–	5		.583			14	–	15		.483
Loyola (IL)	7	–	5		.583			13	–	16		.448
Oral Roberts	5	–	7		.417			10	–	18		.357
Evansville	3	–	9		.250			8	–	19		.296
Butler	2	–	10		.167			9	–	19		.321
† 1986 MCC tournament winner

Roster

1985–86 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown SG 23 Byron Larkin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Cincinnati, Ohio	Head coach Pete Gillen (Fairfield) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 1985*		Huntington	W 100–51	1–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 24, 1985*		Southeastern Louisiana	W 91–75	2–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 4, 1985*		at Creighton	W 56–53	3–0	Omaha Civic Auditorium  Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 7, 1985*		Pittsburgh	W 83–73	4–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 10, 1985*		at Eastern Michigan	W 83–61	5–0
Dec 14, 1985*		at Miami (OH)	L 74–80	5–1	Millett Hall  Oxford, Ohio
Dec 21, 1985*		Wayne State	W 84–69	6–1	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 28, 1985*		Providence	W 85–73	7–1	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 2, 1986*		at Stetson	W 77–70	8–1
Jan 4, 1986*		at South Florida	L 52–57	8–2
Jan 8, 1986*		Saint Peter's (NJ)	W 67–46	9–2	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 11, 1986		Detroit	L 72–76	9–3 (0–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 13, 1986		Loyola–Chicago	W 78–75	10–3 (1–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 18, 1986		at Saint Louis	W 72–60	11–3 (2–1)
Jan 20, 1986		at Evansville	W 78–69	12–3 (3–1)	Roberts Stadium  Evansville, Indiana
Jan 23, 1986*		Cincinnati	W 80–76	13–3	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 25, 1986		Oral Roberts	W 86–74	14–3 (4–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 29, 1986*		at Duquesne	W 71–68	15–3
Feb 1, 1986		Butler	W 77–56	16–3 (5–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 5, 1986*		at Marquette	W 85–71	17–3	MECCA Arena  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Feb 8, 1986		at Detroit	L 71–80	17–4 (5–2)
Feb 10, 1986		at Loyola–Chicago	W 91–88 OT	18–4 (6–2)
Feb 15, 1986		Saint Louis	W 81–72 OT	19–4 (7–2)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 17, 1986		Evansville	W 81–72	20–4 (8–2)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 20, 1986		at Butler	W 86–81	21–4 (9–2)
Feb 22, 1986		at Oral Roberts	W 73–71	22–4 (10–2)
Feb 25, 1986*		Dayton	W 93–78	23–4	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament
Feb 28, 1986*		vs. Loyola–Chicago Semifinals	W 99–91	24–4	Market Square Arena  Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 1, 1986*		vs. Saint Louis Championship game	W 74–66	25–4	Market Square Arena  Indianapolis, Indiana
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1986*	(12 SE)	vs. (5 SE) Alabama First Round	L 80–97	25–5	Charlotte Coliseum  Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time.