1986–87 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1986–87 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his ninth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 18–13, 9–9 in SEC play. They defeated Kentucky to advance to the semifinals of the SEC tournament where they lost to Alabama. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated San Diego to advance to the Second Round where they lost to Indiana.

1986–87 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	18–13 (9–9 SEC)
Head coach	Sonny Smith (9th season)
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum

1986–87 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 9 Alabama †	16	–	2		.889			28	–	5		.848
Florida	12	–	6		.667			23	–	11		.676
Georgia	10	–	8		.556			18	–	12		.600
Kentucky	10	–	8		.556			18	–	11		.621
Auburn	9	–	9		.500			18	–	13		.581
Ole Miss	8	–	10		.444			15	–	14		.517
LSU	8	–	10		.444			24	–	15		.615
Tennessee	7	–	11		.389			14	–	15		.483
Vanderbilt	7	–	11		.389			18	–	16		.529
Mississippi State	3	–	15		.167			7	–	21		.250
† 1987 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The team lost Chuck Person to graduation and the NBA, and tried to offset the loss with sophomore transfer Aundrae Davis from West Virginia, but Davis was dismissed by coach Smith late in the season for violation of team rules.

Nevertheless, the team had a solid core with senior guards Gerald White and Frank Ford, junior forward Chris Morris, junior center Jeff Moore, and sophomore forward Mike Jones.

Roster

1986–87 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 15 Frank Ford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Sr Osceola High School Kissimmee, Florida F 34 Chris Morris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr Frederick Douglass High School Atlanta, Georgia F 13 Mike Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — So Columbus, Georgia C 40 Jeff Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Jr Midfield High School Midfield, Alabama G 12 Gerald White 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr Richmond Academy Augusta, Georgia G Aundrae Davis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — So College Park, GA G 10 Terrence Howard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr Southwest High School Southwest, AL F 22 John Caylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) — Fr Morristown West High School Talbott, Tennessee G 24 Derrick Dennison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr Douglass High School Atlanta, Georgia G 14 Johnny Lynn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Jr Beech High School Hendersonville, Tennessee G 11 Melvin Haralson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So Jackson, Mississippi	Head coach Sonny Smith (Milligan) 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 (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1986*	No. 12	at UAB	W 68-58	1-0	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
Dec 1, 1986*	No. 7	Armstrong	W 94-54	2-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 11, 1986*	No. 7	Austin Peay	W 115-93	3-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 13, 1986*	No. 7	Southwestern Louisiana	W 107-91	4-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 15, 1986*	No. 6	at Eastern Kentucky	W 97-82	5-0	McBrayer Arena  Richmond, KY
Dec 18, 1986*	No. 6	Augusta State	W 89-66	6-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 28, 1986*	No. 5	vs. Iowa State Sun Bowl Tournament	W 89-87	7-0	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, TX
Dec 29, 1986*	No. 5	vs. Iowa State Sun Bowl Tournament	L 82-87	7-1	Don Haskins Center  El Paso, TX
Jan 3, 1987	No. 5	No. 11 Kentucky	L 60-63	7-2 (0-1)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 7, 1987	No. 13	Georgia	W 62-58	8-2 (1-1)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 10, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT	No. 13	at Mississippi State	W 66-52	9-2 (2-1)	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, MS
Jan 14, 1987	No. 10	Tennessee	W 66-56	10-2 (3-1)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 17, 1987	No. 10	at Vanderbilt	L 75-91	10-3 (3-2)	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
Jan 21, 1987	No. 17	at No. 13 Alabama	L 82-88	10-4 (3-3)	Coleman Coliseum  Tuscaloosa, AL
Jan 24, 1987 2:30 p.m., JPT	No. 17	Mississippi	W 85-61	11-4 (4-3)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 28, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT	No. 18	at LSU	L 73-75	11-5 (4-4)	Maravich Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, LA
Jan 31, 1987	No. 18	No. 19 Florida	W 81-68	12-5 (5-4)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 1, 1987	No. 18	No. 3 UNLV	L 85-104	12-6	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 7, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT	No. 20	at Kentucky	L 71-75	12-7 (5-5)	Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
Feb 7, 1984	No. 20	at Georgia	L 71-75	12-8 (5-6)	Stegeman Coliseum  Athens, GA
Feb 9, 1987		at No. 19 Florida	W 84-70	13-8 (6-6)	Stephen C. O'Connell Center  Gainesville, FL
Feb 11, 1987		Mississippi State	W 59-45	14-8 (7-6)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 14, 1987		at Tennessee	L 84-103	14-9 (7-7)	Stokley Center  Knoxville, TN
Feb 21, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT		No. 12 Alabama	L 75-77	14-10 (7-8)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Colisesum  Auburn, AL
Feb 23, 1987		Vanderbilt	W 91-83	15-10 (8-8)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Colliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 25, 1987		at Mississippi	L 67-73	15-11 (8-9)	C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum  Oxford, MS
March 1, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT		LSU	W 100-62	16-11 (9-9)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
SEC Tournament
March 6, 1987 , JPT	(5)	vs. (4) Kentucky Second round	W 79-72	17-11	The Omni  Atlanta, GA
March 7, 1987 , JPT	(5)	vs. (1) No. 9 Alabama Semifinals	L 68-87	17-12	The Omni  Atlanta, GA
NCAA Tournament
March 12, 1987*	(8 MW)	vs. (9 MW) San Diego First round	W 62-61	18-12	Hoosier Dome  Indianapolis, IN
March 14, 1987*	(8 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Indiana Second round	L 90-107	18-13	Hoosier Dome  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central.

Rankings

Main article: 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings