1986–87 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represented Fairfield University in the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Stags, led by second year head coach Mitch Buonaguro, played their home games at Alumni Hall in Fairfield, Connecticut as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 15–16, 5–9 in MAAC play to 7th during the conference regular season. The Stags elevated their play to win the MAAC tournament and earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 16 seed in the Midwest region. Making their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Stags were beaten by No. 1 seed and eventual National champion Indiana, 92–58, in the opening round.

1986–87 Fairfield Stags men's basketball
MAAC tournament champion
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
Record	15–16 (5–9 MAAC)
Head coach	Mitch Buonaguro (2nd season)
Home arena	Alumni Hall

1986–87 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Saint Peter's	11	–	3		.786			21	–	8		.724
La Salle	10	–	4		.714			20	–	13		.606
Army	8	–	6		.571			14	–	15		.483
Iona	8	–	6		.571			16	–	14		.533
Holy Cross	6	–	8		.429			9	–	19		.321
Fordham	6	–	8		.429			14	–	16		.467
Fairfield †	5	–	9		.357			15	–	16		.484
Manhattan	2	–	12		.143			6	–	21		.222
† 1987 MAAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1986–87 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown C Jeff Gromos 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Sr   G A. J. Wynder 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — RS Sr UMass The Bronx, New York	Head coach Mitch Buonaguro (Boston College) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 29, 1986*		Stonehill	W 62–60	1–0	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Dec 2, 1986*		Hartford	L 50–52	1–1	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Dec 6, 1986*		vs. Boston College	L 62–66	1–2
Dec 8, 1986*		Siena	W 58–57	2–2	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Dec 10, 1986*		at Marist	W 60–54 OT	3–2	McCann Recreation Center (2,100) Poughkeepsie, New York
Dec 20, 1986*		at No. 9 Syracuse	L 74–93	3–3	Carrier Dome  Syracuse, New York
Dec 23, 1986*		at Connecticut	L 51–54	3–4	Hartford Civic Center  Storrs, Connecticut
Dec 30, 1986*		New Hampshire	W 63–60	4–4	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 3, 1987*		at Hofstra	L 65–66	4–5	Hofstra Physical Fitness Center  Hempstead, New York
Jan 6, 1987*		vs. Richmond	L 87–91 3OT	4–6
Jan 7, 1987		La Salle	W 63–60	5–6 (1–0)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 8, 1987*		Lehigh	W 64–63	6–6	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 10, 1987		Fordham	L 70–74	6–7 (1–1)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 13, 1987		Saint Peter's	L 57–72	6–8 (1–2)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 21, 1987		Manhattan	L 78–80 OT	6–9 (1–3)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 24, 1987		Iona	L 64–68	6–10 (1–4)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 27, 1987*		Yale	W 86–81 OT	7–10	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Jan 31, 1987		at Army	W 74–63	8–10 (2–4)	Christl Arena  West Point, New York
Feb 3, 1987		at Holy Cross	W 66–54	9–10 (3–4)	Hart Center  Worcester, Massachusetts
Feb 5, 1987*		Central Connecticut State	W 73–58	10–10	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Feb 7, 1987		at Fordham	L 70–74	10–11 (3–5)	Rose Hill Gymnasium  Bronx, New York
Feb 11, 1987		at Manhattan	W 79–67	11–11 (4–5)	Draddy Gymnasium  Bronx, New York
Feb 13, 1987		at La Salle	L 54–58	11–12 (4–6)	Palestra  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 16, 1987		vs. Saint Peter's	L 52–57	11–13 (4–7)	Yanitelli Center  Jersey City, New Jersey
Feb 18, 1987		Army	L 48–54	11–14 (4–8)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
Feb 21, 1987		at Iona	L 83–85 OT	11–15 (4–9)	Hynes Athletics Center  New Rochelle, New York
Feb 26, 1987		Holy Cross	W 56–55	12–15 (5–9)	Alumni Hall  Fairfield, Connecticut
MAAC Tournament
Feb 28, 1987*		vs. La Salle Quarterfinals	W 75–62	13–15	Brendan Byrne Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
Mar 1, 1987*		vs. Army Semifinals	W 65–60	14–15	Brendan Byrne Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
Mar 2, 1987*		vs. Iona Championship game	W 73–70 OT	15–15	Brendan Byrne Arena  East Rutherford, New Jersey
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1987*	(16 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Indiana First Round	L 58–92	15–16	RCA Dome  Indianapolis, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern.

Source