1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his seventh season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a school-record 28 wins at 28–5 and won the Southeastern Conference regular season title with a 16–2 conference record. The 16 wins in conference were also a school record.

1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball
SEC Regular Season Champions
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen (vacated)
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 9
Record26–4, 2 wins vacated (16–2 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaColeman Coliseum
Seasons
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 forward Buck Johnson to graduation, but signed freshman forward Keith Askins from Athens High School in Athens, Alabama.

The Tide also won the 1987 SEC men's basketball tournament, beating LSU in the final and earning an automatic bid to the 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were seeded second in the Southeast Region, their highest ever in the NCAA tournament thus far. The Tide defeated North Carolina A&T and New Orleans before falling to Providence in the Sweet 16. It was the Tide's third straight Sweet 16 appearance.[1] Alabama's participation in the NCAA Tournament was later vacated by the NCAA.[2]

Roster

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1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 45 Michael Ansley 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So Jackson-Olin High School Birmingham, Alabama
G 23 Mark Gottfried 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr
F/C 31 Derrick McKey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Jr Meridian High School Meridian, MS
G 30 Terry Coner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Sr
G 24 Craig Dudley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Jr
F 21 Jim Farmer 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Sr
G 11 James Jackson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
F Keith Askins 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Fr Athens High School Athens, Alabama
52 William DeVaughn 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
So
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1986*
No. 13 at Louisiana-Monroe W 82–56  1–0
Fant-Ewing Coliseum 
Monroe, Louisiana
Dec 1, 1986*
No. 13 Furman W 96–69  2–0
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dec 6, 1986*
No. 8 at Florida State L 71–72  2–1
Donald L. Tucker Center 
Tallahassee, Florida
Dec 10, 1986*
No. 18 vs. No. 20 Arkansas W 87–76  3–1
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 13, 1986*
No. 18 vs. Duke L 67–76  3–2
Brendan Byrne Arena 
East Rutherford, New Jersey
Dec 20, 1986*
Appalachian State W 95–62  4–2
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Dec 22, 1986
at Georgia W 71–70  5–2
(1–0)
Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Dec 29, 1986*
vs. Penn
BMA Holiday Classic
W 110–68  6–2
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
Dec 30, 1986*
vs. Missouri
BMA Holiday Classic
W 91–82  7–2
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
Jan 3, 1987
Mississippi State W 64–49  8–2
(2–0)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 7, 1987
7:00 p.m., JPT
at No. 9 Kentucky W 69–55  9–2
(3–0)
Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 10, 1987*
Vanderbilt W 75–71  10–2
(4–0)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 12, 1987*
South Carolina W 73–63  11–2
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 14, 1987
No. 15 LSU W 69–65  12–2
(5–0)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 17, 1987
2:00 p.m., JPT
No. 15 at Ole Miss W 71–62  13–2
(6–0)
Tad Smith Coliseum 
Oxford, Mississippi
Jan 21, 1987
No. 13 No. 17 Auburn W 88–82  14–2
(7–0)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 24, 1987
No. 13 at Tennessee W 82–71  15–2
(8–0)
Stokely Athletic Center 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 28, 1987
No. 9 at No. 19 Florida L 80–90 OT 15–3
(8–1)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, Florida
Jan 31, 1987
No. 9 Georgia W 83–74 OT 16–3
(9–1)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Feb 4, 1987
No. 9 at Mississippi State W 76–55  17–3
(10–1)
Humphrey Coliseum 
Starkville, Mississippi
Feb 7, 1987*
No. 9 Kentucky L 69–70  17–4
(10–2)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Feb 11, 1987
7:00 p.m., JPT
No. 14 at Vanderbilt W 71–67  18–4
(11–2)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 14, 1987
No. 14 at LSU W 60–52  19–4
(12–2)
Maravich Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 18, 1987
No. 12 Ole Miss W 90–69  20–4
(13–2)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Feb 21, 1987
2:00 p.m., JPT
No. 12 at Auburn W 77–75  21–4
(14–2)
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, Alabama
Feb 25, 1987
No. 10 Tennessee W 93–71  22–4
(15–2)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Feb 28, 1987
2:00 p.m., JPT
No. 10 No. 18 Florida W 86–85  23–4
(16–2)
Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
SEC Tournament
Mar 6, 1987*
 JPT
(1) No. 9 vs. (8) Tennessee
Quarterfinals
W 68–60  24–4
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 7, 1987*
 JPT
(1) No. 9 vs. (5) Auburn
Semifinals
W 87–68  25–4
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
Mar 8, 1987*
 ABC
(1) No. 9 vs. (7) LSU
Championship game
W 69–62  26–4
The Omni 
Atlanta, Georgia
NCAA Tournament
Mar 12, 1987*
(2 SE) No. 9 vs. (15 SE) North Carolina A&T
First round
W 88–71[3]  27–4
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 14, 1987*
(2 SE) No. 9 vs. (7 SE) No. 16 New Orleans
Second round
W 101–76[4]  28–4
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Mar 19, 1987*
(2 SE) No. 9 vs. (6 SE) Providence
Southeast Regional Final – Sweet Sixteen
L 82–103[5]  28–5
Freedom Hall 
Louisville, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[6]

Rankings

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Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "1986-87 Alabama Crimson Tide Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Forfeits and Vacated Games". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  3. ^ "Illinois Eliminated, Alabama Advances". The Washington Post. March 13, 1987. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  4. ^ "Alabama Crushes New Orleans; Providence Drops Austin Peay". The Chicago Tribune. March 15, 1987. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  5. ^ "Long Shot Providence Shoots Down Alabama". Chicago Tribune. March 20, 1987. Retrieved February 5, 2022.
  6. ^ "Alabama Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Alabama Athletics. February 5, 2022.