1986 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1986 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament took place from February 28 – March 2, 1986, at the Asheville Civic Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The Davidson Wildcats, led by head coach Bobby Hussey, won their fifth Southern Conference title and received the automatic berth to the 1986 NCAA tournament.

1986 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1985–86
Teams	8
Site	Asheville Civic Center Asheville, NC
Champions	Davidson (5th title)
Winning coach	Bobby Hussey (1st title)
Southern Conference men's basketball tournaments

1985–86 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Chattanooga	12	–	4		.750			21	–	10		.677
Davidson†	10	–	6		.625			20	–	11		.645
Marshall	10	–	6		.625			19	–	11		.633
Appalachian State	9	–	7		.563			17	–	12		.586
Western Carolina	8	–	8		.500			14	–	14		.500
East Tennessee State	8	–	8		.500			13	–	16		.448
VMI	5	–	11		.313			11	–	17		.393
The Citadel	5	–	11		.313			10	–	18		.357
Furman	5	–	11		.313			10	–	17		.370
† Tournament winner As of April 30, 1986 Rankings from AP poll

Format

The top eight finishers of the conference's nine members were eligible for the tournament. Teams were seeded based on conference winning percentage. The tournament used a preset bracket consisting of three rounds.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals February 28					Semifinals March 1					Finals March 2
	1	Chattanooga	69
	8	The Citadel	66
						1	Chattanooga	68
						4	Appalachian State	57
	4	Appalachian State	63*
	5	Western Carolina	62
											1	Chattanooga	40
											2	Davidson	42
	2	Davidson	71
	7	VMI	62
						2	Davidson	74
						6	East Tennessee St.	65
	3	Marshall	80
	6	East Tennessee St.	82

* Overtime game

See also

• List of Southern Conference men's basketball champions