1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
Great Alaska Shootout champions; Pacific-10 Regular-Season Champions; Pacific-10 Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Pacific-10
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	35–3 (17–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Lute Olson (5th season);
Assistant coaches	Ricky Byrdsong (6th season); Kevin O'Neill (2nd season);
Home arena	McKale Center (Capacity: 14,545)
	Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

The 1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. In the Pacific-10 Basketball tournament, Arizona beat Oregon State by a score of 93–67 to claim its first Pac-10 title. The Wildcats built on that momentum by reaching the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

1987–88 Pacific-10 Conference
men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Arizona †	17	–	1	.944	35	–	3	.921
Oregon State	12	–	6	.667	20	–	11	.645
UCLA	12	–	6	.667	16	–	14	.533
Stanford	11	–	7	.611	21	–	12	.636
Oregon	10	–	8	.556	16	–	14	.533
Washington State	7	–	11	.389	13	–	16	.448
Arizona State	6	–	12	.333	13	–	16	.448
USC	5	–	13	.278	7	–	21	.250
California	5	–	13	.278	9	–	20	.310
Washington	5	–	13	.278	10	–	19	.345

† Conference tournament winner As of April 15, 1988^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F	00	Anthony Cook	—	—	Jr	Van Nuys HS	Los Angeles, CA
PG	11	Kenny Lofton	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jr	Washington HS	East Chicago, IN
G	20	Craig McMillan	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr	Cloverdale HS	Cloverdale, CA
C	23	Tom Tolbert	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Sr	Cerritos College
G	25	Steve Kerr	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	RS Sr	Palisades Charter HS	Los Angeles, CA
SF	32	Sean Elliott	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Jr	Cholla HS	Tucson, AZ
SF	35	Jud Buechler	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Poway HS	Poway, CA
G	44	Harvey Mason	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	RS So	Crescenta HS	La Crescenta, CA
F	33	Joe Turner	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Sr	Foothill HS	Bakersfield, CA
PG	24	Matt Muehlebach	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Fr	Stillwell HS	Rockhurst, KS
F	34	Mark Georgeson	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Fr	Marina HS	Huntington Beach, CA
C	45	Sean Rooks	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Fr	Fontana HS	Fontana, CA
F	31	Craig Bergman	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	So	Cloverdale HS	Cloverdale, CA

Head coach

Lute Olsen

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Sean Elliott in 1987

Schedule and results

The victory over Long Beach State in the home opener at McKale Center began a 71-game home court winning streak.^[2]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/27/1987*	No. 17	vs. Duquesne Great Alaska Shootout	W 133–78	1–0	–	–	–	Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK
11/28/1987*	No. 17	vs. No. 9 Michigan Great Alaska Shootout	W 79–64^[3]	2–0	18 – Tolbert	11 – Tolbert	–	Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK
11/30/1987* ESPN	No. 17	vs. No. 1 Syracuse Great Alaska Shootout	W 80–69^[4]	3–0	16 – Elliott	–	–	Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK
12/4/1987*	No. 9	Long Beach State	W 94–62	4–0	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
12/5/1987*	No. 9	Pepperdine	W 73–68	5–0	17 – Tolbert	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
12/8/1987*	No. 4	Northern Arizona	W 77–59	6–0	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
12/12/1987* 6:05 pm	No. 4	at No. 3 Iowa	W 66–59^[5]	7–0	18 – Tolbert	–	–	Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
12/16/1987*	No. 2	Arkansas-Little Rock	W 77–59	8–0	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
12/20/1987	No. 2	at Washington	W 110–71	9–0 (1–0)	–	–	–	Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA
12/22/1987	No. 2	at Washington State	W 89–55	10–0 (2–0)	–	–	–	Friel Court Pullman, WA
12/29/1987*	No. 1	Michigan State Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic	W 78–58	11–0	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
12/30/1987* 8:00 p.m.	No. 1	No. 9 Duke Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic	W 91–85^[6]	12–0	31 – Elliott	–	–	McKale Center (13,270) Tucson, AZ
1/2/1988*	No. 1	at New Mexico	L 59–61^[7]	12–1	27 – Elliott	–	–	The Pit (18,100) Albuquerque, NM
Pac-10 regular season
1/7/1988	No. 3	California	W 80–51	13–1 (3–0)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
1/9/1988	No. 3	Stanford	W 90–65	14–1 (4–0)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
1/14/1988	No. 1	Oregon State	W 70–48	15–1 (5–0)	–	–	–	Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR
1/16/1988	No. 1	Oregon	W 70–54	16–1 (6–0)	–	–	–	McArthur Court Eugene, OR
1/21/1988	No. 1	USC	W 92–48	17–1 (7–0)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
1/24/1988	No. 1	UCLA Rivalry	W 86–74	18–1 (8–0)	–	–	–	McKale Center (13,258) Tucson, AZ
1/28/1988	No. 1	Arizona State Rivalry	W 99–59	19–1 (9–0)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
1/30/1988*	No. 1	No. 13 Illinois	W 78–70	20–1	–	–	–	McKale Center (13,227) Tucson, AZ
2/4/1988	No. 1	at Stanford	L 74–82^[8]	20–2 (9–1)	22 – Elliott	–	–	Maples Pavilion (7,500) Stanford, CA
2/6/1988	No. 1	at California	W 74–62	21–2 (10–1)	–	–	–	Harmon Gym Berkeley, CA
2/11/1988	No. 3	Oregon	W 89–57	22–2 (11–1)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
2/14/1988	No. 3	Oregon State	W 77–62	23–2 (12–1)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
2/18/1988	No. 3	at USC	W 103–68	24–2 (13–1)	–	–	–	Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA
2/20/1988	No. 3	at UCLA Rivalry	W 78–76 ^OT	25–2 (14–1)	–	–	–	Pauley Pavilion (12,037) Los Angeles, CA
2/24/1988	No. 3	at Arizona State Rivalry	W 101–73	26–2 (15–1)	–	–	–	ASU Activity Center Tempe, AZ
3/3/1988	No. 3	Washington State	W 79–41	27–2 (16–1)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
3/5/1988	No. 3	Washington	W 89–71	28–2 (17–1)	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
Pac-10 Tournament
3/11/1988*	(1) No. 3	(9) California Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinal	W 88–64	29–2	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
3/12/1988*	(1) No. 3	(4) Stanford Pac-10 Tournament Semifinal	W 97–83	30–2	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
3/13/1988*	(1) No. 3	(2) Oregon State Pac-10 Tournament Championship	W 83–67	31–2	–	–	–	McKale Center Tucson, AZ
NCAA Tournament
3/18/1988* CBS	(W 1) No. 2	vs. (W 16) Cornell First Round	W 90–50	32–2	24 – Cook	5 – Tied	5 – McMillan	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
3/20/1988* CBS	(W 1) No. 2	vs. (W 8) Seton Hall Second Round	W 84–55	33–2	20 – Cook	6 – Cook	3 – Tied	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA
3/25/1988* CBS	(W 1) No. 2	vs. (W 5) No. 17 Iowa Sweet Sixteen	W 99–79^[9]	34–2	25 – Elliott	9 – Tolbert	8 – Tied	Kingdome Seattle, WA
3/27/1988* CBS	(W 1) No. 2	vs. (W 2) No. 7 North Carolina Elite Eight	W 70–52	35–2	24 – Elliott	6 – Tolbert	3 – Tied	Kingdome Seattle, WA
4/2/1988 6:12 pm, CBS	(W 1) No. 2	vs. (SE 1) No. 4 Oklahoma Final Four	L 78–86^[10]	35–3	31 – Elliott	13 – Tolbert	5 – Kerr	Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources^[11]

NCAA basketball tournament

Seeding in brackets

West
- Arizona (1) 90, Cornell (16) 50
- Arizona 84, Seton Hall (8) 55
- Arizona 99, Iowa (5) 79
- Arizona 70, North Carolina (2) 52
Final Four
- Oklahoma 86, Arizona 78

^[12]

Rankings

Awards and honors

Sean Elliott, Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament Most Valuable Player
Sean Elliott, Pacific-10 Player of the Year

Team players in the 1988 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	34	Tom Tolbert	Charlotte Hornets
2	50	Steve Kerr	Phoenix Suns

^[13]

References

^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
^ "Arizona Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletic Department. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
^ "Arizona Upsets Michigan, Faces Syracuse in Shootout Final". Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
^ "Elliott Powers Arizona Past No.3 Syracuse 80-69". Sun-Sentinel. December 1, 1987. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
^ "Olson's Return To Iowa City A Rousing Success For Arizona". Chicago Tribune. December 13, 1987. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
^ "MVP Elliott scores 31 as Arizona rolls past Duke for 12th straight". Arizona Republic. December 31, 1987. Retrieved September 19, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
^ "No. 1 Arizona Loses First Game, 61-59, in New Mexico's Pit". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1988. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^ "Arizona Loss May Mean a Shuffle at Top: Stanford Stuns the No. 1-Ranked Wildcats, Hands Them Their First Pacific 10 Loss". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1988. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
^ "Arizona Flattens Another Opponent". The New York Times. March 26, 1988. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
^ "Oklahoma's Fire Melts Arizona, 86-78". The Washington Post. April 3, 1988. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
^ "1987-88 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
^ "1988 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2009.

[1] "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.

[2] "Arizona Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletic Department. Retrieved July 21, 2019.

[3] "Arizona Upsets Michigan, Faces Syracuse in Shootout Final". Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018.

[4] "Elliott Powers Arizona Past No.3 Syracuse 80-69". Sun-Sentinel. December 1, 1987. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.

[5] "Olson's Return To Iowa City A Rousing Success For Arizona". Chicago Tribune. December 13, 1987. Retrieved February 21, 2018.

[6] "MVP Elliott scores 31 as Arizona rolls past Duke for 12th straight". Arizona Republic. December 31, 1987. Retrieved September 19, 2020 – via newspapers.com.

[7] "No. 1 Arizona Loses First Game, 61-59, in New Mexico's Pit". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1988. Retrieved September 19, 2020.

[8] "Arizona Loss May Mean a Shuffle at Top: Stanford Stuns the No. 1-Ranked Wildcats, Hands Them Their First Pacific 10 Loss". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1988. Retrieved September 19, 2020.

[9] "Arizona Flattens Another Opponent". The New York Times. March 26, 1988. Retrieved February 21, 2018.

[10] "Oklahoma's Fire Melts Arizona, 86-78". The Washington Post. April 3, 1988. Retrieved August 30, 2020.

[11] "1987-88 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 21, 2018.

[12] "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".

[13] "1988 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2009.

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1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball

Great Alaska Shootout champions Pacific-10 Regular-Season Champions Pacific-10 Tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Pacific-10
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	35–3 (17–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Lute Olson (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Ricky Byrdsong (6th season) Kevin O'Neill (2nd season)
Home arena	McKale Center (Capacity: 14,545)
Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →