1986–87 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season March 2025 1986–87 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1979-1998.png 250px November 28, 1986through March 8, 1987 9 ESPN Regular Season Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse (12–4) Champion Reggie Williams – Georgetown Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 1987 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Georgetown Reggie Williams – Georgetown Most Valuable Player Basketball 1985–86 1987–88 The 1986–87 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the eighth in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools. Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of (12–4). Georgetown won the Big East tournament championship. In the NCAA Tournament, Providence and Syracuse both reached the Final Four, and Syracuse was the national runner-up. Season summary & highlights Despite low expectations for the season, Syracuse won its first 15 games and finished the season as a regular-season conference co-champion and runner-up in the 1987 Big East tournament. Georgetown fielded a team that relied heavily on young and inexperienced players and was expected to have a rebuilding year, but instead had great success in conference and non-conference play, advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, and finished the season ranked No. 4 behind the leadership of senior forward and team captain Reggie Williams. The team received the nickname "Reggie and the Miracles."http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/r_williams.htm The Georgetown Basketball History Project: The Top 100: 3. Reggie Williams 2014-03-14 https://web.archive.org/web/20160304003232/http://www.hoyabasketball.com/features/top100/r_williams.htm 2016-03-04 dead Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of 12–4. It was the third regular-season championship or co-championship for both Georgetown and Syracuse and the first for Pittsburgh. Georgetown won its fifth Big East tournament championship. In the NCAA Tournament, Providence and Syracuse both reached the Final Four, and Syracuse finished as the national runner-up, narrowly losing the national championship game to Indiana. The 104 points Syracuse scored against Western Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament tied the record for the most points scored in an NCAA tournament game by a single team.http://suathletics.com/Pdfs/basketball/mbasket/2006/4/12/NCAARecords.pdf SU NCAA Tournament Records Syracuse University 2008-07-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20060623151316/http://suathletics.com/Pdfs/basketball/mbasket/2006/4/12/NCAARecords.pdf 2006-06-23 dead Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Jim O'Brien 1st Connecticut Jim Calhoun 1st Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 15th Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award) Pittsburgh Paul Evans 1st Providence Rick Pitino 2nd Resigned July 13, 1987 St. John's Lou Carnesecca 17th Seton Hall P. J. Carlesimo 5th Syracuse Jim Boeheim 11th Villanova Rollie Massimino 12th Rankings Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were ranked in the Top 20 of the Associated Press poll for the entire season, and St. John's was in the Top 20 for most of the season. Providence also reached the Top 20 during February 1987. + 1986–87 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/1987.html 1986-87 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary March 29, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 12/1 12/8 12/15 12/22 12/29 1/5 1/12 1/19 1/26 2/2 2/9 2/16 2/23 3/2 FinalBoston College Connecticut Georgetown 18 16 13 10 10 8 16 9 15 11 10 13 11 8 7 4 Pittsburgh 16 12 17 14 14 17 14 18 16 17 13 10 8 9 11 12 Providence 17 20 19 20 St. John's 15 15 10 10 13 14 15 19 16 20 Seton Hall Syracuse 15 17 12 9 7 7 5 5 7 6 11 9 9 11 10 10 Villanova Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Reggie Williams GU 23.6 Billy Donovan Prov 20.6 Mark Jackson SJU 18.9 Dana Barros BC 18.7 James Major SHU 17.6 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Jerome Lane Pitt 13.5 Gerry Besselink Conn 10.7 Derrick Coleman Syr 8.8 Reggie Williams GU 8.6 Charles Smith Pitt 8.5 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Sherman Douglas Syr 7.6 Billy Donovan Prov 7.1 Mark Jackson SJU 6.4 Tate George Conn 6.0 Kenny Wilson Vill 5.1 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG Billy Donovan Prov 2.4 Reggie Williams GU 2.1 Mark Jackson SJU 2.0 Gary Massey Vill 1.8 Delray Brooks Prov 1.8 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Charles Smith Pitt 3.2 Rony Seikaly Syr 2.1 Derrick Coleman Syr 2.8 Jeff King Conn 1.7 Tyrone Scott BC 1.5 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Rony Seikaly Syr .568 Jerome Lane Pitt .568 Charles Smith Pitt .550 Sherman Douglas Syr .531 Willie Glass SJU .515 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Pop Lewis Prov .432 Billy Donovan Prov .409 James Major SHU .390(no other qualifiers) 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Jamie Benton BC .884 Dana Barros BC .850 Billy Donovan Prov .843 Mark Jackson SJU .806 Reggie Williams GU .804 end Postseason Big East tournament 1987 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding Seeding in the Big East tournament was based on conference record, with tiebreakers applied as necessary. The eighth- and ninth-seeded teams played a first-round game, and the other seven teams received a bye into the quarterfinals. The tournament's seeding was as follows: (1) Georgetown, (2) Pittsburgh, (3) Syracuse, (4) Providence, (5) St. John's, (6) Villanova, (7) Seton Hall, (8) Boston College, (9) Connecticut. Bracket First roundMarch 5, 1987 QuarterfinalsMarch 6, 1987 SemifinalsMarch 7, 1987 Championship GameMarch 8, 1987 8 1986-87 Boston College Eagles Boston College Boston College 61 9 Connecticut 59 1 #7 Georgetown 56 8 Boston College 51 4 Providence 80 5 St. John's 51 3 #10 Syracuse 72 6 1986-87 Villanova Wildcats Villanova University Villanova 66 2 #11 Pittsburgh 102 7 1986-87 Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall University Seton Hall 79 1 #7 Georgetown 84 4 Providence 66 3 #10 Syracuse 99 2 #11 Pittsburgh 85 1 #7 Georgetown 69 3 #10 Syracuse 59 NCAA tournament 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Georgetown seeded No. 1 in the Southeast Region. Pittsburgh and St. John's both lost in the second round, and Providence upset Georgetown in the Southeast Region final. Syracuse defeated Providence in a national semifinal game but lost to Indiana in the national championship game. School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Final 4 Final Syracuse East 2 15 Georgia Southern, W 79–73 10 Western Kentucky, W 104–86 6 Florida, W 87–81 1 North Carolina, W 79–75 SE6 Providence W 77–63 MW1 Indiana, L 74–73 Providence Southeast 6 11 UAB, W 90–68 14 Austin Peay, W 90–87OT 2 Alabama, W 103–82 1 Georgetown, W 88–73 E2 Syracuse L 77–63 Georgetown Southeast 1 16 Bucknell, W 75–53 9 Ohio State, W 82–79 5 Kansas, W 70–57 6 Providence, L 88–73 Pittsburgh West 3 14 Marist, W 93–68 6 Oklahoma, L 78–54 St. John's Midwest 6 11 Wichita State, W 93–68 3 DePaul, L 96–93 National Invitation Tournament 1987 National Invitation Tournament Two Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. Playing in the same unnamed bracket, Seton Hall and Villanova both lost in the first round. School Round 1 Seton Hall Niagara, L 74–65 Villanova La Salle, L 86–84 Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: Reggie Williams, Georgetown, F, Sr. Defensive Player of the Year: Mark Jackson, St. John's, G, Sr. Freshman of the Year: Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F Coach of the Year: John Thompson, Jr., Georgetown (15th season) All-Big East First Team Reggie Williams, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F, Jr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 250 lb 0, Bridgeport, Conn. Jerome Lane, Pittsburgh, F, So., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 230 lb 0, Akron, Ohio Billy Donovan, Providence, G, Sr. 5 ft 11 in cm 0, 171 lb 0, Baltimore, Md. Mark Jackson, St. John's, F, Sr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 205 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Sherman Douglas, Syracuse, G, So., 6 ft 0 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Washington, D.C. All-Big East Second Team: Dana Barros, Boston College, G, So., 5 ft 11 in cm 0, 163 lb 0, Boston, Mass. Perry McDonald, Georgetown, F, Jr., 6 ft 4 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, New Orleans, La. Mark Bryant, Seton Hall, F, Jr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 245 lb 0, Glen Ridge, N.J. Rony Seikaly, Syracuse, C, Jr. 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, Athens, Greece Harold Jensen, Villanova, G, Sr., 6 ft 4 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Trumbull, Conn. All-Big East Third Team: Dave Kipfer, Providence, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 212 lb 0, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada James Major, Seton Hall, G, Jr., 5 ft 11 in cm 0 Willie Glass, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 205 lb 0, Atlantic City, N.J. Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 258 lb 0, Mobile, Ala. Greg Monroe, Syracuse, G, Sr. 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 195 lb 0, Rochester, N.Y. Big East All-Freshman Team: Tate George, Connecticut, G, 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Newark, N.J. Dwayne Bryant, Georgetown, G, 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, New Orleans, La. Mark Tillmon, Georgetown, G, 6 ft 2 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Washington, D.C. Rod Brookin, Pittsburgh, F, 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 260 lb 0, Steelton, Pa. Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F, 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 258 lb 0, Mobile, Ala. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1987 Associated Press All-America teams. 1987 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans Consensus All-America First Team: Reggie Williams, Georgetown, Key Stats: 23.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 48.2 FG%, 38.6 3P%, 802 points Consensus All-America Second Team: Mark Jackson, St. John's, Key Stats: 18.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.4 apg, 50.4 FG%, 41.9 3P%, 566 points First Team All-America: Reggie Williams, Georgetown, Key Stats: 23.6 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.7 apg, 48.2 FG%, 38.6 3P%, 802 points Second Team All-America: Mark Jackson, St. John's, Key Stats: 18.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 6.4 apg, 50.4 FG%, 41.9 3P%, 566 points Third Team All-America: Jerome Lane, Pittsburgh, Key Stats: 15.8 ppg, 13.5 rpg, 2.2 apg, 56.8 FG%, 50.0 3P%, 522 points AP Honorable Mention Sherman Douglas, Syracuse Charles Smith, Pittsburgh See also 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1986–87 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1986–87 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1986–87 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1986–87 Providence Friars men's basketball team 1986–87 St. John's Redmen basketball team 1986–87 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team References