1985–86 LSU Tigers basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball none 1985–86 LSU Tigers Southeastern Conference SEC 26–12 9–9 Dale Brown 14th Ron Abernathy 10th Bo Bahnsen Johnny Jones 2nd LSU Assembly Center NCAA tournament Final Four The 1985–86 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. It is best known for being the lowest seeded team (11th) in the NCAA tournament to reach the Final Four (later matched by George Mason in 2006, VCU in 2011, Loyola Chicago in 2018, UCLA in 2021, and NC State in 2024).Top five lowest seeds to make the NCAA Final Four - College Basketball - Rivals.com They remain the only 11 seed to beat the 1, 2, and 3 seeds in their region in the same tournament. Season The team is also remembered for overcoming numerous obstacles during that season. Star forward Jerry Reynolds had left LSU early for the NBA draft. The Tigers originally had two seven-footers and a third player near that height on their roster, but only one was available by the start of the season—6–11 Damon Vance was declared academically ineligible, and 7–1 freshman and future NBA player Tito Horford either left the team or was dismissed, depending on the source.http://www.wwltv.com/sports/ncaa/lsu/30-years-ago-lsu-basketballs-improbable-final-4-run-made-headlines/108375895 30 years ago: LSU basketball's improbable Final 4 run made headlines Glenn Guilbeau WWL-TV New Orleans March 29, 2016 January 31, 2018https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/1986/02/02/lsu-a-team-full-of-trouble-faces-georgetown-today/a9e2287d-e9ec-41fe-9ea9-ca56fbcd26ab/ LSU, a Team Full of Trouble, Faces Georgetown Today Michael Wilbon Michael Wilbon The Washington Post February 2, 1986 January 31, 2018 The other seven-footer, Zoran Jovanovich, suffered a season-ending knee injury during the team's Christmas break. Two other players were declared academically ineligible—Dennis Brown, reportedly a solid engineering student, took too few courses in his major and was ruled out for the entire season, and star forward Nikita Wilson failed two courses in the fall semester, ruling him out for the spring semester. As a result of these losses, Ricky Blanton switched positions from guard to center, and team captain Don Redden said at the time that the Tigers had "gone from an NBA-size team to a big junior high team." The team was then hit with a chickenpox outbreak, with star forward John Williams and backup forward Bernard Woodside hospitalized for a week and the team quarantined for several days. LSU was forced to reschedule what was intended to be a nationally televised game against Auburn due to a lack of healthy players, and coach Dale Brown even went so far as to draft football player Chris Carrier as emergency cover. Roster 1985 LSU Tigers y y Derrick Taylor 10 G 6 0 185 sr yes Baton Rouge, LA Redemptorist HS Anthony Wilson 11 G 6 4 192 jr Plain Dealing, LA Plain Dealing HS Edwin Wilson 14 G 5 10 150 so Lake Charles, LA LaGrange HS Ocie Conley 15 G 6 1 179 so Marianna, AR Lee HS Neboisha Bukumirovich 20 G 6 4 181 so Nikšić, Yugoslavia Medical HS, Belgrade Dennis Brown 21 G 6 0 169 jr Baton Rouge, LA Woodlawn HS I John Williams y basketball, born 1966 24 F 6 8 237 so Los Angeles, CA Crenshaw HS Chris Carrier 25 F 6 5 205 so Eunice, LA Eunice HS Bernard Woodside 30 F 6 6 207 so Hempstead, NY St. Agnes Cathedral HS Oliver Brown 31 G 6 6 195 jr Baton Rouge, LA University HS Ricky Blanton y 33 G/F 6 6 225 so Miami, FL Killian HS Nikita Wilson y 41 F 6 7 200 jr Leesville, LA Leesville HS José Vargas y basketball 43 C 6 9 225 so La Romana, Dominican Republic Evangelico Central Don Redden y 44 G/F 6 6 213 sr Monroe, LA Ouachita HS C Zoran Jovanovich y Zoran Jovanović (basketball) 45 C 7 0 247 so Belgrade, Yugoslavia Fifth HS Dale Brown (Minot State) Ron Abernathy (Morehead State) Bo Bahnsen (LSU) Johnny Jones (LSU) http://www.lsusports.net/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5200&SPID=2166&SPSID=27829&KEY=&Q_SEASON=1985 Schedule and results |- !colspan=12 style="background:#33297B; color:#FDD023;"| Non-conference regular season 11/22/1985 yes 14 Montana State LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 84–59 1–0 11/27/1985 yes y 12 Washington Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA 70–61 2–0 11/30/1985 yes y 12 BYU–Hawaii Laie, HI 89–71 3–0 12/01/1985 yes y 12 Hawaii Pacific Honolulu, HI 101–89 4–0 12/02/1985 yes y 12 Hawaii Loa Kaneohe, HI 77–68 5–0 12/03/1985 yes y 11 Hawaii–Hilo Hilo, HI 70–61 6–0 12/14/1985 yes 11 Hardin–Simmons LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 87–71 7–0 12/16/1985 yes y 11 Lamar Montagne Center Beaumont, TX 74–57 8–0 12/17/1985 yes y 9 Texas Frank Erwin Center Austin, TX 72–65 9–0 12/20/1985 yes 9 Southeastern Louisiana LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA LSU Invitational semifinal 82–61 10–0 12/21/1985 yes 9 Southern LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA LSU Invitational Final 91–83 11–0 12/30/1985 yes 9 Oral Roberts LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 82–64 12–0 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#33297B; color:#FDD023;"| SEC regular season 01/02/1986 8 Georgia LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 85–73 13–0 1–0 01/04/1986 8 Mississippi State LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 90–84 14–0 2–0 01/09/1986 y 8 Alabama Memorial Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL 67–83 14–1 2–1 01/11/1986 y 8 Tennessee Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, TN 77–88 14–2 2–2 01/13/1986 8 Ole Miss LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 86–68 15–2 3–2 01/18/1986 14 Vanderbilt LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 84–67 16–2 4–2 01/22/1986 y 14 Florida O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL 65–74 16–3 4–3 01/29/1986 17 Kentucky 8 LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 52–54 16–4 4–4 02/01/1986 y 17 Georgia Georgia Coliseum Athens, GA 76–92 16–5 4–5 02/02/1986 yes y 17 Georgetown Capital Centre Landover, MD 72–74 16–6 02/04/1986 y Auburn Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL 63–61 17–6 5–5 02/05/1986 y Mississippi State Humphrey Coliseum Mississippi State, MS 68–62 18–6 6–5 02/09/1986 Alabama 20 LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 71–80 18–7 6–6 02/12/1986 Tennessee LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 75–50 19–7 7–6 02/15/1986 y Ole Miss Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS 57–58 19–8 7–7 02/20/1986 y Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN 74–68 20–8 8–7 02/22/1986 Florida LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 80–69 21–8 9–7 02/26/1986 Auburn LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA 86–92 21–9 9–8 03/01/1986 y Kentucky 5 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY 57–68 21–10 9–9 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#33297B"| SEC tournament 03/06/1986 yes 5 Florida 4 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY Quarterfinals LSN 72–66 22–10 03/07/1986 yes 5 Kentucky 1 4 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY Semifinals LSN 58–61 22–11 |- !colspan=12 style="background:#33297B;"| NCAA tournament 03/13/1986 yes yes 11 SE Purdue 6 SE LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA First round 94–87 2 OT 23–11 03/15/1986 yes yes 11 SE Memphis State 3 SE 12 LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA Second round 83–81 13,749 24–11 03/20/1986 yes yes 11 SE Georgia Tech 2 SE The Omni Atlanta, GA Regional semifinals 70–64 25–11 03/22/1986 yes yes 11 SE Kentucky 1 SE The Omni Atlanta, GA Regional Finals 59–57 26–11 03/29/1986 yes yes 11 SE Louisville 2 W Reunion Arena Dallas, TX Semifinals 77–88 26–12 AP Poll Central Time Rankings 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game Random House 899–900 2009 978-0-345-51392-2 References Category:LSU Tigers men's basketball seasons Lsu Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Lsu LSU LSU