1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1987–88 Arizona Wildcats File:Arizona Wildcats logo.svg 125 Pacific-10 Pac-10 2 2 35–3 17–1 Lute Olson 5th Ricky Byrdsong 6th Kevin O'Neill 2nd McKale Center (Capacity: 14,545) Great Alaska Shootout championsPacific-10 Regular-Season ChampionsPacific-10 Tournament champions NCAA tournament Final Four 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. Roster 1987 Arizona Wildcats y yes Anthony Cook 00 F Jr y basketball Los Angeles, CA Van Nuys HS Kenny Lofton 11 PG 6 0 180 Jr y East Chicago, IN Washington HS Craig McMillan 20 G 6 6 Sr Cloverdale, CA Cloverdale HS Tom Tolbert 23 C 6 7 225 Sr y   Cerritos College Matt Muehlebach 24 PG 6 2 FR y Rockhurst, KS Stillwell HS Steve Kerr 25 G 6 3 175 Sr yes y Los Angeles, CA Palisades Charter HS Sean Elliott 32 SF 6 8 210 Jr y Tucson, AZ Cholla HS Joe Turner 33 F 6 9 Sr basketball Bakersfield, CA Foothill HS Brian David 34 C 6 9 So basketball Templeton, IA Kuemper HS Jud Buechler 35 SF 6 6 210 So y Poway, CA Poway HS Sean Rooks 42 C 6 10 250 Fr yes y Fontana, CA Fontana HS Harvey Mason 44 G 6 3 So n Harvey Mason Jr. y La Crescenta, CA Crescenta HS Mark Georgeson 45 F/C 6 10 235 Fr yes y Huntington Beach, CA Marina HS Lute Olson (Augsburg) thumb|upright|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.Arizona Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide University of Arizona Athletic Department https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/arizona.sidearmsports.com/documents/2018/10/24/Arizona_Basketball_Online_Media_Guide.pdf July 21, 2019 September 6, 2019 https://web.archive.org/web/20190906075533/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/arizona.sidearmsports.com/documents/2018/10/24/Arizona_Basketball_Online_Media_Guide.pdf dead yes yes |- !colspan=12 style=Arizona Wildcats| Non-conference regular season 11/27/1987 yes yes 17 Duquesne Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK Great Alaska Shootout             133–78 1–0 11/28/1987 yes yes 17 Michigan 9 Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK Great Alaska Shootout Tolbert 18 Tolbert 11     79–64Arizona Upsets Michigan, Faces Syracuse in Shootout Final https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-11-29-sp-25305-story.html Los Angeles Times November 29, 1987 February 23, 2018 2–0 11/30/1987 yes yes 17 Syracuse 1 Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK Great Alaska Shootout ESPN Elliott 16         80–69Elliott Powers Arizona Past No.3 Syracuse 80-69 http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-12-10/sports/8702100619_1_ken-lofton-orangemen-great-alaska-shootout Sun-Sentinel December 1, 1987 February 23, 2018 February 24, 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180224053009/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1987-12-10/sports/8702100619_1_ken-lofton-orangemen-great-alaska-shootout dead 3–0 12/4/1987 yes 9 Long Beach State McKale Center Tucson, AZ             94–62 4–0 12/5/1987 yes 9 Pepperdine McKale Center Tucson, AZ Tolbert 17         73–68 5–0 12/8/1987 yes 4 Northern Arizona McKale Center Tucson, AZ             77–59 6–0 12/12/1987 6:05 pm yes yes 4 Iowa 3 Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA Tolbert 18         66–59Chicago Tribune Olson's Return To Iowa City A Rousing Success For Arizona https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/12/13/olsons-return-to-iowa-city-a-rousing-success-for-arizona/ December 13, 1987 February 21, 2018 7–0 12/16/1987 yes 2 1987 men Little Rock Trojans Arkansas-Little Rock McKale Center Tucson, AZ             77–59 8–0 12/20/1987 yes 2 Washington Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA             110–71 9–0 1–0 12/22/1987 yes 2 Washington State Friel Court Pullman, WA             89–55 10–0 2–0 12/29/1987 yes 1 Michigan State McKale Center Tucson, AZ Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic             78–58 11–0 12/30/1987 8:00 p.m. yes 1 Duke 9 McKale Center Tucson, AZ Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic Elliott 31         91–85MVP Elliott scores 31 as Arizona rolls past Duke for 12th straight https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/121134728/ Arizona Republic newspapers.com December 31, 1987 September 19, 2020 13,270 12–0 1/2/1988 yes yes 1 1987 men New Mexico Lobos New Mexico The Pit Albuquerque, NM Elliott 27         59–61No. 1 Arizona Loses First Game, 61-59, in New Mexico's Pit https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-01-03-sp-32397-story.html Los Angeles Times January 3, 1988 September 19, 2020 18,100 12–1 |- !colspan=12 style=Arizona Wildcats| Pac-10 regular season 1/7/1988 3 1987 men California Golden Bears California McKale Center Tucson, AZ             80–51 13–1 3–0 1/9/1988 3 1987 men Stanford Cardinal Stanford McKale Center Tucson, AZ             90–65 14–1 4–0 1/14/1988 1 Oregon State Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR             70–48 15–1 5–0 1/16/1988 1 1987 men Oregon Ducks Oregon McArthur Court Eugene, OR             70–54 16–1 6–0 1/21/1988 1 1987 men USC Trojans USC McKale Center Tucson, AZ             92–48 17–1 7–0 1/24/1988 1 UCLA McKale Center Tucson, AZ Rivalry 13,258             86–74 18–1 8–0 1/28/1988 1 1987 men Arizona State Sun Devils Arizona State McKale Center Tucson, AZ Rivalry             99–59 19–1 9–0 1/30/1988 yes 1 Illinois 13 McKale Center Tucson, AZ 13,227             78–70 20–1 2/4/1988 yes 1 Stanford Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA Elliott 22         74–82Arizona Loss May Mean a Shuffle at Top: Stanford Stuns the No. 1-Ranked Wildcats, Hands Them Their First Pacific 10 Loss https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-02-05-sp-27391-story.html Los Angeles Times February 5, 1988 September 19, 2020 7,500 20–2 9–1 2/6/1988 yes 1 California Harmon Gym Berkeley, CA             74–62 21–2 10–1 2/11/1988 3 Oregon McKale Center Tucson, AZ             89–57 22–2 11–1 2/14/1988 3 Oregon State McKale Center Tucson, AZ             77–62 23–2 12–1 2/18/1988 yes 3 USC Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA             103–68 24–2 13–1 2/20/1988 yes 3 UCLA Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA Rivalry 12,037             78–76 OT 25–2 14–1 2/24/1988 yes 3 Arizona State ASU Activity Center Tempe, AZ Rivalry             101–73 26–2 15–1 3/3/1988 3 Washington State McKale Center Tucson, AZ             79–41 27–2 16–1 3/5/1988 3 Washington McKale Center Tucson, AZ             89–71 28–2 17–1 |- !colspan=12 style=Arizona Wildcats| Pac-10 Tournament 3/11/1988 yes 1 3 California 9 McKale Center Tucson, AZ Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinal             88–64 29–2 3/12/1988 yes 3 1 Stanford 4 McKale Center Tucson, AZ Pac-10 Tournament Semifinal             97–83 30–2 3/13/1988 yes 3 1 Oregon State 2 McKale Center Tucson, AZ Pac-10 Tournament Championship             83–67 31–2 |- !colspan=12 style=Arizona Wildcats| NCAA Tournament 3/18/1988 yes yes 2 W 1 Cornell W 16 Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA First Round CBS Cook 24 Tied 5 McMillan 5 90–50 32–2 3/20/1988 yes yes 2 W 1 Seton Hall W 8 Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA Second Round CBS Cook 20 Cook 6 Tied 3 84–55 33–2 3/25/1988 yes yes 2 W 1 Iowa 17 W 5 Kingdome Seattle, WA Sweet Sixteen CBS Elliott 25 Tolbert 9 Tied 8 99–79The New York Times Arizona Flattens Another Opponent https://www.nytimes.com/1988/03/26/sports/ncaa-regionals-west-arizona-flattens-another-opponent.html March 26, 1988 February 21, 2018 34–2 3/27/1988 yes yes 2 W 1 North Carolina 7 W 2 Kingdome Seattle, WA Elite Eight CBS Elliott 24 Tolbert 6 Tied 3 70–52 35–2 4/2/1988 6:12 pm yes 2 W 1 Oklahoma SE 1 4 Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO Final Four CBS Elliott 31 Tolbert 13 Kerr 5 78–86The Washington Post Oklahoma's Fire Melts Arizona, 86-78 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/memories/final4/articles/semi88b.htm April 3, 1988 August 30, 2020 35–3 AP Poll Pacific Sourceshttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/arizona/1988-schedule.html 1987-88 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results Sports Reference February 21, 2018 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 http://www.databasesports.com/ncaab/tourney.htm?yr=1988 RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More Rankings 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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 1988 NBA draft Round Pick Player NBA club 2 34 Tom Tolbert Charlotte Hornets 2 50 Steve Kerr Phoenix Sunshttp://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1988&lg=N 1988 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com 2009-05-05 usurped https://web.archive.org/web/20100317221203/http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?yr=1988&lg=N 2010-03-17 References Arizona Category:Arizona Wildcats men's basketball seasons Category:Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament championship seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Arizona Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team