1986–87 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team represented Middle Tennessee State University during the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Blue Raiders, led by first-year head coach Bruce Stewart, played their home games at the Murphy Center in Murfreesboro, Tennessee and were members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 22–7, 11–3 in OVC play to finish atop the regular season standings. In the OVC tournament, they were upset by Austin Peay in the semifinals, but did receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 12 seed in the West region, they were defeated by No. 5 seed Notre Dame, 84–71, in the opening round.[2]

1986–87 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball
OVC Regular season champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Record22–7 (11–3 OVC)
Head coach
  • Bruce Stewart (3rd season)
Home arenaMurphy Center
Seasons
1986–87 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Middle Tennessee 11 3   .786 22 7   .759
Akron 9 5   .643 21 9   .700
Eastern Kentucky 9 5   .643 19 11   .633
Austin Peay 8 6   .571 14 14   .500
Morehead State 8 6   .571 14 14   .500
Murray State 6 8   .429 13 15   .464
Youngstown State 4 10   .286 11 17   .393
Tennessee Tech 1 13   .071 7 20   .259
Tennessee State - -   15 12   .556
1987 OVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

Roster edit

1986–87 Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G Duane Washington 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr
Head coach
  • Bruce Stewart
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule and results edit

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Dec 20, 1986*
at Marshall L 85–87  3–1
Henderson Center 
Huntington, West Virginia
Dec 29, 1986*
vs. Michigan
UAB Classic
W 85–83  5–1
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 30, 1986*
at UAB
UAB Classic
L 91–93 OT 5–2
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center 
Birmingham, Alabama
OVC tournament
Mar 6, 1987*
Austin Peay
Semifinals
L 83–87  19–6
Murphy Center 
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
NCAA tournament
Mar 12, 1987*
(12 E) vs. (5 E) No. 18 Notre Dame
First round
L 71–84  22–7
Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East Source[3][4].
All times are in Central Time.

References edit

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1986-87 Ohio Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Rivers Gives Irish Jump Start". Orlando Sentinel. March 13, 1987. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "2019-20 Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "1986-87 Men's Basketball Schedule". Middle Tennessee State University Athletics. Retrieved May 21, 2023.