1987–88 Eastern Michigan Hurons men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Eastern Michigan Hurons men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hurons, led by head coach Ben Braun, played their home games at Bowen Field House and were members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 22–8, 14–2 in MAC play. They were MAC Regular season and MAC tournament champions, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 15 seed in the Midwest region. Making the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history, the Hurons fell to No. 2 seed Pittsburgh in the opening round.

1987–88 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball
MAC Regular season champions MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	22–8 (14–2 MAC)
Head coach	Ben Braun (3rd season)
Assistant coach	Brian Miller
Home arena	Bowen Field House

1987–88 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Eastern Michigan †	14	–	2		.875			22	–	8		.733
Central Michigan	10	–	6		.625			19	–	13		.594
Ohio	9	–	7		.563			16	–	14		.533
Ball State	8	–	8		.500			14	–	14		.500
Western Michigan	7	–	9		.438			12	–	17		.414
Bowling Green	7	–	9		.438			12	–	16		.429
Kent State	6	–	10		.375			10	–	18		.357
Miami (OH)	6	–	10		.375			9	–	18		.333
Toledo	5	–	11		.313			15	–	12		.556
† 1988 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1987–88 Eastern Michigan Hurons men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 15 Lorenzo Neely — — Fr G 23 Charles Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Everett HS Lansing, Michigan G/F 31 Carl Thomas 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Everett HS Lansing, Michigan PF Grant Long 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Romulus HS Romulus, Michigan	Head coach Ben Braun Assistant coach(es) Brian Miller Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Source:

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1987*		Wisconsin-Milwaukee	W 71–67	1–0	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Nov 30, 1987*		Oakland	W 117–107	2–0	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Dec 4, 1987*		vs. Alcorn State Wadsworth Show-Me Classic	W 75–61	3–0	Hearnes Center  Columbia, Missouri
Dec 5, 1987*		at No. 8 Missouri Wadsworth Show-Me Classic	L 75–77 2OT	3–1	Hearnes Center  Columbia, Missouri
Dec 9, 1987*		Detroit Mercy	W 79–66	4–1	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Dec 12, 1987*		at No. 15 Michigan	L 63–115	4–2	Crisler Arena  Ann Arbor, Michigan
Dec 17, 1987*		Michigan State	W 84–80 OT	5–2	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Dec 19, 1987*		at Chicago State	L 80–83	5–3	Dickens Athletic Center  Chicago, Illinois
Dec 23, 1987*		at Cleveland State	L 88–103	5–4	Woodling Gym  Cleveland, Ohio
Jan 2, 1988*		at Valparaiso	L 57–59	5–5	Athletics-Recreation Center  Valparaiso, Indiana
Jan 6, 1988		at Central Michigan	W 72–65	6–5 (1–0)	Daniel P. Rose Center  Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Jan 9, 1988		Bowling Green	W 81–66	7–5 (2–0)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 13, 1988		Toledo	W 82–54	8–5 (3–0)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 16, 1988*		St. Mary's	W 101–77	9–5	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 20, 1988		Kent State	W 75–70	10–5 (4–0)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 23, 1988		at Ball State	W 72–71	11–5 (5–0)	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, Indiana
Jan 27, 1988		Miami (OH)	W 81–69	12–5 (6–0)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Jan 30, 1988		at Western Michigan	L 78–81	12–6 (6–1)	University Arena  Kalamazoo, Michigan
Feb 3, 1988		Ohio	W 109–92	13–6 (7–1)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Feb 6, 1988		at Bowling Green	W 78–64	14–6 (8–1)	Anderson Arena  Bowling Green, Ohio
Feb 10, 1988		at Toledo	W 81–66	15–6 (9–1)	Savage Arena  Toledo, Ohio
Feb 17, 1988		at Kent State	L 76–83	15–7 (9–2)	MAC Center  Kent, Ohio
Feb 20, 1988		Ball State	W 77–68	16–7 (10–2)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Feb 24, 1988		at Miami (OH)	W 69–52	17–7 (11–2)	Millett Hall  Oxford, Ohio
Feb 27, 1988		Western Michigan	W 96–82	18–7 (12–2)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
Mar 2, 1988		at Ohio	W 102–101	19–7 (13–2)	Convocation Center  Athens, Ohio
Mar 5, 1988		Central Michigan	W 79–64	20–7 (14–2)	Bowen Field House  Ypsilanti, Michigan
MAC tournament
Mar 9, 1988*		vs. Western Michigan Semifinals	W 95–88	21–7	John F. Savage Hall  Toledo, Ohio
Mar 10, 1988*		vs. Ohio Championship game	W 94–80	22–7	John F. Savage Hall  Toledo, Ohio
NCAA tournament
Mar 18, 1988*  ESPN NCAA Productions	(15 MW)	vs. (2 MW) No. 8 Pittsburgh First Round	L 90–108	22–8	Bob Devaney Sports Center (14,375) Lincoln, Nebraska
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time.