1985–86 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by head coach Al Brown and played their home games at Irving Gymnasium in Muncie, Indiana. After finishing in third place during the MAC regular season, Ball State won the MAC tournament to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As No. 14 seed in the Southeast region, the Cardinals were beaten by No. 3 seed Memphis State in the opening round, 95–63. The team finished with a record of 21–10 (11–7 MAC).

1985–86 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball
MAC tournament champions
ConferenceMid-American Conference
Record21–10 (11–7 MAC)
Head coach
  • Al Brown
MVPDan Palombizio
Home arenaIrving Gymnasium
Seasons
1985–86 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Miami (OH) 16 2   .889 24 7   .774
Ohio 14 4   .778 22 8   .733
Ball State 11 7   .611 21 10   .677
Northern Illinois 10 8   .556 15 12   .556
Toledo 8 10   .444 12 17   .414
Western Michigan 7 11   .389 12 16   .429
Central Michigan 7 11   .389 11 17   .393
Kent State 7 11   .389 11 16   .407
Eastern Michigan 5 13   .278 9 18   .333
Bowling Green 5 13   .278 7 20   .259
1986 MAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1985–86 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 5 Dan Palombizio (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Sr    
Larry Reed (C)
Sr    
Chris Shelton (C)
Sr    
Head coach
  • Al Brown
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference regular season
Dec 3, 1985*
Oakland W 82–69  1–0
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Dec 7, 1985*
Butler W 64–61  2–0
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Dec 11, 1985*
at Indiana State W 57–56  3–0
Hulman Center 
Terre Haute, Indiana
Dec 14, 1985*
at Valparaiso W 84–63  4–0
Athletics-Recreation Center 
Valparaiso, Indiana
Dec 18, 1985*
Delaware State W 91–69  5–0
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Dec 19, 1985*
Mississippi Valley State W 73–63  6–0
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Dec 21, 1985*
Western Illinois W 82–75  7–0
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Dec 27, 1985*
at No. 12 UNLV L 71–88  7–1
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Dec 28, 1985*
vs. TCU L 64–81  7–2
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
MAC regular season
Jan 2, 1986
Eastern Michigan W 70–59  8–2
(1–0)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Jan 4, 1986
at Toledo L 68–70  8–3
(1–1)
John F. Savage Hall 
Toledo, Ohio
Jan 8, 1986
Northern Illinois W 84–74  9–3
(2–1)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Jan 11, 1986
at Kent State W 70–61  10–3
(3–1)
Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center 
Kent, Ohio
Jan 15, 1986
at Ohio W 77–73  11–3
(4–1)
Convocation Center 
Athens, Ohio
Jan 18, 1986
Miami (OH) L 59–73  11–4
(4–2)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Jan 22, 1986
at Western Michigan L 64–67  11–5
(4–3)
University Arena 
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jan 25, 1986
Central Michigan W 58–56  12–5
(5–3)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Jan 29, 1986
at Bowling Green State W 76–71  13–5
(6–3)
Anderson Arena 
Bowling Green, Ohio
Feb 1, 1986*
Toledo W 67–57  14–5
(7–3)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Feb 5, 1986
at Northern Illinois L 58–66  14–6
(7–4)
Chick Evans Fieldhouse 
DeKalb, Illinois
Feb 8, 1986
Kent State L 65–70  14–7
(7–5)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Feb 12, 1986
Ohio L 61–64  14–8
(7–6)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Feb 15, 1986
at Miami (OH) L 77–103  14–9
(7–7)
Millett Hall 
Oxford, Ohio
Feb 19, 1986
Western Michigan W 82–63  15–9
(8–7)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Feb 22, 1986
at Central Michigan W 71–68  16–9
(9–7)
Rose Arena 
Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Feb 28, 1986
Bowling Green State W 85–78  17–9
(10–7)
Irving Gymnasium 
Muncie, Indiana
Mar 1, 1986
at Eastern Michigan W 81–80  18–9
(11–7)
Bowen Field House 
Ypsilanti, Michigan
MAC tournament
Mar 6, 1986*
vs. Western Michigan
Quarterfinals
W 87–76  19–9
Rockford MetroCentre 
Rockford, Illinois
Mar 7, 1986*
vs. Ohio
Semifinals
W 93–69  20–9
Rockford MetroCentre 
Rockford, Illinois
Mar 8, 1986*
vs. Miami (OH)
Championship game
W 87–79  21–9
Rockford MetroCentre 
Rockford, Illinois
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1986*
(14 SE) vs. (3 SE) No. 12 Memphis State
First Round
L 63–95  21–10
LSU Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time Source[1].

References

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  1. ^ "Record Book" (PDF). Ball State University Athletics. Retrieved April 30, 2022.