1985–86 Bradley Braves men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Bradley Braves men's basketball team represented Bradley University during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Braves were members of the Missouri Valley Conference and played their home games at Carver Arena. The team rode a 22–game winning streak on their way to a new school record for wins by finishing the season at 32–3. After sweeping through MVC regular season play with a 16–0 league mark – finishing ahead of the pack by a 6-game margin – Bradley lost in the championship game of the MVC tournament. The Braves earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 7 seed in the West region. The Braves defeated UTEP to open the tournament, but fell to Louisville, the eventual national champions, in the second round.

1985–86 Bradley Braves men's basketball
MVC Regular Season Champions
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 14
Record32–3 (16–0 MVC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaCarver Arena
Seasons
← 1984–85
1985–86 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 14 Bradley 16 0   1.000 32 3   .914
Tulsa 10 6   .625 23 9   .719
Drake 10 6   .625 19 11   .633
Illinois State 9 7   .563 15 14   .517
Wichita State 7 9   .438 14 14   .500
Creighton 7 9   .438 12 16   .429
Indiana State 7 9   .438 11 17   .393
West Texas State 4 12   .250 11 17   .393
Southern Illinois 4 12   .250 8 20   .286
1986 MVC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

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1985–86 Bradley Braves men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
C 3 Mike Williams 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr De La Salle Chicago, IL
G 12 Anthony Manuel 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Crane Chicago, IL
G 14 Jeff Anthony 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
So East St. Louis East St. Louis, IL
G 15 Jim Les 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Notre Dame Niles, IL
F 21 Jerry Thomas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Collins Chicago, IL
F 23 Paul Wilson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Fr Lorain Catholic Lorain, OH
F/C 24 Donald Powell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Nowata Nowata, OK
C 25 Keith Berry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Jr Dunbar Chicago, IL
F 32 Greg Jones 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
So Robeson Chicago, IL
G 33 Hersey Hawkins 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Westinghouse Chicago, IL
G 40 Trevor Trimpe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
So Havana Havana, IL
G 44 Len Bertolini 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
So St. Patrick's Chicago, IL
F 52 Bruce Mordini 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Jr Highland Park Highland Park, IL
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster

[2]

Schedule

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 22, 1985*
at Loyola Chicago W 94–84  1–0
Alumni Gym (5,308)
Chicago, IL
Nov 25, 1985*
Chicago State W 80–53  2–0
Carver Arena (7,643)
Peoria, IL
Nov 27, 1985*
Toledo W 69–57  3–0
Carver Arena (6,984)
Peoria, IL
Nov 30, 1985*
Northwestern W 76–72  4–0
Carver Arena (7,347)
Peoria, IL
Dec 2, 1985*
at Western Illinois W 76–62  5–0
Western Hall (3,241)
Macomb, IL
Dec 7, 1985*
at Marquette W 66–64  6–0
MECCA Arena (10,461)
Milwaukee, WI
Dec 13, 1985*
Loyola Chicago W 76–75  7–0
Carver Arena (8,358)
Peoria, IL
Dec 21, 1985*
at Colorado W 79–69  8–0
CU Events Center (3,827)
Boulder, CO
Dec 23, 1985*
Saint Louis W 81–67  9–0
Carver Arena (8,791)
Peoria, IL
Dec 27, 1985*
vs. Clemson
Rainbow Classic
L 76–81  9–1
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (3,153)
Honolulu, HI
Dec 28, 1985*
vs. Villanova
Rainbow Classic
W 58–56 OT 10–1
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (2,080)
Honolulu, HI
Dec 30, 1985*
vs. Wake Forest
Rainbow Classic
W 86–72  11–1
Neal S. Blaisdell Center (1,556)
Honolulu, HI
Jan 4, 1986
Southern Illinois W 65–62  12–1
(1–0)
Carver Arena (9,255)
Peoria, IL
Jan 6, 1986
Illinois Wesleyan W 74–64  13–1
Carver Arena (6,573)
Peoria, IL
Jan 9, 1986
at Wichita State W 57–55  14–1
(2–0)
Levitt Arena (10,386)
Wichita, KS
Jan 11, 1986
at Drake W 69–67  15–1
(3–0)
Veterans Memorial Auditorium (5,750)
Des Moines, IA
Jan 13, 1986*
at Dayton W 79–77 OT 16–1
University of Dayton Arena (11,371)
Dayton, OH
Jan 16, 1986
No. 20 West Texas State W 78–53  17–1
(4–0)
Carver Arena (8,245)
Peoria, IL
Jan 18, 1986
No. 20 Tulsa W 71–58  18–1
(5–0)
Carver Arena (9,266)
Peoria, IL
Jan 23, 1986
No. 17 Illinois State
I-74 Rivalry
W 67–63 OT 19–1
(6–0)
Carver Arena (10,450)
Peoria, IL
Jan 25, 1986
No. 17 at Creighton W 74–56  20–1
(7–0)
Omaha Civic Auditorium (7,541)
Omaha, NE
Jan 30, 1986
No. 13 at West Texas State W 63–54  21–1
(8–0)
WT Fieldhouse (3,038)
Canyon, TX
Feb 1, 1986
No. 13 at Tulsa W 54–51  22–1
(9–0)
Tulsa Convention Center (8,523)
Tulsa, OK
Feb 8, 1986
No. 13 Creighton W 79–59  23–1
(10–0)
Carver Arena (10,450)
Peoria, IL
Feb 10, 1986
No. 13 at Illinois State W 74–67  24–1
(11–0)
Horton Field House (7,745)
Normal, IL
Feb 13, 1986
No. 13 at Indiana State W 54–52  25–1
(12–0)
Hulman Center (5,648)
Terre Haute, IN
Feb 15, 1986
No. 13 at Southern Illinois W 61–60  26–1
(13–0)
SIU Arena (6,550)
Carbondale, IL
Feb 20, 1986
No. 12 Drake W 88–79  27–1
(14–0)
Carver Arena (10,450)
Peoria, IL
Feb 22, 1986
No. 12 Wichita State W 74–64  28–1
(15–0)
Carver Arena (10,450)
Peoria, IL
Feb 27, 1986
No. 11 Indiana State W 71–51  29–1
(16–0)
Carver Arena (10,450)
Peoria, IL
MVC Tournament
Mar 4, 1986*
No. 9 vs. West Texas State
MVC Tournament Quarterfinal
W 61–55  30–1
Tulsa Convention Center (1,556)
Tulsa, OK
Mar 5, 1986*
No. 9 vs. Illinois State
MVC Tournament Semifinal
W 65–64  31–1
Tulsa Convention Center (5,469)
Tulsa, OK
Mar 6, 1986*
No. 9 at Tulsa
MVC tournament championship
L 58–74[3]  31–2
Tulsa Convention Center (6,313)
Tulsa, OK
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1986*
(7 W) No. 14 vs. (10 W) No. 20 UTEP
NCAA tournament first round
W 83–65  32–2
Dee Events Center (9,978)
Ogden, UT
Mar 15, 1986*
(7 W) No. 14 vs. (2 W) No. 7 Louisville
NCAA tournament second round
L 68–82[4]  32–3
Dee Events Center (10,061)
Ogden, UT
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.
All times are in Central Time.

Source:[5]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP20171313131211914
Coaches1917131312129913

Awards and honors

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Team players in the 1986 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
3 51 Mike Williams Golden State Warriors
3 70 Jim Les Atlanta Hawks

[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1985-86 Missouri Valley Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1985–86 Bradley Braves Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
  3. ^ "TULSA STOPS BRADLEY'S 22-GAME STREAK". The New York Times. March 7, 1986. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  4. ^ "LOUISVILLE WEARS BRADLEY DOWN, OUT". Chicago Tribune. March 16, 1986. Retrieved May 18, 2019.
  5. ^ "Final 1986 Division I Men's Basketball Statistics Report - Bradley University" (PDF). NCAA.
  6. ^ "1986 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 17, 2019.