# 1987–88 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1987–88 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach C. M. Newton and played its home games at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores finished with a 20–11 record (10–8 SEC, T-4th) and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Vanderbilt made a run to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to the eventual National champion, Kansas.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1987* | | Hawaii | W 91–62 | 1–0 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Nov 30, 1987* | | Lehigh | W 102–91 | 2–0 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 5, 1987* | | No. 1 North Carolina | W 78–76 | 3–0 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 8, 1987* | | at No. 6 Indiana | L 61–63 | 3–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Dec 19, 1987* | | Ohio | W 93–77 | 4–1 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 21, 1987* | | Morehead State | W 81–73 | 5–1 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 28, 1987* | | East Carolina | W 99–63 | 6–1 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 29, 1987* | | Cornell | W 95–79 | 7–1 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 31, 1987 | | at No. 2 Kentucky | L 74–81 | 7–2 (0–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 6, 1988 | | LSU | L 39–51 | 7–3 (0–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 9, 1988 | | at Tennessee | L 72–80 | 7–4 (0–3) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 13, 1988 | | at Ole Miss | W 60–57 | 8–4 (1–3) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 16, 1988 | | Alabama | W 76–60 | 9–4 (2–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 20, 1988 | | Georgia | W 92–77 | 10–4 (3–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 23, 1988 | | at Auburn | W 75–71 | 11–4 (4–3) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Jan 27, 1988 | | No. 9 Kentucky | W 83–66 | 12–4 (5–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 30, 1988 | | No. 14 Florida | W 92–65 | 13–4 (6–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 3, 1988 | | Mississippi State | W 82–66 | 14–4 (7–3) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 6, 1988 | No. 15 | at LSU | L 79–94 | 14–5 (7–4) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1988* | (5) | at (4) LSU Quarterfinals | L 80–87 | 18–10 | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 18, 1988* | (7 MW) | vs. (10 MW) Utah State First round | W 80–77 | 19–10 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Mar 20, 1988* | (7 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 8 Pittsburgh Second round | W 80–74 $^{OT}$ | 20–10 | Bob Devaney Sports Center (14,433) Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Mar 25, 1988* | (7 MW) | vs. (6 MW) Kansas Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 64–77 | 20–11 | Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Will Perdue – SEC Player of the Year, SEC Athlete of the Year, Third-team All-American

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 11 | Will Perdue | Chicago Bulls |