# 1986–87 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team represented Indiana University. Their head coach was Bobby Knight, who was in his 16th year. The team played its home games in Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana, and was a member of the Big Ten Conference. The team is noted for having achieved much success without much NBA talent.
The Hoosiers finished the regular season with an overall record of 24–4 and a conference record of 15–3, finishing 1st in the Big Ten Conference. As Big Ten Conference co-champions with Purdue, IU was named a one-seed in the 1987 NCAA Tournament. They won solidly over Fairfield, Auburn, and Duke in NCAA play, but they needed Ricky Calloway's rebound lay-in to beat LSU, 77–76, to get to the Final Four. Once there, Indiana beat one-seed UNLV, 97–93, despite ten 3-pointers by UNLV guard Freddie Banks, which is still the Final Four record.
In the championship game versus Syracuse, which featured three future long-time professional players, Indiana trailed 73–70 in the last minute. However, two late shots by Keith Smart, including the last at 0:05, won the game for Indiana.
"The greatness in this team", coach Bob Knight said, "may be the greatness no other team here has had, to the degree that this one did – almost a total resolve not to recognize or be a part of defeat. This team played the last five minutes of critical games as well as I've ever seen a team play."

## Schedule/Results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/29/1986* | No. 3 | Montana State Billings | W 90–55 | 1–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/2/1986* | No. 3 | at Notre Dame | W 67–62 | 2–0 | Joyce Center Notre Dame, Indiana |
| 12/6/1986* | No. 3 | No. 13 Kentucky Indiana–Kentucky rivalry | W 71–66 | 3–0 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/9/1986* | No. 2 | at Vanderbilt | L 75–79 | 3–1 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| 12/12/1986* | No. 2 | UNC-Wilmington Indiana Classic | W 73–72 | 4–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/13/1986* | No. 2 | East Carolina Indiana Classic | W 96–68 | 5–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/20/1986* | No. 8 | Morehead State | W 84–62 | 6–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/23/1986* | No. 8 | Louisville | W 67–58 | 7–1 | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 12/26/1986* | No. 8 | vs. Princeton Hoosier Classic | W 83–54 | 8–1 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis |
| 12/27/1986* | No. 8 | vs. Illinois State Hoosier Classic | W 82–58 | 9–1 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis |
| 1/4/1987 | No. 6 | at Ohio State | W 92–80 | 10–1 (1–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| 1/8/1987 | No. 4 | at Michigan State | W 79–60 | 11–1 (2–0) | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, Michigan |
| 1/12/1987 | No. 4 | at Michigan | W 85–84 | 12–1 (3–0) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| 1/15/1987 | No. 4 | Wisconsin | W 103–65 | 13–1 (4–0) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/17/1987 | No. 4 | Northwestern | W 95–43 | 14–1 (5–0) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/22/1987 | No. 3 | at No. 1 Iowa | L 88–101 | 14–2 (5–1) | Carver–Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa |
| 1/24/1987 | No. 3 | at Minnesota | W 77–53 | 15–2 (6–1) | Williams Arena Minneapolis |
| 1/28/1987 | No. 4 | No. 12 Illinois Rivalry | W 69–66 | 16–2 (7–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 1/31/1987 | No. 4 | No. 4 Purdue Rivalry | W 88–74 | 17–2 (8–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/4/1987 | No. 2 | Michigan State | W 84–80 | 18–2 (9–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/8/1987 | No. 2 | Michigan | W 83–67 | 19–2 (10–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/11/1987 | No. 2 | at Northwestern | W 77–75 | 20–2 (11–1) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| 2/16/1987 | No. 2 | at Wisconsin | W 86–85 $^{3OT}$ | 21–2 (12–1) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| 2/19/1987 | No. 2 | Minnesota | W 72–70 | 22–2 (13–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/21/1987 | No. 2 | No. 7 Iowa | W 84–75 | 23–2 (14–1) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| 2/26/1987 | No. 3 | at No. 6 Purdue Rivalry | L 64–75 | 23–3 (14–2) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| 3/1/1987 | No. 3 | at No. 14 Illinois Rivalry | L 67–69 | 23–4 (14–3) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| 3/7/1987 | No. 4 | Ohio State | W 90–81 | 24–4 (15–3) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| 3/12/1987* | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (16 MW) Fairfield First Round | W 92–58 | 25–4 (15–3) | Hoosier Dome Indianapolis |
| 3/14/1987* | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (8 MW) Auburn Second Round | W 107–90 | 26–4 (15–3) | Hoosier Dome Indianapolis |
| 3/20/1987* | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (5 MW) No. 17 Duke Sweet Sixteen | W 88–82 | 27–4 (15–3) | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati |
| 3/22/1987* | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (10 MW) LSU Elite Eight | W 77–76 | 28–4 (15–3) | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati |
| 3/28/1987* | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (1 W) No. 1 UNLV Final Four | W 97–93 | 29–4 (15–3) | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans |
| 3/30/1987* | (1 MW) No. 3 | vs. (2 E) No. 10 Syracuse NCAA Championship Game | W 74–73 | 30–4 (15–3) | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Final |
| AP | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Coaches | Not released | 3 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |

## Awards and honors

* Steve Alford, Big Ten Player of the Year
* Dean Garrett, Big Ten Freshman of the Year
* Bobby Knight, Naismith College Coach of the Year
* Keith Smart, NCAA Men's MOP Award

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1987 | 2 | 26 | Steve Alford | Dallas Mavericks |
| 1987 | 6 | 116 | Daryl Thomas | Sacramento Kings |
| 1988 | 2 | 38 | Dean Garrett | Phoenix Suns |
| 1988 | 2 | 41 | Keith Smart | Golden State Warriors |