# 1986–87 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Johnny Orr, who was in his 7th season. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa.
They finished the season 13–15, 5–9 in Big Eight play to finish in 7th place.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 22, 1986* 7:00 pm | Bulgaria Exhibition | W 94–87 | | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 30, 1986* 1:08 pm, Cyclone Television Network | Detroit Mercy | W 91–66 | 1–0 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 2, 1986* 7:35 pm | at Creighton | L 65–80 | 1–1 | Omaha Civic Auditorium (8,995) Omaha, Nebraska |
| December 4, 1986* 7:00 pm | Wisconsin-Green Bay | W 74–57 | 2–1 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 6, 1986* 1:08 pm, Cyclone Television Network | Drake Iowa Big Four | W 55–51 | 3–1 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 11, 1986* 7:08 pm, Cyclone Television Network | Northern Iowa Iowa Big Four | W 79–60 | 4–1 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 13, 1986* 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | at Michigan State | L 85–86 | 4–2 | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| December 20, 1986* 7:05 pm, Iowa Television Network | at No. 3 Iowa | L 64–89 | 4–3 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| December 22, 1986* 7:05 pm | Florida International | W 98–61 | 5–3 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| December 29, 1986* 10:00 pm | vs. No. 5 Auburn Sun Bowl Classic | L 87–89 | 5–4 | Special Events Center (11,512) El Paso, Texas |
| December 29, 1986* 8:00 pm | vs. Texas Sun Bowl Classic | W 58–57 | 6–4 | Special Events Center (12,222) El Paso, Texas |
| January 3, 1987* 1:08 pm, Cyclone Television Network | Illinois State | L 59–61 | 6–5 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 5, 1987* 7:05 pm | Texas–Arlington | W 103–73 | 7–5 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 7, 1987* 7:05 pm | Dayton | W 72–62 | 8–5 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 14, 1987 7:05 pm | Colorado | W 66–52 | 9–5 (1–0) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 17, 1987 3:10 pm, Big Eight | at Kansas State | L 65–68 | 9–6 (1–1) | Ahearn Fieldhouse (10,025) Manhattan, Kansas |
| January 20, 1987 7:00 pm, Big Eight | Nebraska | W 91–75 | 10–6 (2–1) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 24, 1987 1:10 pm, Big Eight | Oklahoma State | L 71–73 | 10–7 (2–2) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 27, 1987 8:05 pm, Score | at No. 20 Kansas | L 48–72 | 10–8 (2–3) | Allen Fieldhouse (15,600) Lawrence, Kansas |
| January 29, 1987 7:30 pm, Closed Circuit (Iowa) | at No. 10 Oklahoma | L 76–82 | 10–9 (2–4) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 4, 1987 7:08 pm, Score | No. 10 Missouri | W 96–92 | 11–9 (3–4) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 7, 1987 3:08 pm, Big Eight/Raycom | Kansas State | L 75–87 | 11–10 (3–5) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 11, 1987 7:35 pm, Score | at Nebraska | L 65–66 | 11–11 (3–6) | Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| February 14, 1987 3:10 pm, Raycom | at Colorado | L 74–77 | 11–12 (3–7) | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| February 17, 1987 7:00 pm, USA | No. 15 Kansas | W 95–86 | 12–12 (4–7) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| February 21, 1987 1:10 pm, Cyclone Television Network | Oklahoma State | L 64–76 | 12–13 (4–8) | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| February 24, 1987 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 12 Oklahoma | W 86–84 | 13–13 (5–8) | Hilton Coliseum (14,250) Ames, Iowa |
| February 28, 1987 1:10 pm, Raycom | at Missouri | L 77–85 | 13–14 (5–9) | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Big Eight tournament ||||||
| March 6, 1987 8:10 pm, Raycom | vs. No. 17 Oklahoma Big Eight tournament Quarterfinal | L 73–83 | 13–15 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. ||||||