# 1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. In the Pacific-10 Basketball tournament, Arizona beat Oregon State by a score of 93–67 to claim its first Pac-10 title. The Wildcats built on that momentum by reaching the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

## Schedule and results

The victory over Long Beach State in the home opener at McKale Center began a 71-game home court winning streak.
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season |||||||||
| 11/27/1987* | No. 17 | vs. Duquesne Great Alaska Shootout | W 133–78 | 1–0 | – | – | – | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| 11/28/1987* | No. 17 | vs. No. 9 Michigan Great Alaska Shootout | W 79–64 | 2–0 | 18 – Tolbert | 11 – Tolbert | – | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| 11/30/1987* ESPN | No. 17 | vs. No. 1 Syracuse Great Alaska Shootout | W 80–69 | 3–0 | 16 – Elliott | – | – | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| 12/4/1987* | No. 9 | Long Beach State | W 94–62 | 4–0 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 12/5/1987* | No. 9 | Pepperdine | W 73–68 | 5–0 | 17 – Tolbert | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 12/8/1987* | No. 4 | Northern Arizona | W 77–59 | 6–0 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 12/12/1987* 6:05 pm | No. 4 | at No. 3 Iowa | W 66–59 | 7–0 | 18 – Tolbert | – | – | Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA |
| 12/16/1987* | No. 2 | Arkansas-Little Rock | W 77–59 | 8–0 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 12/20/1987 | No. 2 | at Washington | W 110–71 | 9–0 (1–0) | – | – | – | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA |
| 12/22/1987 | No. 2 | at Washington State | W 89–55 | 10–0 (2–0) | – | – | – | Friel Court Pullman, WA |
| 12/29/1987* | No. 1 | Michigan State Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic | W 78–58 | 11–0 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 12/30/1987* 8:00 p.m. | No. 1 | No. 9 Duke Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic | W 91–85 | 12–0 | 31 – Elliott | – | – | McKale Center (13,270) Tucson, AZ |
| 1/2/1988* | No. 1 | at New Mexico | L 59–61 | 12–1 | 27 – Elliott | – | – | The Pit (18,100) Albuquerque, NM |
| Pac-10 regular season |||||||||
| 1/7/1988 | No. 3 | California | W 80–51 | 13–1 (3–0) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 1/9/1988 | No. 3 | Stanford | W 90–65 | 14–1 (4–0) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 1/14/1988 | No. 1 | Oregon State | W 70–48 | 15–1 (5–0) | – | – | – | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR |
| 1/16/1988 | No. 1 | Oregon | W 70–54 | 16–1 (6–0) | – | – | – | McArthur Court Eugene, OR |
| 1/21/1988 | No. 1 | USC | W 92–48 | 17–1 (7–0) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 1/24/1988 | No. 1 | UCLA Rivalry | W 86–74 | 18–1 (8–0) | – | – | – | McKale Center (13,258) Tucson, AZ |
| 1/28/1988 | No. 1 | Arizona State Rivalry | W 99–59 | 19–1 (9–0) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 1/30/1988* | No. 1 | No. 13 Illinois | W 78–70 | 20–1 | – | – | – | McKale Center (13,227) Tucson, AZ |
| 2/4/1988 | No. 1 | at Stanford | L 74–82 | 20–2 (9–1) | 22 – Elliott | – | – | Maples Pavilion (7,500) Stanford, CA |
| 2/6/1988 | No. 1 | at California | W 74–62 | 21–2 (10–1) | – | – | – | Harmon Gym Berkeley, CA |
| 2/11/1988 | No. 3 | Oregon | W 89–57 | 22–2 (11–1) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 2/14/1988 | No. 3 | Oregon State | W 77–62 | 23–2 (12–1) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 2/18/1988 | No. 3 | at USC | W 103–68 | 24–2 (13–1) | – | – | – | Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA |
| 2/20/1988 | No. 3 | at UCLA Rivalry | W 78–76 $^{OT}$ | 25–2 (14–1) | – | – | – | Pauley Pavilion (12,037) Los Angeles, CA |
| 2/24/1988 | No. 3 | at Arizona State Rivalry | W 101–73 | 26–2 (15–1) | – | – | – | ASU Activity Center Tempe, AZ |
| 3/3/1988 | No. 3 | Washington State | W 79–41 | 27–2 (16–1) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 3/5/1988 | No. 3 | Washington | W 89–71 | 28–2 (17–1) | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Pac-10 Tournament |||||||||
| 3/11/1988* | (1) No. 3 | (9) California Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinal | W 88–64 | 29–2 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 3/12/1988* | (1) No. 3 | (4) Stanford Pac-10 Tournament Semifinal | W 97–83 | 30–2 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| 3/13/1988* | (1) No. 3 | (2) Oregon State Pac-10 Tournament Championship | W 83–67 | 31–2 | – | – | – | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| 3/18/1988* CBS | (W 1) No. 2 | vs. (W 16) Cornell First Round | W 90–50 | 32–2 | 24 – Cook | 5 – Tied | 5 – McMillan | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| 3/20/1988* CBS | (W 1) No. 2 | vs. (W 8) Seton Hall Second Round | W 84–55 | 33–2 | 20 – Cook | 6 – Cook | 3 – Tied | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| 3/25/1988* CBS | (W 1) No. 2 | vs. (W 5) No. 17 Iowa Sweet Sixteen | W 99–79 | 34–2 | 25 – Elliott | 9 – Tolbert | 8 – Tied | Kingdome Seattle, WA |
| 3/27/1988* CBS | (W 1) No. 2 | vs. (W 2) No. 7 North Carolina Elite Eight | W 70–52 | 35–2 | 24 – Elliott | 6 – Tolbert | 3 – Tied | Kingdome Seattle, WA |
| 4/2/1988 6:12 pm, CBS | (W 1) No. 2 | vs. (SE 1) No. 4 Oklahoma Final Four | L 78–86 | 35–3 | 31 – Elliott | 13 – Tolbert | 5 – Kerr | Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |||||||||
Sources

## NCAA basketball tournament

Seeding in brackets
* West
** Arizona (1) 90, Cornell (16) 50
** Arizona 84, Seton Hall (8) 55
** Arizona 99, Iowa (5) 79
** Arizona 70, North Carolina (2) 52
* Final Four
** Oklahoma 86, Arizona 78

## Awards and honors

* Sean Elliott, Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball tournament Most Valuable Player
* Sean Elliott, Pacific-10 Player of the Year

## Team players in the 1988 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 2 | 34 | Tom Tolbert | Charlotte Hornets |
| 2 | 50 | Steve Kerr | Phoenix Suns |