# 1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the University of Alabama in the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his seventh season at Alabama. The team played their home games at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. They finished the season with a school-record 28 wins at 28–5 and won the Southeastern Conference regular season title with a 16–2 conference record. The 16 wins in conference were also a school record.
The team lost forward Buck Johnson to graduation, but signed freshman forward Keith Askins from Athens High School in Athens, Alabama.
The Tide also won the 1987 SEC men's basketball tournament, beating LSU in the final and earning an automatic bid to the 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. They were seeded second in the Southeast Region, their highest ever in the NCAA tournament thus far. The Tide defeated North Carolina A&T and New Orleans before falling to Providence in the Sweet 16. It was the Tide's third straight Sweet 16 appearance. Alabama's participation in the NCAA Tournament was later vacated by the NCAA.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1986* | No. 13 | at Louisiana-Monroe | W 82–56 | 1–0 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum Monroe, Louisiana |
| Dec 1, 1986* | No. 13 | Furman | W 96–69 | 2–0 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Dec 6, 1986* | No. 8 | at Florida State | L 71–72 | 2–1 | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 10, 1986* | No. 18 | vs. No. 20 Arkansas | W 87–76 | 3–1 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 13, 1986* | No. 18 | vs. Duke | L 67–76 | 3–2 | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Dec 20, 1986* | | Appalachian State | W 95–62 | 4–2 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Dec 22, 1986 | | at Georgia | W 71–70 | 5–2 (1–0) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Dec 29, 1986* | | vs. Penn BMA Holiday Classic | W 110–68 | 6–2 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 30, 1986* | | vs. Missouri BMA Holiday Classic | W 91–82 | 7–2 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Jan 3, 1987 | | Mississippi State | W 64–49 | 8–2 (2–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 7, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT | | at No. 9 Kentucky | W 69–55 | 9–2 (3–0) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 10, 1987* | | Vanderbilt | W 75–71 | 10–2 (4–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 12, 1987* | | South Carolina | W 73–63 | 11–2 | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 14, 1987 | No. 15 | LSU | W 69–65 | 12–2 (5–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 17, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT | No. 15 | at Ole Miss | W 71–62 | 13–2 (6–0) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 21, 1987 | No. 13 | No. 17 Auburn | W 88–82 | 14–2 (7–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 24, 1987 | No. 13 | at Tennessee | W 82–71 | 15–2 (8–0) | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 28, 1987 | No. 9 | at No. 19 Florida | L 80–90 $^{OT}$ | 15–3 (8–1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 31, 1987 | No. 9 | Georgia | W 83–74 $^{OT}$ | 16–3 (9–1) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 4, 1987 | No. 9 | at Mississippi State | W 76–55 | 17–3 (10–1) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 7, 1987* | No. 9 | Kentucky | L 69–70 | 17–4 (10–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 11, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT | No. 14 | at Vanderbilt | W 71–67 | 18–4 (11–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 14, 1987 | No. 14 | at LSU | W 60–52 | 19–4 (12–2) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 18, 1987 | No. 12 | Ole Miss | W 90–69 | 20–4 (13–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 21, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT | No. 12 | at Auburn | W 77–75 | 21–4 (14–2) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 25, 1987 | No. 10 | Tennessee | W 93–71 | 22–4 (15–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 28, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT | No. 10 | No. 18 Florida | W 86–85 | 23–4 (16–2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1987* JPT | (1) No. 9 | vs. (8) Tennessee Quarterfinals | W 68–60 | 24–4 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 7, 1987* JPT | (1) No. 9 | vs. (5) Auburn Semifinals | W 87–68 | 25–4 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 8, 1987* ABC | (1) No. 9 | vs. (7) LSU Championship game | W 69–62 | 26–4 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 12, 1987* | (2 SE) No. 9 | vs. (15 SE) North Carolina A&T First round | W 88–71 | 27–4 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama |
| Mar 14, 1987* | (2 SE) No. 9 | vs. (7 SE) No. 16 New Orleans Second round | W 101–76 | 28–4 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Birmingham, Alabama |
| Mar 19, 1987* | (2 SE) No. 9 | vs. (6 SE) Providence Southeast Regional Final – Sweet Sixteen | L 82–103 | 28–5 | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Derrick McKey – SEC Player of the Year