# 1986–87 Florida Gators men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1986–87 NCAA men's basketball season. Led by head coach Norm Sloan, the team played their home games at the O'Connell Center in Gainesville, Florida. After finishing second in the SEC regular season standings, Florida was bounced in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament by LSU. The Gators received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's (technically) first appearance in the tournament, where they made a run to the Sweet Sixteen. In the opening round, Florida defeated NC State and followed that by knocking off No. 3 seed Purdue. The run ended in the East Regional semifinal, where Florida was beaten by eventual National runner-up Syracuse, 87–81. The team finished with a record of 23–11 (12–6 SEC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 28, 1986* | | at Florida State | L 76–80 | 0–1 | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| Dec 1, 1986* | | vs. Stetson | W 98–75 | 1–1 | |
| Dec 2, 1986* | | Western Carolina | W 116–68 | 2–1 | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Dec 4, 1986* | | vs. SMU | W 110–70 | 3–1 | |
| Dec 10, 1986* | | Central Florida | W 89–54 | 4–1 | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Dec 13, 1986* | | at South Florida | W 68–62 | 5–1 | Sun Dome Tampa, Florida |
| Dec 16, 1986 | | LSU | W 96–75 | 6–1 (1–0) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Dec 19, 1986* | | vs. Virginia Tech Gator Bowl Tournament | W 82–60 | 7–1 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 20, 1986* | | vs. Ohio State Gator Bowl Tournament | W 82–72 | 8–1 | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 27, 1986* | No. 20 | vs. California Rainbow Classic | L 80–83 | 8–2 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 29, 1986* | No. 20 | at Hawaii Rainbow Classic | W 110–83 | 9–2 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 30, 1986* | No. 20 | vs. Ohio State Rainbow Classic | L 84–88 | 9–3 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Jan 3, 1987 3:00 p.m., JPT | | at Georgia | W 87–80 | 10–3 (2–0) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Jan 7, 1987 | | Mississippi State | W 100–56 | 11–3 (3–0) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 10, 1987 | | at Ole Miss | W 80–72 | 12–3 (4–0) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 14, 1987 | | at Kentucky | L 62–67 | 12–4 (4–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 17, 1987 | | Tennessee | W 97–90 | 13–4 (5–1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 21, 1987 | | at LSU | W 75–51 | 14–4 (6–1) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 24, 1987 | | Vanderbilt | W 85–81 | 15–4 (7–1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 28, 1987 | No. 19 | No. 9 Alabama | W 90–80 | 16–4 (8–1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 31, 1987 | No. 19 | at No. 18 Auburn | L 68–81 | 16–5 (8–2) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 4, 1987 | | Georgia | W 66–52 | 17–5 (9–2) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 7, 1987 | | at Mississippi State | W 84–56 | 18–5 (10–2) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 9, 1987 | No. 19 | Auburn | L 70–84 | 18–6 (10–3) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 11, 1987 | No. 19 | Ole Miss | W 85–62 | 19–6 (11–3) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 14, 1987 3:00 p.m., JPT | No. 19 | Kentucky | W 74–56 | 20–6 (12–3) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 18, 1987 8:00 p.m., JPT | No. 18 | at Tennessee | L 71–81 | 20–7 (12–4) | Stokely Athletics Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 21, 1987* | No. 18 | Miami (FL) | W 99–60 | 21–7 | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 25, 1987 | No. 18 | at Vanderbilt | L 76–84 | 21–8 (12–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 28, 1987 3:00 p.m., JPT | No. 18 | at No. 10 Alabama | L 85–86 | 21–9 (12–6) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1987* JPT | | vs. LSU Quarterfinals | L 66–72 | 21–10 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1987* | (6 E) | vs. (11 E) NC State First round | W 82–70 | 22–10 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Mar 15, 1987* | (6 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 7 Purdue Second round | W 85–66 | 23–10 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Mar 19, 1987* CBS | (6 E) | vs. (2 E) No. 10 Syracuse East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 81–87 | 23–11 | Brendan Byrne Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. The NCAA tournament results were vacated. ||||||