# 1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas for the NCAA Division I men's intercollegiate basketball season of 1987–1988. The team won the 1987–1988 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship, the second in the school's history. They were led by Larry Brown in his fifth and final season as head coach. Their star player, Danny Manning, earned the team the nickname "Danny and the Miracles" because of the Jayhawks' improbable tournament run after an 11-loss season, the most ever by a national champion. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. In the last three games of the NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks avenged their three home losses to Kansas State, Duke, and Oklahoma.
This season also marked the creation by a group of KU students of the famous "Beware of THE PHOG" banner. It was first displayed for the Duke game on February 20, 1988, and then again for that season's final home game on March 5, the Senior Night celebrations honoring Danny Manning and the other KU seniors, Archie Marshall and Chris Piper. It came down after that, and the students gave the banner to Phog Allen's granddaughter Judy Morris. Morris told Kansas Assistant Athletic Director Floyd Temple she thought the banner should remain a fixture in Allen Fieldhouse, and Temple agreed.

## Roster

| Name | # | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Home Town |
| Sean Alvarado | 52 | Center | 6-10 | 210 | Senior(RS) | Washington, D.C. |
| Scooter Barry | 10 | Guard | 6-3 | 175 | Junior | Concord, California |
| Marvin Branch | 54 | Center | 6-10 | 225 | Junior | Detroit, Michigan |
| Jeff Gueldner | 33 | Guard/Forward | 6-5 | 180 | Sophomore | Charleston, Illinois |
| Keith Harris | 45 | Forward | 6-6 | 205 | Sophomore | Santa Monica, California |
| Otis Livingston | 12 | Guard | 6-0 | 150 | Junior | San Pedro, California |
| Mike Maddox | 32 | Forward | 6-8 | 195 | Freshman | Reseda, California |
| Danny Manning | 25 | Forward/Center | 6-10 | 230 | Senior | Lawrence, Kansas |
| Archie Marshall | 23 | Forward | 6-7 | 190 | Senior | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Mike Masucci | 44 | Center | 6-10 | 200 | Freshman | Grandview, Missouri |
| Marvin Mattox | 54 | Forward | 6-4 | 210 | Senior | Pomona, California |
| Lincoln Minor | 11 | Guard | 6-3 | 165 | Junior | Houston, Texas |
| Milt Newton | 21 | Guard/Forward | 6-5 | 185 | Junior | Washington, D.C. |
| Clint Normore | 4 | Guard | 6-0 | 200 | Junior | Wichita, Kansas |
| Chris Piper | 24 | Forward | 6-8 | 200 | Senior | Lawrence, Kansas |
| Kevin Pritchard | 14 | Guard | 6-3 | 170 | Sophomore | Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Mark Randall | 42 | Forward | 6-9 | 200 | Sophomore(RS) | Englewood, Colorado |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 27, 1987* | No. 7 | vs. Chaminade Maui Invitational | W 89–62 | 1–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| November 28, 1987* | No. 7 | vs. No. 11 Iowa Maui Invitational | L 81–100 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| November 29, 1987* | No. 7 | vs. Illinois Maui Invitational | L 75–81 | 1–2 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| December 1, 1987* | No. 16 | Pomona-Pitzer | W 94–38 | 2–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| December 3, 1987* | No. 16 | at Western Carolina | W 68–63 | 3–2 | Ramsey Center Cullowhee, North Carolina |
| December 5, 1987* | No. 16 | St. John's | W 63–54 | 4–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| December 7, 1987* | No. 18 | Appalachian State | W 73–62 | 5–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| December 12, 1987* | No. 18 | Rider | W 110–72 | 6–2 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| December 19, 1987* ABC | No. 17 | at NC State | W 74–67 | 7–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| December 28, 1987* | No. 17 | vs. Memphis State | W 64–62 | 8–2 | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
| December 30, 1987* | No. 17 | vs. St. John's | L 56–70 | 8–3 | Madison Square Garden New York City, New York |
| January 4, 1988* | No. 18 | at Washington | W 67–57 | 9–3 | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, Washington |
| January 6, 1988* | No. 18 | American | W 90–69 | 10–3 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| January 9, 1988 | No. 18 | Missouri Border War | W 78–74 | 11–3 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| January 13, 1988 | No. 16 | at No. 14 Iowa State | L 78–88 | 11–4 | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 16, 1988* | No. 16 | Hampton | W 95–69 | 12–4 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| January 23, 1988* | No. 16 | at Notre Dame | L 76–80 | 12–5 | Edmund P. Joyce Center South Bend, Indiana |
| January 27, 1988 | | at Nebraska | L 68–70 | 12–6 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| January 30, 1988 | | Kansas State | L 61–72 | 12–7 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 3, 1988 | | No. 7 Oklahoma | L 65–73 | 12–8 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 6, 1988 | | Colorado | W 73–62 | 13–8 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 10, 1988 | | at Oklahoma State | W 78–68 | 14–8 | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| February 13, 1988 | | Iowa State | W 82–72 | 15–8 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 16, 1988 | | Nebraska | W 70–48 | 16–8 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 18, 1988 ESPN | | at Kansas State | W 64–63 | 17–8 | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 20, 1988* | | No. 6 Duke | L 70–74 $^{OT}$ | 17–9 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| February 24, 1988 | | at No. 4 Oklahoma | L 87–95 | 17–10 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 27, 1988 | | at No. 15 Missouri Border War | W 82–77 | 18–10 | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| March 2, 1988 | | at Colorado | W 85–64 | 19–10 | Coors Events Center Boulder, Colorado |
| March 5, 1988 | | Oklahoma State | W 75–57 | 20–10 | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| Big 8 Tournament ||||||
| March 11, 1988* | | vs. Oklahoma State Big 8 Conference Tournament Quarterfinals | W 74–58 | 21–10 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| March 12, 1988* | | vs. Kansas State Big 8 Conference Tournament Semifinals | L 54–69 | 21–11 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 18, 1988* | | vs. No. 18 Xavier first round | W 85–72 | 22–11 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| March 20, 1988* | | vs. Murray State Second Round | W 61–58 | 23–11 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| March 25, 1988* | | vs. Vanderbilt Sweet Sixteen | W 77–64 | 24–11 | Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan |
| March 27, 1988* CBS | | vs. No. 20 Kansas State Elite Eight | W 71–58 | 25–11 | Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, Michigan |
| April 2, 1988* CBS | | vs. No. 5 Duke Final Four | W 66–59 | 26–11 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| April 4, 1988* CBS | | vs. No. 4 Oklahoma National Championship game | W 83–79 | 27–11 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Rankings

| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | Wk 18 | Wk 19 | Final |
| AP | 7 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 17 | 18 | 16 | 16 | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR | NR |

## Awards and honors

* Larry Brown, Naismith College Coach of the Year
* Danny Manning, NCAA Men's MOP Award
* Danny Manning, Naismith College Player of the Year
* Danny Manning, John R. Wooden Award

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1988 | 1 | 1 | Danny Manning | Los Angeles Clippers |
| 1988 | 3 | 75 | Archie Marshall | San Antonio Spurs |
| 1990 | 2 | 34 | Kevin Pritchard | Golden State Warriors |
| 1991 | 1 | 26 | Mark Randall | Chicago Bulls |