# 1986–87 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team

The 1986–87 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 1986–87 men's college basketball season. It was Jim Valvano's 7th season as head coach.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 22* | No. 17 | vs. No. 9 Navy Hall of Fame Tip-off Classic | W 86–84 | 1–0 | Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA |
| November 28* | No. 17 | vs. Texas Great Alaska Shootout | W 69-68 | 2–0 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| November 29* | No. 17 | vs. No. 10 Iowa Great Alaska Shootout | L 89-90 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Sullivan Arena (3,780) Anchorage, AK |
| November 30* | No. 17 | vs. Utah State Great Alaska Shootout | W 94-82 | 3–1 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, AK |
| December 3* | No. 18 | East Tennessee State | W 104–85 | 4–1 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| December 6* | No. 18 | at Western Carolina | W 96-75 | 5–1 | Ramsey Center Cullowhee, NC |
| December 13* | No. 15 | Duquesne | W 82-59 | 6–1 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| December 17* | No. 12 | UNC-Asheville | W 81-65 | 7–1 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| December 27* | No. 11 | at Tampa | L 62-67 | 7–2 | Martinez Center Tampa, FL |
| December 30* | No. 19 | Loyola (Chicago) | W 97-85 | 8–2 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 3 | No. 19 | Maryland | W 69-47 | 9–2 (1–0) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 7 | No. 18 | at No. 20 Clemson | L 69-73 | 9–3 (1–1) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, SC |
| January 10 | No. 18 | Georgia Tech | W 63-62 | 10–3 (2–1) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 15 | No. 17 | Wake Forest | W 75-67 | 11–3 (3–1) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 18 | No. 17 | at No. 3 North Carolina | L 78-96 | 11–4 (4–1) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 21 | No. 20 | No. 12 Duke | W 87-74 | 12–4 (4–2) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| January 25* | No. 20 | vs. Kansas | L 60-74 | 12–5 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, KS |
| January 28 | | Virginia | L 60-61 | 12–6 (4–3) | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| January 31* | | Oklahoma | L 82-86 | 12–7 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| February 2* | | at No. 5 DePaul | L 62-84 | 12–8 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, IL |
| February 5 | | No. 3 North Carolina | L 79-95 | 12–9 (4–4) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| February 7* | | Louisville | L 75-87 | 12–10 | Freedom Hall Louisville, KY |
| February 9* | | Winthrop | W 85-58 | 13–10 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| February 11 | | Clemson | L 75-78 | 13–11 (4–5) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| February 14 | | at Georgia Tech | L 76-87 | 13–12 (4–6) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, GA |
| February 16* | | Brooklyn College | W 107-79 | 14–12 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| February 19 | | at No. 17 Duke | L 50-65 | 14–13 (4–7) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, NC |
| February 22 | | Virginia | L 65-72 | 14–14 (4–8) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| February 25 | | Maryland | W 85-72 | 15–14 (5–8) | Cole Field House College Park, MD |
| February 28 | | Wake Forest | W 80-76 $^{OT}$ | 16–14 (6–8) | Winston-Salem Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| March 2* | | Chicago State | W 86-78 | 17–14 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, NC |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| March 6* | | vs. No. 14 Duke ACC tournament Quarterfinal | W 71–64 $^{OT}$ | 18–14 | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| March 7* | | vs. Wake Forest ACC Tournament Semifinal | W 77–73 $^{2OT}$ | 19–14 | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| March 8* | | vs. No. 2 North Carolina ACC tournament championship Game | W 68–67 | 20–14 | Capital Centre Landover, MD |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 13* CBS | (11 E) | vs. (6 E) Florida NCAA tournament first round | L 70-82 | 20–15 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, NY |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 17 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | Not released | 19 | 18 | 15 | 13 | — | 20 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |