# 1985–86 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by tenth-year head coach Eldon Miller, the Buckeyes finished 19–14 (8–10 Big Ten) and won the National Invitation Tournament.

## Schedule/results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 26, 1985* | | LIU Brooklyn | W 83–57 | 1–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Nov 30, 1985* | | No. 17 Maryland | W 78–66 | 2–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 3, 1985* | | Florida | W 80–73 | 3–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 5, 1985* | | Akron | W 91–73 | 4–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 7, 1985* | | Cleveland State | W 99–95 | 5–0 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 14, 1985* | No. 20 | at Arkansas | L 70–79 | 5–1 | Barnhill Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Dec 19, 1985* | | Dayton | W 80–73 | 6–1 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 29, 1985* | | at UTEP Sun Carnival Classic Tournament | L 57–58 | 6–2 | Special Events Center (11,561) El Paso, Texas |
| Dec 30, 1985* | | vs. Nebraska Sun Carnival Classic Tournament | L 66–69 | 6–3 | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| Jan 2, 1986 | | Michigan State | W 84–73 | 7–3 (1–0) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan 4, 1986 | | No. 2 Michigan | L 68–78 | 7–4 (1–1) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan 9, 1986 | | at Wisconsin | W 78–61 | 8–4 (2–1) | Wisconsin Field House Madison, Wisconsin |
| Jan 11, 1986 | | at Northwestern | W 79–77 | 9–4 (3–1) | Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Illinois |
| Jan 15, 1986 | | at Indiana | L 66–69 | 9–5 (3–2) | Assembly Hall Bloomington, Indiana |
| Jan 18, 1986* | | at Boston College | L 74–87 | 9–6 | Roberts Center Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts |
| Jan 23, 1986 | | Illinois | L 65–67 | 9–7 (3–3) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | No. 15 Purdue | W 73–66 | 10–7 (4–3) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Jan 30, 1986 | | at Minnesota | L 65–70 | 10–8 (4–4) | Williams Arena Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Feb 1, 1986 | | at Iowa | L 75–86 | 10–9 (4–5) | Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, Iowa |
| Feb 6, 1986 | | Northwestern | W 83–60 | 11–9 (5–5) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Feb 8, 1986 | | Wisconsin | W 73–71 | 12–9 (6–5) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Feb 16, 1986 | | No. 16 Indiana | L 75–84 | 12–10 (6–6) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Feb 20, 1986 | | at Purdue | L 79–85 | 12–11 (6–7) | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, Indiana |
| Feb 22, 1986 | | at Illinois | L 62–66 | 12–12 (6–8) | Assembly Hall Champaign, Illinois |
| Feb 26, 1986 | | Iowa | W 81–74 | 13–12 (7–8) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Mar 2, 1986 | | Minnesota | W 68–55 | 14–12 (8–8) | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Mar 6, 1986 | | at No. 7 Michigan | L 82–99 | 14–13 (8–9) | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Mar 8, 1986 | | at No. 17 Michigan State | L 81–91 | 14–14 (8–10) | Jenison Field House East Lansing, Michigan |
| National Invitation Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1986* | | at Ohio First round | W 65–62 | 15–14 | Convocation Center Athens, Ohio |
| Mar 17, 1986* | | Texas Second round | W 71–65 | 16–14 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Mar 21, 1986* | | BYU Quarterfinals | W 79–68 | 17–14 | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Mar 24, 1986* | | vs. Louisiana Tech Semifinals | W 79–66 | 18–14 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| Mar 26, 1986* | | vs. Wyoming Championship game | W 73–63 | 19–14 | Madison Square Garden New York, New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||