# 1986–87 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Ohio State Buckeyes men's basketball team represented Ohio State University during the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by first-year head coach Gary Williams, the Buckeyes finished 20–13 (9–9 Big Ten) and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament.

## Schedule/results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season |||||||||
| Nov 29, 1986* | | Bucknell | W 90–62 | 1–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 2, 1986* | | Western Michigan | W 98–92 | 2–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 4, 1986* | | Siena | W 101–57 | 3–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 6, 1986* | | Ohio | W 96–75 | 4–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 8, 1986* | | Bowling Green | W 89–52 | 5–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 13, 1986* | | Howard | W 82–63 | 6–0 | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, Ohio |
| Dec 16, 1986* | | at Dayton | L 86–89 | 6–1 | – | – | – | University of Dayton Arena Dayton, Ohio |
| Dec 19, 1986* | | at Jacksonville Gator Bowl Tournament | W 89–74 | 7–1 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Dec 20, 1986* | | vs. No. Jacksonville, Florida Florida Gator Bowl Tournament | L 72–82 | 7–2 | – | – | – | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum |
| Dec 27, 1986 | | vs. Arkansas Rainbow Classic | L 94-97 | 7-3 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 28, 1986 | | vs. No. 13 Kansas Rainbow Classic | W 79-78 $^{OT}$ | 8-3 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| Dec 29, 1986 | | vs. No. 20 Florida Rainbow Classic | W 88-84 | 9-3 | – | – | – | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, HI |
| Jan 4, 1987 | | No. 6 Indiana | L 80-92 | 9-4 (0-1) | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Jan 8, 1987 | | at Michigan | L 92-107 | 9-5 (0-2) | – | – | – | Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI |
| Jan 10, 1987 | | at Michigan State | L 80-90 | 9-6 (0-3) | – | – | – | Jenison Fieldhouse East Lansing, MI |
| Jan 21, 1987 | | at Minnesota | W 93-78 | 12-6 (3-3) | – | – | – | Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN |
| Jan 24, 1987 4:05 pm | | at No. 1 Iowa | W 80-76 | 13-6 (4-3) | 36 – Hopson | – | – | Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, IA |
| Jan 29, 1987 | | No. 4 Purdue | L 73-75 | 13-7 (4-4) | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Feb 2, 1987 | | No. 12 Illinois | L 65-82 | 13-8 (4-5) | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Feb 18, 1987 | | No. 7 Iowa | L 80-82 | 17-9 (8-6) | – | – | – | St. John Arena (13,541) Columbus, OH |
| Feb 21, 1987 | | Minnesota | W 88-73 | 19-9 (9-6) | – | – | – | St. John Arena Columbus, OH |
| Feb 25, 1987 | | No. 14 Illinois | L 70-93 | 19-10 (9-7) | – | – | – | Assembly Hall Champaign, IL |
| Feb 28, 1987 | | No. 6 Purdue | L 73-87 | 19-11 (9-8) | – | – | – | Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN |
| Mar 7, 1987 | | at No. 4 Indiana | L 81-90 | 19-12 (9-9) | – | – | – | Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN |
| NCAA Tournament |||||||||
| Mar 13, 1987* | (9 SE) | vs. (8 SE) Kentucky First Round | W 91-77 | 20-12 | – | – | – | Omni Coliseum (15,128) Atlanta, GA |
| Mar 15, 1987* CBS | (9 SE) | vs. (1 SE) No. 4 Georgetown Second Round | L 79-82 | 20-13 | – | – | – | Omni Coliseum (15,236) Atlanta, GA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. |||||||||

## Awards and honors

* Dennis Hopson – Big Ten Player of the Year