# 1985–86 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team

The 1985–86 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 1985–86 men's college basketball season. It was Jim Valvano's 6th season as head coach.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1985* | No. 17 | Western Carolina | W 80–57 | 1–0 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Nov 27, 1985* | | Furman | W 94–56 | 2–0 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Nov 30, 1985* | | at Loyola (IL) | L 58–60 | 2–1 | |
| Dec 2, 1985* | | Tampa | W 88–64 | 3–1 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Dec 4, 1985* | | at Florida State | L 67–76 | 3–2 | |
| Dec 7, 1985* | | vs. No. 7 Kansas | L 67–75 | 3–3 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, NC |
| Dec 19, 1985 | | Wake Forest | W 77–64 | 4–3 (1–0) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Dec 21, 1985* | | Radford | W 92–57 | 5–3 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Dec 24, 1985* | | vs. Chaminade Chaminade Classic | W 64–46 | 6–3 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 25, 1985* | | vs. No. 12 UNLV Chaminade Classic | W 80–73 | 7–3 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 30, 1985* | | Monmouth | W 106–53 | 8–3 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Jan 4, 1986 | | at No. 1 North Carolina Rivalry | L 79–90 | 8–4 (1–1) | Carmichael Auditorium Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Jan 8, 1986* | | North Carolina A&T | W 66–48 | 9–4 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1986 12:00 p.m. | | at No. 3 Duke | L 67–74 | 9–5 (1–2) | Cameron Indoor Stadium (8,564) Durham, North Carolina |
| Jan 15, 1986 | | Clemson | W 60–57 | 10–5 (2–2) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Jan 18, 1986 | | at Wake Forest | W 45–44 | 11–5 (3–2) | |
| Jan 23, 1986 | | at Maryland | W 67–55 | 12–5 (4–2) | Cole Field House College Park, Maryland |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | Virginia | W 55–53 | 13–5 (5–2) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Jan 29, 1986 | | No. 3 Georgia Tech | L 54–67 | 13–6 (5–3) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 2, 1986* | | No. 8 Kentucky | W 54–51 | 14–6 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 5, 1986 | | at Clemson | W 73–69 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (6–3) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Feb 8, 1986* | | No. 16 Louisville | W 76–64 | 16–6 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 10, 1986* | | Brooklyn College | W 103–52 | 17–6 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 13, 1986 | No. 17 | Maryland | L 66–67 | 17–7 (6–4) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 15, 1986 7:30 p.m. | No. 17 | No. 2 Duke | L 70–72 | 17–8 (6–5) | Reynolds Coliseum (12,400) Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 19, 1986 | | at Virginia | L 60–69 | 17–9 (6–6) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 23, 1986 | No. 20 | No. 1 North Carolina Rivalry | W 76–65 | 18–9 (7–6) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Feb 27, 1986 | No. 18 | at No. 4 Georgia Tech | L 57–69 | 18–10 (7–7) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 1, 1986* | No. 18 | at No. 14 Oklahoma | L 69–72 | 18–11 (7–8) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 1986* | No. 20 | vs. Virginia ACC tournament Quarterfinal | L 62–64 | 18–12 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1986* CBS | (6 MW) | vs. (11 MW) Iowa NCAA tournament first round | W 66–64 | 19–12 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Mar 16, 1986* CBS | (6 MW) | vs. (14 MW) Arkansas–Little Rock NCAA tournament second round | W 80–66 | 20–12 | Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Mar 21, 1986* CBS | (6 MW) | vs. (7 MW) Iowa State Midwest Regional semifinal | W 70–66 | 21–12 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar 23, 1986* CBS | (6 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kansas Midwest Regional Final | L 67–75 | 21–13 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 17 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 20 | 18 | 20 | — |
| Coaches | 14 т | 14 т | — | — | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | — | 19 | 18 | 17 | 18 | — | — |