# 1985–86 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Ball State Cardinals men's basketball team represented Ball State University as a member of the Mid-American Conference during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cardinals were led by head coach Al Brown and played their home games at Irving Gymnasium in Muncie, Indiana. After finishing in third place during the MAC regular season, Ball State won the MAC tournament to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As No. 14 seed in the Southeast region, the Cardinals were beaten by No. 3 seed Memphis State in the opening round, 95–63. The team finished with a record of 21–10 (11–7 MAC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Dec 3, 1985* | | Oakland | W 82–69 | 1–0 | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Dec 7, 1985* | | Butler | W 64–61 | 2–0 | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Dec 11, 1985* | | at Indiana State | W 57–56 | 3–0 | Hulman Center Terre Haute, Indiana |
| Dec 14, 1985* | | at Valparaiso | W 84–63 | 4–0 | Athletics-Recreation Center Valparaiso, Indiana |
| Dec 18, 1985* | | Delaware State | W 91–69 | 5–0 | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Dec 19, 1985* | | Mississippi Valley State | W 73–63 | 6–0 | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Dec 21, 1985* | | Western Illinois | W 82–75 | 7–0 | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Dec 27, 1985* | | at No. 12 UNLV | L 71–88 | 7–1 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Dec 28, 1985* | | vs. TCU | L 64–81 | 7–2 | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| MAC regular season ||||||
| Jan 2, 1986 | | Eastern Michigan | W 70–59 | 8–2 (1–0) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Jan 4, 1986 | | at Toledo | L 68–70 | 8–3 (1–1) | John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio |
| Jan 8, 1986 | | Northern Illinois | W 84–74 | 9–3 (2–1) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Jan 11, 1986 | | at Kent State | W 70–61 | 10–3 (3–1) | Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center Kent, Ohio |
| Jan 15, 1986 | | at Ohio | W 77–73 | 11–3 (4–1) | Convocation Center Athens, Ohio |
| Jan 18, 1986 | | Miami (OH) | L 59–73 | 11–4 (4–2) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Jan 22, 1986 | | at Western Michigan | L 64–67 | 11–5 (4–3) | University Arena Kalamazoo, Michigan |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | Central Michigan | W 58–56 | 12–5 (5–3) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Jan 29, 1986 | | at Bowling Green State | W 76–71 | 13–5 (6–3) | Anderson Arena Bowling Green, Ohio |
| Feb 1, 1986* | | Toledo | W 67–57 | 14–5 (7–3) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Feb 5, 1986 | | at Northern Illinois | L 58–66 | 14–6 (7–4) | Chick Evans Fieldhouse DeKalb, Illinois |
| Feb 8, 1986 | | Kent State | L 65–70 | 14–7 (7–5) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Feb 12, 1986 | | Ohio | L 61–64 | 14–8 (7–6) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Feb 15, 1986 | | at Miami (OH) | L 77–103 | 14–9 (7–7) | Millett Hall Oxford, Ohio |
| Feb 19, 1986 | | Western Michigan | W 82–63 | 15–9 (8–7) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Feb 22, 1986 | | at Central Michigan | W 71–68 | 16–9 (9–7) | Rose Arena Mount Pleasant, Michigan |
| Feb 28, 1986 | | Bowling Green State | W 85–78 | 17–9 (10–7) | Irving Gymnasium Muncie, Indiana |
| Mar 1, 1986 | | at Eastern Michigan | W 81–80 | 18–9 (11–7) | Bowen Field House Ypsilanti, Michigan |
| MAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1986* | | vs. Western Michigan Quarterfinals | W 87–76 | 19–9 | Rockford MetroCentre Rockford, Illinois |
| Mar 7, 1986* | | vs. Ohio Semifinals | W 93–69 | 20–9 | Rockford MetroCentre Rockford, Illinois |
| Mar 8, 1986* | | vs. Miami (OH) Championship game | W 87–79 | 21–9 | Rockford MetroCentre Rockford, Illinois |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1986* | (14 SE) | vs. (3 SE) No. 12 Memphis State First Round | L 63–95 | 21–10 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time Source. ||||||