# 1985–86 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1985–86 season. Led by head coach Pete Gillen, the Musketeers finished with a 25–5 record (10–2 MCC), and won MCC regular season and MCC tournament titles to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Musketeers lost to No. 5 seed Alabama in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1985* | | Huntington | W 100–51 | 1–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Nov 24, 1985* | | Southeastern Louisiana | W 91–75 | 2–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 4, 1985* | | at Creighton | W 56–53 | 3–0 | Omaha Civic Auditorium Omaha, Nebraska |
| Dec 7, 1985* | | Pittsburgh | W 83–73 | 4–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 10, 1985* | | at Eastern Michigan | W 83–61 | 5–0 | |
| Dec 14, 1985* | | at Miami (OH) | L 74–80 | 5–1 | Millett Hall Oxford, Ohio |
| Dec 21, 1985* | | Wayne State | W 84–69 | 6–1 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Dec 28, 1985* | | Providence | W 85–73 | 7–1 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 2, 1986* | | at Stetson | W 77–70 | 8–1 | |
| Jan 4, 1986* | | at South Florida | L 52–57 | 8–2 | |
| Jan 8, 1986* | | Saint Peter's (NJ) | W 67–46 | 9–2 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 11, 1986 | | Detroit | L 72–76 | 9–3 (0–1) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 13, 1986 | | Loyola–Chicago | W 78–75 | 10–3 (1–1) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 18, 1986 | | at Saint Louis | W 72–60 | 11–3 (2–1) | |
| Jan 20, 1986 | | at Evansville | W 78–69 | 12–3 (3–1) | Roberts Stadium Evansville, Indiana |
| Jan 23, 1986* | | Cincinnati | W 80–76 | 13–3 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | Oral Roberts | W 86–74 | 14–3 (4–1) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 29, 1986* | | at Duquesne | W 71–68 | 15–3 | |
| Feb 1, 1986 | | Butler | W 77–56 | 16–3 (5–1) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 5, 1986* | | at Marquette | W 85–71 | 17–3 | MECCA Arena Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Feb 8, 1986 | | at Detroit | L 71–80 | 17–4 (5–2) | |
| Feb 10, 1986 | | at Loyola–Chicago | W 91–88 $^{OT}$ | 18–4 (6–2) | |
| Feb 15, 1986 | | Saint Louis | W 81–72 $^{OT}$ | 19–4 (7–2) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 17, 1986 | | Evansville | W 81–72 | 20–4 (8–2) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 20, 1986 | | at Butler | W 86–81 | 21–4 (9–2) | |
| Feb 22, 1986 | | at Oral Roberts | W 73–71 | 22–4 (10–2) | |
| Feb 25, 1986* | | Dayton | W 93–78 | 23–4 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1986* | | vs. Loyola–Chicago Semifinals | W 99–91 | 24–4 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 1, 1986* | | vs. Saint Louis Championship game | W 74–66 | 25–4 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1986* | (12 SE) | vs. (5 SE) Alabama First Round | L 80–97 | 25–5 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||