# 1985–86 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska, Lincoln during the 1985–86 college basketball season. Led by head coach Moe Iba (6th season), the Cornhuskers competed in the Big Eight Conference and played their home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. They finished with a record of 19–11 overall and 8–6 in Big Eight Conference play. Nebraska fell to Iowa State in the semifinal round of the Big Eight tournament, but earned an at-large bid to the 1986 NCAA tournament – the first NCAA Tournament appearance in school history – as the No. 9 seed in the Southeast region. The Cornhuskers were beaten by No. 8 seed Western Kentucky in the opening round, 67–59.
Senior center Dave Hoppen was selected to the All-Big Eight team for the third time. Hoppen later had his No. 42 retired at Nebraska, and he remains the school's career leading in scoring with 2,167 points.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 23, 1985* | | Wisconsin-Stout | W 71–53 | 1–0 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Nov 26, 1985* | | Southern Illinois | W 85–50 | 2–0 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Nov 30, 1985* | | at Wyoming | W 64–53 | 3–0 | Arena-Auditorium Laramie, Wyoming |
| Dec 2, 1985* | | UC Irvine | L 80–87 | 3–1 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Dec 7, 1985* | | Creighton Rivalry | W 71–52 | 4–1 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Dec 12, 1985* | | at Washington State | W 79–72 | 5–1 | Friel Court Pullman, Washington |
| Dec 14, 1985* | | at Montana State | W 76–59 | 6–1 | Worthington Arena Havre, Montana |
| Dec 20, 1985* | | Georgia | L 63–67 | 6–2 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Dec 23, 1985* | | Arizona State | W 80–67 | 7–2 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Dec 29, 1985* | | vs. Alabama Sun Carnival Classic Tournament | L 61–78 | 7–3 | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| Dec 30, 1985* | | vs. Ohio State Sun Carnival Classic Tournament | W 69–66 | 8–3 | Special Events Center El Paso, Texas |
| Jan 6, 1986* | | Evansville | W 77–70 | 9–3 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 11, 1986* | | Northeast Missouri State | W 99–56 | 10–3 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 15, 1986 | | No. 8 Kansas | L 70–81 | 10–4 (0–1) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 18, 1986 | | Missouri | L 67–68 | 10–5 (0–2) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 22, 1986 | | Oklahoma State | W 68–52 | 11–5 (1–2) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | Iowa State | W 75–58 | 12–5 (2–2) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Jan 29, 1986 | | at No. 6 Oklahoma | L 60–87 | 12–6 (2–3) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| Feb 1, 1986 | | at Colorado | W 77–60 | 13–6 (3–3) | CU Events/Conference Center Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 5, 1986 | | Kansas State | L 54–64 | 13–7 (3–4) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Feb 8, 1986 | | at Missouri | W 75–66 | 14–7 (4–4) | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Feb 12, 1986 | | at Oklahoma State | W 62–51 | 15–7 (5–4) | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Feb 15, 1986 | | at No. 3 Kansas | L 61–79 | 15–8 (5–5) | Allen Fieldhouse Lawrence, Kansas |
| Feb 19, 1986 | | No. 10 Oklahoma | W 66–64 | 16–8 (6–5) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Feb 22, 1986 | | at Iowa State | L 73–81 | 16–9 (6–6) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Feb 26, 1986 | | Colorado | W 79–72 | 17–9 (7–6) | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Mar 1, 1986 | | at Kansas State | W 64–60 | 18–9 (8–6) | Ahearn Field House Manhattan, Kansas |
| Big Eight tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1986* | | vs. Oklahoma State Quarterfinals | W 82–75 | 19–9 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar 7, 1986* | | vs. Iowa State Semifinals | L 58–75 | 19–10 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1986* | (9 SE) | vs. (8 SE) Western Kentucky First Round | L 59–67 | 19–11 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 3 | 65 | Dave Hoppen | Atlanta Hawks |