# 1985–86 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1985–86 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his eighth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 22–11, 13–5 in SEC play. They lost to Mississippi State in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Arizona, St. John's, and UNLV to advance to the Elite Eight where they lost to Louisville.
The only real loss of note from the prior season for Auburn was starting center Carey Holland. Also, center Darren Guest would be found academically ineligible and eventually transfer. Key additions were freshman forward Mike Jones and guard Aundrae Davis, a sophomore transfer from West Virginia University who would not be eligible until the next season. Senior Chuck Person would have a stellar season and make several All-America teams.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1985* | No. 10 | vs. West Virginia Big Apple NIT | L 58-75 | 0-1 | Hartford Civic Center Hartford, CT |
| Nov 26, 1985* | No. 19 | Birmingham-Southern | W 61-51 | 1-1 | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Dec 3, 1985* | No. 19 | West Virginia | W 84-59 | 2-1 | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Dec 6, 1985* | No. 19 | vs. Kentucky Wesleyan Wendy's Classic | W 80-71 | 3-1 | E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| Dec 7, 1985* | No. 19 | vs. Western Kentucky Wendy's Classic | L 58-71 | 3-2 | E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY |
| Dec 10, 1985* | | at No. 16 UAB | L 56-62 | 3-3 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (15,502) Birmingham, AL |
| Dec 14, 1985* | | vs. Stetson | W 77-54 | 4-3 | Ocean Center Daytona Beach, FL |
| Dec 17, 1985* | | at Southwestern Louisiana | L 64-66 | 4-4 | Cajundome Lafayette, LA |
| Dec 22, 1985* | | vs. Central Florida Red Lobster Classic | W 78-49 | 5-4 | Orange County Civic Center Orlanda, FL |
| Dec 23, 1985* | | vs. Boston College Red Lobster Classic | W 89-85 | 6-4 | Orange County Civic Center Orlanda, FL |
| Jan 4, 1986 | | at Florida | L 59-62 | 6-5 (0-1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, FL |
| Jan 6, 1986 | | No. 11 Kentucky | W 60-56 | 7-5 (1-1) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Jan 8, 1986 | | Tennessee | W 55-45 | 8-5 (2-1) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Jan 11, 1986 | | at Mississippi State | W 72-56 | 9-5 (3-1) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, MS |
| Jan 16, 1986 | | at Alabama | L 56-60 | 9-6 (3-2) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, AL |
| Jan 18, 1986 | | Georgia | W 84-69 | 10-6 (4-2) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Jan 22, 1986 | | at Mississippi | W 73-61 | 11-6 (5-2) | C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, MS |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | No. 14 LSU | L 61-63 | 11-7 (5-3) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Jan 29, 1986 | | Vanderbilt | W 97-70 | 12-7 (6-3) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Jan 31, 1986 | | at No. 8 Kentucky | L 71-81 | 12-8 (6-4) | Rupp Arena Lexington, KY |
| Feb 6, 1986 | | Florida | W 67-65 | 13-8 (7-4) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Feb 8, 1986 | | at Tennessee | L 79-80 | 13-9 (7-5) | Stokely Center Knoxville, TN |
| Feb 12, 1986 | | Mississippi State | W 69-64 | 14-9 (8-5) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Feb 15, 1986 | | No. 18 Alabama | W 71-69 | 15-9 (9-5) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Feb 19, 1986 | | at Georgia | W 87-86 | 16-9 (10-5) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| Feb 22, 1986 | | Mississippi | W 75-73 | 17-9 (11-5) | Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum Auburn, AL |
| Feb 26, 1986 | | at LSU | W 92-86 | 18-9 (12-5) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, LA |
| March 1, 1986 | | at Vanderbilt | W 79-65 | 19-9 (13-5) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1986 LSN | (2) | vs. (10) Mississippi State Quarterfinals | L 63–65 | 19–10 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1986* | (8 W) | vs. (9 W) Arizona First round | W 73–63 | 20–10 | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California |
| Mar 16, 1986* | (8 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 4 St. John's Second Round | W 81–65 | 21–10 | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California |
| Mar 20, 1986* CBS | (8 W) | vs. (4 W) No. 11 UNLV West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 70–63 | 22–10 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| Mar 22, 1986* CBS | (8 W) | vs. (2 W) No. 7 Louisville West Regional Final – Elite Eight | L 76–84 | 22–11 | The Summit Houston, Texas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||
Sources

## Team players in the NBA draft

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1986 | 1 | 4 | Chuck Person | Indiana Pacers |