# 1985–86 Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Pepperdine Waves men's basketball team represented Pepperdine University in the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jim Harrick. The Waves played their home games at the Firestone Fieldhouse and were members of the West Coast Athletic Conference. They finished the season 25–5, 13–1 in WCAC play to win the regular season conference title by a 2-game margin to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. In the opening round, the Waves fell to No. 5 seed Maryland, 69–64.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1985* | | vs. No. 5 Kansas Preseason NIT | L 61–67 | 0–1 | McNichols Sports Arena Denver, Colorado |
| Nov 26, 1985* | | Washington State | W 84–76 | 1–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Nov 27, 1985* | | St. Mary's (TX) | W 69–60 | 2–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Dec 2, 1985* | | Nevada | W 100–69 | 3–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Dec 7, 1985* | | UC Irvine | W 81–72 | 4–1 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Dec 13, 1985* | | vs. Western Illinois | W 85–67 | 5–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| Dec 14, 1985* | | at Brigham Young | W 83–73 | 6–1 | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| Dec 20, 1985* | | vs. Southern Methodist | W 75–68 | 7–1 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 21, 1985* | | at No. 13 Kentucky | L 56–88 | 7–2 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Dec 23, 1985* | | at Evansville | W 62–61 | 8–2 | Roberts Municipal Stadium Evansville, Indiana |
| Dec 28, 1985* | | Cal State Fullerton | W 67–64 | 9–2 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Dec 30, 1985* | | Robert Morris | W 84–59 | 10–2 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Jan 4, 1986* | | Northern Iowa | W 94–86 | 11–2 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Jan 7, 1986* | | U.S. International | W 129–94 | 12–2 | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Jan 9, 1986* | | at DePaul | L 57–70 | 12–3 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| WCAC Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 16, 1986 | | at Gonzaga | W 79–67 | 13–3 (1–0) | The Kennel Spokane, Washington |
| Jan 18, 1986 | | at Portland | W 60–55 | 14–3 (2–0) | Chiles Center Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 24, 1986 | | San Francisco | W 78–66 | 15–3 (3–0) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Jan 25, 1986 | | Santa Clara | W 64–60 | 16–3 (4–0) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Jan 30, 1986 | | at San Diego | L 64–69 | 16–4 (4–1) | USD Sports Center San Diego, California |
| Feb 1, 1986 | | at Saint Mary's | W 88–67 | 17–4 (5–1) | McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California |
| Feb 7, 1986 | | Saint Mary's | W 105–64 | 18–4 (6–1) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Feb 8, 1986 | | San Diego | W 61–60 | 19–4 (7–1) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Feb 15, 1986 | | at Loyola Marymount | W 79–64 | 20–4 (8–1) | Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Feb 21, 1986 | | Portland | W 80–61 | 21–4 (9–1) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Feb 22, 1986 | | Gonzaga | W 87–64 | 22–4 (10–1) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| Feb 28, 1986 | | at Santa Clara | W 56–51 | 23–4 (11–1) | Leavey Center Santa Clara, California |
| Mar 1, 1986 | | at San Francisco | W 85–64 | 24–4 (12–1) | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Mar 5, 1986 | | Loyola Marymount | W 87–82 | 25–4 (13–1) | Firestone Fieldhouse Malibu, California |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1986* | (12 W) | vs. (5 W) Maryland First Round | L 64–69 | 25–5 | Long Beach Arena Long Beach, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Dwayne Polee – WCAC Player of the Year (2x)
* Jim Harrick – WCAC Coach of the Year