# 1987–88 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team

The 1987–88 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos men's basketball team represented the University of California, Santa Barbara during the 1987–88 college basketball season. They were led by head coach Jerry Pimm in his 5th season at UCSB. The Gauchos were members of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association and played their home games at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, also known as The Thunderdome.
UCSB finished the season 22–8, 13–5 in PCAA play to finish second in the conference regular season standings. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament – the school's first appearance in the “Big Dance.” As the No. 10 seed in the Southeast Region, they lost to No. 7 seed Maryland in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1987* | | Santa Clara | W 67–64 | 1–0 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Nov 30, 1987* | | at San Diego | W 72–67 | 2–0 | USD Sports Center San Diego, California |
| Dec 3, 1987* | | Oregon State | W 71–70 | 3–0 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Dec 12, 1987* | | Westmont | W 70–62 | 4–0 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Dec 17, 1987* | | Pepperdine | W 76–68 | 5–0 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Dec 21, 1987* | | Montana State | W 71–64 | 6–0 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Dec 23, 1987* | | NC State | W 96–78 | 7–0 | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Dec 28, 1987* | | vs. Stanford Hoosier Classic | L 65–75 | 7–1 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Dec 29, 1987* | | vs. Penn Hoosier Classic | W 82–52 | 8–1 | Market Square Arena Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Jan 4, 1988 | | at UC Irvine | W 81–78 | 9–1 (1–0) | Bren Events Center Irvine, California |
| Jan 7, 1988 | | at No. 13 UNLV | W 62–60 | 10–1 (2–0) | Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada |
| Jan 9, 1988 | | at Cal State Fullerton | W 67–55 | 11–1 (3–0) | Titan Gym Fullerton, California |
| Jan 14, 1988 | | San Jose State | L 61–67 | 11–2 (3–1) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Jan 16, 1988 | | Utah State | L 72–73 | 11–3 (3–2) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Jan 21, 1988 | | at Fresno State | W 75–61 | 12–3 (4–2) | Selland Arena Fresno, California |
| Jan 23, 1988 | | at Pacific | W 68–64 | 13–3 (5–2) | Alex G. Spanos Center Stockton, California |
| Jan 28, 1988 | | New Mexico State | W 66–63 | 14–3 (6–2) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Jan 30, 1988 | | Long Beach State | L 76–77 | 14–4 (6–3) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Feb 4, 1988 | | Cal State Fullerton | W 57–56 | 15–4 (7–3) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Feb 6, 1988 | | No. 2 UNLV | W 71–66 | 16–4 (8–3) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Feb 11, 1988 | | at Utah State | L 62–85 | 16–5 (8–4) | Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah |
| Feb 13, 1988 | | at San Jose State | W 65–64 | 17–5 (9–4) | San Jose Civic Auditorium San Jose, California |
| Feb 18, 1988 | | Pacific | W 97–59 | 18–5 (10–4) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Feb 20, 1988 | | Fresno State | W 77–60 | 19–5 (11–4) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Feb 25, 1988 | | at Long Beach State | W 81–73 | 20–5 (12–4) | Gold Mine Long Beach, California |
| Feb 27, 1988 | | at New Mexico State | L 57–81 | 20–6 (12–5) | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Mar 5, 1988 | | UC Irvine | W 83–77 | 21–6 (13–5) | The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California |
| Big West tournament ||||||
| Mar 11, 1988* | (3) | vs. (6) New Mexico State Quarterfinals | W 56–52 | 22–6 | The Forum Inglewood, California |
| Mar 12, 1988* | (3) | vs. (2) Utah State Semifinals | L 66–73 | 22–7 | The Forum Inglewood, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 18, 1988* | (10 SE) | vs. (7 SE) Maryland First Round | L 82–92 | 22–8 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll Source. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Brian Shaw – PCAA Player of the Year

## 1988 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 24 | Brian Shaw | Boston Celtics |