# 1986–87 LSU Tigers basketball team

The 1986–87 LSU Tigers basketball team represented Louisiana State University in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1986-87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was coached by Dale Brown and played their home games at LSU Assembly Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
A year after becoming the lowest seeded team (11th) in the NCAA tournament to reach the Final Four, the Tigers nearly reached the Final Four for the second straight season as a double-digit seed. The Tigers finished below .500 during SEC regular season play (8–10, tied for 6th), but played terrific basketball for four consecutive days in an attempt to earn the SEC's automatic bid by nearly winning the SEC tournament. They were beaten by Alabama in the championship game, but it was enough to secure an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. As the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region, LSU beat No. 7 seed Georgia Tech, No. 2 seed Temple, and No. 3 seed DePaul to reach the Elite Eight – the 4th of Coach Brown’s tenure. In the Midwest regional final, eventual National champion Indiana got by LSU by a single point, 77–76. The Tigers finished with a record of 24–15.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 21, 1986* | | Texas Christian Preseason NIT | L 74–83 | 0–1 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 4, 1986* | | Arkansas State | W 73–61 | 1–1 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 6, 1986* | | at McNeese State | W 77–62 | 2–1 | Burton Coliseum Lake Charles, Louisiana |
| Dec 13, 1986* | | No. 16 Georgia Tech | W 52–49 | 3–1 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 16, 1986 | | at Florida | L 75–96 | 3–2 (0–1) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Dec 19, 1986* | | Hardin-Simmons | W 77–71 | 4–2 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 20, 1986* | | New Orleans | L 71–82 | 4–3 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 22, 1986 | | Vanderbilt | L 61–63 | 4–4 (0–2) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Dec 29, 1986* | | vs. West Virginia State Seasider Classic | W 93–76 | 5–4 | Laie, Hawaii |
| Dec 30, 1986* | | vs. Illinois-Chicago Seasider Classic | W 117–84 | 6–4 | Laie, Hawaii |
| Dec 31, 1986* | | vs. BYU–Hawaii Seasider Classic | W 85–70 | 7–4 | Laie, Hawaii |
| Jan 1, 1987* | | vs. Denison | W 99–45 | 8–4 | Laie, Hawaii |
| Jan 5, 1987 | | at Ole Miss | L 63–73 | 8–5 (0–3) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Jan 7, 1987 | | at Tennessee | W 79–78 | 9–5 (1–3) | Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 10, 1987 | | Georgia | L 63–64 | 9–6 (1–4) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 12, 1987* | | vs. No. 16 Oklahoma | L 85–94 | 9–7 | Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Jan 14, 1987 | | at No. 15 Alabama | L 65–69 | 9–8 (1–5) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 18, 1987 ABC | | at Kentucky | W 76–41 | 10–8 (2–5) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Jan 21, 1987 | | Florida | L 51–75 | 10–9 (2–6) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 24, 1987* | | Western Kentucky | W 67–62 | 11–9 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 25, 1987 | | at Mississippi State | W 52–50 | 12–9 (3–6) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 28, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT | | No. 18 Auburn | W 75–73 | 13–9 (4–6) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 31, 1987 | | at Vanderbilt | L 65–66 | 13–10 (4–7) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 4, 1987 | | Ole Miss | W 82–75 | 14–10 (5–7) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 7, 1987 2:00 p.m., JPT | | Tennessee | W 60–58 | 15–10 (6–7) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 9, 1987* | | Northern Arizona | W 70–58 | 16–10 | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 11, 1987 7:00 p.m., JPT | | at Georgia | L 57–63 | 16–11 (6–8) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Feb 14, 1987 | | No. 14 Alabama | L 52–60 | 16–12 (6–9) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 21, 1987 | | Kentucky | W 65–52 | 17–12 (7–9) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 25, 1987 | | Mississippi State | W 55–46 | 18–12 (8–9) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Mar 1, 1987 JPT | | at Auburn | L 62–100 | 18–13 (8–10) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1987* JPT | (7) | vs. (10) Mississippi State First round | W 68–54 | 19–13 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 6, 1987* JPT | (7) | vs. (2) Florida Quarterfinals | W 72–66 | 20–13 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 7, 1987* JPT | (7) | vs. (3) Georgia Semifinals | W 89–88 | 21–13 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| Mar 8, 1987* ABC | (7) | vs. (1) No. 9 Alabama Championship Game | L 62–69 | 21–14 | The Omni Atlanta, Georgia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1987* | (10 MW) | vs. (7 MW) Georgia Tech First round | W 85–79 | 22–14 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| Mar 15, 1987* | (10 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 8 Temple Second Round | W 72–62 | 23–14 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| Mar 20, 1987* CBS | (10 MW) | vs. (3 MW) No. 5 DePaul Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 63–58 | 24–14 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Mar 22, 1987* CBS | (10 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Indiana Midwest Regional Final – Elite Eight | L 76–77 | 24–15 | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||