1985–86 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball team

American college basketball season

1985–86 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball

Wendy's Classic Champion
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	23–8 (10–4 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Clem Haskins
Assistant coach	David Farrar
Home arena	E. A. Diddle Arena
Seasons← 1984–85 1986–87 →

1985–86 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Old Dominion	11	–	3	.786	23	–	8	.742
Western Kentucky	10	–	4	.714	23	–	8	.742
UAB	9	–	5	.643	25	–	11	.694
Jacksonville †	9	–	5	.643	21	–	10	.677
VCU	6	–	8	.429	12	–	16	.429
South Alabama	5	–	9	.357	16	–	16	.500
South Florida	5	–	9	.357	14	–	14	.500
UNC Charlotte	1	–	13	.071	8	–	20	.286

† 1986 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985–86 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers men's basketball team represented Western Kentucky University during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hilltoppers were led by Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year Clem Haskins, in his final year at the helm. WKU finished second in the conference and received a bid to the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. This team's roster featured three future NBA players Tellis Frank, Kannard Johnson, and Clarence Martin. Billy Gordon, Johnson, and Martin were selected to the All-Conference Team, while Ray Swogger made the SBC All-Tournament Team.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank	Opponent	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
11/23/1985*		Samford	W 80–47	1–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
11/27/1985*		Cincinnati	W 69–58	2–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
12/2/1985*		Southern Illinois	W 77–67	3–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
12/6/1985*		Chaminade Wendy’s Classic	W 101–75	4–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
12/7/1985*		No. 19 Auburn Wendy’s Classic	W 71–58	5–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
12/9/1985*		Middle Tennessee	W 86–74	6–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
11/29/1986*		Columbus College	W 87–61	7–0	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
12/14/1985*		at No. 15 Louisville	L 70–73	7–1	Freedom Hall Louisville, KY
12/21/1985*		at Morehead State	W 75–68	8–1	Ellis Johnson Arena Morehead, KY
12/28/1985		ODU	L 59–62	8–2 (0-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
1/4/1986*		at No. 20 Virginia Tech	L 71–85	8–3	Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA
1/6/1986*		Murray State	W 80–58	9–3	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
1/11/1986		at South Florida	W 57–45	10–3 (1-1)	USF Sun Dome Tampa, FL
1/13/1986*		at Tennessee State	W 69–58	11–3	Gentry Complex Nashville, TN
1/16/1986		at No. 12 UAB	W 75–72	12–3 (2-1)	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, AL
1/20/1986		VCU	W 62–60	13–3 (3-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
1/22/1986*		Dayton	W 64–62	14–3	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
1/25/1986		No. 18 UAB	W 81–75	15–3 (4-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
1/30/1986		at UNCC	W 78–67	16–3 (5-1)	Belk Gymnasium Charlotte, NC
2/1/1986		South Alabama	W 68–52	17–3 (6-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
2/3/1986		Jacksonville	W 51–46	18–3 (7-1)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
2/6/1986	No. 19	at ODU	L 61–74	18–4 (7-2)	Norfolk Scope Norfolk, VA
2/8/1986	No. 19	UNCC	W 78–68	19–4 (8-2)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
2/10/1986	No. 19	at Jacksonville	L 65–70	19–5 (8-3)	Swisher Gymnasium Jacksonville, FL
2/13/1986		South Florida	W 77–57	20–5 (9-3)	E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY
2/17/1986		at South Alabama	W 53–51	21–5 (10-3)	Mitchell Center Mobile, AL
2/22/1986		at VCU	L 56–60	21–6 (10-4)	Richmond Coliseum Richmond, VA
1986 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament
2/27/1986	(2)	vs. (7) South Florida Quarterfinals	W 57–46	22–6	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, AL
2/28/1986	(2)	at (3) UAB Semifinals	L 45–57	22–7	Birmingham–Jefferson Convention Complex Birmingham, AL
1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
3/14/1986*	(8 SE)	vs. (9 SE) Nebraska First Round	W 67–59	23–7	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
3/16/1986*	(8 SE)	vs. (1 SE) No. 3 Kentucky Second Round	L 64–71	23–8	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC
*Non-conference game. Rankings from AP Poll (S#) during Tournament is seed. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Awards and honors

Clem Haskins – Sun Belt co-Coach of the Year

References

v t e Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball
Venues	Red Barn (1920–1931) Health & Physical Education Building (1931–1963) E. A. Diddle Arena (1963–present)
Culture & lore	Big Red
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1914–15 1915–16 1916–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearance in italics

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