1985–86 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
American college basketball season
The 1985–86 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team represented Michigan State University in the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season . The team played their home games at Jenison Field House in East Lansing, Michigan and were members of the Big Ten Conference . They were coached by Jud Heathcote in his 10th year at Michigan State. The Spartans finished with a record of 23–8, 12–6 to finish in third place in Big Ten play. The Spartans received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the second straight year. As the No. 5 seed in the Midwest region, they defeated Washington and Georgetown to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. There they lost to No. 1-seeded Kansas . The wins were the first NCAA tournament wins for the Spartans since 1979 .
Previous season
The Spartans finished the 1984–85 season with a record of 19–10, 10–8 to finish in fifth place in Big Ten play. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 10 seed. There they lost to UAB in the first round.
Roster and statistics
1985–86 Michigan State Spartans men's basketball team
No
Name
Pos
Year
Height
Pts
Reb
Ast
4
Scott Skiles
G
SR
6–1
27.4
4.4
6.5
13
Darryl Johnson
G
JR
6–2
16.6
3.3
4.0
23
Vernon Carr
F/G
JR
6–6
13.8
5.4
0.7
35
Larry Polec
F
SR
6–8
10.7
5.7
1.6
45
Carlton Valentine
F
SO
6–6
6.0
3.2
0.2
42
Todd Wolfe
G/F
FR
6–5
4.0
1.0
0.0
15
Ralph Walker
F
SR
6–8
2.8
2.8
0.4
40
Barry Fordham
C/F
JR
6–8
2.8
3.7
0.4
24
Mark Brown
G
FR
6–0
2.3
0.5
0.8
34
David Mueller
F/C
FR
6–9
2.1
1.2
0.0
44
Scott Sekal
F
FR
6–8
2.0
0.6
0.0
00
Keith Hill
G
FR
6–4
2.0
0.0
1.0
55
Mario Izzo
C
FR
6–11
0.5
1.1
0.0
30
Jim Sarkine
F
FR
6–9
0.3
0.4
0.1
22
Andre Rison
G
FR
6–0
0.0
0.2
0.7
Source[ 1] [ 2]
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 23, 1985 *
Western Illinois
W 98–63
1–0
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Nov 26, 1985 *
Maine
W 89–58
2–0
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Mar 4, 1986 *
Central Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic semifinals
W 103–60
20–6
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Nov 30, 1985 *
Western Michigan Spartan Cutlass Classic championship
W 84–64
3–0
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Dec 4, 1985 *
George Washington
W 87–61
4–0
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Dec 6, 1985 *
Canisius
W 90–61
5–0
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Dec 14, 1985 *
at Iowa State
L 80–82 OT
5–1
James H. Hilton Coliseum Ames, IA
Dec 21, 1985 *
Illinois-Chicago
W 99–74
6–1
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Dec 27, 1985 *
vs. Massachusetts Lobo Classic semifinals
W 93–45
7–1
The Pit/University Arena Albuquerque, NM
Dec 28, 1985 *
at New Mexico Lobo Classic championship
W 76–61
8–1
The Pit/University Arena Albuquerque, NM
Big Ten regular season
Jan 2, 1986
at Ohio State
L 73–84
8–2 (0–1)
St. John Arena Columbus, OH
Jan 5, 1986
at No. 15 Indiana
W 77–74
9–2 (1–1)
Assembly Hall Bloomington, IN
Jan 9, 1986
No. 20 Purdue
L 83–88
9–3 (1–2)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 12, 1986
No. 18 Illinois
W 58–51
10–3 (2–2)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 16, 1986
at Iowa
L 71–82
10–4 (2–3)
Carver-Hawkeye Arena Iowa City, IA
Jan 18, 1986
at Minnesota
L 71–76
10–5 (2–4)
Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN
Jan 25, 1986
No. 6 Michigan Rivalry
W 91–79
11–5 (3–4)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Jan 30, 1986
Wisconsin
W 83–81
12–5 (4–4)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 1, 1986
Northwestern
W 97–69
13–5 (5–4)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 6, 1986
at Illinois
W 84–80
14–5 (6–4)
Assembly Hall Champaign, IL
Feb 8, 1986
at Purdue
L 82–88
14–6 (6–5)
Mackey Arena West Lafayette, IN
Feb 13, 1986
Iowa
W 83–73
15–6 (7–5)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 15, 1986
Minnesota
W 76–66
16–6 (8–5)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Feb 20, 1986
No. 19
No. 7 Michigan Rivalry
W 74–59
17–6 (9–5)
Crisler Arena Ann Arbor, MI
Feb 27, 1986
No. 17
at Northwestern
W 82–48
18–6 (10–5)
Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, IL
Mar 2, 1986
No. 17
at Wisconsin
W 84–71
19–6 (11–5)
Wisconsin Field House Madison, WI
Mar 5, 1986
No. 17
No. 16 Indiana
L 79–97
20–7 (11–6)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
Mar 8, 1986
No. 17
Ohio State
W 91–81
21–7 (12–6)
Jenison Field House East Lansing, MI
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1986
(5 MW) No. 18
vs. (12 MW) Washington First Round
W 72–70
22–7
University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH
Mar 15,1986
(5 MW) No. 18
vs. (4 MW) No. 13 Georgetown Second Round
W 80–68
23–7
University of Dayton Arena Dayton, OH
Mar 21, 1986
(5 MW) No. 18
vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kansas Sweet Sixteen
L 86–96 OT
23–8
Kemper Arena Kansas City, MO
Awards and honors
Scott Skiles – All-Big Ten First Team
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics