The 1986 Big Eight men's basketball tournament was held March 6–8 at Kemper Arena in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. Top-seeded Kansas defeated #2 seed

Iowa State Iowa State University of Science and Technology (Iowa State University, Iowa State, or ISU) is a public land-grant research university in Ames, Iowa. Founded in 1858 as the Iowa Agricultural College and Model Farm, Iowa State became one of the n ...

in the championship game, 73–71, to win the Big Eight men's basketball tournament. The Jayhawks received an automatic bid to the 1986 NCAA tournament. They were joined in the tournament by fellow Big Eight members Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma, who earned at-large bids.

Format

All eight of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with all teams placed and paired in the initial quarterfinal round. All three rounds – quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game – were played at Kemper Arena in

Bracket

References

{{1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament navbox Tournament Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament