The 1986–87 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

for the

1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1986 and ended with the Final Four in New Orleans, Louisiana on March 30, 1987. Major rule changes Beginning in 1986–87, the following rules changes were implemented: * ...

. Led by fourth-year head coach Len Stevens, the Cougars were members of the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

and played their home games on campus at

Beasley Coliseum Beasley Coliseum is a general-purpose indoor arena in the northwest United States, located on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. The home venue for both the Cougars men's and women's basketball teams of the Pac-12 C ...

Pullman, Washington Pullman () is the largest city in Whitman County, located in southeastern Washington within the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest. The population was 29,799 at the 2010 census, and estimated to be 34,506 in 2019. Originally founded as Thr ...

. The Cougars were overall in the regular season and in conference play, tied for eighth in the The conference tournament debuted this year; seeded ninth, WSU lost to eighth-seed Arizona State by sixteen points in the opening round. A month after the season ended, Stevens resigned in early April to become head coach at

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, then a member of the Big Sky Conference; assistant

Kelvin Sampson Kelvin Dale Sampson (born October 5, 1955) is an American college basketball coach, currently the head coach for the University of Houston of the American Athletic Conference. Early life Sampson was born in the Lumbee Native American community of ...

was soon promoted to head coach, and led the program for seven seasons.

Postseason result

, - !colspan=5 style=, Pacific-10 Tournament

References

External links

Sports Reference
– Washington State Cougars: 1986–87 basketball season {{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team Washington State Cougars men's basketball seasons

Washington State Cougars The Washington State Cougars (known informally as the Cougs) are the athletic teams that represent Washington State University. Located in Pullman, Washington, WSU is a member of the Pac-12 Conference in NCAA Division I. The athletic program co ...

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...