Season headlines
* The
Big South Conference
The Big South Conference is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I. Originally a non-football conference, the Big South began sponsoring football in 2002 as part of the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS), ...
began conference play. It had been founded in 1983, but its members had played as
Division I independents until this season.
* The ECAC South renamed itself the Colonial Athletic Association. It renamed itself the
Coastal Athletic Association
The Coastal Athletic Association (CAA), formerly the ECAC South Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association, is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA' ...
in 2023.
* The Midwestern City Conference renamed itself the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. It renamed itself the
Horizon League
The Horizon League is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Headquartered in Indianapolis, the league's eleven member schools are located in ...
in 2001.
* Blocked shots and steals both became official statistics tracked by the NCAA.
David Robinson of
Navy
A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...
became the first national blocked shot champion, averaging 5.91 per game for the season. The first steals champion was
Darron Brittman of
Chicago State, with 4.96 per game.
*
LSU
Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...
,
seeded 11th in the
1986 NCAA tournament's Southeast Region, became the first team with a double-digit seed to advance to the
Final Four
In sports, the final four is the last four teams remaining in a playoffs, playoff tournament. Usually the final four compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final (penultimate) round. Of these teams, the two who win in ...
.
Major rule changes
Beginning in 1985–86, the following rules changes were implemented:
* The 45-second shot clock was introduced.
* With the shot clock's introduction, the so-called "lack of action" count (when the offense fails to attempt a shot in a five-second timeframe) was abolished.
* If a shooter was fouled intentionally and the shot was missed, the penalty was two shots and possession of the ball out of bounds to the team who was fouled.
[
* Conferences were permitted to experiment with a ]three-point field goal
A three-point field goal (also 3-pointer, three, or triple) is a field goal in a basketball game made from beyond the three-point line, a designated arc surrounding the basket. A successful attempt is worth three points, in contrast to the two ...
, provided the distance was set to at least from the center of the basket.
Season outlook
Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.[*]
Conference membership changes
NOTES: The Big South Conference was founded in 1983, but its members played as independents until this season. Tulane discontinued its men's basketball program after the 1984–85 season in response to a point shaving
In organized sports, point shaving is a type of match fixing where the perpetrators try to change the final score of a game without the intention of changing who wins. This is typically done by players colluding with gamblers to prevent a team fr ...
scandal involving four of its players.
Regular season
Conferences
Conference winners and tournaments
Conference standings
Division I independents
A total of 17 college teams played as Division I independents. Among them, Notre Dame (23–6) had both the best winning percentage
In sports, a winning percentage or Copeland score is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the to ...
(.793) and the most wins.
Informal championships
Saint Joseph's and Temple both finished with 3–1 records in head-to-head competition among the Philadelphia Big 5.
Statistical leaders
Postseason tournaments
NCAA tournament
Final Four -
Reunion Arena
Reunion Arena was an indoor arena located in the Reunion, Dallas, Reunion district of downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. The arena served as the primary home of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars and the National Basketball Ass ...
, Dallas, Texas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
National Invitation tournament
NIT Semifinals and Finals
Played at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams
Major player of the year awards
* Wooden Award: Walter Berry, St. John's
* Naismith Award: Johnny Dawkins, Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
* Associated Press Player of the Year: Walter Berry, St. John's
* UPI Player of the Year: Walter Berry, St. John's
* NABC Player of the Year
The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball across the three largest college athletic associations in the United States. Th ...
: Walter Berry, St. John's
* Oscar Robertson Trophy
The Oscar Robertson Trophy is given out annually to the most outstanding NCAA Division I men's basketball player by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA), first presented in 1958–59 NCAA University Division men's basketball season, 19 ...
(USBWA
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball.
Scholarships
The U ...
): Walter Berry, St. John's
* Adolph Rupp Trophy
The Adolph F. Rupp Trophy was an annual college basketball award given to the top player in men's NCAA Division I competition. It was awarded between 1972 and 2015. The recipient of the award was selected by an independent panel consisting of nat ...
: Walter Berry, St. John's
* ''Sporting News'' Player of the Year: Walter Berry, St. John's
Major coach of the year awards
* Associated Press Coach of the Year: Eddie Sutton
Edward Eugene Sutton (March 12, 1936 – May 23, 2020) was an American college basketball coach. A native of Bucklin, Kansas, Sutton played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M (later Oklahoma State Cowboys basketball, Oklahoma State) and was a h ...
, Kentucky
Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
* UPI Coach of the Year: Mike Krzyzewski
Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021� ...
, Duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
* Henry Iba Award
The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...
(USBWA
The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) was founded in 1956 with the urging of National Collegiate Athletic Association director Walter Byers to serve the interests of journalists who cover college basketball.
Scholarships
The U ...
): Dick Versace
Richard Patrick Versace (; April 16, 1940 – February 25, 2022) was an American basketball coach and executive. He was also the first American of Puerto Rican descent to have coached a National Basketball Association (NBA) team.
Early life
Vers ...
, Bradley
* NABC Coach of the Year
The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...
: Eddie Sutton, Kentucky
* CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
/Chevrolet
Chevrolet ( ) is an American automobile division of the manufacturer General Motors (GM). In North America, Chevrolet produces and sells a wide range of vehicles, from subcompact automobiles to medium-duty commercial trucks. Due to the promi ...
Coach of the Year: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke
* ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Denny Crum
Denzel Edwin Crum (March 2, 1937 – May 9, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach at the University of Louisville from 1971 to 2001, compiling a record. He guided the Cardinals to two NCAA championships (1980, 1986) and six Fi ...
, Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
Other major awards
* Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award
The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...
(Best player under 6'0): Jim Les
James Alan Les (born August 18, 1963) is an American basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the UC Davis Aggies men's team. A former point guard, Les played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) after hi ...
, Bradley
* Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5
The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’ ...
): Harold Pressley, Villanova
* NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
metro area): Walter Berry, St. John's
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:1985-86 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season