The 1986–87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team represented the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...

in 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 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Final Four in New Orleans on March 30, 1987. Season headlines * All 1987 NCAA Division I men's b ...

. The team's head coach was Wimp Sanderson, who was in his seventh season at Alabama. The team played their home games at

Coleman Coliseum Coleman Coliseum is a 15,383-seat multi-purpose arena in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on the campus of the University of Alabama. It is the current home of the Alabama Crimson Tide men's and women's basketball and women's gymnastics teams, and previo ...

Tuscaloosa, Alabama Tuscaloosa ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tuscaloosa County, Alabama, Tuscaloosa County in west-central Alabama, United States, on the Black Warrior River where the Gulf Coastal Plain, Gulf Coastal and Piedmont (United States), Piedm ...

. They finished the season with a school-record 28 wins at 28–5 and won the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...

regular season title with a 16–2 conference record. The 16 wins in conference were also a school record. The team lost forward

Buck Johnson Alphonso "Buck" Johnson Jr. (born January 3, 1964) is an American former professional basketball player. Johnson, a 6'7" small forward, played seven seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA) for the Houston Rockets and Washington Bu ...

to graduation, but signed freshman forward Keith Askins from Athens High School in

Athens, Alabama Athens is a city in and the county seat of Limestone County, in the U.S. state of Alabama; it is included in the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city is 25,406. Hist ...

. The Tide also won the 1987 SEC men's basketball tournament, beating

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 ...

in the final and earning an automatic bid to the

1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1987 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 12, 1987, and ended with the champio ...

. They were seeded second in the Southeast Region, their highest ever in the NCAA tournament thus far. The Tide defeated North Carolina A&T and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

before falling to Providence in the Sweet 16. It was the Tide's third straight Sweet 16 appearance. Alabama's participation in the NCAA Tournament was later vacated by the NCAA.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, SEC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA Tournament

Rankings

Awards and honors

* Derrick McKey – SEC Player of the Year

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball team Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball seasons

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

1986 in sports in Alabama 1987 in sports in Alabama