The 1986–87 Florida Gators men's basketball team represented the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

as a member of 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 ...

during the 1986–87 NCAA men's basketball season. Led by head coach

Norm Sloan Norman Leslie Sloan Jr. (June 25, 1926 – December 9, 2003) was an American college basketball player and coach. Sloan was a native of Indiana and played college basketball and football at North Carolina State University. He began a long career ...

, the team played their home games at the

O'Connell Center The Exactech Arena at the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, also known as the O'Dome, is a 10,500-seat multi-purpose arena located on the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. The facility is named for the sixth president of the univ ...

Gainesville, Florida Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, United States, and the most populous city in North Central Florida, with a population of 145,212 in 2022. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, Florida, Gainesv ...

. After finishing second in the SEC regular season standings, Florida was bounced in the quarterfinal round of the SEC Tournament by LSU. The Gators received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, the school's (technically) first appearance in the tournament, where they made a run to the Sweet Sixteen. In the opening round, Florida defeated NC State and followed that by knocking off No. 3 seed

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donat ...

. The run ended in the East Regional semifinal, where Florida was beaten by eventual National runner-up Syracuse, 87–81. The team finished with a record of 23–11 (12–6 SEC).

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, SEC Tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA Tournament 2017–18 Florida Gators men's basketball media guide
p. 92–93. Retrieved 2017-Nov-23.

Rankings

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1986-87 Florida Gators men's basketball team Florida Gators men's basketball seasons

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...