1985–86 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils basketball team

The 1985–86 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils basketball team represented Mississippi Valley State University during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Delta Devils, led by head coach Lafayette Stribling, played their home games at Harrison HPER Complex as members of the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Delta Devils finished the season 20–11, 10–4 in SWAC play to finish in 3rd pace. They won the SWAC Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 1986 NCAA tournament – the first appearance in school history. As the No. 16 seed in the East Region, the Delta Devils played a tough game before falling to No. 1 overall seed and eventual National runner-up Duke in the opening round, 85–78.^[1]

1985–86 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils men's basketball
SWAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Record	20–11 (10–4 SWAC)
Head coach	Lafayette Stribling
Home arena	Harrison HPER Complex
Seasons ← 1984–85 1986–87 →

1985–86 SWAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Southern	11	–	3		.786			19	–	8		.704
Alcorn State	11	–	3		.786			16	–	13		.552
Mississippi Valley State †	10	–	4		.714			20	–	11		.645
Jackson State	9	–	5		.643			14	–	15		.483
Texas Southern	6	–	8		.429			9	–	18		.333
Grambling State	4	–	10		.286			14	–	12		.538
Alabama State	4	–	10		.286			11	–	17		.393
Prairie View A&M	1	–	13		.071			5	–	25		.167
† 1986 SWAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1985–86 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G George Ivory 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr Greenwood, Mississippi F Mark Coleman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr	Head coach Lafayette Stribling Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

^[2]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Dec 19, 1985*		at Ball State	L 63–73	2–3	Irving Gymnasium  Muncie, Indiana
Jan 6, 1986*		at Missouri	L 67–81	3–4	Hearnes Center  Columbia, Missouri
SWAC tournament
Mar 7, 1986*		vs. Alabama State Quarterfinal	W 77–64	18–10	Mississippi Coliseum  Biloxi, Mississippi
Mar 8, 1986*		vs. Alcorn State Semifinals	W 71–70	19–10	Mississippi Coliseum  Biloxi, Mississippi
Mar 9, 1986*		vs. Prairie View Championship game	W 75–58	20–10	Mississippi Coliseum  Biloxi, Mississippi
1986 NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1986*	(16 E)	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke First Round	L 78–85^[3]	20–11	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region.

References

1. "Duke Survives a Scare from Mississippi Valley State". The New York Times. March 14, 1986. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
2. "1985–86 Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
3. "NEAR-MISS 10 YEARS AGO HAS LASTING IMPACT". Daily Press. March 14, 1996. Retrieved April 30, 2022.