1985–86 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team

The 1985–86 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team represented the University of Louisville during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, Louisville's 72nd season of intercollegiate competition. The Cardinals competed in the Metro Conference and were coached by Denny Crum. The team played home games at Freedom Hall.

1985–86 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions Metro Conference tournament champions Metro Conference regular season champions
Conference	Metro Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 7
Record	32–7 (10–2 Metro)
Head coach	Denny Crum (15th season)
Assistant coaches	Wade Houston Jerry Jones Bobby Dotson
Home arena	Freedom Hall
Seasons ← 1984–85 1986–87 →

1985–86 Metro Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 7 Louisville †	10	–	2		.833			32	–	7		.821
No. 12 Memphis State	9	–	3		.750			28	–	6		.824
Virginia Tech	7	–	5		.583			22	–	9		.710
Southern Mississippi	6	–	6		.500			17	–	12		.586
Cincinnati	5	–	7		.417			12	–	16		.429
Florida State	3	–	9		.250			12	–	17		.414
South Carolina	2	–	10		.167			12	–	16		.429
† 1986 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The team compiled a 32–7 record and brought Louisville basketball their second NCAA national championship when they defeated Duke, 72–69.

Roster

1985–86 Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G/F 34 Mike Abram 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Northside Muncie, Indiana F 41 Herbert Crook 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Eastern Louisville, Kentucky F/C 43 Pervis Ellison 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Savannah Savannah, Georgia G 42 Jeff Hall 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Fairview Ashland, Kentucky F 44 Tony Kimbro 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Seneca Louisville, Kentucky F/C 33 Avery Marshall 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Myrtle Beach Myrtle Beach, South Carolina F/C 10 Mark McSwain 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Jr St. Pius X Atlanta, Georgia F 24 Will Olliges 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So St.Xavier Louisville, Kentucky F 21 Kenny Payne 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Northeast Jones Laurel, Mississippi F 30 David Robinson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Fr Eastside Gainesville, Florida F 55 Billy Thompson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Camden Camden, New Jersey F 00 Robbie Valentine 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr North Hardin Radcliff, Kentucky G 20 Milt Wagner 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Camden Camden, New Jersey G 15 Kevin Walls 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Fr Camden Camden, New Jersey G 23 Chris West 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Manual Louisville, Kentucky G 22 Keith Williams 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Seneca Louisville, Kentucky	Head coach Denny Crum (UCLA) Assistant coach(es) Jerry Jones Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 22, 1985*	No. 9	vs. Miami (OH) Preseason NIT	W 81–65	1–0	Riverfront Coliseum  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 23, 1985*	No. 9	vs. Tulsa Preseason NIT	W 80–74	2–0	Riverfront Coliseum  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 24, 1985*	No. 9	vs. No. 5 Kansas Preseason NIT	L 78–83	2–1	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Nov 25, 1985*	No. 9	at No. 18 St. John's Preseason NIT	L 79–86	2–2	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 7, 1985*	No. 16	Purdue	W 77–58	3–2	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 10, 1985*		Iona	W 88–75	4–2	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 14, 1985*		Western Kentucky	W 73–70	5–2	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 18, 1985*	No. 16	No. 17 Indiana	W 65–63	6–2	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Dec 28, 1985*	No. 15	at No. 13 Kentucky	L 64–69	6–3	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
Jan 4, 1986*		Wyoming	W 94–62	7–3	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 6, 1986*		Eastern Kentucky	W 86–55	8–3	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 9, 1986		at No. 6 Memphis State	L 71–73	8–4 (0–1)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 13, 1986		at Southern Miss	W 59–54	9–4 (1–1)	Reed Green Coliseum  Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Jan 15, 1986		at Florida State	W 85–64	10–4 (2–1)	Donald L. Tucker Center  Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 18, 1986*		No. 4 Syracuse	W 83–73	11–4	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 20, 1986		Cincinnati	L 82–84	11–5 (2–2)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Jan 25, 1986*		at No. 7 Kansas	L 69–71	11–6	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, Kansas
Mar 1, 1986		No. 7 Memphis State	W 70–69	24–7 (10–2)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Metro Conference tournament
Mar 7, 1986*		Cincinnati	W 86–65	25–7	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 8, 1986*		No. 10 Memphis State	W 88–79	26–7	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1986*	(2 W) No. 7	vs. (15 W) Drexel First round	W 93–73	27–7	Dee Events Center  Ogden, Utah
Mar 15, 1986*	(2 W) No. 7	vs. No. 14 Bradley Second Round	W 82–68	28–7	Dee Events Center  Ogden, Utah
Mar 20, 1986*	(2 W) No. 7	vs. (3 W) No. 8 North Carolina Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 94–79	29–7	The Summit  Houston, Texas
Mar 22, 1986*	(2 W) No. 7	vs. (8 W) Auburn Regional Final – Elite Eight	W 84–76	30–7	The Summit  Houston, Texas
Mar 29, 1986*	(2 W) No. 7	vs. (11 SE) LSU National semifinal – Final Four	W 88–77	31–7	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
Mar 31, 1986*	(2 W) No. 7	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke National Championship Game	W 72–69	32–7	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

NCAA basketball tournament

West region

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	St John's	83
	16	Montana St	74
						1	St John's	65
						8	Auburn	81
	8	Auburn	73
	9	Arizona	63
											8	Auburn	70
											4	UNLV	63
	5	Maryland	69
	12	Pepperdine	64
						5	Maryland	64
						4	UNLV	70
	4	UNLV	74
	13	Northeast Louisiana	51
																8	Auburn	76
																2	Louisville	84
	6	UAB	66
	11	Missouri	64
						6	UAB	59
						3	North Carolina	77
	3	North Carolina	84
	14	Utah	72
											3	North Carolina	79
											2	Louisville	94
	7	Bradley	83
	10	UTEP	65
						7	Bradley	68
						2	Louisville	82
	2	Louisville	93
	15	Drexel	73

Final Four

	National semifinals					National Championship Game
	E1	Duke	71
	M1	Kansas	67
						E1	Duke	69
						W2	Louisville	72
	S11	LSU	77
	W2	Louisville	88

Awards and honors

• Billy Thompson, first team All-Metro Conference
• Billy Thompson, AP honorable mention All-American
• Billy Thompson, NCAA All-Tournament team
• Billy Thompson, NCAA All-West regional
• Milt Wagner, first team All-Metro Conference
• Milt Wagner. AP honorable mention All-American
• Pervis Ellison, Final Four Most Outstanding Player^[1]
• Pervis Ellison, NCAA All-West regional
• Pervis Ellison, Metro Conference Freshman of the Year
• Pervis Ellison, second team All-Metro Conference
• Herbert Crook, NCAA All-West regional
• Tony Kimbro, Metro Conference All-Freshman team

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1986	1	19	Billy Thompson	Atlanta Hawks
1986	2	35	Milt Wagner	Dallas Mavericks
1986	6	118	Jeff Hall	Indiana Pacers
1988	3	61	Herbert Crook	Indiana Pacers
1989	1	1	Pervis Ellison	Sacramento Kings
1989	1	19	Kenny Payne	Philadelphia 76ers

^[2]

References

1. . cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on September 7, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2008.
2. . Databasebasketball.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2012.