1986–87 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team

The 1986–87 Washington State Cougars men's basketball team represented Washington State University for the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fourth-year head coach Len Stevens, the Cougars were members of the Pacific-10 Conference and played their home games on campus at Beasley Coliseum in Pullman, Washington.

1986–87 Washington State Cougars men's basketball
Conference	Pacific-10
Record	10–18 (6–12 Pac-10)
Head coach	Len Stevens (4th season)
Assistant coaches	Kelvin Sampson Prescott "Puck" Smith
Home arena	Beasley Coliseum
Seasons ← 1985–86 1987–88 →

1986–87 Pacific-10 Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 UCLA †	14	–	4		.778			25	–	7		.781
Arizona	13	–	5		.722			18	–	12		.600
Washington	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
California	10	–	8		.556			20	–	15		.571
Oregon State	10	–	8		.556			19	–	11		.633
Stanford	9	–	9		.500			15	–	13		.536
Oregon	8	–	10		.444			16	–	14		.533
Arizona State	6	–	12		.333			11	–	17		.393
Washington State	6	–	12		.333			10	–	18		.357
USC	4	–	14		.222			9	–	19		.321
† 1987 Pacific-10 Tournament winner As of March 25, 1987^[1] Rankings from AP poll

The Cougars were 10–17 overall in the regular season and 6–12 in conference play, tied for eighth in the standings.^[2][3][4]

The conference tournament debuted this year;^[4][5] seeded ninth, WSU lost to eighth-seed Arizona State by sixteen points in the opening round.^[6][7]

A month after the season ended, Stevens resigned in early April to become head coach at Nevada, then a member of the Big Sky Conference;^[8][9][10] assistant Kelvin Sampson was soon promoted to head coach,^[11][12] and led the program for seven seasons.

Postseason result

Date time, TV	Opponent	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Pacific-10 Tournament
Thu, March 5 7:00 pm	vs. (8) Arizona State First round	L 60–76	10–18	Pauley Pavilion  Los Angeles, California
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific time.

References

1. "2011-12 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 67. Retrieved November 23, 2011.
2. Condotta, Bob (March 2, 1987). "It's a rousing finale for Cougars". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 9.
3. "Pac-10 standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 1, 1987. p. B1.
4. Bergum, Steve (March 4, 1987). "Cougars, Pac-10 get a fresh chance". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. D2.
5. Condotta, Bob (March 4, 1987). "Cougars chase historic firsts". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 9.
6. Bergum, Steve (March 6, 1987). "Cougars show mid-season form, lose to ASU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 25.
7. "WSU season ends". Idahonian. (Moscow). March 6, 1987. p. 11.
8. Bergum, Steve; Blanchette, John (April 4, 1987). "Stevens accepts coaching job at Reno". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.
9. Bergum, Steve; Blanchette, John (April 4, 1987). "In today's episode, Len goes to Reno". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.
10. Condotta, Bob (April 4, 1987). "Stevens leaves WSU for Nevada-Reno". Idahonian. (Moscow). p. 9.
11. "Sampson accepts Cougar challenge". Idahonian. (Moscow). April 10, 1987. p. 1.
12. Bergum, Steve (April 11, 1987). "Sampson christens a new era at WSU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. B1.

External links

• Sports Reference – Washington State Cougars: 1986–87 basketball season