1987–88 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1987–88 season. Led by head coach Pete Gillen, the Musketeers played their home games at Cincinnati Gardens in Cincinnati, Ohio. After opening the season 2–2, Xavier won 24 of its next 25 games on its way to winning regular season and MCC tournament titles. The team earned an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the Midwest region – despite a No. 18 ranking in the AP poll. In the NCAA tournament, the Musketeers fell in the opening round to No. 6 seed and eventual National champion Kansas, 85–72.^[1] Xavier finished with a 26–4 record (9–1 MCC).

1987–88 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
MCC Regular season champions MCC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Midwestern Collegiate Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 18
Record	26–4 (9–1 MCC)
Head coach	Pete Gillen (2nd season)
Assistant coach	Dino Gaudio (1st season)
Home arena	Cincinnati Gardens
Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

1987–88 Midwestern Collegiate Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 18 Xavier †	9	–	1		.900			26	–	4		.867
Evansville	6	–	4		.600			21	–	8		.724
Saint Louis	5	–	5		.500			14	–	14		.500
Butler	5	–	5		.500			14	–	14		.500
Loyola (IL)	3	–	7		.300			13	–	16		.448
Detroit Mercy	2	–	8		.200			7	–	23		.233
† 1988 MCC tournament winner Rankings from AP

Roster

1987–88 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Jamal Walker 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) — Fr PG 11 Stan Kimbrough 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 150 lb (68 kg) Jr Cleveland, Ohio SG 23 Byron Larkin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Cincinnati, Ohio F 33 Derek Strong 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Los Angeles, California F 42 Tyrone Hill 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) So Cincinnati, Ohio	Head coach Pete Gillen (Fairfield) Assistant coach(es) 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
Dec 5, 1987*		at Marquette	L 61–67	0–1	MECCA Arena  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Dec 8, 1987*		Delaware State	W 100–77	1–1	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 12, 1987*		at Miami (OH)	W 91–73	2–1	Millett Hall  Oxford, Ohio
Dec 22, 1987*		at Providence	L 76–96	2–2	Providence Civic Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 29, 1987*		Canisius	W 87–56	3–2	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 2, 1988*		Kent State	W 92–87	4–2	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 6, 1988*		at Western Michigan	W 82–70	5–2	University Arena  Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jan 9, 1988*		Florida International	W 125–84	6–2	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 12, 1988*		Cincinnati	W 98–80	7–2	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 16, 1988		Loyola–Chicago	W 98–90	8–2 (1–0)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 18, 1988		Detroit Mercy	W 105–84	9–2 (2–0)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 23, 1988		at Evansville	L 84–86	9–3 (2–1)	Roberts Municipal Stadium  Evansville, Indiana
Jan 25, 1988		at Saint Louis	W 100–86	10–3 (3–1)	Kiel Auditorium  St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 30, 1988*		vs. Saint Peter's	W 78–75	11–3
Feb 3, 1988*		Wright State	W 101–84	12–3	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 6, 1988		Butler	W 89–74	13–3 (4–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 8, 1988*		Western Michigan	W 100–84	14–3	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 13, 1988		at Loyola–Chicago	W 94–83	15–3 (5–1)	International Amphitheatre  Chicago, Illinois
Feb 15, 1988		at Detroit Mercy	W 114–97	16–3 (6–1)	Calihan Hall  Detroit, Michigan
Feb 20, 1988		Evansville	W 102–79	17–3 (7–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 22, 1988		Saint Louis	W 93–70	18–3 (8–1)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 24, 1988*		at Florida International	W 122–95	19–3	U.S. Century Bank Arena  Miami, Florida
Feb 27, 1988*		Dayton	W 86–73	20–3	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 1, 1988*	No. 20	at Niagara	W 93–80	21–3	Buffalo Memorial Auditorium  Lewiston, New York
Mar 6, 1988	No. 20	at Butler	W 71–70	22–3 (9–1)	Hinkle Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, Indiana
Midwestern Collegiate Conference tournament
Mar 11, 1988*	No. 20	vs. Loyola–Chicago Semifinals	W 117–79	25–3	Market Square Arena  Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 12, 1988*	No. 20	vs. Detroit Mercy Championship game	W 122–96	26–3	Market Square Arena  Indianapolis, Indiana
NCAA Tournament
Mar 18, 1988*	(11 MW) No. 18	vs. (6 MW) Kansas First Round	L 72–85	26–4	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[2][3][4]

Rankings

Main article: 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[5]

Awards and honors

• Byron Larkin – MCC Player of the Year

References

1. "N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT: MIDWEST REGIONAL; Villanova and Pitt Advance". The New York Times. March 19, 1988. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
2. "2019-20 Xavier Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Xavier University Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
3. "1987-88 Xavier Musketeers Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
4. "1987-88 Xavier Musketeers Schedule and Results". Retrieved May 7, 2022.
5. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 954–955. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.