1986–87 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team

The 1986–87 Syracuse Orangemen basketball team represented Syracuse University in the 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Head coach was Jim Boeheim, serving for his 11th year.[3] The team played home games at the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, New York. The team finished with a 31-7 (12-4) record while making it to the Championship game of the NCAA tournament.

1986–87 Syracuse Orangemen men's basketball
Big East Regular Season Co-Champions
NCAA Tournament, Runner-Up
Conference	Big East Conference (1979–2013)
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
1986–87 record	31–7 [1] (12–4 Big East)
Head coach	Jim Boeheim (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Bernie Fine Wayne Morgan Barry Copeland
Home arena	Carrier Dome

1986–87 Big East men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 4 Georgetown†	12	–	4		.750			29	–	5		.853
No. 12 Pittsburgh	12	–	4		.750			25	–	8		.758
No. 10 Syracuse	12	–	4		.750			31	–	7		.816
Providence	10	–	6		.625			25	–	9		.735
St. John's	10	–	6		.625			21	–	9		.700
Villanova	6	–	10		.375			15	–	16		.484
Seton Hall	4	–	12		.250			15	–	14		.517
Boston College	3	–	13		.188			11	–	18		.379
Connecticut	3	–	13		.188			9	–	19		.321
† 1987 Big East Tournament winner As of March 30, 1987[2]; Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by junior Rony Seikaly and sophomore Sherman Douglas. Seniors Greg Monroe and Howard Triche, and freshman Derrick Coleman also played key roles.

Season recap

After the graduation of Rafael Addison and Wendell Alexis and the early departure of Dwayne Washington, expectations for the season were low.[4]

But behind the surprising Sherman Douglas and Derrick Coleman, and despite an early injury to Rony Seikaly, Syracuse won its first 15 games en route to winning the Big East regular season title.[5] The season included thrilling victories over St. Johns (64-63)[6] and Seton Hall (84-80).[7]

Syracuse would defeat Villanova and Pittsburgh to advance to the Big East Championship game before falling to Georgetown, 69-59.[8]

NCAA tournament

After finishing the regular season at 28-6, the Orangemen earned a 2 seed in the East region of the NCAA Tournament.[9]

Syracuse played its first two tournament games at home in the Carrier Dome. The Orangemen defeated 15 seed Georgia Southern 79-73 and 10 seed Western Kentucky 104-86 to advance to the Sweet 16.

After winning its first two tournament games at the Carrier Dome, the Orangemen moved on to the Sweet 16 held at The Meadowlands in East Rutherford, New Jersey.[9] The Orangemen defeated 6 seed Florida 87-81.[1]

Syracuse faced 1 seed North Carolina in the regional finals. The Orangemen had to fight off the Tar Heels down the stretch as they fought to overcome a 15 point Syracuse lead.[10] However, Syracuse was able to hold off the Tar Heels, winning 79-75 to advance to the Final Four.[1]

In the semi-final game, the Orangemen defeated fellow Big East team and 6 seed Providence 77-63.[1] The Orangemen had an easy time with the Friars, out rebounding them 53-35 with Coleman, Douglas, and Triche each having at least 10 rebounds.[4] The Orangemen held the Friars to 36.4% shooting leading Coach Boeheim to credit the team's defense for the win.[11] The Orangemen also held Providence's leading scorer and future Florida Gators head coach Billy Donovan to 8 points, 18 under his season average.[11]

In the championship game at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Orangemen matched up against the Indiana Hoosiers coached by Bobby Knight.[1][4] The game was a back and forth battle down until the final whistle. The Orangemen had a one point lead with 28 seconds left in the second half when Coleman missed the front end of a one and one. Indiana grabbed the rebound and tournament MOP Keith Smart made a jumper from the corner with just seconds left on the clock to give the Hoosiers a one point lead and the National Championship.[12]

Roster

1986–87 Syracuse Orange men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown C 4 Rony Seikaly 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Athens, Greece G 11 Greg Monroe 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Rochester, New York G 20 Sherman Douglas 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Washington, D.C. G 21 Matt Roe 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Manlius, New York G 24 Joel Katz 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 182 lb (83 kg) Sr San Juan, Puerto Rico F 25 Howard Triche 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Syracuse, New York F/C 30 Derek Brower 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr North Babylon, New York G 32 Stephen Thompson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Los Angeles, California F 33 Herman Harried 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Baltimore, Maryland C 41 Erik Rogers 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Temple City, California PF 42 Rodney Walker 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — So F 43 Keith Hughes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Carteret, New Jersey F 44 Derrick Coleman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Detroit, Michigan F 50 Joey Kohm 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Ithaca, New York	Head coach Jim Boeheim (Syracuse) Assistant coach(es) Bernie Fine (Syracuse) Wayne Morgan (St. Lawrence) Barry Copeland (Central Michigan) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: 2019-Mar-16

[13]

Rankings

Main article: 1986–87 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

NCAA Tournament school records

The team's 104 point outburst against Western Kentucky in the second round is tied for the most points in a tournament game.[14]

Rony Seikaly's 138 points is a school record and was tied with Indiana's Steve Alford for most in that year's tournament.[14] He also set records for field goals and free throws made with 53 and 51, respectively.[14]

Derrick Coleman's 19 rebounds against Indiana is a school record that still stands as of 2008. He also set tournament records for rebounds and blocked shots with 73 and 16, respectively.[14]

Sherman Douglas set a record for assists with 49.[14]

References

1. "SU Athletics - 1986-87 Final (31-7, 12-4)". Syracuse University. Archived from the original on 2007-03-10. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
2. "1986-87 Big East Conference Season Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved February 3, 2018.
3. "Jim Boeheim Year by Year" (PDF). Syracuse University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
4. "Syracuse Basketball 1986-1987". RLYoung. 2006. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
5. Rhoden, William C. (1987-01-18). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL '87: SYRACUSE; New Talent Bolsters 15-0 Syracuse". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
6. "COLLEGE BASKETBALL; SYRACUSE HOLDS OFF ST. JOHN'S". The New York Times. 1987-01-25. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
7. Rhoden, William C. (1987-02-04). "SYRACUSE SURVIVES DOGGED SETON HALL". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
8. Rhoden, William C. (1987-03-09). "Williams Connects As Georgetown Wins Big East". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
9. "1987 NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket". Shrp Sports. Archived from the original on 2009-02-26. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
10. Malcolm Moran (22 March 1987). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: EAST REGIONAL SYRACUSE, PROVIDENCE GAIN FINAL 4; TAR HEELS HURT BY REBOUNDING". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
11. Roy S. Johnson (29 March 1987). "COLLEGE BASKETBALL: SYRACUSE AND INDIANA REACH FINAL; ORANGEMEN COOL FRIAR'S SHOOTING". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
12. Malcolm Moran (31 March 1987). "PLAYERS; KNIGHT'S METHODS WIN ONCE MORE". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-07-08.
13. "1987 NCAA Final Four program". March 1987. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
14. "SU NCAA Tournament Records" (PDF). Syracuse University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2008-07-08.