1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First Round
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
Record	20–11 (12–6 SEC)
Head coach	Sonny Smith (6th season);
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum
	Seasons ← 1982–83 1984–85 →

The 1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1983–84 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his sixth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 20–11, 12–6 in SEC play. They defeated Vanderbilt and Tennessee to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Richmond in the first round.^[1]

1983–84 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 3 Kentucky †	14	–	4	.778	29	–	5	.853
Auburn	12	–	6	.667	20	–	11	.645
Florida	11	–	7	.611	16	–	13	.552
LSU	11	–	7	.611	18	–	11	.621
Alabama	10	–	8	.556	18	–	12	.600
Tennessee	9	–	9	.500	21	–	14	.600
Vanderbilt	8	–	10	.444	14	–	15	.483
Georgia	8	–	10	.444	17	–	13	.567
Mississippi State	4	–	14	.222	9	–	19	.321
Ole Miss	3	–	15	.167	8	–	20	.286

† 1984 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Notable freshman signees were guards Gerald White and Frank Ford, along with junior college transfers Vern Strickland and Carey Holland for frontcourt help. Junior Charles Barkley suffered a back injury in the first game of the season and missed time, but returned for a January 13 home date with then #1-ranked Kentucky. Auburn upset the Wildcats 82-63, their first victory ever over a #1-ranked team.

After the first-round NCAA loss to Richmond, Barkley left Auburn and entered the NBA draft.

Roster

1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
F/C	34	Charles Barkley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Jr	Leeds High School	Birmingham, AL
F	45	Chuck Person	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	So	Brantley High School	Brantley, AL
F	11	Greg Turner	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr	Tuskegee High School	Tuskegee, Alabama
G	12	Gerald White	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Fr	Richmond Academy	Augusta, Georgia
G	15	Frank Ford	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Fr	Osceola High School	Kissimmee, Florida
F	31	Vern Strickland	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Jr	Emma Sansom High School	Gadsden, Alabama
F	00	Paul Daniels	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	Sr	Warner Christian	Ormond Beach, Florida
C	33	Carey Holland	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	So	Baldwin High School	Baldwin, Florida
F	21	Mark Cahill	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	So	Stone Mountain High School	Stone Mountain, Georgia
F	25	Terry Martin	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	So	Douglass High School	Atlanta, Georgia

Head coach

Sonny Smith (Milligan)

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 (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1983*		Columbus College	W 58–54	1–0	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Dec 2, 1983* ESPN		at Alabama-Birmingham	L 62–69 ^OT	1–1	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,803) Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 5, 1983*		at Florida State	W 76–69	2–1	Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida
Dec 8, 1983*		vs. Youngstown State Colonial Classic	W 78–52	3–1	Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama
Dec 9, 1983*		at South Alabama Colonial Classic	L 73–95	3–2	Jaguar Gym (6,236) Mobile, Alabama
Dec 14, 1983*		at Mercer	W 65–63	4–2	Porter Gymnasium Macon, Georgia
Dec 19, 1983*		Eastern Kentucky	W 100–60	5–2	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Dec 22, 1983		at Mississippi State	W 73–55	6–2 (1–0)	Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi
Dec 27, 1983* ESPN		vs. No. 10 Wake Forest Gator Bowl Tournament	L 67–76	6–3	Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida
Dec 28, 1983*		vs. Villanova Gator Bowl Tournament	W 95–83	7–3	Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida
Jan 5, 1984		at Alabama	W 91–86	8–3 (2–0)	Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 7, 1984 SPI		Florida	W 82–66	9–3 (3–0)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 13, 1984 WTBS		No. 2 Kentucky	W 82–63	10–3 (4–0)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 17, 1984		Vanderbilt	L 71–73	10–4 (4–1)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 22, 1984 SPI		at Georgia	L 86–90	10–5 (4–2)	Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia
Jan 24, 1984		at Tennessee	W 79–72	11–5 (5–2)	Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1984 WTBS		No. 10 LSU	W 80–78	12–5 (6–2)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 31, 1984* USA	No. 19	Ole Miss	W 60–50	13–5 (7–2)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Feb 5, 1984 SPI	No. 19	at Florida	W 67–65	14–5 (8–2)	Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida
Feb 11, 1984 SPI	No. 16	at No. 6 Kentucky	L 64–84	14–6 (8–3)	Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 13, 1984 ESPN		at Vanderbilt	W 73–67	15–6 (9–3)	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 18, 1984		Georgia	W 81–63	16–6 (10–3)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Feb 20, 1984		Tennessee	L 54–57	16–7 (10–4)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Feb 25, 1984 CBS	No. 19	at LSU	L 80–81	16–8 (10–5)	LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 27, 1984		at Ole Miss	L 71–72	16–9 (10–6)	Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi
Mar 1, 1984 WTBS		Mississippi State	W 68–53	17–9 (11–6)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Mar 3, 1984 SPI		Alabama	W 83–70	18–9 (12–6)	Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
SEC Tournament
Mar 8, 1984* SPI		at Vanderbilt Quarterfinal	W 59–58	19–9	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 9, 1984* SPI		vs. Tennessee Semifinal	W 60–58	20–9	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 10, 1984* SPI		vs. No. 3 Kentucky Championship Game	L 49–51	20–10	Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1984*	(5)	vs. (12) Richmond NCAA tournament	L 71–72^[2]	20–11	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources [1] ^[3]

Team players in the NBA draft

Year	Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1984	1	5	Charles Barkley	Philadelphia 76ers
1986	1	4	Chuck Person	Indiana Pacers

References

^ "1983-84 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". Retrieved December 9, 2016.
^ "Richmond Upsets Auburn, Temple Advances in East". The Washington Post. March 16, 1984. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
^ "2021-22 Auburn Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Auburn University Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2022.

[1] "1983-84 Auburn Tigers Schedule and Results". Retrieved December 9, 2016.

[2] "Richmond Upsets Auburn, Temple Advances in East". The Washington Post. March 16, 1984. Retrieved January 21, 2022.

[3] "2021-22 Auburn Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Auburn University Athletics. Retrieved January 29, 2022.

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[2]

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