1984–85 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1984–85 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1984–85 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his seventh season at Auburn.

1984–85 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
SEC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	22–12 (8–10 SEC)
Head coach	Sonny Smith (7th season)
Home arena	Memorial Coliseum

1984–85 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 20 LSU	13	–	5		.722			19	–	10		.655
No. 19 Georgia	12	–	6		.667			22	–	9		.710
Alabama	11	–	7		.611			23	–	10		.697
Kentucky	11	–	7		.611			18	–	13		.581
Florida	9	–	9		.500			18	–	12		.600
Mississippi State	9	–	9		.500			13	–	15		.464
Tennessee	8	–	10		.444			22	–	15		.595
Auburn †	8	–	10		.444			22	–	12		.647
Ole Miss	5	–	13		.278			11	–	17		.393
Vanderbilt	4	–	14		.222			11	–	17		.393
† 1985 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Smith and the Tigers had to deal with the losses of center Charles Barkley (left for NBA) and forward Greg Turner (graduated). However, a stellar recruiting class of five freshman, including forward Chris Morris, centers Jeff Moore and Darren Guest, and guards Johnny Lynn and Terrence Howard joined holdovers Chuck Person, Gerald White, and Frank Ford and matured and improved as the season progressed. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama.

The Tigers finished the season 22–12, 8–10 in SEC play. They defeated Ole Miss, LSU, Florida, and Alabama to win the SEC tournament championship. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Purdue and Kansas to advance to the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to North Carolina.

Roster

1984–85 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown F 45 Chuck Person 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Jr Brantley High School Brantley, AL G 15 Frank Ford 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — So Osceola High School Kissimmee, Florida F 34 Chris Morris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Fr Frederick Douglass High School Atlanta, Georgia C 40 Jeff Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) — Fr Midfield High School Midfield, Alabama G 12 Gerald White 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — So Richmond Academy Augusta, Georgia C 33 Carey Holland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Sr Baldwin High School Baldwin, Florida G 10 Terrence Howard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Fr Southwest, Alabama Southwest, Alabama C 32 Darren Guest 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Fr Thornton Township Harvey, Illinois G 14 Johnny Lynn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Beech High School Hendersonville, Tennessee F 25 Gary Godfrey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr North Shore High School North Palm Beach, Florida	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 24, 1984*		Stetson	W 92-50	1-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Nov ?, 1984*		Columbus College	W 91-56	2-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Nov 30, 1984*  ESPN		at No. 13 UAB	W 61-59	3-0	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
Dec ?, 1984*		Armstrong State	W 80-47	4-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 8, 1984*		Mercer	W 70-69	5-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 12, 1984*		Radford	W 79-57	6-0	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Dec 21, 1984*		vs. VCU Krystal Classic	L 59–78	6-1	McKenzie Arena  Chattanooga, TN
Dec 22, 1984*		vs. Delaware Krystal Classic	W 95-63	7-1	McKenzie Arena  Chattanooga, TN
Dec 29, 1984*		at West Virginia	W 59-58	8-1	WVU Coliseum  Morgantown, WV
Jan 2, 1985 , WTBS		at Kentucky	L 61-68	8-2 (0-1)	Rupp Arena  Lexington, KY
Jan 5, 1985		Florida	W 80-74	9-2 (1-1)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 9, 1985		at Tennessee	L 74-86	9-3 (1-2)	Stokely Center  Knoxville, TN
Jan 12, 1985		Mississippi State	W 62-53	10-3 (2-2)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 16, 1985		Alabama	L 55-60	10-4 (2-3)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 19, 1985		at Georgia	L 80-97	10-5 (2-4)	Stegeman Coliseum  Athens, GA
Jan 24, 1985 , USA		Mississippi	W 93-73	11-5 (3-4)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Jan 26, 1985		at LSU	L 62-80	11-6 (3-5)	Maravich Assembly Center  Baton Rouge, LA
Jan 30, 1985		at Vanderbilt	W 86-80	12-6 (4-5)	Memorial Gymnasium  Nashville, TN
Feb 2, 1985		Kentucky	L 47-49 OT	12-7 (4-6)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 6, 1985		at Florida	W 81-78	13-7 (5-6)	Stephen C. O'Connell Center  Gainesville, FL
Feb 9, 1985		Tennessee	W 75-60	14-7 (6-6)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 13, 1985		at Mississippi State	L 65-82	14-8 (6-7)	Humphrey Coliseum  Starkville, MS
Feb 16, 1985		at Alabama	L 72-74	14-9 (6-8)	Coleman Coliseum  Tuscaloosa, AL
Feb 21, 1985 , USA		No. 18 Georgia	L 84-86	14-10 (6-9)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
Feb 23, 1985		at Mississippi	W 69-57	15-10 (7-9)	C.M. Tad Smith Coliseum  Oxford, MS
Feb 27, 1985		LSU	L 73-78	15-11 (7-10)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
March 2, 1985		Vanderbilt	W 84-58	16-11 (8-10)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, AL
SEC Tournament
March 6, 1985 , LSN	(8)	vs. (9) Mississippi First round	W 68-60	17-11	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
March 7, 1985 , LSN	(8)	vs. (1) No. 19 LSU Second Round	W 58-55	18-11	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
March 8, 1985 , LSN	(8)	vs. (5) Florida Semifinals	W 43-42	19-11	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
March 9, 1985 , LSN	(8)	vs. (3) Alabama Finals	W 53-49 OT	20-11	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
NCAA Tournament
March 14, 1985*	(11 SE)	vs. (6 SE) Purdue First round	W 59-58	21-11	Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center  South Bend, IN
March 16, 1985*	(11 SE)	vs. (3 SE) No. 13 Kansas Second Round	W 66-64	22-11	Purcell Pavilion at the Joyce Center  South Bend, IN
Mar 22, 1985*  CBS	(11 SE)	vs. (2 SE) No. 7 North Carolina Southeast Regional semifinal - Sweet 16	L 56–62	22–12	Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center  Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources [1]