1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team


The 1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center in Tucson, Arizona, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. In the Pacific-10 Basketball tournament, Arizona beat Oregon State by a score of 93–67 to claim its first Pac-10 title. The Wildcats built on that momentum by reaching the Final Four of the NCAA tournament.

1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferencePacific-10
Ranking
CoachesNo. 2
APNo. 2
Record35–3 (17–1 Pac-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaMcKale Center (Capacity: 14,545)
Seasons
1987–88 Pacific-10 Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 Arizona 17 1   .944 35 3   .921
Oregon State 12 6   .667 20 11   .645
UCLA 12 6   .667 16 14   .533
Stanford 11 7   .611 21 12   .636
Oregon 10 8   .556 16 14   .533
Washington State 7 11   .389 13 16   .448
Arizona State 6 12   .333 13 16   .448
USC 5 13   .278 7 21   .250
California 5 13   .278 9 20   .310
Washington 5 13   .278 10 19   .345
Conference tournament winner
As of April 15, 1988[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1987–88 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 00 Anthony Cook
Jr Van Nuys HS Los Angeles, CA
PG 11 Kenny Lofton 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Washington HS East Chicago, IN
G 20 Craig McMillan 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Sr Cloverdale HS Cloverdale, CA
C 23 Tom Tolbert 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Cerritos College  
G 25 Steve Kerr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 175 lb (79 kg) RS Sr Palisades Charter HS Los Angeles, CA
SF 32 Sean Elliott 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Cholla HS Tucson, AZ
SF 35 Jud Buechler 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Poway HS Poway, CA
G 44 Harvey Mason 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
RS So Crescenta HS La Crescenta, CA
F 33 Joe Turner 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Sr Foothill HS Bakersfield, CA
PG 24 Matt Muehlebach 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Fr Stillwell HS Rockhurst, KS
F 34 Mark Georgeson   6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr Marina HS Huntington Beach, CA
C 45 Sean Rooks   6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Fontana HS Fontana, CA
F 31 Craig Bergman 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
So Cloverdale HS Cloverdale, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on
 
Sean Elliott in 1987

Schedule and results

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The victory over Long Beach State in the home opener at McKale Center began a 71-game home court winning streak.[2]

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
11/27/1987*
No. 17 vs. Duquesne
Great Alaska Shootout
W 133–78  1–0
                     Sullivan Arena 
Anchorage, AK
11/28/1987*
No. 17 vs. No. 9 Michigan
Great Alaska Shootout
W 79–64[3]  2–0
 18  Tolbert   11  Tolbert         Sullivan Arena 
Anchorage, AK
11/30/1987*
 ESPN
No. 17 vs. No. 1 Syracuse
Great Alaska Shootout
W 80–69[4]  3–0
 16  Elliott                Sullivan Arena 
Anchorage, AK
12/4/1987*
No. 9 Long Beach State W 94–62  4–0
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
12/5/1987*
No. 9 Pepperdine W 73–68  5–0
 17  Tolbert                McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
12/8/1987*
No. 4 Northern Arizona W 77–59  6–0
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
12/12/1987*
6:05 pm
No. 4 at No. 3 Iowa W 66–59[5]  7–0
 18  Tolbert                Carver-Hawkeye Arena 
Iowa City, IA
12/16/1987*
No. 2 Arkansas-Little Rock W 77–59  8–0
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
12/20/1987
No. 2 at Washington W 110–71  9–0
(1–0)
                     Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
12/22/1987
No. 2 at Washington State W 89–55  10–0
(2–0)
                     Friel Court 
Pullman, WA
12/29/1987*
No. 1 Michigan State
Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic
W 78–58  11–0
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
12/30/1987*
8:00 p.m.
No. 1 No. 9 Duke
Fiesta Bowl Basketball Classic
W 91–85[6]  12–0
 31  Elliott                McKale Center (13,270)
Tucson, AZ
1/2/1988*
No. 1 at New Mexico L 59–61[7]  12–1
 27  Elliott                The Pit (18,100)
Albuquerque, NM
Pac-10 regular season
1/7/1988
No. 3 California W 80–51  13–1
(3–0)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
1/9/1988
No. 3 Stanford W 90–65  14–1
(4–0)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
1/14/1988
No. 1 Oregon State W 70–48  15–1
(5–0)
                     Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, OR
1/16/1988
No. 1 Oregon W 70–54  16–1
(6–0)
                     McArthur Court 
Eugene, OR
1/21/1988
No. 1 USC W 92–48  17–1
(7–0)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
1/24/1988
No. 1 UCLA
Rivalry
W 86–74  18–1
(8–0)
                     McKale Center (13,258)
Tucson, AZ
1/28/1988
No. 1 Arizona State
Rivalry
W 99–59  19–1
(9–0)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
1/30/1988*
No. 1 No. 13 Illinois W 78–70  20–1
                     McKale Center (13,227)
Tucson, AZ
2/4/1988
No. 1 at Stanford L 74–82[8]  20–2
(9–1)
 22  Elliott                Maples Pavilion (7,500)
Stanford, CA
2/6/1988
No. 1 at California W 74–62  21–2
(10–1)
                     Harmon Gym 
Berkeley, CA
2/11/1988
No. 3 Oregon W 89–57  22–2
(11–1)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
2/14/1988
No. 3 Oregon State W 77–62  23–2
(12–1)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
2/18/1988
No. 3 at USC W 103–68  24–2
(13–1)
                     Los Angeles Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
2/20/1988
No. 3 at UCLA
Rivalry
W 78–76 OT 25–2
(14–1)
                     Pauley Pavilion (12,037)
Los Angeles, CA
2/24/1988
No. 3 at Arizona State
Rivalry
W 101–73  26–2
(15–1)
                     ASU Activity Center 
Tempe, AZ
3/3/1988
No. 3 Washington State W 79–41  27–2
(16–1)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
3/5/1988
No. 3 Washington W 89–71  28–2
(17–1)
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Pac-10 Tournament
3/11/1988*
(1) No. 3 (9) California
Pac-10 Tournament Quarterfinal
W 88–64  29–2
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
3/12/1988*
(1) No. 3 (4) Stanford
Pac-10 Tournament Semifinal
W 97–83  30–2
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
3/13/1988*
(1) No. 3 (2) Oregon State
Pac-10 Tournament Championship
W 83–67  31–2
                     McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
NCAA Tournament
3/18/1988*
 CBS
(W 1) No. 2 vs. (W 16) Cornell
First Round
W 90–50  32–2
 24  Cook   5  Tied   5  McMillan  Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
3/20/1988*
 CBS
(W 1) No. 2 vs. (W 8) Seton Hall
Second Round
W 84–55  33–2
 20  Cook   6  Cook   3  Tied  Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
3/25/1988*
 CBS
(W 1) No. 2 vs. (W 5) No. 17 Iowa
Sweet Sixteen
W 99–79[9]  34–2
 25  Elliott   9  Tolbert   8  Tied  Kingdome 
Seattle, WA
3/27/1988*
 CBS
(W 1) No. 2 vs. (W 2) No. 7 North Carolina
Elite Eight
W 70–52  35–2
 24  Elliott   6  Tolbert   3  Tied  Kingdome 
Seattle, WA
4/2/1988
6:12 pm, CBS
(W 1) No. 2 vs. (SE 1) No. 4 Oklahoma
Final Four
L 78–86[10]  35–3
 31  Elliott   13  Tolbert   5  Kerr  Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Sources[11]

NCAA basketball tournament

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Seeding in brackets

  • West
    • Arizona (1) 90, Cornell (16) 50
    • Arizona 84, Seton Hall (8) 55
    • Arizona 99, Iowa (5) 79
    • Arizona 70, North Carolina (2) 52
  • Final Four
    • Oklahoma 86, Arizona 78

[12]

Rankings

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Awards and honors

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Team players in the 1988 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
2 34 Tom Tolbert Charlotte Hornets
2 50 Steve Kerr Phoenix Suns

[13]

References

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  1. ^ "2017-18 Men's Basketball Media Guide". Pac-12 Conference. p. 72. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  2. ^ "Arizona Men's Basketball 2018–19 Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletic Department. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  3. ^ "Arizona Upsets Michigan, Faces Syracuse in Shootout Final". Los Angeles Times. November 29, 1987. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  4. ^ "Elliott Powers Arizona Past No.3 Syracuse 80-69". Sun-Sentinel. December 1, 1987. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2018.
  5. ^ "Olson's Return To Iowa City A Rousing Success For Arizona". Chicago Tribune. December 13, 1987. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "MVP Elliott scores 31 as Arizona rolls past Duke for 12th straight". Arizona Republic. December 31, 1987. Retrieved September 19, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "No. 1 Arizona Loses First Game, 61-59, in New Mexico's Pit". Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1988. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  8. ^ "Arizona Loss May Mean a Shuffle at Top: Stanford Stuns the No. 1-Ranked Wildcats, Hands Them Their First Pacific 10 Loss". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1988. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  9. ^ "Arizona Flattens Another Opponent". The New York Times. March 26, 1988. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  10. ^ "Oklahoma's Fire Melts Arizona, 86-78". The Washington Post. April 3, 1988. Retrieved August 30, 2020.
  11. ^ "1987-88 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 21, 2018.
  12. ^ "RotoWire Fantasy Football, Baseball, Basketball and More".
  13. ^ "1988 NBA Draft on Basketballreference.com". Archived from the original on March 17, 2010. Retrieved May 5, 2009.