🏀 The 1985-86 men’s college basketball season

What the record holds for this season: the champion, the tournament bracket, the AP poll week by week, the conference tables, and the Elo ratings with the biggest upsets.

Source: Citizen of Nowhere college basketball database · 33 conferences · 64-team tournament

← 1985 1987 →All seasons

Jump to any season1896–2027

2020s

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2010s

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2000s

2009North Carolina 2008Kansas 2007Florida 2006Florida 2005North Carolina 2004Connecticut 2003Syracuse 2002Maryland 2001Duke 2000Michigan State

1990s

1999Connecticut 1998Kentucky 1997Arizona 1996Kentucky 1995UCLA 1994Arkansas 1993North Carolina 1992Duke 1991Duke 1990UNLV

1980s

1989Michigan 1988Kansas 1987Indiana 1986Louisville 1985Villanova 1984Georgetown 1983North Carolina State 1982North Carolina 1981Indiana 1980Louisville

1970s

1979Michigan State 1978Kentucky 1977Marquette 1976Indiana 1975UCLA 1974North Carolina State 1973UCLA 1972UCLA 1971UCLA 1970UCLA

1960s

1969UCLA 1968UCLA 1967UCLA 1966Texas Western 1965UCLA 1964UCLA 1963Loyola-Chicago 1962Cincinnati 1961Cincinnati 1960Ohio State

1950s

1959California 1958Kentucky 1957North Carolina 1956San Francisco 1955San Francisco 1954La Salle 1953Indiana 1952Kansas 1951Kentucky 1950CCNY

1940s

1949Kentucky 1948Kentucky 1947Holy Cross 1946Oklahoma A&M 1945Oklahoma A&M 1944Utah 1943Wyoming 1942Stanford 1941Wisconsin 1940Indiana

1930s

1939Oregon 1938Temple 1937Stanford 1936 1935 1934 1933 1932Purdue 1931Northwestern 1930

1920s

1929Montana State 1928Pittsburgh 1927 1926Syracuse 1925Princeton 1924North Carolina 1923 1922 1921 1920Pennsylvania

1910s

1919 1918Syracuse 1917Washington State 1916Wisconsin 1915Illinois 1914Wisconsin 1913Navy 1912Wisconsin 1911St. John's 1910

1900s

1909Chicago 1908 1907 1906 1905Columbia 1904Columbia 1903 1902Minnesota 1901 1900

1890s

1899 1898 1897 1896

1986season

← 1985 1987 →

1985-86 national champion

The NCAA tournament winner.

National champion

Louisville

32-72 seedFinal AP #7

Title gameDuke 69, Louisville 72 (Mar 31)

Final FourLouisvilleDukeKansasLSU

The 1986 NCAA tournament

64 teams. Winners in bold, seeds before each team.

64-team field · 4 regions

First Round

1Duke85

16Mississippi Valley State78

8Old Dominion72

9West Virginia64

4Oklahoma80

13Northeastern74

5Virginia68

12DePaul72

2Syracuse101

15Brown52

7Navy87

10Tulsa68

6St. Joseph's60

11Richmond59

3Indiana79

14Cleveland State83

Second Round

1Duke89

8Old Dominion61

4Oklahoma69

12DePaul74

2Syracuse85

7Navy97

6St. Joseph's69

14Cleveland State75

Regional Semifinals

1Duke74

12DePaul67

7Navy71

14Cleveland State70

Regional Finals

1Duke71

7Navy50

East region

First Round

1Duke85

16Mississippi Valley State78

8Old Dominion72

9West Virginia64

4Oklahoma80

13Northeastern74

5Virginia68

12DePaul72

2Syracuse101

15Brown52

7Navy87

10Tulsa68

6St. Joseph's60

11Richmond59

3Indiana79

14Cleveland State83

Second Round

1Duke89

8Old Dominion61

4Oklahoma69

12DePaul74

2Syracuse85

7Navy97

6St. Joseph's69

14Cleveland State75

Regional Semifinals

1Duke74

12DePaul67

7Navy71

14Cleveland State70

Regional Finals

1Duke71

7Navy50

Midwest region

First Round

1Kansas71

16North Carolina A&T46

8Jacksonville50

9Temple61

4Georgetown70

13Texas Tech64

5Michigan State72

12Washington70

6North Carolina State66

11Iowa64

3Notre Dame83

14Arkansas-Little Rock90

2Michigan70

15Akron64

7Iowa State81

10Miami (OH)79

Second Round

1Kansas65

9Temple43

4Georgetown68

5Michigan State80

6North Carolina State80

14Arkansas-Little Rock66

2Michigan69

7Iowa State72

Regional Semifinals

1Kansas96

5Michigan State86

6North Carolina State70

7Iowa State66

Regional Finals

1Kansas75

6North Carolina State67

West region

First Round

2Louisville93

15Drexel73

7Bradley83

10UTEP65

3North Carolina84

14Utah72

6UAB66

11Missouri64

4UNLV74

13Northeast Louisiana51

5Maryland69

12Pepperdine64

1St. John's83

16Montana State74

8Auburn73

9Arizona63

Second Round

2Louisville82

7Bradley68

3North Carolina77

6UAB59

4UNLV70

5Maryland64

1St. John's65

8Auburn81

Regional Semifinals

2Louisville94

3North Carolina79

4UNLV63

8Auburn70

Regional Finals

2Louisville84

8Auburn76

Southeast region

First Round

1Kentucky75

16Davidson55

8Western Kentucky67

9Nebraska59

4Illinois75

13Fairfield51

5Alabama97

12Xavier80

2Georgia Tech68

15Marist53

7Virginia Tech62

10Villanova71

3Memphis State95

14Ball State63

6Purdue87

11LSU94

Second Round

1Kentucky71

8Western Kentucky64

4Illinois56

5Alabama58

2Georgia Tech66

10Villanova61

3Memphis State81

11LSU83

Regional Semifinals

1Kentucky68

5Alabama63

2Georgia Tech64

11LSU70

Regional Finals

1Kentucky57

11LSU59

Final Four and the title game

Final Four

1Duke71

1Kansas67

East vs Midwest · Mar 29

2Louisville88

11LSU77

West vs Southeast · Mar 29

Championship game: Louisville

1Duke69

2Louisville72

East vs West · Mar 31

Conference tournaments

The champion and the other finalist of each of the 27 conference tournaments held in 1985-86.

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Final
Atlantic 10	St. Joseph's 72-64, Feb 27	West Virginia	72-64, Feb 27
Atlantic Coast	Duke 68-67, Mar 9	Georgia Tech	68-67, Mar 9
Big East	St. John's 70-69, Mar 8	Syracuse	70-69, Mar 8
Big Eight	Kansas 73-71, Mar 8	Iowa State	73-71, Mar 8
Big Sky	Montana State 82-77, Mar 9	Montana	82-77, Mar 9
Big South	Baptist 68-60, Mar 5	Augusta State	68-60, Mar 5
Colonial	Navy 72-61, Mar 3	George Mason	72-61, Mar 3
ECAC Metro	Marist 57-56, Mar 6	Fairleigh Dickinson	57-56, Mar 6
ECAC North	Northeastern 63-54, Mar 7	Boston University	63-54, Mar 7
East Coast	Drexel 80-76, Mar 3	Hofstra	80-76, Mar 3
Metro	Louisville 88-79, Mar 8	Memphis State	88-79, Mar 8
Metro Atlantic	Fairfield 67-64, Mar 1	Holy Cross	67-64, Mar 1
Mid-American	Ball State 87-79, Mar 8	Miami (OH)	87-79, Mar 8
Mid-Continent	Cleveland State	Eastern Illinois
Mid-Eastern	North Carolina A&T 53-52, Mar 8	Howard	53-52, Mar 8
Midwestern	Xavier 74-66, Mar 1	Saint Louis	74-66, Mar 1
Missouri Valley	Tulsa 74-58, Mar 6	Bradley	74-58, Mar 6
Ohio Valley	Akron 68-63, Mar 5	Middle Tennessee State	68-63, Mar 5
Pacific Coast	UNLV	New Mexico State
Southeastern	Kentucky 83-72, Mar 8	Alabama	83-72, Mar 8
Southern	Davidson 42-40, Mar 2	UT-Chattanooga	42-40, Mar 2
Southland	Northeast Louisiana 59-57, Mar 6	McNeese State	59-57, Mar 6
Southwest	Texas Tech 67-63, Mar 9	Texas A&M	67-63, Mar 9
Southwestern Athletic	Mississippi Valley State 75-58, Mar 9	Prairie View	75-58, Mar 9
Sun Belt	Jacksonville 70-69, Mar 1	UAB	70-69, Mar 1
Trans America	Arkansas-Little Rock 85-63, Mar 3	Centenary	85-63, Mar 3
Western Athletic	UTEP 65-64, Mar 8	Wyoming	65-64, Mar 8

The 1985-86 AP poll, week by week

Each team's rank in every poll. Tap a rank to read it.

Team	Nov19	26	Dec3	10	17	24	31	Jan7	14	21	28	Feb4	11	18	25	Mar4	11
Duke	6	6	3	3	3	3	3	3	3	2	5	4	2	2	1	1	1
Kansas	5	5	7	7	6	6	5	9	8	7	4	6	3	3	2	2	2
Kentucky	11	10	9	9	13	13	12	11	11	11	8	12	11	8	5	3	3
St. John's		18	15	14	11	11	10	10	9	8	7	10	7	6	8	5	4
Michigan	3	3	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	6	9	7	10	7	10	7	5
Georgia Tech	1	2	5	5	7	7	6	5	5	4	3	2	5	5	4	6	6
Louisville	9	9	16	15	16	15	18	17	18	13	18	16	19	16	13	11	7
North Carolina	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	3	4	8
Syracuse	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	4	9	11	8	12	9	6	8	9
Notre Dame	12	11	10	17	19	18	17	16	13	16	14	14	14	14	12	12	10
UNLV	18	16	14	13	12	12	13	12	10	10	10	9	6	11	9	13	11
Memphis State	15	14	13	12	10	10	9	6	6	3	2	3	4	4	7	10	12
Georgetown	8	8	6	5	5	5	11	13	15	12	12	11	9	13	15	14	13
Bradley									20	17	13	13	13	12	11	9	14
Oklahoma	13	13	8	8	8	8	7	7	7	5	6	5	8	10	14	15	15
Indiana			19	18	17	17	15				15	18	16	15	16	16	16
Navy	19													17	19	18	17
Michigan State														19	17	17	18
Illinois	7	7	12	10	15	16	14	18								19	19
UTEP							19	15	17	19	19	17	15				20
North Carolina State	17	15											17	20	18	20
Purdue								20	19	15					20
Virginia Tech					20	19	20	19	16	20	16	15	20	18
Alabama												20	18
Western Kentucky												19
LSU	14	12	11	11	9	9	8	8	14	14	17
Richmond											20
UAB	16	20	17	16	14	14	16	14	12	18
DePaul				19	18	20
Ohio State				20
Iowa			18
Auburn	10	19	19
Maryland	19	17

Tap a rank to read it.

1986 final AP Top 20

The last Associated Press ranking of the season, with each team's record.

1986 final AP Top 20AP

1Duke37-3
2Kansas35-4
3Kentucky32-4
4St. John's31-5
5Michigan28-5
6Georgia Tech27-7
7Louisville32-7
8North Carolina28-6
9Syracuse26-6
10Notre Dame23-6

11UNLV33-5
12Memphis State28-6
13Georgetown24-8
14Bradley32-3
15Oklahoma26-9
16Indiana21-8
17Navy30-5
18Michigan State23-8
19Illinois22-10
20UTEP27-6

1986 standings by conference

Overall and conference record. A star marks the regular-season champion, a trophy the conference-tournament champion.

1986 standings by conference33 conferences

Atlantic 1010 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
St. Joseph's	26-6	16-2	★ 🏆 6 seed
Temple	25-6	15-3	9 seed
West Virginia	22-11	15-3	9 seed
St. Bonaventure	15-13	10-8
Duquesne	15-14	9-9
George Washington	12-16	7-11
Massachusetts	9-19	6-12
Penn State	12-17	5-13
Rhode Island	9-19	5-13
Rutgers	8-21	2-16

Atlantic Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Duke	37-3	12-2	★ 🏆 1 seed AP 1
Georgia Tech	27-7	11-3	2 seed AP 6
North Carolina	28-6	10-4	3 seed AP 8
Virginia	19-11	7-7	5 seed
North Carolina State	21-13	7-7	6 seed
Maryland	19-14	6-8	5 seed
Clemson	19-15	3-11
Wake Forest	8-21	0-14

Big East9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
St. John's	31-5	14-2	★ 🏆 1 seed AP 4
Syracuse	26-6	14-2	★ 2 seed AP 9
Georgetown	24-8	11-5	4 seed AP 13
Villanova	23-14	10-6	10 seed
Providence	17-14	7-9
Pittsburgh	15-14	6-10
Boston College	13-15	4-12
Seton Hall	14-18	3-13
Connecticut	12-16	3-13

Big Eight8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Kansas	35-4	13-1	★ 🏆 1 seed AP 2
Iowa State	22-11	9-5	7 seed
Oklahoma	26-9	8-6	4 seed AP 15
Nebraska	19-11	8-6	9 seed
Missouri	21-14	8-6	11 seed
Oklahoma State	15-13	6-8
Kansas State	16-14	4-10
Colorado	8-20	0-14

Big Sky8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Montana	21-11	9-5	★
Northern Arizona	19-10	9-5	★
Idaho State	15-12	8-6
Weber State	18-11	7-7
Nevada	13-15	7-7
Montana State	14-17	6-8	🏆 16 seed
Boise State	12-16	6-8
Idaho	11-18	4-10

Big South8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Baptist	21-9	5-1	★ 🏆
NC-Asheville	20-9	4-2
Winthrop	20-9	5-3
Armstrong Atlantic	15-12	4-3
Augusta State	13-17	4-4
Radford	11-17	3-4
Campbell	8-19	3-5
Coastal Carolina	10-17	1-7

Big Ten10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Michigan	28-5	14-4	★ 2 seed AP 5
Indiana	21-8	13-5	3 seed AP 16
Michigan State	23-8	12-6	5 seed AP 18
Illinois	22-10	11-7	4 seed AP 19
Purdue	22-10	11-7	6 seed
Iowa	20-12	10-8	11 seed
Ohio State	19-14	8-10
Minnesota	15-16	5-13
Wisconsin	12-16	4-14
Northwestern	7-20	2-16

Colonial8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Navy	30-5	13-1	★ 🏆 7 seed AP 17
Richmond	23-7	12-2	11 seed
George Mason	20-12	10-4
NC-Wilmington	16-13	6-8
East Carolina	12-16	6-8
American	10-18	3-11
William & Mary	8-20	3-11
James Madison	5-23	3-11

East Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Drexel	19-12	11-3	★ 🏆 15 seed
Hofstra	17-13	9-5
Bucknell	17-12	8-6
Lafayette	14-15	8-6
Lehigh	13-15	6-8
Rider	9-19	5-9
Towson	8-20	5-9
Delaware	11-16	4-10

ECAC Metro9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Fairleigh Dickinson	22-8	13-3	★
Marist	19-12	11-5	🏆 15 seed
Loyola (MD)	16-12	10-6
Wagner	16-13	10-6
St. Francis (PA)	10-18	8-8
Robert Morris	10-18	6-10
Monmouth	9-19	6-10
LIU-Brooklyn	9-19	4-12
St. Francis (NY)	9-19	4-12

ECAC North10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Northeastern	26-5	16-2	★ 🏆 13 seed
Canisius	21-8	14-4
Boston University	21-10	13-5
Siena	21-8	12-6
Niagara	14-14	10-8
Hartford	12-16	10-8
New Hampshire	11-17	5-13
Vermont	9-19	5-13
Maine	7-20	5-13
Colgate	1-24	0-18

Gulf Star6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Sam Houston State	27-6	9-1	★
Stephen F. Austin	22-5	7-3
Northwestern State	11-16	7-3
SE Louisiana	10-18	3-5
Nicholls State	8-16	2-8
SW Texas State	6-22	1-9

Ivy8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Brown	16-11	10-4	★ 15 seed
Pennsylvania	15-11	9-5
Cornell	14-12	9-5
Princeton	13-13	7-7
Yale	13-13	7-7
Columbia	12-14	6-8
Dartmouth	11-15	6-8
Harvard	6-20	2-12

Metro7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Louisville	32-7	10-2	★ 🏆 2 seed AP 7
Memphis State	28-6	9-3	3 seed AP 12
Virginia Tech	22-9	7-5	7 seed
Southern Mississippi	17-12	6-6
Cincinnati	12-16	5-7
Florida State	12-17	3-9
South Carolina	12-16	2-10

Metro Atlantic8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Fairfield	24-7	13-1	★ 🏆 13 seed
Iona	14-15	9-5
La Salle	14-14	8-6
St. Peter's	16-12	7-7
Fordham	13-17	7-7
Holy Cross	12-18	6-8
Army	9-18	5-9
Manhattan	2-26	1-13

Mid-American10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Miami (OH)	24-7	16-2	★ 10 seed
Ohio	22-8	14-4
Ball State	21-10	11-7	🏆 14 seed
Northern Illinois	15-12	10-8
Toledo	12-17	8-10
Western Michigan	12-16	7-11
Kent	11-16	7-11
Central Michigan	11-17	7-11
Eastern Michigan	9-18	5-13
Bowling Green	7-20	5-13

Mid-Continent8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Cleveland State	29-4	13-1	★ 🏆 14 seed
SW Missouri State	24-8	10-4
Eastern Illinois	19-13	8-6
Western Illinois	13-15	7-7
Illinois-Chicago	13-16	7-7
Valparaiso	9-19	5-9
Northern Iowa	8-19	3-11
Wisconsin-Green Bay	5-23	3-11

Mid-Eastern8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
North Carolina A&T	22-8	12-2	★ 🏆 16 seed
Howard	18-9	11-3
Delaware State	11-17	7-7
Coppin State	10-17	7-7
Morgan State	7-20	7-7
South Carolina State	10-18	5-9
Bethune-Cookman	7-22	4-10
MD-Eastern Shore	5-23	3-11

Midwestern7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Xavier	25-5	10-2	★ 🏆 12 seed
Saint Louis	18-12	8-4
Detroit	14-15	7-5
Loyola-Chicago	13-16	7-5
Oral Roberts	10-18	5-7
Evansville	8-19	3-9
Butler	9-19	2-10

Missouri Valley9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Bradley	32-3	16-0	★ 7 seed AP 14
Tulsa	23-9	10-6	🏆 10 seed
Drake	19-11	10-6
Illinois State	15-14	9-7
Wichita State	14-14	7-9
Creighton	12-16	7-9
Indiana State	11-17	5-11
West Texas State	11-17	4-12
Southern Illinois	8-20	4-12

Ohio Valley8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Akron	22-8	10-4	★ 🏆 15 seed
Middle Tennessee State	23-11	10-4	★
Murray State	17-12	8-6
Austin Peay	14-14	8-6
Youngstown State	12-16	8-6
Tennessee Tech	14-15	6-8
Eastern Kentucky	10-18	5-9
Morehead State	8-19	1-13

Pacific Coast10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UNLV	33-5	16-2	★ 🏆 4 seed AP 11
UC Irvine	17-13	12-6
New Mexico State	18-12	10-8
San Jose State	16-12	9-9
Pacific	17-14	9-9
CSU-Fullerton	16-16	8-10
Fresno State	15-15	8-10
Utah State	12-16	8-10
UC Santa Barbara	12-15	7-11
Long Beach State	7-22	3-15

Pacific-1010 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Arizona	23-9	14-4	★ 9 seed
Washington	19-12	13-5	12 seed
California	19-10	11-7
UCLA	15-14	9-9
Arizona State	14-14	8-10
Washington State	15-16	8-10
Stanford	14-16	8-10
Oregon State	12-15	8-10
Oregon	11-17	6-12
USC	11-17	5-13

Southeastern10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Kentucky	32-4	17-1	★ 🏆 1 seed AP 3
Alabama	24-9	13-5	5 seed
Auburn	22-11	13-5	8 seed
Florida	19-14	10-8
LSU	26-12	9-9	11 seed
Georgia	17-13	9-9
Vanderbilt	13-15	7-11
Tennessee	12-16	5-13
Mississippi	12-17	4-14
Mississippi State	8-22	3-15

Southern9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UT-Chattanooga	21-10	12-4	★
Davidson	20-11	10-6	🏆 16 seed
Marshall	19-11	10-6
Appalachian State	17-12	9-7
Western Carolina	14-14	8-8
East Tennessee State	13-16	8-8
VMI	11-17	5-11
Furman	10-17	5-11
Citadel	10-18	5-11

Southland7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Northeast Louisiana	20-10	9-3	★ 🏆 13 seed
McNeese State	21-11	8-4
Arkansas State	18-11	7-5
Lamar	18-12	6-6
Louisiana Tech	20-14	6-6
North Texas	10-18	4-8
Texas-Arlington	12-18	2-10

Southwest9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
TCU	22-9	12-4	★
Texas A&M	20-12	12-4	★
Texas	19-12	12-4	★
SMU	18-11	10-6
Texas Tech	17-14	9-7	🏆 13 seed
Houston	14-14	8-8
Arkansas	12-16	4-12
Baylor	11-16	3-13
Rice	9-19	2-14

Southwestern Athletic8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Southern	19-8	11-3	★
Alcorn State	16-13	11-3	★
Mississippi Valley State	20-11	10-4	🏆 16 seed
Jackson State	14-15	9-5
Texas Southern	9-18	6-8
Grambling	14-12	4-10
Alabama State	11-17	4-10
Prairie View	5-25	1-13

Sun Belt8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Old Dominion	23-8	11-3	★ 8 seed
Western Kentucky	23-8	10-4	8 seed
UAB	25-11	9-5	6 seed
Jacksonville	21-10	9-5	🏆 8 seed
Virginia Commonwealth	12-16	6-8
South Alabama	16-16	5-9
South Florida	14-14	5-9
UNC Charlotte	8-20	1-13

Trans America8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Arkansas-Little Rock	23-11	12-2	★ 🏆 14 seed
Samford	16-13	8-6
Hardin-Simmons	15-13	7-7
Houston Baptist	14-14	7-7
Georgia Southern	15-13	6-8
Mercer	15-14	6-8
Centenary	13-17	6-8
Georgia State	10-18	4-10

West Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Pepperdine	25-5	13-1	★ 12 seed
Loyola Marymount	19-11	10-4
San Diego	19-9	9-5
Gonzaga	15-13	8-6
Santa Clara	12-16	7-7
Portland	13-15	4-10
St. Mary's	10-17	3-11
San Francisco	7-21	2-12

Western Athletic9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UTEP	27-6	12-4	★ 🏆 10 seed AP 20
Utah	20-10	12-4	★ 14 seed
Wyoming	24-12	12-4	★
BYU	18-14	11-5
New Mexico	17-14	8-8
San Diego State	10-19	7-9
Colorado State	11-18	6-10
Air Force	10-19	3-13
Hawaii	4-24	1-15

Independent18 teams

School	W-L	Note
Notre Dame	23-6	3 seed AP 10
Chicago State	22-6
Eastern Washington	20-8
Texas-Pan American	20-8
Marquette	19-11
DePaul	18-13	12 seed
New Orleans	16-12
Dayton	17-13
SW Louisiana	15-13
Miami (FL)	14-14
Tennessee State	14-14
Utica	13-14
Florida A&M	12-16
Stetson	10-18
Brooklyn	9-22
US International	8-20
TX-San Antonio	7-24
Central Florida	6-22

Elo ratings and upsets use the games in our record for this season, which is incomplete before 1995-96; team records come from the season standings.

1986 Elo and upsets

The ten highest-rated teams when the season ended, and the results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of.

1986 Elo and upsetsElo

Elo, top 10

1Duke2193
2Kansas2110
3Kentucky2069
4Louisville2064
5Georgia Tech2062
6Michigan1995
7St. John's1988
8Illinois1977
9Michigan State1968
10Navy1963

Biggest upsets

Arkansas State 66, Iowa 62
Dec 6 · regular season · 4.0% win chance
UC Irvine 99, UNLV 92
Feb 15 · regular season · 4.2% win chance
Princeton 54, Wisconsin 49
Dec 28 · regular season · 4.7% win chance
Long Beach State 56, San Jose State 55
Feb 8 · regular season · 6.3% win chance
Maryland 77, North Carolina 72
Feb 20 · regular season · 6.4% win chance
Arkansas State 72, Louisiana Tech 68
Jan 18 · regular season · 6.5% win chance
Valparaiso 88, Eastern Illinois 80
Jan 25 · regular season · 6.5% win chance
Cincinnati 84, Louisville 82
Jan 20 · regular season · 7.0% win chance
San Francisco 94, Nevada 85
Nov 26 · regular season · 7.1% win chance
Citadel 82, UT-Chattanooga 75
Feb 24 · regular season · 7.2% win chance

Where these numbers come from

Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.

Champions, brackets, polls and standings are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college basketball database, one season at a time. A section appears only where the database holds its data: the NCAA tournament began in 1939 (earlier champions are retroactive selections), the AP poll in 1949, and game-by-game results, and so the Elo ratings and upsets, in 1950.

Elo ratings and upsets come from the site’s own men’s college basketball Elo, built from every game since 1950. An upset’s win chance is the winner’s pre-game probability from those ratings.