🏀 The 1986-87 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

← 1986 1988 →All seasons

Jump to any season1896–2027

2020s

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2010s

2019Virginia 2018Villanova 2017North Carolina 2016Villanova 2015Duke 2014Connecticut 2013Louisville 2012Kentucky 2011Connecticut 2010Duke

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

1987season

← 1986 1988 →

1986-87 national champion

The NCAA tournament winner.

National champion

Indiana

30-41 seedFinal AP #3

Title gameIndiana 74, Syracuse 73 (Mar 30)

Final FourIndianaSyracuseUNLVProvidence

The 1987 NCAA tournament

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

64-team field · 4 regions

First Round

1Indiana92

16Fairfield58

8Auburn62

9San Diego61

5Duke58

12Texas A&M51

4Missouri69

13Xavier70

3DePaul76

14Louisiana Tech62

6St. John's57

11Wichita State55

2Temple75

15Southern56

7Georgia Tech79

10LSU85

Second Round

1Indiana107

8Auburn90

5Duke65

13Xavier60

3DePaul83

6St. John's75

2Temple62

10LSU72

Regional Semifinals

1Indiana88

5Duke82

3DePaul58

10LSU63

Regional Finals

1Indiana77

10LSU76

Midwest region

First Round

1Indiana92

16Fairfield58

8Auburn62

9San Diego61

5Duke58

12Texas A&M51

4Missouri69

13Xavier70

3DePaul76

14Louisiana Tech62

6St. John's57

11Wichita State55

2Temple75

15Southern56

7Georgia Tech79

10LSU85

Second Round

1Indiana107

8Auburn90

5Duke65

13Xavier60

3DePaul83

6St. John's75

2Temple62

10LSU72

Regional Semifinals

1Indiana88

5Duke82

3DePaul58

10LSU63

Regional Finals

1Indiana77

10LSU76

West region

First Round

1UNLV95

16Idaho State70

8Georgia79

9Kansas State82

4UCLA92

13Central Michigan73

5Virginia60

12Wyoming64

2Iowa99

15Santa Clara76

7UTEP98

10Arizona91

3Pittsburgh93

14Marist68

6Oklahoma74

11Tulsa69

Second Round

1UNLV80

9Kansas State61

4UCLA68

12Wyoming78

2Iowa84

7UTEP82

3Pittsburgh93

6Oklahoma96

Regional Semifinals

1UNLV92

12Wyoming78

2Iowa93

6Oklahoma91

Regional Finals

1UNLV84

2Iowa81

East region

First Round

1North Carolina113

16Pennsylvania82

8Navy82

9Michigan97

4TCU76

13Marshall60

5Notre Dame84

12Middle Tennessee State71

2Syracuse79

15Georgia Southern73

7West Virginia62

10Western Kentucky64

3Purdue104

14Northeastern95

6Florida82

11North Carolina State70

Second Round

1North Carolina109

9Michigan97

4TCU57

5Notre Dame58

2Syracuse104

10Western Kentucky86

3Purdue66

6Florida85

Regional Semifinals

1North Carolina74

5Notre Dame68

2Syracuse87

6Florida81

Regional Finals

1North Carolina75

2Syracuse79

Southeast region

First Round

1Georgetown75

16Bucknell53

8Kentucky77

9Ohio State91

5Kansas66

12Houston55

4Clemson60

13SW Missouri State65

2Alabama88

15North Carolina A&T71

7New Orleans83

10BYU79

6Providence90

11UAB68

3Illinois67

14Austin Peay68

Second Round

1Georgetown82

9Ohio State79

5Kansas67

13SW Missouri State63

2Alabama101

7New Orleans76

6Providence90

14Austin Peay87

Regional Semifinals

1Georgetown70

5Kansas57

2Alabama82

6Providence103

Regional Finals

1Georgetown73

6Providence88

Final Four and the title game

Final Four

1Indiana97

1UNLV93

Midwest vs West · Mar 28

2Syracuse77

6Providence63

East vs Southeast · Mar 28

Championship game: Indiana

1Indiana74

2Syracuse73

Midwest vs East · Mar 30

Conference tournaments

The champion and the other finalist of each of the 29 conference tournaments held in 1986-87.

Conference	Champion	Runner-up	Final
Atlantic 10	Temple 70-57, Mar 2	West Virginia	70-57, Mar 2
Atlantic Coast	North Carolina State 68-67, Mar 8	North Carolina	68-67, Mar 8
Big East	Georgetown 69-59, Mar 8	Syracuse	69-59, Mar 8
Big Eight	Missouri 67-65, Mar 8	Kansas	67-65, Mar 8
Big Sky	Idaho State 92-81, Mar 7	Nevada	92-81, Mar 7
Big South	Baptist 64-63, Feb 28	Campbell	64-63, Feb 28
Colonial	Navy 53-50, Mar 2	NC-Wilmington	53-50, Mar 2
ECAC Metro	Marist 64-55, Mar 5	Fairleigh Dickinson	64-55, Mar 5
ECAC North	Northeastern 71-68, Mar 7	Boston University	71-68, Mar 7
East Coast	Bucknell 86-74, Mar 8	Towson	86-74, Mar 8
Metro	Memphis State 75-52, Mar 8	Louisville	75-52, Mar 8
Metro Atlantic	Fairfield 73-70, Mar 2	Iona	73-70, Mar 2
Mid-American	Central Michigan 64-63, Mar 7	Kent	64-63, Mar 7
Mid-Continent	SW Missouri State	Cleveland State
Mid-Eastern	North Carolina A&T 79-58, Mar 7	Howard	79-58, Mar 7
Midwestern	Xavier 81-69, Feb 28	Saint Louis	81-69, Feb 28
Missouri Valley	Wichita State 79-74, Mar 2	Tulsa	79-74, Mar 2
Ohio Valley	Austin Peay 71-68, Mar 7	Eastern Kentucky	71-68, Mar 7
Pacific Coast	UNLV	San Jose State
Pacific-10	UCLA 76-64, Mar 8	Washington	76-64, Mar 8
Southeastern	Alabama 69-62, Mar 8	LSU	69-62, Mar 8
Southern	Marshall 66-64, Mar 7	Davidson	66-64, Mar 7
Southland	Louisiana Tech 58-51, Mar 5	Arkansas State	58-51, Mar 5
Southwest	Texas A&M 71-46, Mar 7	Baylor	71-46, Mar 7
Southwestern Athletic	Southern 105-55, Mar 6	Grambling	105-55, Mar 6
Sun Belt	UAB 72-70, Feb 28	Western Kentucky	72-70, Feb 28
Trans America	Georgia Southern 49-46, Mar 7	Stetson	49-46, Mar 7
West Coast	Santa Clara 77-65, Mar 2	Pepperdine	77-65, Mar 2
Western Athletic	Wyoming 64-62, Mar 8	New Mexico	64-62, Mar 8

The 1986-87 AP poll, week by week

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

Team	Nov25	Dec2	9	16	23	30	Jan6	13	20	27	Feb3	10	17	24	Mar3	10
UNLV	5	2	1	1	1	1	1	1	4	3	1	1	1	1	1	1
North Carolina	1	1	5	4	4	4	3	3	2	1	3	3	3	2	2	2
Indiana	3	3	2	8	8	6	4	4	3	4	2	2	2	3	4	3
Georgetown	18	16	13	10	10	8	16	9	15	11	10	13	11	8	7	4
DePaul				19	17	15	7	7	6	8	5	5	4	4	5	5
Iowa	10	5	4	3	3	3	2	2	1	2	4	4	7	7	6	6
Purdue	4	4	3	2	2	2	6	6	5	4	7	7	6	6	3	7
Temple				20	16	14	8	11	8	7	6	6	5	5	8	8
Alabama	13	8	18					15	13	9	9	14	12	10	9	9
Syracuse	15	17	12	9	7	7	5	5	7	6	11	9	9	11	10	10
Illinois	14	9	6	5	9	16	12	8	9	12	14	11	14	14	12	11
Pittsburgh	16	12	17	14	14	17	14	18	16	17	13	10	8	9	11	12
Clemson							20	12	10	14	12	12	10	13	13	13
Missouri															19	14
UCLA			11	17											18	15
New Orleans														19	16	16
Duke						20	17	14	12	13	16	15	17	17	14	17
Notre Dame															20	18
TCU									19	16	15	18	16	15	15	19
Kansas	8	6	14	13	13	12	19	20		20	18	17	15	16		20
Oklahoma	7	11	9	7	6	13	11	16	11	10	8	8	13	12	17
Florida					20					19		19	18	18
Providence											17	20	19	20
St. John's				15	15	10	10	13	14	15	19	16	20
Auburn	12	7	7	6	5	5	13	10	17	18	20
Navy	9	10	10	11	12	9	15	19	18
North Carolina State	17	18	15	12	11	19	18	17	20
Kentucky	11	13	19	18	18	11	9
Georgia Tech	6	15	16	16	19	18
Western Kentucky		14	8
Arkansas			20
Northeastern		19
Arizona	19	20
Louisville	2
Cleveland State	20

Tap a rank to read it.

1987 final AP Top 20

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

1987 final AP Top 20AP

1UNLV37-2
2North Carolina32-4
3Indiana30-4
4Georgetown29-5
5DePaul28-3
6Iowa30-5
7Purdue25-5
8Temple32-4
9Alabama28-5
10Syracuse31-7

11Illinois23-8
12Pittsburgh25-8
13Clemson25-6
14Missouri24-10
15UCLA25-7
16New Orleans26-4
17Duke24-9
18Notre Dame24-8
19TCU24-7
20Kansas25-11

1987 standings by conference

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

1987 standings by conference33 conferences

Atlantic 1010 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Temple	32-4	17-1	★ 🏆 2 seed AP 8
West Virginia	23-8	15-3	7 seed
Rhode Island	20-10	12-6
Penn State	15-12	9-9
St. Joseph's	16-13	9-9
Duquesne	12-17	7-11
Massachusetts	11-16	7-11
George Washington	10-19	6-12
Rutgers	8-20	5-13
St. Bonaventure	5-23	3-15

Atlantic Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
North Carolina	32-4	14-0	★ 1 seed AP 2
Clemson	25-6	10-4	4 seed AP 13
Duke	24-9	9-5	5 seed AP 17
Virginia	21-10	8-6	5 seed
Georgia Tech	16-13	7-7	7 seed
North Carolina State	20-14	6-8	🏆 11 seed
Wake Forest	14-15	2-12
Maryland	9-17	0-14

Big East9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Georgetown	29-5	12-4	★ 🏆 1 seed AP 4
Syracuse	31-7	12-4	★ 2 seed AP 10
Pittsburgh	25-8	12-4	★ 3 seed AP 12
Providence	25-9	10-6	6 seed
St. John's	21-9	10-6	6 seed
Villanova	15-16	6-10
Seton Hall	15-14	4-12
Boston College	11-18	3-13
Connecticut	9-19	3-13

Big Eight8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Missouri	24-10	11-3	★ 🏆 4 seed AP 14
Oklahoma	24-10	9-5	6 seed
Kansas	25-11	9-5	5 seed AP 20
Kansas State	20-11	8-6	9 seed
Nebraska	21-12	7-7
Iowa State	13-15	5-9
Oklahoma State	8-20	4-10
Colorado	9-19	3-11

Big Sky8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Montana State	21-8	12-2	★
Boise State	22-8	10-4
Montana	18-11	8-6
Nevada	15-15	7-7
Idaho	16-14	5-9
Idaho State	15-16	5-9	🏆 16 seed
Northern Arizona	11-17	5-9
Weber State	7-22	4-10

Big South8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Baptist	21-9	12-2	★ 🏆
Campbell	17-13	10-4
NC-Asheville	15-11	5-3
Radford	15-14	7-7
Coastal Carolina	12-16	4-4
Armstrong Atlantic	6-22	2-6
Augusta State	8-19	3-11
Winthrop	8-20	1-7

Big Ten10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Indiana	30-4	15-3	★ 1 seed AP 3
Purdue	25-5	15-3	★ 3 seed AP 7
Iowa	30-5	14-4	2 seed AP 6
Illinois	23-8	13-5	3 seed AP 11
Michigan	20-12	10-8	9 seed
Ohio State	20-13	9-9	9 seed
Michigan State	11-17	6-12
Wisconsin	14-17	4-14
Minnesota	9-19	2-16
Northwestern	7-21	2-16

Colonial8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Navy	26-6	13-1	★ 🏆 8 seed
NC-Wilmington	18-12	9-5
James Madison	20-10	8-6
Richmond	15-14	8-6
George Mason	15-13	7-7
American	13-14	5-9
East Carolina	12-16	4-10
William & Mary	5-22	2-12

East Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Bucknell	22-9	11-3	★ 🏆 16 seed
Lafayette	16-13	10-4
Lehigh	15-14	8-6
Rider	12-16	8-6
Drexel	14-14	7-7
Towson	14-16	5-9
Hofstra	9-19	4-10
Delaware	12-16	3-11

ECAC Metro9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Marist	20-10	15-1	★ 🏆 14 seed
Fairleigh Dickinson	19-10	11-5
Loyola (MD)	15-14	10-6
Wagner	16-13	8-8
Robert Morris	13-14	7-9
St. Francis (PA)	11-16	7-9
LIU-Brooklyn	13-14	5-11
St. Francis (NY)	11-16	5-11
Monmouth	8-19	4-12

ECAC North10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Northeastern	27-7	17-1	★ 🏆 14 seed
Niagara	21-10	14-4
Boston University	18-12	12-6
Siena	17-12	12-6
Canisius	16-12	12-6
Hartford	14-14	8-10
Maine	10-18	6-12
Vermont	5-23	3-15
Colgate	4-23	3-15
New Hampshire	4-24	3-15

Gulf Star6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Stephen F. Austin	22-8	10-0	★
Sam Houston State	16-12	6-4
SW Texas State	13-15	5-5
Northwestern State	15-13	4-6
SE Louisiana	10-21	4-6
Nicholls State	9-18	1-9

Ivy8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Pennsylvania	13-14	10-4	★ 16 seed
Princeton	16-9	9-5
Cornell	15-11	9-5
Dartmouth	15-11	7-7
Yale	14-12	7-7
Columbia	12-14	6-8
Harvard	9-17	4-10
Brown	9-18	4-10

Metro7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Louisville	18-14	9-3	★
Memphis State	26-8	8-4	🏆
Southern Mississippi	23-11	6-6
Florida State	19-11	6-6
South Carolina	15-14	5-7
Virginia Tech	10-18	5-7
Cincinnati	12-16	3-9

Metro Atlantic8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
St. Peter's	21-8	11-3	★
La Salle	20-13	10-4
Iona	16-14	8-6
Army	14-15	8-6
Fordham	14-16	6-8
Holy Cross	9-19	6-8
Fairfield	15-16	5-9	🏆 16 seed
Manhattan	6-21	2-12

Mid-American9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Central Michigan	22-8	14-2	★ 🏆 13 seed
Kent	19-10	11-5
Bowling Green	15-14	10-6
Eastern Michigan	14-15	8-8
Miami (OH)	14-14	7-9
Ohio	14-14	7-9
Western Michigan	12-16	7-9
Toledo	11-17	4-12
Ball State	9-18	4-12

Mid-Continent8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
SW Missouri State	28-6	13-1	★ 🏆 13 seed
Cleveland State	25-8	10-4
Illinois-Chicago	17-15	9-5
Wisconsin-Green Bay	15-14	8-6
Northern Iowa	13-15	7-7
Valparaiso	12-16	4-10
Eastern Illinois	9-19	3-11
Western Illinois	12-16	2-12

Mid-Eastern8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Howard	24-4	13-1	★
North Carolina A&T	24-6	12-2	🏆 15 seed
South Carolina State	14-15	9-5
Coppin State	8-19	7-6
Bethune-Cookman	10-19	6-8
Morgan State	8-20	5-9
Delaware State	4-24	3-11
MD-Eastern Shore	2-24	0-13

Midwestern7 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Evansville	16-12	8-4	★
Loyola-Chicago	16-13	8-4	★
Saint Louis	25-10	7-5
Xavier	19-13	7-5	🏆 13 seed
Butler	12-16	5-7
Oral Roberts	11-17	5-7
Detroit	7-21	2-10

Missouri Valley8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Tulsa	22-8	11-3	★ 11 seed
Bradley	17-12	10-4
Wichita State	22-11	9-5	🏆 11 seed
Illinois State	19-13	7-7
Drake	17-14	6-8
Southern Illinois	12-17	5-9
Creighton	9-19	4-10
Indiana State	9-20	4-10

Ohio Valley8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Middle Tennessee State	22-7	11-3	★ 12 seed
Akron	21-9	9-5
Eastern Kentucky	19-11	9-5
Austin Peay	20-12	8-6	🏆 14 seed
Morehead State	14-14	8-6
Murray State	13-15	6-8
Youngstown State	11-17	4-10
Tennessee Tech	7-20	1-13

Pacific Coast10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UNLV	37-2	18-0	★ 🏆 1 seed AP 1
UC Santa Barbara	16-12	10-8
San Jose State	16-14	10-8
CSU-Fullerton	17-13	9-9
New Mexico State	15-15	9-9
UC Irvine	14-14	9-9
Utah State	15-16	8-10
Long Beach State	12-19	7-11
Pacific	10-17	6-12
Fresno State	9-20	4-14

Pacific-1010 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UCLA	25-7	14-4	★ 🏆 4 seed AP 15
Arizona	18-12	13-5	10 seed
Oregon State	19-11	10-8
California	20-15	10-8
Washington	20-15	10-8
Stanford	15-13	9-9
Oregon	16-14	8-10
Arizona State	11-17	6-12
Washington State	10-18	6-12
USC	9-19	4-14

Southeastern10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Alabama	28-5	16-2	★ 🏆 2 seed AP 9
Florida	23-11	12-6	6 seed
Kentucky	18-11	10-8	8 seed
Georgia	18-12	10-8	8 seed
Auburn	18-13	9-9	8 seed
LSU	24-15	8-10	10 seed
Mississippi	15-14	8-10
Vanderbilt	18-16	7-11
Tennessee	14-15	7-11
Mississippi State	7-21	3-15

Southern9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Marshall	25-6	15-1	★ 🏆 13 seed
UT-Chattanooga	21-8	14-2
Davidson	20-10	12-4
Furman	17-12	10-6
Citadel	13-15	6-10
VMI	11-17	5-11
Western Carolina	10-19	4-12
Appalachian State	7-21	3-13
East Tennessee State	7-21	3-13

Southland6 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Louisiana Tech	22-8	9-1	★ 🏆 14 seed
Arkansas State	21-13	5-5
McNeese State	14-14	5-5
Lamar	14-15	4-6
North Texas	11-17	4-6
Northeast Louisiana	13-15	3-7

Southwest9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
TCU	24-7	14-2	★ 4 seed AP 19
Baylor	18-13	10-6
Houston	18-12	9-7	12 seed
Texas Tech	15-14	9-7
Arkansas	19-14	8-8
SMU	16-13	7-9
Texas	14-17	7-9
Texas A&M	17-14	6-10	🏆 12 seed
Rice	8-19	2-14

Southwestern Athletic8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Grambling	16-14	11-3	★
Southern	19-12	9-5	🏆 15 seed
Mississippi Valley State	13-15	9-5
Jackson State	15-14	8-6
Alabama State	14-14	7-7
Texas Southern	11-11	7-7
Alcorn State	5-23	3-11
Prairie View	6-22	2-12

Sun Belt8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Western Kentucky	29-9	12-2	★ 10 seed
Jacksonville	19-11	11-3
UAB	21-11	10-4	🏆 11 seed
Virginia Commonwealth	17-14	7-7
UNC Charlotte	18-14	6-8
South Alabama	14-14	6-8
South Florida	8-20	3-11
Old Dominion	6-22	1-13

Trans America10 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
Arkansas-Little Rock	26-11	16-2	★
Houston Baptist	18-11	13-5
Stetson	18-13	13-5
Georgia Southern	20-11	12-6	🏆 15 seed
Hardin-Simmons	13-15	9-9
TX-San Antonio	13-15	7-11
Mercer	12-16	7-11
Georgia State	11-17	7-11
Centenary	10-17	5-13
Samford	4-22	1-17

West Coast8 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
San Diego	24-6	13-1	★ 9 seed
Gonzaga	18-10	9-5
St. Mary's	17-13	7-7
San Francisco	16-12	6-8
Santa Clara	18-14	6-8	🏆 15 seed
Portland	14-14	6-8
Pepperdine	12-18	5-9
Loyola Marymount	12-16	4-10

Western Athletic9 teams

School	W-L	Conf	Note
UTEP	25-7	13-3	★ 7 seed
BYU	21-11	12-4	10 seed
New Mexico	25-10	11-5
Wyoming	24-10	11-5	🏆 12 seed
Utah	17-13	9-7
Colorado State	13-16	7-9
Air Force	12-15	5-11
Hawaii	7-21	2-14
San Diego State	5-25	2-14

Independent20 teams

School	W-L	Note
DePaul	28-3	3 seed AP 5
New Orleans	26-4	7 seed AP 16
Notre Dame	24-8	5 seed AP 18
Texas-Pan American	16-12
Tennessee State	15-12
Marquette	16-13
Miami (FL)	15-16
Dayton	13-15
Central Florida	12-15
Florida A&M	12-16
MD-Baltimore County	12-16
Chicago State	11-17
SW Louisiana	11-17
US International	11-17
Utica	10-16
Brooklyn	10-18
Texas-Arlington	10-18
Northern Illinois	9-19
Central Connecticut State	8-21
Eastern Washington	5-23

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.

1987 Elo and upsets

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

1987 Elo and upsetsElo

Elo, top 10

1North Carolina2180
2Indiana2119
3UNLV2103
4Syracuse2089
5Georgetown2037
6Illinois2037
7Iowa2029
8Alabama2017
9Providence1995
10Duke1957

Biggest upsets

LIU-Brooklyn 70, Old Dominion 64
Dec 17 · regular season · 1.7% win chance
Western Michigan 62, Michigan 59
Dec 8 · regular season · 2.0% win chance
Rice 63, Baylor 62
Feb 18 · regular season · 5.4% win chance
Western Carolina 73, UT-Chattanooga 72
Mar 5 · conference tournament · 5.5% win chance
Illinois-Chicago 100, Cleveland State 89
Jan 31 · regular season · 5.6% win chance
Maine 84, Michigan State 81
Dec 4 · regular season · 5.9% win chance
Illinois-Chicago 74, Michigan State 65
Dec 16 · regular season · 6.0% win chance
Rhode Island 61, Jacksonville 57
Nov 28 · regular season · 6.2% win chance
Austin Peay 68, Illinois 67
Mar 12 · postseason · 6.2% win chance
Manhattan 84, Fordham 83
Jan 15 · regular season · 6.4% 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.