1985–86 Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team

1985–86 Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans men's basketball
TAAC Regular season champions TAAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Trans America Athletic Conference
Record	23–11 (12–2 TAAC)
Head coach	Mike Newell (2nd season)
Home arena	Barton Coliseum

1985–86 Trans America Athletic Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Arkansas–Little Rock †	12	–	2		.857			23	–	11		.676
Samford	8	–	6		.571			16	–	13		.552
Houston Baptist	7	–	7		.500			14	–	14		.500
Hardin–Simmons	7	–	7		.500			15	–	13		.536
Mercer	6	–	8		.429			15	–	14		.517
Centenary	6	–	8		.429			13	–	17		.433
Georgia Southern	6	–	8		.429			15	–	13		.536
Georgia State	4	–	10		.286			10	–	18		.357
Stetson	-	–	-		–			10	–	18		.357
† 1986 TAAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985–86 Arkansas–Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team represented the University of Arkansas at Little Rock during the 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Trojans, led by head coach Mike Newell, played their home games at Barton Coliseum and were members of the Trans America Athletic Conference. They finished the season with a record of 23–11, 12–2 in TAAC play. They won the 1986 TAAC men's basketball tournament to earn an automatic bid in the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. After knocking off No. 3 seed Notre Dame in the opening round,[1] the Trojans lost to NC State, 80–66 in 2OT,[2] in the round of 32.

With the NCAA Tournament's expansion to 64 teams the year prior, Arkansas–Little Rock joined Cleveland State as the first No. 14 seeds to defeat a No. 3 seed. Cleveland State followed their opening round victory with another to become the first No. 14 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen.

Roster

1985–86 Little Rock Trojans men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G Myron Jackson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Hamburg, Arkansas G Pete Myers 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Sr Mobile, Alabama G Paul Springer 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Fr	Head coach Mike Newell 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, 1985*		vs. Iowa	L 99–108	0–1	Neal S. Blaisdell Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 4, 1985*		Middle Tennessee	W 72–70	1–1	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Dec 13, 1985*		vs. George Mason	W 70–67	2–1	Henderson Center  Huntington, West Virginia
Dec 14, 1985*		at Marshall	L 76–79	2–2	Henderson Center  Huntington, West Virginia
Dec 18, 1985*		Southeastern Louisiana	L 62–69	2–3	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Dec 23, 1985*		at Providence	L 80–104	2–4	Providence Civic Center  Providence, Rhode Island
Dec 28, 1985*		UTSA	W 87–67	3–4	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Dec 30, 1985*		at Northwestern State	L 61–68	3–5	Prather Coliseum  Natchitoches, Louisiana
Jan 3, 1986*		vs. Southeastern Louisiana Sooner Invitational	L 64–66	3–6	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
Jan 4, 1986*		vs. Austin Peay Sooner Invitational	L 67–75	3–7	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
Jan 6, 1986		Hardin-Simmons	L 56–61	3–8 (0–1)	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Feb 24, 1986		Georgia State	W 86–65	18–9 (12–2)	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
TAAC tournament
Mar 1, 1986*	(1)	(8) Georgia State Quarterfinals	W 115–82	19–9	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 2, 1986*	(1)	(5) Mercer Semifinals	W 81–66	20–9	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 3, 1986*	(1)	(6) Centenary Championship game	W 85–63	21–9	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1986*	(14 MW)	vs. (3 MW) No. 10 Notre Dame First Round	W 90–83	22–9	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome  Minneapolis, Minnesota
Mar 16, 1986*	(14 MW)	vs. (6 MW) NC State Second Round	L 66–80 ^2OT	22–10	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome  Minneapolis, Minnesota
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time.

[3]

Rankings

Main article: 1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

[4]

Awards and honors

• Myron Jackson – TAAC Player of the Year
• Mike Newell – TAAC Coach of the Year

References

1. "LITTLE ROCK FALLS ON IRISH". The Chicago Tribune. March 15, 1986. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
2. "LITTLE ROCK TUMBLES TO NC STATE IN 2 OTS". The Chicago Tribune. March 17, 1986. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
3. "2019-20 Little Rock Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Arkansas-Little Rock Athletics. Retrieved February 26, 2022.
4. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 932–933. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.