1986–87 Big East Conference men's basketball season

1986–87 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
1986–87 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season
League	NCAA Division I
Sport	Basketball
Duration	November 28, 1986; through March 8, 1987
Number of teams	9
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Regular Season
Champion	Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse (12–4)
Season MVP	Reggie Williams – Georgetown
Tournament
Champions	Georgetown
Finals MVP	Reggie Williams – Georgetown
Basketball seasons
	← 1985–86 1987–88 →

1986–87 Big East men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 4 Georgetown†	12	–	4	.750	29	–	5	.853
No. 12 Pittsburgh	12	–	4	.750	25	–	8	.758
No. 10 Syracuse	12	–	4	.750	31	–	7	.816
Providence	10	–	6	.625	25	–	9	.735
St. John's	10	–	6	.625	21	–	9	.700
Villanova	6	–	10	.375	15	–	16	.484
Seton Hall	4	–	12	.250	15	–	14	.517
Boston College	3	–	13	.188	11	–	18	.379
Connecticut	3	–	13	.188	9	–	19	.321

† 1987 Big East tournament winner As of March 30, 1987^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1986–87 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the eighth in conference history, and involved its nine full-time member schools.

Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of (12–4). Georgetown won the Big East tournament championship. In the NCAA Tournament, Providence and Syracuse both reached the Final Four, and Syracuse was the national runner-up.

Season summary & highlights

Despite low expectations for the season, Syracuse won its first 15 games and finished the season as a regular-season conference co-champion and runner-up in the 1987 Big East tournament.
Georgetown fielded a team that relied heavily on young and inexperienced players and was expected to have a rebuilding year, but instead had great success in conference and non-conference play, advanced to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament, and finished the season ranked No. 4 behind the leadership of senior forward and team captain Reggie Williams. The team received the nickname "Reggie and the Miracles."^[2]
Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were the regular-season co-champions with identical records of 12–4. It was the third regular-season championship or co-championship for both Georgetown and Syracuse and the first for Pittsburgh.
Georgetown won its fifth Big East tournament championship.
In the NCAA Tournament, Providence and Syracuse both reached the Final Four, and Syracuse finished as the national runner-up, narrowly losing the national championship game to Indiana.
The 104 points Syracuse scored against Western Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA tournament tied the record for the most points scored in an NCAA tournament game by a single team.^[3]

Head coaches

School	Coach	Season	Notes
Boston College	Jim O'Brien	1st
Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	1st
Georgetown	John Thompson, Jr.	15th	Big East Coach of the Year (2nd award)
Pittsburgh	Paul Evans	1st
Providence	Rick Pitino	2nd	Resigned July 13, 1987
St. John's	Lou Carnesecca	17th
Seton Hall	P. J. Carlesimo	5th
Syracuse	Jim Boeheim	11th
Villanova	Rollie Massimino	12th

Rankings

Georgetown, Pittsburgh, and Syracuse were ranked in the Top 20 of the Associated Press poll for the entire season, and St. John's was in the Top 20 for most of the season. Providence also reached the Top 20 during February 1987.

1986–87 Big East Conference Weekly Rankings
**Key:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
AP Poll^[4]	Pre	12/1	12/8	12/15	12/22	12/29	1/5	1/12	1/19	1/26	2/2	2/9	2/16	2/23	3/2	Final
Boston College
Connecticut
Georgetown	18	16	13	10	10	8	16	9	15	11	10	13	11	8	7	4
Pittsburgh	16	12	17	14	14	17	14	18	16	17	13	10	8	9	11	12
Providence											17	20	19	20
St. John's				15	15	10	10	13	14	15	19	16	20
Seton Hall
Syracuse	15	17	12	9	7	7	5	5	7	6	11	9	9	11	10	10
Villanova

Regular-season statistical leaders

Name	School	PPG
Scoring
Reggie Williams	GU	23.6
Billy Donovan	Prov	20.6
Mark Jackson	SJU	18.9
Dana Barros	BC	18.7
James Major	SHU	17.6

Name	School	RPG
Rebounding
Jerome Lane	Pitt	13.5
Gerry Besselink	Conn	10.7
Derrick Coleman	Syr	8.8
Reggie Williams	GU	8.6
Charles Smith	Pitt	8.5

Name	School	APG
Assists
Sherman Douglas	Syr	7.6
Billy Donovan	Prov	7.1
Mark Jackson	SJU	6.4
Tate George	Conn	6.0
Kenny Wilson	Vill	5.1

Name	School	SPG
Steals
Billy Donovan	Prov	2.4
Reggie Williams	GU	2.1
Mark Jackson	SJU	2.0
Gary Massey	Vill	1.8
Delray Brooks	Prov	1.8

Name	School	BPG
Blocks
Charles Smith	Pitt	3.2
Rony Seikaly	Syr	2.1
Derrick Coleman	Syr	2.8
Jeff King	Conn	1.7
Tyrone Scott	BC	1.5

Name	School	FG%
Field Goals
Rony Seikaly	Syr	.568
Jerome Lane	Pitt	.568
Charles Smith	Pitt	.550
Sherman Douglas	Syr	.531
Willie Glass	SJU	.515

Name	School	3FG%
3-Pt Field Goals
Pop Lewis	Prov	.432
Billy Donovan	Prov	.409
James Major	SHU	.390
(no other qualifiers)

Name	School	FT%
Free Throws
Jamie Benton	BC	.884
Dana Barros	BC	.850
Billy Donovan	Prov	.843
Mark Jackson	SJU	.806
Reggie Williams	GU	.804

Postseason

Big East tournament

Seeding

Seeding in the Big East tournament was based on conference record, with tiebreakers applied as necessary. The eighth- and ninth-seeded teams played a first-round game, and the other seven teams received a bye into the quarterfinals.

The tournament's seeding was as follows: (1) Georgetown, (2) Pittsburgh, (3) Syracuse, (4) Providence, (5) St. John's, (6) Villanova, (7) Seton Hall, (8) Boston College, (9) Connecticut.

Bracket

First round March 5, 1987			Quarterfinals March 6, 1987			Semifinals March 7, 1987			Championship Game March 8, 1987

			1	#7 Georgetown	56

			8	Boston College	51
8	Boston College	61

9	Connecticut	59
						1	#7 Georgetown	84

						4	Providence	66



			4	Providence	80

			5	St. John's	51



									1	#7 Georgetown	69

									3	#10 Syracuse	59



			3	#10 Syracuse	72

			6	Villanova	66



						3	#10 Syracuse	99

						2	#11 Pittsburgh	85



			2	#11 Pittsburgh	102

			7	Seton Hall	79

NCAA tournament

Five Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament, with Georgetown seeded No. 1 in the Southeast Region. Pittsburgh and St. John's both lost in the second round, and Providence upset Georgetown in the Southeast Region final. Syracuse defeated Providence in a national semifinal game but lost to Indiana in the national championship game.

School	Region	Seed	Round 1	Round 2	Sweet 16	Elite 8	Final 4	Final
Syracuse	East	2	15 Georgia Southern, W 79–73	10 Western Kentucky, W 104–86	6 Florida, W 87–81	1 North Carolina, W 79–75	SE6 Providence W 77–63	MW1 Indiana, L 74–73
Providence	Southeast	6	11 UAB, W 90–68	14 Austin Peay, W 90–87^OT	2 Alabama, W 103–82	1 Georgetown, W 88–73	E2 Syracuse L 77–63
Georgetown	Southeast	1	16 Bucknell, W 75–53	9 Ohio State, W 82–79	5 Kansas, W 70–57	6 Providence, L 88–73
Pittsburgh	West	3	14 Marist, W 93–68	6 Oklahoma, L 78–54
St. John's	Midwest	6	11 Wichita State, W 93–68	3 DePaul, L 96–93

National Invitation Tournament

Two Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. Playing in the same unnamed bracket, Seton Hall and Villanova both lost in the first round.

School	Round 1
Seton Hall	Niagara, L 74–65
Villanova	La Salle, L 86–84

Awards and honors

Big East Conference

Player of the Year:

Reggie Williams, Georgetown, F, Sr.

Defensive Player of the Year:

Mark Jackson, St. John's, G, Sr.

Freshman of the Year:

Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F

Coach of the Year:

John Thompson, Jr., Georgetown (15th season)

All-Big East First Team

Reggie Williams, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), Baltimore, Md.
Charles Smith, Pittsburgh, F, Jr., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 250 lb (113 kg), Bridgeport, Conn.
Jerome Lane, Pittburgh, F, So., 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 230 lb (104 kg), Akron, Ohio
Billy Donovan, Providence, G, Sr. 5 ft 11 in (180 cm), 171 lb (78 kg), Baltimore, Md.
Mark Jackson, St. John's, F, Sr., 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 205 lb (93 kg), Brooklyn, N.Y.
Sherman Douglas, Syracuse, G, So., 6 ft 0 in (183 cm), 180 lb (82 kg), Washington, D.C.

All-Big East Second Team:

Dana Barros, Boston College, G, So., 5 ft 11 in (180 cm), 163 lb (74 kg), Boston, Mass.
Perry McDonald, Georgetown, F, Jr., 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), New Orleans, La.
Mark Bryant, Seton Hall, F, Jr., 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 245 lb (111 kg), Glen Ridge, N.J.
Rony Seikaly, Syracuse, C, Jr. 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 240 lb (109 kg), Athens, Greece
Harold Jensen, Villanova, G, Sr., 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), 200 lb (91 kg), Trumbull, Conn.

All-Big East Third Team:

Dave Kipfer, Providence, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in (201 cm), 212 lb (96 kg), Kitchener, Ontario, Canada
James Major, Seton Hall, G, Jr., 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Willie Glass, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 6 in (198 cm), 205 lb (93 kg), Atlantic City, N.J.
Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 258 lb (117 kg), Mobile, Ala.
Greg Monroe, Syracuse, G, Sr. 6 ft 3 in (191 cm), 195 lb (88 kg), Rochester, N.Y.

Big East All-Freshman Team:

Tate George, Connecticut, G, 6 ft 5 in (196 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), Newark, N.J.
Dwayne Bryant, Georgetown, G, 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), New Orleans, La.
Mark Tillmon, Georgetown, G, 6 ft 2 in (188 cm), 190 lb (86 kg), Washington, D.C.
Rod Brookin, Pittsbugh, F, 6 ft 5 in (196 cm), 260 lb (118 kg), Steelton, Pa.
Derrick Coleman, Syracuse, F, 6 ft 10 in (208 cm), 258 lb (117 kg), Mobile, Ala.