GOLDEN GOPHER BASKETBALL

Gopher Basketball 1985-1986 Season

1985-1986 Schedule

Date Opponent W/L Score
11/22/1985 National Airlines Tourn.
vs. West Virginia State
W 120-106
11/23/1985 National Airlines Tourn.
vs. Middle Tennessee State
L 79-92
11/25/1985 National Airlines Tourn.
vs. BYU-Hawaii
W 87-80
11/29/1985 San Francisco State W 95-63
11/30/1985 South Dakota W 66-57
12/02/1985 Eastern Illinois W 87-69
12/04/1985 Detroit W 83-71
12/07/1985 Arkansas W 71-64
12/14/1985 Colorado State W 62-59
12/18/1985 @ Marquette L 63-74
12/21/1985 Connecticut L 69-70
12/23/1985 Oklahoma State W 71-59
12/28/1985 Alcorn State W 110-72
01/02/1986 @ Illinois L 57-76
01/04/1986 @ Purdue L 61-68
01/11/1986 @ Iowa L 62-75
01/16/1986 Michigan W 73-63
01/18/1986 Michigan State W 76-71
01/23/1986 @ Wisconsin W 67-65
01/26/1986 @ Northwestern L forfeit
01/30/1986 Ohio State W 70-65
02/01/1986 Indiana L 54-62
02/09/1986 Iowa W 65-60
02/13/1986 @ Michigan L 56-92
02/15/1986 @ Michigan State L 66-76
02/20/1986 Northwestern L 60-65
02/22/1986 Wisconsin L 64-70
02/27/1986 @ Indiana L 63-95
03/02/1986 @ Ohio State L 55-68
03/06/1986 Purdue L 63-64
03/08/1986 Illinois L 64-73

1985-1986 Big Ten Standings

Team Conference Overall
W L PCT W L PCT
Michigan 14 4 .778 28 5 .848
Indiana 13 5 .722 21 8 .724
Michigan State 12 6 .667 23 8 .742
Illinois 11 7 .611 22 10 .688
Purdue 11 7 .611 22 10 .688
Iowa 10 8 .556 20 12 .625
Ohio State 8 10 .444 19 14 .576
Minnesota 5 13 .278 15 16 .484
Wisconsin 4 14 .222 12 16 .429
Northwestern 2 16 .111 8 20 .286

Season notes:

Coached by Jim Dutcher (11th season) through the Northwestern forfeit, and by Jimmy Williams (1st season) as interim coach for the rest of the season. The National Airlines Tournament took place in Honalulu, Hawaii.

This season served as a low point in Gopher basketball history. Following the win at Wisconsin, three Gophers were charged with raping a woman in her dorm. The University's President Kenneth Keller decided to forfeit the upcoming game at Northwestern and raised the possibility of eliminating basketball at Minnesota altogether. Angry at the lack of administrative support, Coach Jim Dutcher resigned. Assistant Jimmy Williams was faced with the task of coaching out the rest of the season. The three Gophers involved in the accusation were eventually acquitted of the charges of rape, but were still kicked off the team immediately for violations of team rules. Two other players were suspended for the rest of the season for violating team rules, and one player had already been declared academically ineligible for the rest of the season.

The remaining players were dubbed the 'Iron Five' - Marc Wilson, John Shasky, Kelvin Smith, Ray Gaffney, and Tim Hanson were the second group at the University to be called by that nickname, but in this case, it was a deserved title. Jimmy Williams recruited a few Gopher football players to sit on the bench in case of an emergency. The following game against Ohio State remains as one of the greatest and most emotional Gopher victories of all time. The Iron Five had a grand total of two minutes of rest among the five players through the course of the game.

Team Roster:

By Name By Number By Position By Eligibility

1985-1986 Poll Results

Associated Press United Press
1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. Kentucky
4. St. John's (NY)
5. Michigan
6. Georgia Tech
7. Louisville
8. North Carolina
9. Syracuse
10. Notre Dame
11. UNLV
12. Memphis State
13. Georgetown
14. Bradley
15. Oklahoma
16. Indiana
17. Navy
18. Michigan State
19. Illinois
20. Texas-El Paso
1. Duke
2. Kansas
3. St. John's (NY)
4. Kentucky
5. Michigan
6. Georgia Tech
7. Louisville
8. North Carolina
9. Syracuse
10. UNLV
11. Notre Dame
12. Memphis State
13. Bradley
14. Indiana
15. Georgetown
16. Texas-El Paso
17. Oklahoma
18. Michigan State
19. Alabama
20. Illinois


1985-1986 National Invitation Tournament


First Round

Texas 69, New Mexico 66
California-Irvine 80, UCLA 74
Brigham Young 67, Southern Methodist 63
Ohio State 65, Ohio 62
McNeese State 86, Dayton 75
Providence 72, Boston U 69
George Mason 65, Lamar 63
Louisiana Tech 67, Northern Arizona 61
Wyoming 79, Texas A&M 70
Georgia 95, Tennessee-Chattanooga 81
Loyola Marymount 80, California 75
Clemson 99, Middle Tennessee State 81
Texas Christian 76, Montana 69
SW Missouri State 59, Pittsburgh 52
Florida 81, Southern Mississippi 71
Marquette 79, Drake 59


Second Round

Ohio State 71, Texas 65
Brigham Young 93, California-Irvine 80
Providence 90, George Mason 71
Louisiana Tech 77, McNeese State 61
Clemson 77, Georgia 65
Wyoming 99, Loyola Marymount 90
Florida 77, Texas Christian 75
SW Missouri State 83, Marquette 69


Quarterfinals

Ohio State 79, Brigham Young 68
Louisiana Tech 64, Providence 63
Wyoming 62, Clemson 57
Florida 54, SW Missouri State 53


NIT Final Four

Semifinals Finals
Ohio State 79, Louisiana Tech 66
Wyoming 67, Florida 58
Ohio State 73, Wyoming 63


1985-1986 NCAA Tournament


First Round

Southeast West
#1 Kentucky 75, #16 Davidson 55
#8 Western Kentucky 67, #9 Nebraska 59
#5 Alabama 97, #12 Xavier (OH) 80
#4 Illinois 75, #13 Fairfield 51
#11 Louisiana State 94, #6 Purdue 87 (OT)
#3 Memphis State 95, #14 Ball State 63
#10 Villanova 71, #7 Virginia Tech 62
#2 Georgia Tech 68, #15 Marist 53
#1 St. John's (NY) 83, #16 Montana State 74
#8 Auburn 73, #9 Arizona 63
#5 Maryland 69, #12 Pepperdine 64
#4 UNLV 74, #13 NE Louisiana 51
#6 Alabama-Birmingham 66, #11 Missouri 64
#3 North Carolina 84, #14 Utah 72
#7 Bradley 83, #10 Texas-El Paso 65
#2 Louisville 93, #15 Drexel 73
East Midwest
#1 Duke 85, #16 Mississippi Valley State 78
#8 Old Dominion 72, #9 West Virginia 64
#12 DePaul 72, #5 Virginia 68
#4 Oklahoma 80, #13 Northeastern 74
#6 St. Joseph's (PA) 60, #11 Richmond 59
#14 Cleveland State 83, #3 Indiana 79
#7 Navy 87, #10 Tulsa 68
#2 Syracuse 101, #15 Brown 52
#1 Kansas 71, #16 North Carolina A&T 46
#9 Temple 61, #8 Jacksonville 50 (OT)
#5 Michigan State 72, #12 Washington 70
#4 Georgetown 70, #13 Texas Tech 64
#6 North Carolina State 66, #11 Iowa 64
#14 Arkansas-Little Rock 90, #3 Notre Dame 83
#7 Iowa State 81, #10 Miami (OH) 79
#2 Michigan 70, #15 Akron 64


Second Round

Southeast West
#1 Kentucky 71, #8 Western Kentucky 64
#5 Alabama 58, #4 Illinois 56
#11 Louisiana State 83, #3 Memphis State 81
#2 Georgia Tech 66, #10 Villanova 61
#8 Auburn 81, #1 St. John's (NY) 65
#4 UNLV 70, #5 Maryland 64
#3 North Carolina 77, #6 Alabama-Birmingham 59
#2 Louisville 82, #7 Bradley 68
East Midwest
#1 Duke 89, #8 Old Dominion 61
#12 DePaul 74, #4 Oklahoma 69
#14 Cleveland State 83, #6 St. Joseph's (PA) 69
#7 Navy 97, #2 Syracuse 85
#1 Kansas 65, #9 Temple 43
#5 Michigan State 80, #4 Georgetown 68
#6 North Carolina State 80, #14 Arkansas-Little Rock 66 (2OT)
#7 Iowa State 72, #2 Michigan 69


Sweet Sixteen

Southeast West
#1 Kentucky 68, #5 Alabama 63
#11 Louisiana State 70, #2 Georgia Tech 64
#8 Auburn 70, #4 UNLV 63
#2 Louisville 94, #3 North Carolina 79
East Midwest
#1 Duke 74, #12 DePaul 67
#7 Navy 71, #14 Cleveland State 70
#1 Kansas 96, #5 Michigan State 86 (OT)
#6 North Carolina State 70, #7 Iowa State 66


Elite Eight

Southeast West
#11 Louisiana State 59, #1 Kentucky 57 #2 Louisville 84, #8 Auburn 76
East Midwest
#1 Duke 71, #7 Navy 50 #1 Kansas 75, #6 North Carolina State 67


Final Four

Semifinals Finals
Duke 71, Kansas 67
Louisville 88, Louisiana State 77
Louisville 72, Duke 69

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