1987–88 Baylor Bears basketball team

The 1987–88 Baylor Bears men's basketball team represented Baylor University as a member of the Southwest Conference during the 1987–88 men's college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Gene Iba and played their home games at Heart O' Texas Coliseum in Waco, Texas. After finishing tied for second in the SWC regular season standings, the Bears lost to SMU in the championship game of the SWC tournament. Baylor received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament – the program's first appearance in 38 years. As No. 8 seed in the Midwest region, the Bears were defeated by No. 9 seed Memphis State in opening round^[1] to finish the season with a record of 23–11 (11–5 SWC).

1987–88 Baylor Bears men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Round of 64
Conference	Southwest Conference
Record	23–11 (11–5 SWC)
Head coach	Gene Iba (3rd season)
Home arena	Heart O' Texas Coliseum
Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

1987–88 Southwest Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
SMU †	12	–	4		.750			28	–	7		.800
Arkansas	11	–	5		.688			21	–	9		.700
Baylor	11	–	5		.688			23	–	11		.676
Houston	10	–	6		.625			18	–	13		.581
Texas	10	–	6		.625			16	–	13		.552
Texas A&M	8	–	8		.500			16	–	15		.516
Texas Tech	4	–	12		.250			9	–	19		.321
TCU	3	–	13		.188			9	–	19		.321
Rice	3	–	13		.188			6	–	21		.222
† 1988 SWC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Senior guard Micheal Williams finished his career as the all-time leader in steals (including the top two single-season performances) and assists at Baylor. He also finished second on the career scoring list. Williams was taken by the Detroit Pistons in the second round of the 1988 NBA draft. Senior forward Darryl Middleton finished his career third all-time on the scoring list (including the single-season record for points) and fourth in rebounds. Middleton was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks in the third round of the 1988 NBA draft.

Roster

1987–88 Baylor Bears men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown PG 24 Micheal Williams 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Sr David W. Carter Dallas, Texas PF 44 Darryl Middleton 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr William Cullen Bryant Queens, New York	Head coach Gene Iba Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

^[2]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference Regular season
Nov 27, 1987*		vs. Illinois Maui Invitational	L 50–73	0–1	Lahaina Civic Center (1,200) Maui, Hawaii
Nov 28, 1987*		vs. Nebraska Maui Invitational	W 82–79	1–1	Lahaina Civic Center  Maui, Hawaii
Nov 29, 1987*		vs. Stanford Maui Invitational	L 56–69	1–2	Lahaina Civic Center  Maui, Hawaii
Dec 1, 1987*		at North Texas State	W 72–63	2–2	Super Pit  Denton, Texas
Dec 3, 1987*		Colorado State	W 53–44	3–2	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Dec 5, 1987*		Oklahoma State	W 67–55	4–2	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Dec 8, 1987*		at Tulsa	W 69–67	5–2	Tulsa Convention Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dec 11, 1987*		vs. Mississippi Valley State	W 74–72	6–2
Dec 12, 1987*		at Arkansas State	L 43–62	6–3	Convocation Center  Jonesboro, Arkansas
Dec 19, 1987*		at Marshall	L 68–79	6–4	Cam Henderson Center  Huntington, West Virginia
Dec 22, 1987*		Coppin State	W 67–64	7–4	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Dec 30, 1987*		Northwestern State	W 70–54	8–4	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Jan 2, 1988*		Alabama State	W 111–72	9–4	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
SWC Regular season
Jan 6, 1988		at TCU	W 75–61	10–4 (1–0)	Daniel-Meyer Coliseum  Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 9, 1988		at SMU	L 93–97 3OT	10–5 (1–1)	Moody Coliseum  University Park, Texas
Jan 13, 1988		Texas A&M	L 57–58	10–6 (1–2)	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Jan 20, 1988		at Arkansas	L 62–70	10–7 (1–3)	Barnhill Arena  Fayetteville, Arkansas
Jan 23, 1988		Rice	W 84–68	11–7 (2–3)	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
Jan 27, 1988		Houston	W 77–59	12–7 (3–3)	Heart O' Texas Coliseum  Waco, Texas
SWC tournament
Mar 11, 1988*		vs. Texas Tech Quarterfinals	W 54–53	21–9	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
Mar 12, 1988*		vs. Arkansas Semifinals	W 74–73	22–9	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
Mar 13, 1988*		vs. SMU Championship game	L 64–75	23–10	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1988*	(8 MW)	vs. (9 MW) Memphis State First Round	L 60–75	23–11	Joyce Center  South Bend, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

^[3][4]

1988 NBA draft

See also: 1988 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
2	48	Micheal Williams	Detroit Pistons
3	68	Darryl Middleton	Atlanta Hawks

^[5]

References

1. "Purdue, Memphis St. Win Big". The Washington Post. March 18, 1988. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
2. "1987–88 Baylor Bears Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
3. "1987–88 Baylor Bears Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 6, 2022.
4. "Baylor Basketball - The Review" (PDF). BaylorBears.com. Baylor University. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
5. "1988 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.