1987–88 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Metro Conference during the 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball season.^[2]

1987–88 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Metro Conference
Record	20–12 (6–6 Metro)
Head coach	Larry Finch (2nd season)
Home arena	Mid-South Coliseum
Seasons ← 1986–87 1988–89 →

1987–88 Metro Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Louisville †	9	–	3		.750			24	–	11		.686
Florida State	7	–	5		.583			19	–	11		.633
South Carolina	6	–	6		.500			19	–	10		.655
Virginia Tech	6	–	6		.500			19	–	10		.655
Memphis State	6	–	6		.500			20	–	12		.625
Southern Miss	5	–	7		.417			19	–	11		.633
Cincinnati	3	–	9		.250			11	–	17		.393
† 1988 Metro Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The Tigers received an at-large bid to the 1988 NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the Midwest region. After an opening round win over No. 9 seed Baylor,^[3] the Tigers were beaten by No. 1 seed Purdue^[4] to finish with a 20–12 record (6–6 Metro).

Roster

1987–88 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 10 Sidney Adkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee G 11 John Williams 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Jackson, Mississippi G 14 Cheyenne Gibson 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Memphis, Tennessee G 15 John McLaughlin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Monticello, Tennessee F 30 Ronald McClain 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Horn Lake, Mississippi G 31 Dwight Boyd 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Memphis, Tennessee F 32 Russell Young 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr LaGrange, Arkansas G 34 Elliot Perry 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 155 lb (70 kg) Fr Memphis, Tennessee F 35 Sylvester Gray 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Arlington, Tennessee F 41 Rodney Douglas 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee C 42 DeWayne Bailey 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Sr Memphis, Tennessee C 43 Steve Ballard 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee F 44 Marvin Alexander 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Memphis, Tennessee C 53 Bret Mundt 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Jackson, Tennessee	Head coach Larry Finch (Memphis) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster

^[5]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 28, 1987*		Jackson State	W 78–56	1–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Nov 30, 1987*	No. 20	Washington	W 86–57	2–0	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 5, 1987*	No. 20	at Arkansas State	W 60–59	3–0	Convocation Center  Jonesboro, Arkansas
Dec 8, 1987*	No. 20	at Saint Louis	L 50–55	3–1	Kiel Auditorium  St. Louis, Missouri
Dec 12, 1987*	No. 19	No. 9 Missouri	W 76–68	4–1	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 17, 1987*	No. 19	Bradley	W 113–108 OT[6]	5–1	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 23, 1987*	No. 20	Alcorn State	W 87–64	6–1	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 28, 1987*	No. 20	vs. No. 17 Kansas	L 62–64	6–2	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Dec 29, 1987*	No. 19	vs. Marist	W 75–57	7–2	Madison Square Garden  New York, New York
Jan 5, 1988*		Murray State	W 76–70 OT	8–2	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 9, 1988		at Virginia Tech	L 80–82	8–3 (0–1)	Cassell Coliseum  Blacksburg, Virginia
Jan 13, 1988		at Florida State	L 85–92	8–4 (0–2)	Donald L. Tucker Center  Tallahassee, Florida
Jan 17, 1988*		at Tulsa	W 54–47	9–4	Tulsa Convention Center  Tulsa, Oklahoma
Jan 18, 1988		at South Carolina	L 58–84	9–5 (0–3)	Carolina Coliseum  Columbia, South Carolina
Jan 21, 1988		at Southern Miss	L 96–107	9–6 (0–4)	Reed Green Coliseum  Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Jan 24, 1988*		San Jose State	L 67–82	9–7	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 25, 1988		at Cincinnati	W 75–70 OT	10–7 (1–4)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 30, 1988		Louisville	W 72–68	11–7 (2–4)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Jan 31, 1988*		Tennessee State	W 67–64	12–7	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 6, 1988*		Arkansas State	L 47–48	12–8	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 10, 1988		No. 16 Southern Miss	W 113–97	13–8 (3–4)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 13, 1988		South Carolina	W 67–61	14–8 (4–4)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 20, 1988		Florida State	W 81–76	15–8 (5–4)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 23, 1988		at Cincinnati	L 90–106	15–9 (5–5)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 27, 1988*		Oral Roberts	W 115–71	16–9	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Feb 29, 1988		at Louisville	L 69–71	16–10 (5–6)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Mar 5, 1988		Virginia Tech	W 112–104	17–10 (6–6)	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Metro Conference tournament
Mar 11, 1988*		Southern Miss Quarterfinals	W 97–84	18–10	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 12, 1988*		Florida State Semifinals	W 81–74	19–10	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 13, 1988*		Louisville Championship game	L 73–81[7]	19–11	Mid-South Coliseum  Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA tournament
Mar 17, 1988*	(9 MW)	vs. (8 MW) Baylor First Round	W 75–60	20–11	Joyce Center  South Bend, Indiana
Mar 19, 1988*  CBS	(9 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Purdue Second Round	L 73–100	20–12	Joyce Center  South Bend, Indiana
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[8][9]

Rankings

Main article: 1987–88 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[10]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1987-88 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary
2. "1987-88 Memphis Tigers Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
3. "Purdue, Memphis St. Win Big". The Washington Post. March 18, 1988. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
4. "PURDUE LEAPS HURDLE AGAINST MEMPHIS STATE". The Washington Post. March 20, 1988. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
5. "1987–88 Memphis Tigers Roster and Stats". Sports Reference.
6. "WOUNDED MEMPHIS ST. TOPPLES BRADLEY ON PRAYER, 3-POINTERS". Chicago Tribune. December 18, 1987. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
7. "Muscling the Metro". Sports Illustrated. March 21, 1988. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
8. "2019–20 Memphis Tigers Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
9. "1987–88 Men's Basketball Schedule - University of Memphis". University of Memphis Athletics. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
10. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 954–955. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.