1987–88 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball team

1987–88 Memphis State Tigers men's basketball
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

1987–88 Metro Conference men's basketball standings
	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
	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 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]

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)	Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center (7,119) 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 (11,200) 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*	(3)	(6) Southern Miss Quarterfinals	W 97–84 ^OT	18–10	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 12, 1988*	(3)	(2) Florida State Semifinals	W 81–74	19–10	Mid-South Coliseum Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 13, 1988*	(3)	(1) 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

^[10]

References

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

[1] sports-reference.com 1987-88 Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference Season Summary

[sports-reference-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.

[ESPN-10] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 954–955. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.

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Memphis Tigers men's basketball
Venues	Various locations (1920–1929) Memorial Fieldhouse (1929–1966) Mid-South Coliseum (1966–1991) Pyramid Arena (1991–2004) FedExForum (2004–present)
Rivalries	Cincinnati Louisville UAB
Culture & lore	Pouncer Newby's TOM (mascot) "Go Tigers Go" Mighty Sound of the South
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1942–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics