05/07/2020 | Men's Basketball
TUCSON, Ariz. – As we begin a new series looking back at the 16 conference championship teams in the Pac-10/12 era at Arizona, we begin with the first team to claim the crown – the 1985-86 squad.
Head coach Lute Olson was in his third season leading the Wildcats after taking over prior to the 1983-84 season. The year before Olson arrived, Arizona's record was 4-24 but just three years later Olson had the Wildcats cruising to a 23-9 mark and a 14-4 record in conference play while he collected Pac-10 Coach of the Year accolades.
After starting the season with a 1-2 mark at the Great Alaska Shootout, Arizona defeated Princeton and Boston College to win the Valley Bank Fiesta Bowl Classic and begin a six-game winning streak the including victories against Arizona State, Stanford and Cal to begin conference play.
One of the major keys to the team's success that season was a 16-0 mark in the McKale Center, just the third time since the building opened during the 1972-73 season that the Wildcats were perfect at home.
After rattling off seven straight wins down the stretch of the regular season, Arizona took on Auburn in Long Beach, California as part of the NCAA Tournament and came up on the short end of a 73-63 final score.
The 1985-86 Wildcats were one of the best shooting teams in Arizona history, finishing the year connecting at a 49.4 percent clip, a mark that still ranks 10th in program history.
Freshman Sean Elliott led UA in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game while also hauling in 5.3 rebounds and shooting 48.6 percent from the floor. He scored 499 points on the year, a total that still ranks as the eighth-most by a freshman in school history.
Steve Kerr, a junior on the team, averaged 14.4 points and 4.2 assists while shooting 54.0 percent from the floor in the final collegiate season without a 3-point line.
Sophomore Craig McMillan added 11.8 points and 4.1 assists per game and senior John Edgar was the team's leading rebounder at 7.3 per game while also chipping in 11.1 points.
1985-86 Roster
Head coach Lute Olson was in his third season leading the Wildcats after taking over prior to the 1983-84 season. The year before Olson arrived, Arizona's record was 4-24 but just three years later Olson had the Wildcats cruising to a 23-9 mark and a 14-4 record in conference play while he collected Pac-10 Coach of the Year accolades.
After starting the season with a 1-2 mark at the Great Alaska Shootout, Arizona defeated Princeton and Boston College to win the Valley Bank Fiesta Bowl Classic and begin a six-game winning streak the including victories against Arizona State, Stanford and Cal to begin conference play.
One of the major keys to the team's success that season was a 16-0 mark in the McKale Center, just the third time since the building opened during the 1972-73 season that the Wildcats were perfect at home.
After rattling off seven straight wins down the stretch of the regular season, Arizona took on Auburn in Long Beach, California as part of the NCAA Tournament and came up on the short end of a 73-63 final score.
The 1985-86 Wildcats were one of the best shooting teams in Arizona history, finishing the year connecting at a 49.4 percent clip, a mark that still ranks 10th in program history.
Freshman Sean Elliott led UA in scoring, averaging 15.6 points per game while also hauling in 5.3 rebounds and shooting 48.6 percent from the floor. He scored 499 points on the year, a total that still ranks as the eighth-most by a freshman in school history.
Steve Kerr, a junior on the team, averaged 14.4 points and 4.2 assists while shooting 54.0 percent from the floor in the final collegiate season without a 3-point line.
Sophomore Craig McMillan added 11.8 points and 4.1 assists per game and senior John Edgar was the team's leading rebounder at 7.3 per game while also chipping in 11.1 points.
1985-86 Roster
| # | Name | Year | Height | Points/Gm |
| 32 | Sean Elliott | Fr. | 6-8 | 15.6 |
| 25 | Steve Kerr | Jr. | 6-3 | 14.4 |
| 20 | Craig McMillan | So. | 6-6 | 11.8 |
| 50 | John Edgar | Sr. | 6-6 | 11.1 |
| 0 | Anthony Cook | Fr. | 6-8 | 6.1 |
| 33 | Joe Turner | So. | 6-9 | 3.6 |
| 11 | Ken Lofton | Fr. | 5-11 | 2.4 |
| 13 | Rolf Jacobs | So. | 6-6 | 2 |
| 21 | Eric Cooper | Fr. | 6-3 | 1.4 |
| 24 | David Haskin | Sr. | 6-5 | 1.3 |
| 45 | Bruce Wheatley | Fr. | 6-9 | 0.8 |
| 22 | Bruce Fraser | Jr. | 6-4 | 0.1 |
| 1985-86 Season Results | |||
| Overall Won: 23, Lost: 9 | |||
| Pac-10 Won: 14, Lost: 4 (1st Place) | |||
| Coach: Lute Olson | |||
| Valley Bank Fiesta Bowl Classic Champions | |||
| Pacific-10 Conference Champions | |||
| NCAA Tournament Participants | |||
| N29 | Texas-San Antonio (1) | W | 62-49 |
| N30 | Nevada-Las Vegas (1) | L | 59-60 |
| D1 | Purdue (1) | L | 74-81 |
| D4 | Denver | W | 63-54 |
| D7 | Northern Arizona | W | 66-57 |
| D10 | at Tulsa | L | 51-54 |
| D12 | San Diego State | W | 72-66 |
| D14 | New Mexico | W | 70-55 |
| D21 | at Utah | L | 68-76 |
| D27 | Princeton (2) | W | 54-41 |
| D28 | Boston College (2) | W | 71-61 |
| J2 | Hawaii-Hilo | W | 104-71 |
| J4 | *Arizona State | W | 62-53 |
| J9 | *Stanford | W | 77-69 |
| J12 | *California (2ot) | W | 79-72 |
| J16 | *at USC | L | 62-63 |
| J18 | at Miami, Fla. (ot) | W | 81-74 |
| J23 | *Oregon State (ot) | W | 63-62 |
| J25 | *Oregon | W | 85-68 |
| J30 | *at Washington State (ot) | L | 63-65 |
| F1 | *at Washington | W | 70-57 |
| F6 | *at California | W | 61-52 |
| F8 | *at Stanford | L | 56-62 |
| F13 | *UCLA | W | 85-60 |
| F15 | *USC | W | 71-62 |
| F20 | *at Oregon | W | 65-59 |
| F22 | *at Oregon State | W | 55-53 |
| F27 | *Washington | W | 77-56 |
| M1 | *Washington State | W | 62-61 |
| M3 | *at UCLA | W | 88-76 |
| M9 | *at Arizona State | L | 63-70 |
| M14 | Auburn | L | 63-73 |
| * Pacific-10 Conference game (14-4, 1st) | |||
| (1) at Great Alaska Shootout, Anchorage, Alaska | |||
| (2) at Valley Bank Fiesta Bowl Classic, Tucson, Ariz. | |||
| (3) at NCAA Tournament, Long Beach, Calif. | |||
Saturday, October 17
Friday, October 16
Friday, October 16
Wednesday, October 14
