Alabama Basketball: Complete Crimson Tide NCAA Tournament History
By Ronald Evans
Mar. 1, 1986 – Southeast Regional First Round – Charlotte, NC
Alabama Crimson Tide 97- Xavier 80
A good SEC regular season and two SEC Tournament wins gave the Crimson Tide an NCAA, 5-seed.
The 12-seed Musketeers were no match for the Crimson Tide. The Tide led by six at halftime and coasted to the 17-point victory. Jim Farmer led the Tide in scoring with 24 points. Buck Johnson scored 22 points, followed by Derrick McKey with 16 points and Terry Coner with 14. Crimson Tide shooters were hot, making nearly 80 percent of second-half field goal attempts.
Mar. 16, 1986 – Southeast Regional Second Round – Charlotte, NC
Alabama Crimson Tide 58 – Illinois 56
In the first half, as the Tide built a 13-point lead, the game appeared well in hand. It wasn’t. The Illini came back and it took two big plays late for the Tide to win. Inside 30 seconds, Illinois had the ball with a chance to seal to win. Buck Johnson blocked a shot by Efrem Winters. After a Tide rebound, Wimp decided to hold for the last shot to break the tie.
Terry Coner made a layup with one second left for the winning margin. After the game, Illinois coach, Lou Henson was adamant Coner had traveled before he took the shot. In Henson’s mind, the Crimson Tide ‘walked’ to a victory.
Jim Farmer with 14 points, along with Buck Johnson and Terry Coner, who each scored 13 points, led the Tide scoring.
Mar. 20, 1986 – Sweet Sixteen – Atlanta, GA
Kentucky Wildcats 68 – Alabama Crimson Tide 63
Wimp Sanderson’s team needed the fourth time to be a charm at the end of the 1986 season. The Kentucky Wildcats had already beaten the Crimson Tide three times that season. The closest loss was by two points in Tuscaloosa.
Eddie Sutton’s Cats were the class of the SEC and would finish ranked as the No. 3 team in the nation. The Tide battled hard but plagued by 37 percent second-half shooting, a four-point first-half deficit was too much to overcome.
Terry Coner led the Tide with 20 points, followed by Buck Johnson with 16 and Derrick McKey with 14 points.