1987–88 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team

The 1987–88 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1987–88 college basketball season. The team's head coach was Sonny Smith, who was in his tenth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Joel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama. They finished the season 19–11, 11–7 in SEC play. They lost to Georgia in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament where they defeated Bradley to advance to the Second Round where they lost to Oklahoma.[1]

1987–88 Auburn Tigers men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Second Round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
1987–88 record19–11 (11–7 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaJoel H. Eaves Memorial Coliseum
1987–88 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L PCT  W L PCT
No. 6 Kentucky135 .722  276  .818
Auburn117 .611  1911  .633
Florida117 .611  2312  .657
LSU108 .556  1614  .533
Vanderbilt108 .556  2011  .645
Tennessee99 .500  1613  .552
Georgia810 .444  2016  .556
Ole Miss612 .333  1316  .448
Alabama612 .333  1417  .452
Mississippi State612 .333  1415  .483
1988 SEC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The Tigers' most notable freshman signee was 7'0" center Matt Geiger. Geiger was pressed into service early as a starter when senior Jeff Moore went down with an early-season injury.

Junior forward Mike Jones, the Tigers' leading scorer and rebounder, was declared academically ineligible and left the team after seven games. As a result, sophomore John Caylor became a starting forward along with senior Chris Morris. Caylor paid an immediate dividend by hitting a game-winning 3-point shot with 10 seconds left to give the Tigers an early conference road victory over #1-ranked Kentucky.

Guards Gerald White and Frank Ford were lost to graduation, but seniors Terrence Howard and Johnny Lynn, sophomore Derrick Dennison, and juco transfer Keenan Carpenter were able to offset the loss.

Roster

1987–88 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
F 34 Chris Morris 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
SrFredrick Douglass High School Atlanta, Georgia
F 13 Mike Jones 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
Jr Columbus, Georgia
C 40 Jeff Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
SrMidfield High School Midfield, Alabama
G 10 Terrence Howard 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
SrSouthwest High School Southwest, AL
F 22 John Caylor 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
SoMorristown West High School Talbott, Tennessee
C 25 Matt Geiger 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
FrCountryside High School Clearwater, FL
G 30 Keenan Carpenter 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Jr Rutherfordton, Tennessee
G 24 Derrick Dennison 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
SoDouglass High School Atlanta, Georgia
G 14 Johnny Lynn 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
SrBeech High School Hendersonville, Tennessee
G 11 Melvin Haralson 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Jr Jackson, Mississippi
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Rankings

References

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