The 1986-87 season was unfolding like a fairytale for the Iowa men’s basketball program.
The Hawkeyes won a school record of 30 games and vaulted to the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll for the first time in school history in late January after racing out to an 18-0 start.
Iowa’s lineup included seven future NBA players, like star point guard B.J. Armstrong, who went on to have an all-star career with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.
Despite the incredible accomplishments during the season, the 1986-87 team is often remembered for one game – the regional final against national powerhouse Nevada-Las Vegas.
Breaking records
Iowa entered the 1986-87 campaign with plenty of uncertainty.
Head coach George Raveling departed in the offseason to take the job at USC. Raveling compiled a 54-38 record in three seasons with the Hawkeyes, but his teams often faltered late in the season and were quickly bounced in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Though Iowa underachieved on the court during Raveling’s tenure, his 1985 recruiting class of Armstrong, Roy Marble, Ed Horton, Les Jepsen, and junior college transfer Kevin Gamble would later pave the way for the program’s success during the late 80s.
For Raveling’s replacement, Iowa tapped Stanford University’s head coach Tom Davis to restore the program to national prominence. Davis had a career record of 274-150 after successful stints at Boston College and Lafayette College but only went 58-59 in four seasons with Stanford.
Despite thoughts of transferring following the coaching change, Iowa players decided to stick with Davis due to his up-tempo, fast break style of play.
Needless to say, they made the right choice.
The Hawkeyes began the year ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll and promptly won three-straight games at the Great Alaska Shootout, including a victory over No. 17 NC State.
Iowa continued to decimate its non-conference opponents and rolled into the new year with a 12-0 record heading into conference action.
From there, the Hawkeyes continued to win with consecutive road triumphs over top-10 Illinois and Purdue squads earned Iowa the top spot in the AP Poll for the first time in program history.
In their first game as No. 1, the Hawkeyes hosted Bob Knight and No. 3 Indiana before a raucous crowd of over 15,000 fans at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. In a back-and-forth affair, Iowa prevailed, 101-88, securing a statement victory.
Though the Hawkeyes lost their No. 1 ranking two days later after a loss to Ohio State, they ended the season 27-4 overall and 14-4 in a loaded Big Ten, finishing in second place.
For their efforts during the season, Iowa was awarded a No. 2 seed in the 1987 NCAA Tournament. The Hawkeyes would play in the West Regional opposite top-overall seed UNLV.
Hanging on
Iowa dispatched Santa Clara in the opening round by 23 points but ran into some trouble in the second round against Texas-El Paso, coached by Hall of Famer Don Haskins.
The Miners led 42-38 at the half and remained in front for the majority of the contest, but Marble’s 28 points and seven rebounds proved to be the difference in an 84-82 Iowa comeback win.
Next, Iowa faced Oklahoma in the Sweet 16 in Seattle.
Similar to UTEP, the Sooners gave the Hawkeyes all they could handle and led by a point at the intermission. Neither team could extend a lead in the second half, and it would take overtime to decide it.
With Oklahoma hanging on to a one-point advantage late in the game, Armstrong found Gamble wide-open on the top of the key for a game-winning three-pointer to send Iowa to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in school history.
Following their victory, the Hawkeyes awaited the winner of the Wyoming-UNLV contest, which resulted in a 92-78 UNLV win, meaning the top two seeds in the regional would play for a trip to the Final Four in New Orleans.
The game
The Runnin’ Rebels entered the game with a 36-1 record, but underdog Iowa quickly raced out to a 58-42 lead at halftime, aided by strong performances from Marble and Armstrong.
The Hawkeyes were 23-0 when leading at the half during the season, and most of the fans in the Kingdome that day anticipated an Iowa victory.
But UNLV had other ideas.
The Rebels were well-known for their fast-paced, high-scoring offense under legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian, averaging 92.6 points per game during the 1986-87 campaign. The 1987 NCAA Tournament also marked the introduction of the three-point shot to college basketball, making a 16-point deficit “not too difficult to overcome,” according to CBS television analyst Billy Cunningham.
UNLV meticulously cut into the Hawkeye lead by forcing several Iowa turnovers out of the break and getting easy buckets in transition. Making matters worse, the Hawkeyes were shooting a measly 29 percent from the floor.
As the second half wore on, the game continued to flip for the Rebels, and they took an 82-76 lead with under two minutes to play.
Despite blowing the lead, the Hawkeyes didn’t give up and trimmed the UNLV lead down to one after a Gamble triple. On the ensuing possession, Iowa forced a 10-second call, giving themselves the ball and a chance to steal the win with 22 seconds remaining.
Gamble had the ball in his hands again but this time saw center Brad Lohaus wide-open near the rim. He lobbed it into Lohaus, but the pass was well off the mark and hit the backboard, resulting in a turnover back to the Rebels.
After UNLV knocked down a pair of free throws, the Hawkeyes had one last chance to tie the game and send it to overtime.
But Gamble’s contested heave rimmed out at the buzzer, ending Iowa’s magical season.
Aftermath
The loss dropped Iowa to 30-5, which remains the school record for most wins in a season as well as the most recent time the Hawkeyes have advanced to the Elite Eight.
The tandem of Armstrong and Marble lasted for two more seasons, resulting in a Sweet 16 appearance in 1988 and a disappointing second-round double overtime loss to NC State during their senior year in 1989.
Marble had a brief stint in the NBA and held Iowa’s all-time leading scoring record for 32 years until Luka Garza broke it in 2021.
Davis remained as head coach until 1999 and led Iowa to its most recent Sweet 16 berth that year.
UNLV was upset in the Final Four by a scrappy Indiana team led by future Iowa head coach Steve Alford. The Hoosiers claimed the title two nights later against Syracuse, further reminding Hawkeye fans what could have been.
Iowa might have lost to Indiana in the Final Four, but the Hawkeyes had the athleticism to compete with anyone in 1987 and could have captured the championship in New Orleans. Also, playing in the Final Four at all is rare for the Iowa program, which hasn’t made an appearance since 1980.
Regardless of the sour ending, the 1986-87 Hawkeyes are regarded by many Iowa fans as the best team in program history, but the blown opportunity of appearing in the Final Four hurts for many fans nearly 40 years later.
