1985–86 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Tournament dates

March 13, 1986 – March 31, 1986

National Championship

NCAA Champions

Other champions

Player of the Year
(Naismith, Wooden)

NCAA Division I basketball seasons
«1984–85	1986–87»

1985–86 AMCU-8 men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Cleveland State	13	–	1	.929	29	–	4	.879
Southwest Missouri State	10	–	4	.714	24	–	8	.750
Eastern Illinois	8	–	6	.571	19	–	13	.594
Western Illinois	7	–	7	.500	13	–	15	.464
Illinois-Chicago	7	–	7	.500	13	–	16	.448
Valparaiso	5	–	9	.357	9	–	19	.321
Wisconsin–Green Bay	3	–	11	.214	5	–	23	.179
Northern Iowa	3	–	11	.214	8	–	19	.296

Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#1 Duke†	12	–	2	.857	37	–	3	.925
#6 Georgia Tech	11	–	3	.786	27	–	7	.794
#8 North Carolina	10	–	4	.714	28	–	6	.824
North Carolina State	7	–	7	.500	21	–	13	.618
Virginia	7	–	7	.500	19	–	11	.633
Maryland	6	–	8	.429	19	–	14	.576
Clemson	3	–	11	.214	19	–	15	.559
Wake Forest	0	–	14	.000	8	–	21	.276

† ACC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Atlantic 10 Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Saint Joseph's	16	–	2	.889	26	–	6	.813
West Virginia	15	–	3	.833	22	–	11	.667
Temple	15	–	3	.833	25	–	6	.806
St. Bonaventure	10	–	8	.556	15	–	13	.536
Duquesne	9	–	9	.500	15	–	14	.517
George Washington	7	–	11	.389	12	–	16	.429
UMass	6	–	12	.333	9	–	9	.500
St. Bonaventure	5	–	13	.278	9	–	19	.321
Penn State	5	–	13	.278	12	–	17	.414
Rutgers	2	–	16	.111	8	–	21	.276

Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Big East men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#4 St. John's †	14	–	2	.875	31	–	5	.861
#9 Syracuse	14	–	2	.875	26	–	6	.813
#13 Georgetown	11	–	5	.688	24	–	8	.750
Villanova	10	–	6	.625	23	–	14	.622
Providence	7	–	9	.438	17	–	14	.548
Pittsburgh	6	–	10	.375	15	–	14	.517
Boston College	4	–	12	.250	13	–	15	.464
Connecticut	3	–	13	.188	12	–	16	.429
Seton Hall	3	–	13	.188	14	–	18	.438

† 1986 Big East Tournament winner As of March 31, 1986; Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Big Eight Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Kansas †	13	–	1	.929	35	–	4	.897
Iowa State	9	–	5	.643	22	–	11	.667
Nebraska	8	–	6	.571	19	–	11	.633
Missouri	8	–	6	.571	21	–	14	.600
Oklahoma	8	–	6	.571	26	–	9	.743
Oklahoma State	6	–	8	.429	15	–	13	.536
Colorado	0	–	14	.000	8	–	20	.286
Kansas State	4	–	10	.286	16	–	14	.533

† 1986 Big Eight Conference Tournament winner As of March 31, 1986; Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Big Sky Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Northern Arizona	9	–	5	.643	19	–	10	.655
Montana	9	–	5	.643	21	–	11	.656
Idaho State	8	–	6	.571	15	–	12	.556
Weber State	7	–	7	.500	18	–	11	.621
Nevada	7	–	7	.500	13	–	15	.464
Montana State	6	–	8	.429	14	–	17	.452
Boise State	6	–	8	.429	12	–	16	.429
Idaho	4	–	10	.286	11	–	18	.379

Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Big South Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Baptist College †	5	–	1	.833	21	–	9	.700
Winthrop	5	–	3	.625	20	–	9	.690
Augusta State	4	–	4	.500	13	–	17	.433
Radford	3	–	4	.429	11	–	17	.393
UNC Asheville	4	–	2	.667	20	–	9	.690
Campbell	3	–	5	.375	8	–	19	.296
Armstrong	4	–	3	.571	15	–	12	.556
Coastal Carolina	1	–	7	.125	10	–	17	.370

† 1986 Big South Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#5 Michigan	14	–	4	.778	28	–	5	.848
#16 Indiana	13	–	5	.722	21	–	8	.724
#18 Michigan State	12	–	6	.667	23	–	8	.742
#19 Illinois	11	–	7	.611	22	–	10	.688
Purdue	10	–	8	.556	22	–	10	.688
Iowa	10	–	8	.556	20	–	12	.625
Ohio State	8	–	10	.444	19	–	14	.576
Minnesota	5	–	13	.278	15	–	16	.484
Wisconsin	4	–	14	.222	12	–	16	.429
Northwestern	2	–	16	.111	8	–	20	.286

Rankings from AP Poll

1985–86 Big West Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
#11 UNLV	16	–	2	.889	33	–	5	.868
UC Irvine	12	–	6	.667	17	–	13	.567
New Mexico State	10	–	8	.556	18	–	12	.600
San Jose State	9	–	9	.500	16	–	12	.571
Pacific	9	–	9	.500	17	–	14	.548
Cal State Fullerton	8	–	10	.444	16	–	16	.500
Fresno State	8	–	10	.444	15	–	15	.500
Utah State	8	–	10	.444	12	–	16	.429
UC Santa Barbara	7	–	11	.389	12	–	15	.444
Long Beach State	3	–	15	.167	7	–	22	.241

Rankings from AP Poll

Beginning in 1985–86, the following rules changes were implemented:

The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.