1986 – Three Teams in the NIT, One in the Final Four

After terrific NCAA runs by Lamar and Louisiana Tech in recent years, the 1985-86 Southland Conference season appeared to be a bit more tranquil, although Lamar’s crushing 78-59 home win over defending national champ Villanova reminded everyone of the Cardinals’ ability to compete successfully outside the league. However, it was Louisiana-Monroe’s turn at the top of the Southland, winning both the regular season and tournament titles before falling to UNLV in the NCAA tournament.

The larger story turned out to be the “other” tournament – the National Invitation Tournament – as a record three Southland teams earned berths: Lamar, McNeese State and Louisiana Tech.

While the Cardinals suffered a tough 65-63 home loss to George Mason in the NIT first round, the McNeese Cowboys handled Dayton at home, 86-75, and Louisiana Tech won 67-61 at Northern Arizona. While not ideal, the wins forced an intra-conference matchup between Tech and McNeese in Ruston, La., that the Bulldogs won, 77-61. That sent Tech to a quarterfinal game at Providence led by a young Rick Pitino and featuring a sharp-shooting guard named Billy Donovan.

Tech edged the Friars that night, 64-63, to earn an unthinkable trip to New York City’s Madison Square Garden for an NIT semifinal game with Ohio State. The Buckeyes exacted revenge for the previous year’s NCAA loss to Louisiana Tech, dispatching the Bulldogs, 79-66. However, Tech rebounded to defeat Florida in the NIT third-place game, 67-62.

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