Dale Brown once pulled off one of LSU basketball’s greatest NCAA Tournament upsets
In 1986, Brown led an 11th-seeded LSU team past Kentucky, a team that had beaten the Tigers three times that season, to reach the Final Four.
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - Before Cinderella stories became a staple of March Madness, legendary LSU basketball coach Dale Brown and his Tigers pulled off one of the most unlikely runs in NCAA Tournament history.
In 1986, Brown guided an 11th-seeded LSU team to the Final Four, becoming the first team seeded that low to reach college basketball’s biggest stage.
The Tigers accomplished the feat by defeating the top three seeds in their region, including a Kentucky team that had already beaten LSU three times that season.
As LSU remembers Brown following his death Friday, Oct. 23, at age 90, the Tigers’ 1986 NCAA Tournament run remains one of the defining achievements of his 25-year coaching career.
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LSU stuns Kentucky to reach the Final Four
On March 22, 1986, LSU faced top-seeded Kentucky in the Southeast Regional final at the Omni in Atlanta.
The Wildcats entered the game having won 14 straight games, including three victories over Brown’s Tigers earlier that season.
Kentucky jumped out to an 11-4 lead, but LSU fought back, keeping the game close through the first half.
With the game tied at 43 midway through the second half, Kentucky went on a 4-0 run, prompting Brown to call a timeout.
According to an account published by LSU Athletics, Brown told his players they were exactly where they needed to be.
The Tigers responded, eventually taking the lead on two free throws by Ricky Blanton with 2:31 remaining.
With 17 seconds left, Don Redden found Blanton open underneath the basket for a layup that gave LSU a 59-55 advantage.
Kentucky answered with a basket, but a last-second attempt from halfcourt missed.
LSU won 59-57, sending the Tigers to the Final Four.
“I guess it’s the highest moment I’ve ever had,” Brown said after the victory, according to LSU Athletics.
A Cinderella run nobody expected
LSU entered the 1986 NCAA Tournament as the No. 11 seed in the Southeast Region after struggling through the final stretch of its regular season.
The Tigers had lost eight of their final 13 regular-season games and barely received an at-large invitation to the tournament.
But LSU had an advantage few lower-seeded teams receive today: The Tigers played their first two NCAA Tournament games at home in the Assembly Center.
The tournament opened with a 94-87 double-overtime victory over sixth-seeded Purdue on March 13.
Two days later, Anthony Wilson hit a last-second shot to lift LSU past third-seeded Memphis State, 83-81.
In the Sweet 16, Don Redden scored 27 points as the Tigers defeated second-seeded Georgia Tech, 70-64.
That set up the Elite Eight showdown with Kentucky.
Brown’s unconventional defensive approach, known as the “freak defense,” played a significant role in the run. The Tigers also relied on players adapting to unfamiliar positions, including Ricky Blanton, a guard who moved to center.
The victory over Kentucky made LSU the first No. 11 seed ever to reach the Final Four.
The historic run ended March 29 when LSU lost 88-77 to eventual national champion Louisville in the national semifinals in Dallas.
A moment that defined Brown’s legacy
The 1986 Final Four appearance was Brown’s second at LSU, following the Tigers’ trip in 1981.
Years later, Brown remembered the 1986 team not just for its victories but for the bond between its players.
“Never have I had a team that was so close-knit and (the players) loved each other,” Brown said in remarks published by LSU Athletics.
Brown finished his LSU career with 448 on-court victories, four Southeastern Conference regular-season championships and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances.
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