1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team American college basketball season
The 1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team represented Auburn University in the 1983–84 college basketball season . The team's head coach was Sonny Smith , who was in his sixth season at Auburn. The team played their home games at Memorial Coliseum in Auburn, Alabama . They finished the season 20–11, 12–6 in SEC play. They defeated Vanderbilt and Tennessee to advance to the championship game of the SEC tournament where they lost to Kentucky . They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to Richmond in the first round.[ 1]
Notable freshman signees were guards Gerald White and Frank Ford, along with junior college transfers Vern Strickland and Carey Holland for frontcourt help. Junior Charles Barkley suffered a back injury in the first game of the season and missed time, but returned for a January 13 home date with then #1-ranked Kentucky. Auburn upset the Wildcats 82-63, their first victory ever over a #1-ranked team.
After the first-round NCAA loss to Richmond, Barkley left Auburn and entered the NBA draft.
Roster
1983–84 Auburn Tigers men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
Pos.
#
Name
Height
Weight
Year
Previous school
Hometown
F/C
34
Charles Barkley
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
Jr
Leeds High School
Birmingham, AL
F
45
Chuck Person
6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
—
So
Brantley High School
Brantley, AL
F
11
Greg Turner
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
Sr
Tuskegee High School
Tuskegee, Alabama
G
12
Gerald White
6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
—
Fr
Richmond Academy
Augusta, Georgia
G
15
Frank Ford
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
Fr
Osceola High School
Kissimmee, Florida
F
31
Vern Strickland
6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
—
Jr
Emma Sansom High School
Gadsden, Alabama
F
00
Paul Daniels
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
—
Sr
Warner Christian
Ormond Beach, Florida
C
33
Carey Holland
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
So
Baldwin High School
Baldwin, Florida
F
21
Mark Cahill
6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)
—
So
Stone Mountain High School
Stone Mountain, Georgia
F
25
Terry Martin
6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
—
So
Douglass High School
Atlanta, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on
Schedule and results
Date time, TV
Rank#
Opponent#
Result
Record
Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 28, 1983 *
Columbus College
W 58–54
1–0
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Dec 2, 1983 * ESPN
at Alabama-Birmingham
L 62–69 OT
1–1
Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (16,803)Birmingham, Alabama
Dec 5, 1983 *
at Florida State
W 76–69
2–1
Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida
Dec 8, 1983 *
vs. Youngstown State Colonial Classic
W 78–52
3–1
Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama
Dec 9, 1983 *
at South Alabama Colonial Classic
L 73–95
3–2
Jaguar Gym (6,236)Mobile, Alabama
Dec 14, 1983 *
at Mercer
W 65–63
4–2
Porter Gymnasium Macon, Georgia
Dec 19, 1983 *
Eastern Kentucky
W 100–60
5–2
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Dec 22, 1983
at Mississippi State
W 73–55
6–2 (1–0)
Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi
Dec 27, 1983 * ESPN
vs. No. 10 Wake Forest Gator Bowl Tournament
L 67–76
6–3
Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida
Dec 28, 1983 *
vs. Villanova Gator Bowl Tournament
W 95–83
7–3
Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida
Jan 5, 1984
at Alabama
W 91–86
8–3 (2–0)
Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Jan 7, 1984 SPI
Florida
W 82–66
9–3 (3–0)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 13, 1984 WTBS
No. 2 Kentucky
W 82–63
10–3 (4–0)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 17, 1984
Vanderbilt
L 71–73
10–4 (4–1)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 22, 1984 SPI
at Georgia
L 86–90
10–5 (4–2)
Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia
Jan 24, 1984
at Tennessee
W 79–72
11–5 (5–2)
Stokely Athletic Center Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 27, 1984 WTBS
No. 10 LSU
W 80–78
12–5 (6–2)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Jan 31, 1984 * USA
No. 19
Ole Miss
W 60–50
13–5 (7–2)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Feb 5, 1984 SPI
No. 19
at Florida
W 67–65
14–5 (8–2)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida
Feb 11, 1984 SPI
No. 16
at No. 6 Kentucky
L 64–84
14–6 (8–3)
Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 13, 1984 ESPN
at Vanderbilt
W 73–67
15–6 (9–3)
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 18, 1984
Georgia
W 81–63
16–6 (10–3)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Feb 20, 1984
Tennessee
L 54–57
16–7 (10–4)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Feb 25, 1984 CBS
No. 19
at LSU
L 80–81
16–8 (10–5)
LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Feb 27, 1984
at Ole Miss
L 71–72
16–9 (10–6)
Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi
Mar 1, 1984 WTBS
Mississippi State
W 68–53
17–9 (11–6)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
Mar 3, 1984 SPI
Alabama
W 83–70
18–9 (12–6)
Beard–Eaves–Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama
SEC Tournament
Mar 8, 1984 * SPI
at Vanderbilt Quarterfinal
W 59–58
19–9
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 9, 1984 * SPI
vs. Tennessee Semifinal
W 60–58
20–9
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 10, 1984 * SPI
vs. No. 3 Kentucky Championship Game
L 49–51
20–10
Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1984 *
(5)
vs. (12) Richmond NCAA tournament
L 71–72[ 2]
20–11
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Sources [1]
[ 3]
Team players in the NBA draft
References
Venues Rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons NCAA Final Four appearances in italics