1986 AMCU-8 men's basketball tournament

The 1986 AMCU-8 men's basketball tournament was held March 6–8, 1986, at the John Q. Hammons Student Center at Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri.

1986 AMCU-8 men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1985–86
Teams	8
Site	John Q. Hammons Student Center Springfield, Missouri
Champions	Cleveland State (1st title)
Winning coach	Kevin Mackey (1st title)
MVP	Kevin Duckworth (Eastern Illinois)
AMCU-8 men's basketball tournaments

1985–86 AMCU-8 Conference 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
† 1986 AMCU-8 tournament winner

Cleveland State defeated Eastern Illinois in the title game, 70–66, to win their first AMCU/Summit League championship. The AMCU-8 did not receive an automatic bid to the 1986 Tournament. However, the Vikings earned an at-large bid and made a run to the Sweet Sixteen.

Format

All eight conference members qualified for the tournament. First round seedings were based on regular season record.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals Thursday, March 6					Semifinals Friday, March 7					Final Saturday, March 8
	1	Cleveland State	73
	8	Northern Iowa	68
						1	Cleveland State	100
						5	Illinois–Chicago	84
	4	Western Illinois	68
	5	Illinois–Chicago	71
											1	Cleveland State	70
											3	Eastern Illinois	66
	2	Southwest Missouri State	63
	7	Wisconsin–Green Bay	50
						2	Southwest Missouri State	67
						3	Eastern Illinois	71
	3	Eastern Illinois	85
	6	Valparaiso	65