By the mid-1980s, slow-down games in which weaker teams attempted to control the ball for long stretches without shooting as a way of evening their odds against larger and faster teams had become common enough in men's college basketball to prompt the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) to adopt a shot clock in men' basketball this season to force a return to quicker and higher-scoring play.

[2] The new shot clock was not the only major change that the 1985-86 Hoyas faced: They also played the first season of the post-Patrick Ewing era at Georgetown, and the graduation of the dominant center – as well as of forward Bill Martin – in May 1985 required adjustments by a team that had become accustomed to Ewing's stellar offensive and defensive performances.

[6] Sophomore guard Perry McDonald was hobbled by a back injury all season and averaged only 3.4 points per game.

[8] The Hoyas' record earned them a bye in the first round of the 1986 Big East men's basketball tournament.

In the quarterfinals, they squeaked past Pittsburgh with a one-point win in which Wingate's defense was key to pulling out the victory.

4 seed in the Midwest Region of the 1986 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament – the eighth of 14 consecutive Georgetown NCAA tournament appearances – and defeated Texas Tech in the first round to advance to the second round, in which the Hoyas met the Midwest Region's No.

Although he had nine of Georgetown's 17 assists, Michael Jackson shot only 1-for-7 (14.3%) from the field while Michigan State senior guard Scott Skiles scored 24 points to lead the Spartans to an 80–68 upset win and bring the Hoyas' season to an end.

[6] David Wingate graduated in May 1986 as the third-highest scorer in Georgetown history, having been the runner-up in scoring in each of his four seasons on the team.