1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
Preseason AP No. 1	Cincinnati
Regular season	November 1996 –; March 1997
NCAA Tournament	1997
Tournament dates	March 13 – March 31, 1997
National Championship	RCA Dome; Indianapolis, Indiana
NCAA Champions	Arizona Wildcats
Other champions	Michigan Wolverines (Vacated) (NIT)
Player of the Year; (Naismith, Wooden)	Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
	← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in the 64-team 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament whose finals were held at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Arizona Wildcats earned their first national championship by defeating the Kentucky Wildcats 84–79 on March 31, 1997. They were coached by Lute Olsen and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Arizona's Miles Simon.

In the 32-team 1997 National Invitation Tournament, the Michigan Wolverines defeated the Florida State Seminoles at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Michigan later vacated the 1997 NIT title after Robert Traylor and Louis Bullock were ruled ineligible.

Following the season, the 1997 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American Consensus First team included Tim Duncan, Danny Fortson, Raef LaFrentz, Ron Mercer, and Keith Van Horn.

Season headlines

Lute Olsen led the Arizona Wildcats to its first national championship.

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll.

Associated Press
Ranking	Team
1	Cincinnati
2	Kansas
3	Kentucky
4	Wake Forest
5	UCLA
6	Utah
7	Villanova
8	North Carolina
9	Michigan
10	Duke
11	Iowa State
12	Syracuse
13	Arkansas
14	Fresno State
15	Massachusetts
16	Texas
17	New Mexico
18	Stanford
19	Arizona
20	Clemson
21	Boston College
22	Minnesota
23	Iowa
24	George Washington
25	Marquette

Conference membership changes

These schools joined new conferences for the 1996–97 season.

School	Former conference	New conference
Baylor	Southwest Conference	Big 12 Conference
Boise State	Big Sky Conference	Big West Conference
Cal Poly	American West Conference	Big West Conference
Cal State Northridge	American West Conference	Big Sky Conference
Colorado	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Eastern Illinois	Mid-Continent Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Houston	Southwest Conference	Conference USA
Idaho	Big Sky Conference	Big West Conference
Iowa State	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Kansas	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Kansas State	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Missouri	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Nebraska	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
North Texas	Southland Conference	Big West Conference
Oklahoma	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Oklahoma State	Big Eight Conference	Big 12 Conference
Portland State	NCAA Division II	Big Sky Conference
Rice	Southwest Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Sacramento State	American West Conference	Big Sky Conference
San Jose State	Big West Conference	Western Athletic Conference
SMU	Southwest Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Southern Utah	American West Conference	NCAA Division I Independent
TCU	Southwest Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Texas	Southwest Conference	Big 12 Conference
Texas A&M	Southwest Conference	Big 12 Conference
Texas Tech	Southwest Conference	Big 12 Conference
Tulsa	Missouri Valley Conference	Western Athletic Conference
UNLV	Big West Conference	Western Athletic Conference

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

27 conference seasons concluded with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Big Ten Conference, Ivy League and the Pac-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Conference tournament winners received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Conference	Regular season winner^[1]	Conference player of the year	Conference tournament	Tournament venue (City)	Tournament winner
America East Conference	Boston University	Tunji Awojobi, Boston University^[2]	1997 America East men's basketball tournament	Case Gym (Boston, Massachusetts)	Boston University^[3]
Atlantic 10 Conference	St. Joseph's (East) Xavier (West)	Marc Jackson, Temple^[4]	1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament	The Spectrum (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)	St. Joseph's^[5]
Atlantic Coast Conference	Duke	Tim Duncan, Wake Forest^[6]	1997 ACC men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	North Carolina^[7]
Big 12 Conference	Kansas	Raef LaFrentz, Kansas^[8]	1997 Big 12 men's basketball tournament	Kemper Arena (Kansas City, Missouri)	Kansas^[9]
Big East Conference	Boston College & Villanova (Big East 6) Georgetown (Big East 7)	Pat Garrity, Notre Dame^[10]	1997 Big East men's basketball tournament	Madison Square Garden (New York City, New York)	Boston College^[10]
Big Sky Conference	Northern Arizona	Charles Thomas, Northern Arizona^[11]	1997 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament	Walkup Skydome (Flagstaff, Arizona)	Montana^[11]
Big South Conference	UNC Asheville	Josh Pittman, UNC Asheville^[12]	1997 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament	Vines Center (Lynchburg, Virginia)	Charleston Southern^[12]
Big Ten Conference	Minnesota (Vacated)	Bobby Jackson, Minnesota (Vacated)^[13]	No Tournament
Big West Conference	Pacific (Western) Nevada (Eastern)	Faron Hand, Nevada^[14]	1997 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament	Lawlor Events Center (Reno, Nevada)	Pacific^[14]
Colonial Athletic Association	Old Dominion	Odell Hodge, Old Dominion^[15]	1997 CAA men's basketball tournament	Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, Virginia)	Old Dominion^[15]
Conference USA	Cincinnati	Danny Fortson, Cincinnati^[16]	1997 Conference USA men's basketball tournament	Kiel Center (St. Louis, Missouri)	Marquette^[16]
Ivy League	Princeton	Sydney Johnson, Princeton^[17]	No Tournament
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference	Iona	Mindaugas Timinskas, Iona^[18]	1997 MAAC men's basketball tournament	Marine Midland Arena (Buffalo, New York)	Fairfield^[19]
Mid-American Conference	Bowling Green Miami (OH)	Antonio Daniels, Bowling Green^[20]	1997 MAC men's basketball tournament	SeaGate Convention Centre (Toledo, Ohio)	Miami (OH)^[20]
Mid-Continent Conference	Valparaiso	Bryce Drew, Valparaiso^[21]	1997 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament	The MARK of the Quad Cities (Moline, Illinois)	Valparaiso^[21]
Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference	Coppin State	Roderick Blakney, South Carolina State	1997 MEAC men's basketball tournament	Richmond Coliseum (Richmond, Virginia)	Coppin State
Midwestern Collegiate Conference	Butler	Jon Neuhouser, Butler^[22]	1997 MCC men's basketball tournament	Nutter Center (Dayton, Ohio)	Butler
Missouri Valley Conference	Illinois State	Jason Daisy, Northern Iowa^[23]	1997 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Kiel Center (St. Louis, Missouri)	Illinois State
Northeast Conference	Long Island	Charles Jones, Long Island^[24]	1997 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament	Schwartz Athletic Center (Brooklyn, New York)	Long Island^[25]
Ohio Valley Conference	Austin Peay Murray State	Bubba Wells, Austin Peay^[26]	1997 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament	Gaylord Entertainment Center (Nashville, Tennessee) (Semifinals and Finals)	Murray State^[26]
Pacific-10 Conference	UCLA	Ed Gray, California^[27]	No Tournament
Patriot League	Navy	Adonal Foyle, Colgate^[28]	1997 Patriot League men's basketball tournament	Alumni Hall (Annapolis, Maryland)	Navy^[29]
Southeastern Conference	South Carolina (East) Ole Miss (West)	Ron Mercer, Kentucky^[30]	1997 SEC men's basketball tournament	Pyramid Arena (Memphis, Tennessee)	Kentucky
Southern Conference	Marshall (North) Chattanooga (South)	Johnny Taylor, Chattanooga^[31]	1997 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament	Greensboro Coliseum (Greensboro, North Carolina)	Chattanooga^[32]
Southland Conference	Texas State	Rosell Ellis, McNeese State^[33]	1997 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum (Shreveport, Louisiana)	Texas State
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Mississippi Valley State	Randy Bolden, Texas Southern^[34]	1997 SWAC men's basketball tournament	—	Jackson State
Sun Belt Conference	South Alabama	Muntrelle Dobbins, Little Rock^[35]	1997 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament	Barton Coliseum (Little Rock, Arkansas)	South Alabama
Trans America Athletic Conference	College of Charleston	Anthony Johnson, College of Charleston^[36]	1997 TAAC men's basketball tournament	John Kresse Arena (Charleston, South Carolina)	College of Charleston
West Coast Conference	St. Mary's Santa Clara	Marlon Garnett, Santa Clara^[37]	1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament	Gersten Pavilion (Los Angeles, California)	St. Mary's
Western Athletic Conference	Fresno State (Pacific) Utah (Mountain)	Anthony Carter, Hawaii Keith Van Horn, Utah^[38]	1997 WAC men's basketball tournament	Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, Nevada)	Utah

Statistical leaders

Source for additional stats categories

Player	School	PPG	Player	School	RPG	Player	School	APG	Player	School	SPG
Points per game			Rebounds per game			Assists per game			Steals per game
Charles Jones	Long Island	30.1	Tim Duncan	Wake Forest	14.7	Kenny Mitchell	Dartmouth	7.8	Joel Hoover	Maryland Eastern Shore	3.2
Ed Gray	California	24.8	Adonal Foyle	Colgate	13.1	Brevin Knight	Stanford	7.8	Philip Huyler	Florida Atlantic	3.2
Adonal Foyle	Colgate	24.4	Lorenzo Coleman	Tennessee Tech	11.9	Kareem Gilbert	Tennessee State	7.6	Kellii Taylor	Pittsburgh	3.2
Raymond Tutt	UC Santa Barbara	24.0	Tony Battie	Texas Tech	11.8	Jamar Smiley	Illinois State	7.3	Moe Segar	St. Peter's	3.1
Antonio Daniels	Bowling Green	24.0	Muntrelle Dobbins	Little Rock	11.4	Chad Peckinpaugh	Eastern Illinois	7.3	Mustafa Barksdale	Monmouth	3.0

Player	School	BPG	Player	School	FG%	Player	School	3FG%	Player	School	FT%
Blocked shots per game			Field-goal percentage			Three-Point FG percentage			Free-throw percentage
Adonal Foyle	Colgate	6.4	Todd MacCulloch	Washington	.676	Corey Reed	Radford	.476	Aaron Zobrist	Lamar	.906
Lorenzo Coleman	Tennessee Tech	4.8	Sean Scott	Central Connecticut	.670	D. J. Bosse	Kent State	.475	Keith Van Horn	Utah	.904
Richard Lugo	St. Francis (NY)	4.5	Rosell Ellis	McNeese State	.668	Louis Bullock	Michigan	.472	Jim Williamson	Loyola Marymount	.902
Jerome James	Florida A&M	4.4	Ed Sears	Ohio	.647	Andrew Mavis	Northern Arizona	.471	Marcus Wilson	Evansville	.901
Kelvin Cato	Iowa State	4.2	Lorenzo Coleman	Tennessee Tech	.645	Bryce Drew	Valparaiso	.457	Trajan Langdon	Duke	.897

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four – RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana

National semifinals			National championship game

E1	North Carolina	58

SE4	Arizona	66
			SE4	Arizona	84*

			W1	Kentucky	79
M1	Minnesota	69

W1	Kentucky	78

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

Semifinals			Finals

	Florida State	71

	Connecticut	65
				Florida State	73

				Michigan	82
	Michigan	77

	Arkansas	62

Third Place - Connecticut 74, Arkansas 64

Michigan later forfeited its entire 1996–97 schedule after Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor and Louis Bullock were found to have taken money from a Michigan booster.

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

^[39]

**Consensus First Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Tim Duncan	C	Senior	Wake Forest
Danny Fortson	F	Junior	Cincinnati
Raef LaFrentz	C	Junior	Kansas
Ron Mercer	F	Sophomore	Kentucky
Keith Van Horn	F	Senior	Utah

**Consensus Second Team**
Player	Position	Class	Team
Chauncey Billups	G	Sophomore	Colorado
Bobby Jackson	G	Senior	Minnesota
Antawn Jamison	F	Sophomore	North Carolina
Brevin Knight	G	Senior	Stanford
Jacque Vaughn	G	Senior	Kansas

Major player of the year awards

Wooden Award: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Naismith Award: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Associated Press Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
NABC Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Adolph Rupp Trophy: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Sporting News Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest

Major freshman of the year awards

USBWA Freshman of the Year: No Award Given
Sporting News Freshman of the Year: No Award Given

Major coach of the year awards

Associated Press Coach of the Year: Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated)
Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated)
NABC Coach of the Year: Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated)
Naismith College Coach of the Year: Roy Williams, Kansas
Sporting News Coach of the Year: Roy Williams, Kansas
Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award: Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated)

Other major awards

NABC Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest
Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Brevin Knight, Stanford
Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Rashid Bey, St. Joseph's
NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Charles Jones, Long Island
Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award (Strong personal character): Tim Duncan, Wake Forest

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

Team	Former Coach	New Coach
Canisius	John Beilein	Mike MacDonald
DePaul	Joey Meyer	Pat Kennedy
Florida State	Pat Kennedy	Steve Robinson
Georgia	Tubby Smith	Ron Jirsa
Kentucky	Rick Pitino	Tubby Smith
North Carolina	Dean Smith	Bill Guthridge
Oral Roberts	Bill Self	Barry Hinson
Richmond	Bill Dooley	John Beilein
Sacramento State	Don Newman	Tom Abatemarco
Southeast Missouri State	Ron Shumate	Gary Garner
Tulsa	Steve Robinson	Bill Self

References

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