1996–97 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team


The 1996–97 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Big 12 Conference.

1996–97 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball
NCAA tournament, First round
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Record19–11 (9–7 Big 12)
Head coach
Home arenaLloyd Noble Center (Capacity: 10,871)
Seasons
1996–97 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Kansas 15 1   .938 34 2   .944
No. 24 Colorado 11 5   .688 22 10   .688
Texas 10 6   .625 18 12   .600
No. 18 Iowa State 10 6   .625 22 9   .710
Texas Tech 10 6   .625 19 9   .679
Oklahoma 9 7   .563 19 11   .633
Nebraska 7 9   .438 18 15   .545
Oklahoma State 7 9   .438 17 15   .531
Baylor 6 10   .375 18 12   .600
Missouri 5 11   .313 16 17   .485
Texas A&M 3 13   .188 9 18   .333
Kansas State 3 13   .188 10 17   .370
1997 Big 12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll [1]

The team posted a 19–11 overall record (9–7 Big 12). The Sooners received a bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the West region. The Sooners lost to No. 6 seed Stanford, 80–67, in the opening round.

Roster

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1996–97 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 21 Eduardo Nájera 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Fr
G 31 Corey Brewer 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr West Memphis, Arkansas
C 32 Evan Wiley 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Jr  
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

[2]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 23, 1996*
Northeast Louisiana W 95–68  1–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
November 27, 1996*
Sam Houston State W 84–51  2–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
November 30, 1996*
Coppin State W 88–64  3–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
December 4, 1996*
Delaware State W 83–56  4–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
December 7, 1996*
Southeast Missouri State W 83–52  5–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
December 14, 1996*
Centenary W 89–45  6–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
December 21, 1996*
Purdue W 82–58  7–0
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
December 23, 1996*
at Memphis L 47–61  7–1
The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
December 27, 1996*
vs. Western Illinois
All-College Basketball Classic
W 74–62  8–1
Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
December 28, 1996*
vs. Tulsa
All-College Basketball Classic
L 75–78  8–2
Myriad Convention Center 
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Big 12 Regular Season
January 5, 1997
at Texas A&M W 78–59  9–2
(1–0)
G. Rollie White Coliseum 
College Station, Texas
January 11, 1997
at No. 4 Iowa State L 55–82  9–3
(1–1)
Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, Iowa
January 15, 1997
No. 25 Texas Tech L 62–67  9–4
(1–2)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
January 18, 1997
Baylor W 84–67  10–4
(2–2)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
January 22, 1997
at No. 23 Texas L 66–76  10–5
(2–3)
Frank Erwin Center 
Austin, Texas
January 25, 1997
Nebraska W 84–77  11–5
(3–3)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
January 27, 1997
at Oklahoma State
Bedlam Series
L 72–73 OT 11–6
(3–4)
Gallagher-Iba Arena 
Stillwater, Oklahoma
February 1, 1997
No. 23 Texas W 83–69  12–6
(4–4)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
February 4, 1997
Texas A&M W 62–59 OT 13–6
(5–4)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
February 8, 1997
at Kansas State L 63–67  13–7
(5–5)
Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, Kansas
February 12, 1997
No. 15 Colorado W 91–66  14–7
(6–5)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
February 15, 1997
at Missouri L 73–80  14–8
(6–6)
Hearnes Center 
Columbia, Missouri
February 19, 1997
at Texas Tech W 66–60  15–8
(7–6)
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 
Lubbock, Texas
February 22, 1997
Oklahoma State
Bedlam Series
W 80–64  16–8
(8–6)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
February 24, 1997*
No. 1 Kansas L 68–70  16–9
(8–7)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, Oklahoma
March 1, 1997
at Baylor W 72–61  17–9
(9–7)
Ferrell Center 
Waco, Texas
Big 12 Tournament
March 6, 1997*
vs. Texas A&M
First round
W 67–58  18–9
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
March 7, 1997*
vs. No. 18 Colorado
Quarterfinals
W 55–41  19–9
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
March 8, 1997*
vs. Missouri
Semifinals
L 80–89  19–10
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
March 14, 1997*
(11 W) vs. (6 W) No. 21 Stanford
First round
L 67–80  19–11
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region W=West.

[3]

Rankings

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[4]

References

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  1. ^ 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "1996-97 Oklahoma Sooners Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ^ "2019-20 Oklahoma Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Oklahoma Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.