1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1996–97 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jan van Breda Kolff and played its home games at Memorial Gymnasium.

1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record19–12 (9–7 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaMemorial Gymnasium
Seasons
1996–97 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 6 South Carolina 15 1   .938 24 8   .750
No. 5 Kentucky 13 3   .813 35 5   .875
No. 17 Georgia 10 6   .625 24 9   .727
Vanderbilt 9 7   .563 19 12   .613
Florida 5 11   .313 13 17   .433
Tennessee 4 12   .250 11 16   .407
West
Ole Miss 11 5   .688 20 9   .690
Arkansas 8 8   .500 18 14   .563
Auburn 6 10   .375 16 15   .516
Alabama 6 10   .375 17 14   .548
Mississippi State 6 10   .375 12 18   .400
LSU 3 13   .188 10 20   .333
1997 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The Commodores finished 4th in the SEC East regular season standings and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 10 seed in the Midwest region. The team finished with a 19–12 record (9–7 SEC).

Roster

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1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F/C 42 Dan Langhi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Benton, Kentucky
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 20, 1996*
Valparaiso
Preseason NIT
W 74–66  1–0
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Nov 22, 1996*
at No. 10 Duke
Preseason NIT
L 57–86  1–1
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, North Carolina
Dec 4, 1996*
UAB W 66–62  2–1
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 7, 1996*
at Memphis W 66–59  3–1
The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
Dec 9, 1996*
at No. 25 Boston College L 52–59  3–2
Silvio O. Conte Forum 
Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 15, 1996*
Nicholls State W 85–37  4–2
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 19, 1996*
Alabama-Huntsville W 60–47  5–2
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 21, 1996*
Tennessee Tech W 82–61  6–2
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 23, 1996*
Mississippi Valley State W 92–56  7–2
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Dec 29, 1996*
at Evansville L 61–66  7–3
Roberts Stadium 
Evansville, Indiana
Dec 31, 1996*
Saint Louis W 81–61  8–3
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 4, 1997
Alabama W 92–84  9–3
(1–0)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 8, 1997
No. 24 Georgia L 53–61  9–4
(1–1)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 11, 1997
at Tennessee L 65–75  9–5
(1–2)
Thompson-Boling Arena 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Jan 15, 1997
at LSU W 69–62  10–5
(2–2)
LSU Assembly Center 
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Jan 18, 1997
No. 20 Ole Miss W 67–64  11–5
(3–2)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 22, 1997
vs. No. 3 Kentucky L 46–58  11–6
(3–3)
Riverfront Coliseum 
Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 25, 1997
at Mississippi State L 53–60  11–7
(3–4)
Humphrey Coliseum 
Starkville, Mississippi
Jan 29, 1997
No. 25 South Carolina L 64–65  11–8
(3–5)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 1, 1997
at Florida W 74–63  12–8
(4–5)
Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, Florida
Feb 5, 1997*
Memphis W 69–62  13–8
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 8, 1997
Arkansas W 87–83 OT 14–8
(5–5)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 12, 1997
Tennessee W 66–53  15–8
(6–5)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 15, 1997
at Auburn W 75–61  16–8
(7–5)
Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum 
Auburn, Alabama
Feb 19, 1997
at Georgia W 86–80  17–8
(8–5)
Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Feb 22, 1997
No. 3 Kentucky L 79–82  17–9
(8–6)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 26, 1997
at No. 6 South Carolina L 53–74  17–10
(8–7)
Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, South Carolina
Mar 1, 1997
Florida W 79–72  18–10
(9–7)
Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
SEC tournament
Mar 6, 1997*
vs. Mississippi State W 73–67 OT 19–10
The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 7, 1997*
vs. Ole Miss L 62–64  19–11
The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1997*
(10 MW) vs. (7 MW) No. 13 Xavier
First round
L 68–80[1]  19–12
Palace of Auburn Hills 
Auburn Hills, Michigan
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
MW=Midwest.
All times are in Central Time.

[2]

Rankings

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[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Xavier's a Blur to Vanderbilt". The Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  2. ^ "2019–20 Vanderbilt Men's Basketball Fact Book" (PDF). Vanderbilt University Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  3. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.