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1996–97 Kentucky Wildcats Men's Basketball Team
The 1996–97 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented University of Kentucky in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They were coached by Rick Pitino in his eighth, and final, season at Kentucky as members of the East division of the Southeast Conference. They played their home games at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky. They finished the season 35–5, 13–3 in SEC play to finish in second place in the East division. They defeated Auburn, Mississippi, and Georgia to win the SEC tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the West region. They defeated Montana, Iowa, Saint Joseph's and Utah to return to the Final Four for the second consecutive year. In the Final Four, they defeated Minnesota to advance to the National Championship game against Arizona. Looking to repeat as NCAA champions, the Wildcats lost in overtime to Arizona 84–79. Following the season, head coach Rick ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rick Pitino
Richard Andrew Pitino (born September 18, 1952) is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach for Iona College. He was also the head coach of Greece's senior national team. He has been the head coach of several teams in NCAA Division I and in the NBA, including Boston University (1978–1983), Providence College (1985–1987), the New York Knicks (1987–1989), the University of Kentucky (1989–1997), the Boston Celtics (1997–2001), the University of Louisville (2001–2017), and Panathinaikos of the Greek Basket League and EuroLeague (2018–2020). Pitino led Kentucky to an NCAA championship in 1996. He is the only coach to lead three different schools (Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville) to a Final Four. In 2013, he was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In June 2017, the NCAA suspended Pitino for five games of the 2017–18 season for his lack of oversight in an escort sex scandal at the University of Louisville involving re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
