The 1996–97 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

during the

1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1996 and 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 ear ...

. The Racers, led by second-year head coach

Mark Gottfried Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach (basketball), coach, basketball podcaster, and former player who most recently served as head coach of the Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketba ...

, played their home games at

Racer Arena Racer Arena is a multi-purpose arena in Murray, Kentucky. It is the current home of the Murray State University women's volleyball team. Racer Arena became the largest capacity volleyball-only facility among NCAA Division I schools after the Univ ...

Murray, Kentucky Murray is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the County seat, seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest list of Ky cities, city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,3 ...

as members of the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

. They finished the season 20–10, 12–6 in OVC play to finish second in the OVC regular season standings. They defeated to win the OVC tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. As No. 15 seed in the Southeast region, the Racers were beaten by No. 2 seed

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, 71–68.

Roster

Schedule and results

, - !colspan=9 style=, Regular season , - !colspan=9 style=, Ohio Valley Conference tournament , - !colspan=9 style=, NCAA tournament , -

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-97 Murray State Racers men's basketball team Murray State Racers men's basketball seasons

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...