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 The 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1997, and ended with the champi ...

, whose finals were held at the RCA Dome in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. The

Arizona Wildcats The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...

earned their first national championship by defeating the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

84–79 on March 31, 1997. They were coached by

Lute Olson Robert Luther "Lute" Olson (September 22, 1934 – August 27, 2020) was an American basketball coach, who was inducted into both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the head co ...

, and the

NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player The Most Outstanding Player (MOP) is awarded to one player after the conclusion of the championship game of the NCAA Division I NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, men's and NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament, women's basketb ...

was Arizona's Miles Simon. In the 32-team 1997 National Invitation Tournament, the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except wo ...

defeated the

Florida State Seminoles The Florida State Seminoles are the athletic teams representing Florida State University (FSU) located in Tallahassee, Florida. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I, prima ...

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. Michigan later vacated the 1997 NIT title after the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

ruled that players Robert Traylor and

Louis Bullock Louis "Lou" Bullock Jr. (born May 20, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. Although his records have officially been vacated, due to the University of Michigan basketball scandal, his vacated records are unsurpassed for mos ...

were ineligible. Following the season, the 1997 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American Consensus First Team included

Tim Duncan Timothy Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He List of NBA players who have spent their entire career with one franchise, spent his entire 19-year career with the San Antonio Sp ...

, Danny Fortson,

Raef LaFrentz Raef Andrew LaFrentz (born May 29, 1976) is an American former professional basketball Power forward (basketball), power forward and Center (basketball), center who played for the Denver Nuggets, Dallas Mavericks, Boston Celtics, and Portland Tra ...

, Ron Mercer, and Keith Van Horn.

Season headlines

* The

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. It consists of 16 full-member universities (3 private universities and 13 public universities) in the states of Arizona, Colorado, Florida ...

began play, with 12 original members. * Prior to the season, the North Atlantic Conference renamed itself the

America East Conference The America East Conference (AmEast) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I whose members are located in the Northeastern United States. The conference is headquartered in Boston, Massachu ...

. * Lute Olsen led the

to its first national championship.

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll.

Conference membership changes

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

Regular season

Conferences

Conference winners and tournaments

Twenty-seven conferences concluded their seasons with a single-elimination tournament, with only the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

, and Pac-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Conference tournament winners received an automatic bid to the

Conference standings

Division I independents

Three schools played as Division I independents. One () received a bid to the 1997 National Invitation Tournament.

Informal championships

For the sixth consecutive season, the Philadelphia Big 5 did not play a full round-robin schedule in which each team met each other team once, a format it had used from its first season of competition in 1955–56 through the 1990–91 season. Instead, each team played only two games against other Big 5 members, and Temple and Villanova both finished with 2–0 records in head-to-head competition among the Big 5. The Big 5 did not revive its full round-robin schedule until the 1999–2000 season.

Statistical leaders

Source for additional stats categories

Post-season tournaments

NCAA tournament

Final Four – RCA Dome,
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

National Invitation tournament

Semifinals & finals

* Michigan later forfeited its entire 1996–97 schedule after players Robert Traylor,

Maurice Taylor Maurice De Shawn Taylor (born October 30, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He played power forward and center positions. Originally from Detroit, Taylor played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines and was ...

, and

were found to have taken money from a Michigan booster.

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

NCAA Record Book - DIVISION I CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS
p.6

Major player of the year awards

* Wooden Award:

, Wake Forest * Naismith Award: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest *

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest *

NABC Player of the Year The NABC Player of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top player in men's college basketball across the three largest college athletic associations in the United States. Th ...

: 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 ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' Freshman of the Year: ''No Award Given''

Major coach of the year awards

Coach of the Year: Clem Haskins,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

(Vacated) *

Henry Iba Award The Henry Iba Award was established in 1959 to recognize the best college basketball coach of the year by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). Five nominees are presented and the individual with the most votes receives the ...

( USBWA): Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated) *

NABC Coach of the Year The NABC Coach of the Year is an award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top head coach in men's college basketball across the four largest college athletic associations in the United States. ...

: Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated) * Naismith College Coach of the Year: Roy Williams,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

* ''Sporting News'' Coach of the Year: Roy Williams, Kansas *

Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award The Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award honored the active men's NCAA Division I basketball coach who has made the most significant positive contributions to his sport during the preceding year. The winner reflected the character and professional qu ...

: Clem Haskins, Minnesota (Vacated)

Other major awards

NABC Defensive Player of the Year The NABC Defensive Player of the Year is a college basketball award given annually by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) to recognize the top men's defensive player in NCAA Division I competition. It has been given since 1987 a ...

: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest *

Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award The Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award was an annual college basketball award in the United States intended to honor players who excelled on the court in spite of their height. The award, named in honor of James Naismith's daughter-in-law, was establi ...

(Best player under 6'0): Brevin Knight, Stanford * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Rashid Bey, Saint Joseph's & Alvin Williams, Villanova * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in

metro area): Charles Jones,

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

* Chip Hilton Player of the Year Award (Strong personal character):

, Wake Forest

Coaching changes

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1996-1997 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Season