1996–97 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team


The 1996–97 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 99th basketball season. The head coach was Roy Williams, who served his 9th year at KU. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. It was the Jayhawks first year in the newly formed Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 conference was formed by the eight teams of the recently dissolved Big Eight Conference and was joined by Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, all formally of the Southwest Conference which had dissolved following the 1995–1996 school year as well.

1996–97 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball
Maui Invitational Tournament champions
Big 12 regular season champions
Big 12 tournament champions
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
DivisionNorth
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 1
Record34–2 (15–1 Big 12)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Captains
Home arenaAllen Fieldhouse
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]

Roster edit

Name # Position Height Weight Year Home Town
Nick Bradford 21 Forward/Guard 6-6 175 Freshman Fayetteville, Arkansas
Joel Branstrom 20 Forward 6-6 197 Senior Half Moon Bay, California
Jerod Haase 35 Guard 6-3 191 Senior South Lake Tahoe, California
Raef LaFrentz 45 Forward/Center 6–11 235 Junior Hampton, Iowa
C.B. McGrath 24 Guard 5-11 173 Junior Topeka, Kansas
Terry Nooner 5 Guard 5-10 170 Freshman Raytown, Missouri
Paul Pierce 34 Forward 6–7 220 Sophomore Inglewood, California
Scot Pollard 31 Center 6–11 265 Senior San Diego, California
T.J. Pugh 32 Forward/Center 6–8 246 Sophomore Omaha, Nebraska
Steve Ransom 42 Forward 6–6 205 Senior Mission Viejo, California
Ryan Robertson 4 Guard 6–5 182 Sophomore Saint Charles, Missouri
Billy Thomas 12 Guard/Forward 6–4 208 Junior Shreveport, Louisiana
Jacque Vaughn 11 Guard 6–1 195 Senior Pasadena, California
B.J. Williams 22 Forward 6–8 206 Senior Wichita, Kansas

Big 12 Conference standings edit

1996–97 Big 12 Conference men's basketball regular season standings[2]
# Team Conference Pct. Overall Pct.
1 Kansas 15-1 .938 34-2 .944
2 Colorado 11-5 .688 22-10 .688
T–3 Texas 10-6 .625 18-12 .600
T–3 Iowa State 10-6 .625 22-9 .710
T–3 Texas Tech 10-6 .625 19-9 .679
6 Oklahoma 9-7 .563 19-11 .613
T–7 Nebraska 7–9 .438 18-15 .545
T–7 Oklahoma State 7-9 .438 17-15 .531
9 Baylor 6-10 .375 18-12 .600
10 Missouri 5-11 .313 16-17 .485
T–11 Texas A&M 3-13 .188 9-18 .333
T–11 Kansas State 3-13 .188 10-17 .370

Schedule edit

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular Season
11/22/1996*
No. 2 at Santa Clara W 76-64  1–0
Leavey Center 
Santa Clara, CA
11/25/1996*
No. 2 vs. LSU
Maui Invitational Tournament first round
W 82-53  2–0
Lahaina Civic Center 
Maui,HI
11/26/1996*
No. 2 vs. California
Maui Invitational Tournament Semifinals
W 85-67  3–0
Lahaina Civic Center 
Maui, HI
11/27/1996*
No. 2 vs. Virginia
Maui Invitational tournament championship Game
W 80-63  4–0
Lahaina Civic Center 
Maui, HI
12/1/1996*
No. 2 San Diego W 79–72  5–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
12/4/1996*
No. 1 vs. No. 4 Cincinnati
Great Eight
W 72–65  6–0
United Center 
Chicago, IL
12/7/1996*
No. 1 at No. 17 UCLA W 96–83  7–0
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
12/11/1996*
No. 1 George Washington W 85–56  8–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawnrence, KS
12/15/1996*
No. 1 UNC Asheville W 105–73  9–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
12/21/1996*
No. 1 NC State W 84–56  10–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
12/30/1996*
No. 1 Washburn W 90–65  11–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/2/1997*
No. 1 Brown W 107–49  12–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/4/1997
No. 1 at Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
W 62–59  13–0
(1–0)
Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, KS
1/6/1997
No. 1 No. 18 Texas W 86–61  14–0
(2–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/9/1997*
No. 1 Niagara W 134–73  15–0
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/11/1997
No. 1 at Baylor W 87–68  16–0
(3–0)
Ferrell Center 
Waco, TX
1/13/1997
No. 1 No. 4 Iowa State W 80–67  17–0
(4–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/19/1997*
No. 1 at Connecticut W 73–65  18–0
Hartford Civic Center 
Hartford, CT
1/22/1997
No. 1 Texas A&M W 89–60  19–0
(5–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
1/26/1997
No. 1 at No. 18 Colorado W 77–68  20–0
(6–0)
Coors Events Center 
Boulder, CO
1/29/1997
No. 1 at No. 22 Texas Tech W 86–77  21–0
(7–0)
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 
Lubbock, TX
2/1/1997
No. 1 Nebraska W 82–77 OT 22–0
(8–0)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/4/1997
No. 1 at Missouri
Border War
L 94–96 2OT 22–1
(8–1)
Hearnes Center 
Columbia, MO
2/9/1997
No. 1 at No. 6 Iowa State W 69–62  23–1
(9–1)
Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, IA
2/12/1997
No. 1 Oklahoma State W 104–72  24–1
(10–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/15/1997
No. 1 No. 15 Colorado W 114–74  25–1
(11–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/17/1997
No. 1 Missouri
Border War
W 79–67  26–1
(12–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/22/1997
No. 1 Kansas State
Sunflower Showdown
W 78–58  27–1
(13–1)
Allen Fieldhouse 
Lawrence, KS
2/24/1997
No. 1 at Oklahoma W 70–68  28–1
(14–1)
Lloyd Noble Center 
Norman, OK
3/2/1997
No. 1 at Nebraska W 85–65  29–1
(15–1)
Bob Devaney Sports Center 
Lincoln, NE
Big 12 Tournament
3/7/1997
No. 1 vs. Oklahoma State
Quarterfinals
W 74–59  30–1
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
3/8/1997
No. 1 vs. No. 16 Iowa State
Semifinals
W 72–48  31–1
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
3/9/1997
No. 1 vs. Missouri
Championship Game
W 87–60  32–1
Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, MO
NCAA tournament
3/13/1997*
(1 SE) No. 1 vs. (16 SE) Jackson State
First round
W 78–64  33–1
Pyramid Arena 
Memphis, TN
3/15/1997*
(1 SE) No. 1 vs. (8 SE) Purdue
Second Round
W 75–61  34–1
Pyramid Arena 
Memphis, TN
3/21/1997*
(1 SE) No. 1 vs. (4 SE) No. 15 Arizona
Regional semifinals
L 82–85  34–2
Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex 
Birmingham, AL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll, NCAA tournament seeds shown in parentheses. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Central Standard Time.

[3]

Rankings edit

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
AP222111111111111111Not released
Coaches11*21111111111111115

*There was no coaches poll in week 1. [4]

Team players in the 1997 NBA draft edit

Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 19 Scot Pollard Detroit Pistons
1 27 Jacque Vaughn Utah Jazz

[5]

References edit

  1. ^ 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Big 12 Record Book (PDF)" (PDF) (Press release). Big 12 Conference. August 1, 2008. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  3. ^ "Kansas Jayhawks Men's Basketball 1996-97 Season Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (English) on March 6, 2012. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  4. ^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
  5. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.