1996–97 Southwest Texas State Bobcats men's basketball team

1996–97 Southwest Texas State Bobcats men's basketball
1996–97 Southwest Texas State Bobcats men's basketball
Southland regular season co-champions ; Southland tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	16–13 (10–6 Southland)
Head coach	Mike Miller (3rd season);
Home arena	Strahan Arena
	Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

The 1996–97 Southwest Texas State Bobcats men's basketball team represented Southwest Texas State University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Bobcats, led by head coach Mike Miller, played their home games at Strahan Arena in San Marcos, Texas as members of the Southland Conference.

1996–97 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
McNeese State	10	–	6	.625	18	–	12	.600
Southwest Texas State †	10	–	6	.625	16	–	13	.552
Louisiana-Monroe	10	–	6	.625	14	–	14	.500
Northwestern State	8	–	8	.500	13	–	15	.464
Stephen F. Austin	8	–	8	.500	12	–	15	.444
Texas-Arlington	8	–	8	.500	12	–	15	.444
Nicholls State	7	–	9	.438	10	–	16	.385
Sam Houston State	7	–	9	.438	8	–	18	.308
UTSA	4	–	12	.250	9	–	17	.346

† 1997 Southland tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The Bobcats finished atop the regular season conference standings, won the Southland tournament, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. As No. 16 seed in the Midwest region, Southwest Texas State was beaten by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Minnesota, 78–46.^[2]

Roster

1996–97 Texas State Bobcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
C	42	Jeff Foster	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	RS So	San Antonio, Texas
F		Solomon Clark	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Sr
G		Geoff Golden	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	—	Sr
F		Elijah Hobley	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Sr
G		Kenyatta Isable	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr
F		Ross Johnson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Jr
F		Dennis Malone	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Jr
G		Donte Mathis	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	So	San Antonio, Texas
F		Jermal McCoy	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr
F		Carlos Morris	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Jr
G		Dameon Samson	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	Sr
G		Rodney Walton	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	—	Sr
G		Wesley Williams	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Fr

Head coach

Mike Miller (Texas A&M–Commerce)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1996*		Texas Southern	W 78–73	1–0	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Nov 29, 1996*		vs. Troy	L 52–85	1–1	Worthen Arena Muncie, Indiana
Nov 30, 1996*		vs. Coastal Carolina	W 74–58	2–1	Worthen Arena Muncie, Indiana
Dec 2, 1996*		at Connecticut	L 49–66	2–2	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (14,104) Storrs, Connecticut
Dec 7, 1996*		at Centenary	L 75–78	2–3	Gold Dome Shreveport, Louisiana
Dec 10, 1996*		San Diego State	W 81–77 ^OT	3–3	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Dec 14, 1996*		Hardin-Simmons	W 71–45	4–3	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Dec 21, 1996*		at Lamar	L 67–73	4–4	Montagne Center Beaumont, Texas
Dec 27, 1996*		vs. Tulsa All-College Tournament	L 60–76^[3]	4–5	Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Dec 28, 1996*		vs. Western Illinois All-College Tournament	L 61–68	4–6	Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Jan 2, 1997		McNeese State	W 80–64	5–6 (1–0)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Jan 4, 1997		Nicholls State	W 82–73	6–6 (2–0)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Jan 9, 1997		at Louisiana-Monroe	L 54–58	6–7 (2–1)	Fant–Ewing Coliseum Monroe, Louisiana
Jan 11, 1997		at Northwestern State	W 65–58	7–7 (3–1)	Prather Coliseum Natchitoches, Louisiana
Jan 15, 1997		at Texas-Arlington	L 63–66 ^OT	7–8 (3–2)	Texas Hall Arlington, Texas
Jan 18, 1997		Sam Houston State	W 75–60	8–8 (4–2)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Jan 20, 1997		Stephen F. Austin	W 86–71	9–8 (5–2)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Jan 25, 1997		at UTSA	W 100–85	10–8 (6–2)	Convocation Center San Antonio, Texas
Jan 30, 1997		Northwestern State	W 87–77	11–8 (7–2)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Feb 1, 1997		Louisiana-Monroe	W 72–62	12–8 (8–2)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Feb 6, 1997		at Nicholls State	L 73–76	12–9 (8–3)	Stopher Gymnasium Thibodaux, Louisiana
Feb 8, 1997		at McNeese State	L 70–87	12–10 (8–4)	Burton Coliseum Lake Charles, Louisiana
Feb 15, 1997		UTSA	W 86–78 ^OT	13–10 (9–4)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Feb 20, 1997		Texas-Arlington	W 64–63	14–10 (10–4)	Strahan Coliseum San Marcos, Texas
Feb 27, 1997		at Stephen F. Austin	L 55–65	14–11 (10–5)	William R. Johnson Coliseum Nacogdoches, Texas
Mar 1, 1997		at Sam Houston State	L 69–71	14–12 (10–6)	Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, Texas
Southland tournament
Mar 7, 1997*	(2)	vs. (3) McNeese State Semifinals	W 76–59	15–12	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Shreveport, Louisiana
Mar 8, 1997*	(2)	vs. (1) Louisiana-Monroe Championship game	W 74–64	16–12	Hirsch Memorial Coliseum Shreveport, Louisiana
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997*	(16 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Minnesota First round	L 46–78^[2]	16–13	Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Source^[4]

References

^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Southland Conference Season Summary
^ ^a ^b "Golden Gophers Bury SW Texas State, 78-46". The Washington Post. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
^ "Sealed and Delivered: Guard Scores 24 as Tulsa Outmuscles Southwest Texas". The Oklahoman. December 28, 1996. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
^ "1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule". Texas State Athletics. Retrieved February 15, 2022.

[1] sports-reference.com 1996-97 Southland Conference Season Summary

[ncaa-min-2] "Golden Gophers Bury SW Texas State, 78-46". The Washington Post. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 15, 2022.

[3] "Sealed and Delivered: Guard Scores 24 as Tulsa Outmuscles Southwest Texas". The Oklahoman. December 28, 1996. Retrieved February 16, 2022.

[4] "1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule". Texas State Athletics. Retrieved February 15, 2022.

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1996–97 Southwest Texas State Bobcats men's basketball
Southland regular season co-champions Southland tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	Southland Conference
Record	16–13 (10–6 Southland)
Head coach	Mike Miller (3rd season)
Home arena	Strahan Arena
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →