1996–97 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1996-97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Head coach Dick Bennett completed his second season coaching with the Badgers. The team played its home games in Madison, Wisconsin at the UW Field House. Wisconsin finished the season 18–10, 11–7 in Big Ten play to finish tied for fourth place. The Badgers received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as a No. 7 seed in the East Region, where they were defeated in the first round by No. 10 seed Texas.

1996–97 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record18-10 (11-7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaUW Field House
(capacity: 11,500)
Seasons
1996–97 Big Ten Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Iowa 12 6   .667 22 10   .688
Purdue 12 6   .667 18 12   .600
No. 19 Illinois 11 7   .611 22 10   .688
Wisconsin 11 7   .611 18 10   .643
Indiana 9 9   .500 22 11   .667
Michigan State 9 9   .500 17 12   .586
Ohio State 5 13   .278 10 17   .370
Penn State 3 15   .167 10 17   .370
Northwestern 2 16   .111 7 22   .241
No. 3 Minnesota* 0 2   .000 0 4   .000
Michigan* 0 9   .000 0 11   .000
Rankings from AP Poll
*Michigan: 24 games vacated; including NIT champ. vacated due to sanctions against the program
*Minnesota: 5 NCAA Tournament games vacated due to sanctions against the program[1]
Disputed records: Michigan-(24–11)(9–9); Minnesota-(31–4)(16–2)

Season summary

edit

Wisconsin won 18 regular season games for only the second time in school history and recorded a winning Big Ten record for the first time since 1974. The Badgers finished as the Big Ten's top defensive squad, surrendering only 55.3 points-per-game over the entire season and 56.8 points-per-game on 39.7 percent shooting during conference play. They overcame the absence of two promising wing players with a strong frontcourt featuring lone senior Paul Grant, a 7-foot transfer from Boston College, at center. Grant led the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), while leading rebounder Sam Okey (8.5 rpg) and junior Sean Daugherty manned the forward spots as the second and third leading scorers, respectively.

A highlight of a 6–0 start was when junior guard Sean Mason scored all 18 of his points in the second half and overtime to win at Temple, 64–57. The Badgers dropped two contests when Okey and guard Ty Calderwood took turns missing one game apiece, but the team's first loss at full strength came on the road to No. 15 Minnesota in the 10th game of the season. Wisconsin responded two nights later by using a 17–0 opening run to topple No. 12 Indiana, 71–58, to snap a 31-game losing streak to the Hoosiers.

Calderwood made a pair of memorable game-winning plays during his junior year. On February 26, 1997, he hit a three-pointer with seven seconds remaining to beat Iowa, 49–48, to extend Wisconsin's Big Ten winning streak to six games. In the regular season finale, Calderwood sank two free throws and then poked the ball away on the following defensive possession to upset No. 2 Minnesota, 66–65.

Wisconsin earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, only its second bid in 56 years, but the Badgers lost to No. 10 seed Texas, 71–58, in a first-round game in Pittsburgh.

Notable injuries

edit

Mason was Wisconsin's leading scorer (12.3 ppg) through three games when he went down with a season-ending ACL injury to his left knee in the opening minutes against Brown on December 7, 1996. He then redshirted. It was the second straight year Mason's season ended early due to an ACL injury.[2]

Still recovering from the severely dislocated left knee cap he suffered in Wisconsin's first round NIT game the previous season, junior Mosezell Peterson sat the entire year as a medical redshirt. Peterson never suited up for the Badgers again as a result of the foot drop he developed,[3] accepting a student assistant role the following season.

Awards

edit

All-Big Ten

  • Sam Okey - 2nd team (media) and 3rd team (coaches)
  • Paul Grant - Honorable mention (media and coaches)

Big Ten Player of the Week

  • Sam Okey - Week of December 16

Roster

edit
1996–97 Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team
Players Coaches
  • Earned 1-year scholarship for '96-97|-
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G/F 3 Duany Duany 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) RS Fr Bloomington, IN
F 4 Sam Okey 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Cassville, WI
G 5 Hennssy Auriantal 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Montreal
G 12 Ty Calderwood 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Joliet, IL
G/F 13 Mosezell Peterson     6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Louisville, KY
G 22 Sean Mason     6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Country Club Hills, IL
G 23 Mike Kosolcharoen (*) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Adams, WI
G 25 David Burkemper (*) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Hubertus, WI
G/F 32 Adam Shafer (*) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Downers Grove, IL
F 33 Brian Vraney (*) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Valders, WI
C 40 Paul Grant (C) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr West Bloomfield, MI
F/C 41 Booker Coleman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Jamestown, NY
F 42 Matt Quest (W) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) RS So Watertown, WI
F/C 52 Sean Daugherty 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Jr Vincennes, IN
G Troy Schuhmacher (W) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Fr Sun Prairie, WI
G Matt Meiners (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Fr Hyattsville, MD
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Roster
Last update: 2019-08-05

[4] *awarded one-year scholarship prior to season[5]

Schedule

edit
Date
time, TV
Opponent Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
11/23/1996*
vs. Memphis
Capital City Shootout
W 49-46  1-0
 20  Grant   10  Daugherty   3  Calderwood, Okey  Corel Centre (7,000)
Ottawa, ON
11/30/1996*
UNC-Wilmington W 68-35  2-0
 13  Mason   6  Okey   6  Calderwood  UW Field House (11,354)
Madison, WI
12/4/1996*
at Temple W 64-57 OT 3-0
 18  Mason   10  Grant   7  Calderwood  McGonigle Hall (3,427)
Philadelphia, PA
12/7/1996*
Brown W 52-30  4-0
 13  Auriental   7  Auriental   3  Calderwood, Okey  UW Field House (11,354)
Madison, WI
12/10/1996*
UW-Milwaukee W 61-41  5-0
 30  Okey   17  Okey   8  Calderwood  UW Field House (10,982)
Madison, WI
12/14/1996*
at St. Bonaventure W 77-68  6-0
 16  Grant   12  Okey   6  Calderwood  Reilly Center (5,953)
Olean, NY
12/23/1996*
Providence L 57-59  6-1
 16  Daugherty, Grant   9  Grant   2  Calderwood, Duany, Kosolcharoen  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/26/1996*
Ball State W 74-59  7-1
 19  Daugherty   8  Daugherty   5  Auriental, Okey  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
12/31/1996*
at Marquette L 52-59  7-2
 14  Duany   7  Auriental   6  Auriental  Bradley Center (15,292)
Milwaukee, WI
1/2/1997
at No. 15 Minnesota L 48-65  7-3
(0-1)
 16  Okey   10  Daugherty   4  Calderwood  Williams Arena (14,351)
Minneapolis, MN
1/4/1997
No. 12 Indiana W 71-58  8-3
(1-1)
 13  Daugherty, Grant, Okey   5  Okey   6  Calderwood  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
1/9/1997
 ESPN
Michigan State L 50-58  8-4
(1-2)
 15  Grant   6  Daugherty   2  Okey  UW Field House (11,719)
Madison, WI
1/11/1997
at Iowa L 53-78  8-5
(1-3)
 15  Grant   11  Okey   5  Calderwood, Okey  Carver-Hawkeye Arena (15,500)
Iowa City, IA
1/18/1997
Penn State W 64-45  9-5 (2-3)
 13  Calderwood, Okey   7  Daugherty   5  Calderwood  UW Field House (11,715)
Madison, WI
1/22/1997
at Purdue L 52-60  9-6
(2-4)
 14  Calderwood   7  Okey   5  Okey  Mackey Arena (14,123)
West Lafayette, IN
1/25/1997
at Illinois W 73-56  10-6
(3-4)
 20  Duany   16  Okey   5  Calderwood  Assembly Hall (15,448)
Champaign, IL
1/29/1997
Northwestern W 65-53  11-6
(4-4)
 17  Okey   7  Daugherty, Okey   3  Calderwood  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/1/1997
at Ohio State L 42-60  11-7
(4-5)
 16  Daugherty   13  Okey   2  Calderwood, Okey  St. John Arena (10,001)
Columbus, OH
2/6/1997
No. 13 Michigan W 58-53  12-7
(5-5)
 19  Grant   11  Daugherty   7  Okey  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/8/1997
at Northwestern W 56-44  13-7
(6-5)
 12  Calderwood   12  Okey   5  Calderwood  Welsh-Ryan Arena (5,117)
Evanston, IL
2/12/1997
No. 20 Illinois W 62-45  14-7
(7-5
 16  Okey   11  Daugherty   3  Okey  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/15/1997
Purdue W 69-52  15-7
(8-5)
 20  Okey   9  Daugherty   4  Calderwood  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
2/19/1997
at Penn State W 49-45  16-7
(9-5)
 11  Grant   14  Okey   3  Okey  Bryce Jordan Center (13,205)
University Park, PA
2/26/1997
Iowa W 49-48  17-7
(10-5)
 23  Grant   10  Grant   3  Okey  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
3/1/1997
at Michigan State L 49-68  17-8
(10-6)
 12  Grant   6  Okey   5  Calderwood  Breslin Center (15,138)
East Lansing, MI
3/5/1997
at No. 25 Indiana L 66-70  17-9
(10-7)
 16  Grant   7  Grant   5  Calderwood  Assembly Hall (17,284)
Bloomington, IN
3/8/1997
No. 2 Minnesota W 66-65  18-9
(11-7)
 19  Calderwood   9  Okey   3  Auriental, Calderwood  UW Field House (11,500)
Madison, WI
NCAA tournament
3/14/1997*
vs. (10) Texas
First Round - East Region
L 58-71  18-10
 17  Okey   10  Okey   6  Okey  Civic Arena (17,300)
Pittsburgh, PA
*Non-conference game. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

Player statistics

edit
Individual player statistics (Final)[6]
Minutes Scoring Total FGs 3-point FGs Free Throws Rebounds
Player GP GS Tot Avg Pts Avg FG FGA Pct 3FG 3FA Pct FT FTA Pct Off Def Tot Avg A TO Blk Stl PF
Grant, Paul 28 26 765 27.3 350 12.5 129 261 .494 0 1 .000 92 129 .713 145 5.2 21 62 34 14 82
Okey, Sam 27 27 833 30.9 302 11.2 103 239 .431 16 48 .333 80 125 .640 230 8.5 77 63 24 32 90
Daugherty, Sean 28 21 795 28.4 270 9.6 104 235 .443 17 48 .354 45 65 .692 151 5.4 22 39 13 17 78
Mason, Sean 4 4 81 20.2 37 9.2 9 25 .360 3 9 .333 16 20 .800 11 2.8 5 9 2 5 7
Calderwood, Ty 27 24 886 32.8 238 8.8 71 202 .351 39 117 .333 57 72 .792 87 3.2 101 68 5 63 71
Duany, Duany 27 9 459 17.0 137 5.1 47 142 .331 28 86 .326 15 34 .441 39 1.4 11 29 1 6 31
Auriental, Hennssy 28 13 631 22.5 141 5.0 49 121 .405 20 49 .408 23 40 .575 75 2.7 42 45 2 25 72
Kosolcharoen, Mike 28 4 575 20.5 117 4.2 39 110 .355 12 37 .324 27 33 .818 45 1.6 24 55 2 16 66
Coleman, Booker 27 2 211 7.8 30 1.1 11 23 .478 0 0 .000 8 25 .320 37 1.4 2 15 13 3 24
Burkemper, David 24 10 300 12.5 16 0.7 4 15 .267 1 7 .143 7 8 .875 25 1.0 25 19 0 5 33
Shafer, Adam 7 0 23 3.3 4 0.6 0 4 .000 0 2 .000 4 8 .500 1 0.1 2 0 0 0 1
Vraney, Brian 11 0 24 2.2 6 0.5 2 8 .250 0 0 .000 2 2 1.000 6 0.5 0 0 0 1 3
Schuhmacher, Troy 6 0 15 2.5 3 0.5 1 3 .333 1 2 .500 0 2 .000 4 0.7 0 0 0 0 0
Meiners, Matt 4 0 5 1.2 2 0.5 1 1 1.000 0 0 .000 0 0 .000 2 0.5 0 0 0 0 2
Quest, Matt 10 0 22 2.2 1 0.1 0 2 .000 0 0 .000 1 6 .167 10 1.0 0 3 1 0 4
Total 28 - 5625 40.2 1654 59.1 570 1391 .410 137 406 .337 377 569 .663 320 631 951 34.0 332 422 97 187 564
Opponents 28 - 5625 40.2 1548 55.3 502 1329 .378 128 408 .314 416 612 .680 296 589 885 31.6 236 437 73 195 525
Legend
  GP  Games played   GS  Games started  Avg  Average per game
  FG  Field goals made  FGA  Field-goal attempts  Off  Offensive rebounds
 Def  Defensive rebounds   A  Assists   TO Turnovers
 Blk  Blocks  Stl  Steals  High  Team high

Records and trivia

edit

Wisconsin went 5–2 against teams ranked in the AP Top 25.

Calderwood tallied 63 steals in 27 games to lead the Big Ten with a 2.33 steals-per-game average.

Prior to the season, Bennett awarded one-year scholarships to four walk-ons from the 1995-96 roster: juniors David Burkemper, Adam Schafer, Brian Vraney, and sophomore Mike Kosolcharoen. This brought the number of scholarship athletes on the 1996-97 roster to the allowed maximum of 13.[5]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Forfeits and Vacated Games". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2024.
  2. ^ Crothers, Tim (January 25, 1999). "Inside College Basketball". Sports Illustrated Vault | SI.com. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  3. ^ Temple, Jesse (October 23, 2012). "UW's Bruesewitz focused on speedy recovery". FOX Sports. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  4. ^ "1996-97 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 27, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Janesville Gazette Newspaper Archives, Aug 24, 1996, p. 29". NewspaperArchive.com. August 24, 1996. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  6. ^ "The University of Wisconsin Collection: Wisconsin 1997-98 media guide: Wisconsin 1997-98 media guide". digicoll.library.wisc.edu. Retrieved May 29, 2020.