# 1996–97 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team represented the University of Oklahoma in competitive college basketball during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Oklahoma Sooners men's basketball team played its home games in the Lloyd Noble Center and was a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Big 12 Conference.
The team posted a 19–11 overall record (9–7 Big 12). The Sooners received a bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as No. 11 seed in the West region. The Sooners lost to No. 6 seed Stanford, 80–67, in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| November 23, 1996* | | Northeast Louisiana | W 95–68 | 1–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| November 27, 1996* | | Sam Houston State | W 84–51 | 2–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| November 30, 1996* | | Coppin State | W 88–64 | 3–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| December 4, 1996* | | Delaware State | W 83–56 | 4–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| December 7, 1996* | | Southeast Missouri State | W 83–52 | 5–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| December 14, 1996* | | Centenary | W 89–45 | 6–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| December 21, 1996* | | Purdue | W 82–58 | 7–0 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| December 23, 1996* | | at Memphis | L 47–61 | 7–1 | The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| December 27, 1996* | | vs. Western Illinois All-College Basketball Classic | W 74–62 | 8–1 | Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| December 28, 1996* | | vs. Tulsa All-College Basketball Classic | L 75–78 | 8–2 | Myriad Convention Center Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
| Big 12 Regular Season ||||||
| January 5, 1997 | | at Texas A&M | W 78–59 | 9–2 (1–0) | G. Rollie White Coliseum College Station, Texas |
| January 11, 1997 | | at No. 4 Iowa State | L 55–82 | 9–3 (1–1) | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| January 15, 1997 | | No. 25 Texas Tech | L 62–67 | 9–4 (1–2) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| January 18, 1997 | | Baylor | W 84–67 | 10–4 (2–2) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| January 22, 1997 | | at No. 23 Texas | L 66–76 | 10–5 (2–3) | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| January 25, 1997 | | Nebraska | W 84–77 | 11–5 (3–3) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| January 27, 1997 | | at Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | L 72–73 $^{OT}$ | 11–6 (3–4) | Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| February 1, 1997 | | No. 23 Texas | W 83–69 | 12–6 (4–4) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 4, 1997 | | Texas A&M | W 62–59 $^{OT}$ | 13–6 (5–4) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 8, 1997 | | at Kansas State | L 63–67 | 13–7 (5–5) | Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 12, 1997 | | No. 15 Colorado | W 91–66 | 14–7 (6–5) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 15, 1997 | | at Missouri | L 73–80 | 14–8 (6–6) | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| February 19, 1997 | | at Texas Tech | W 66–60 | 15–8 (7–6) | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| February 22, 1997 | | Oklahoma State Bedlam Series | W 80–64 | 16–8 (8–6) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| February 24, 1997* | | No. 1 Kansas | L 68–70 | 16–9 (8–7) | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| March 1, 1997 | | at Baylor | W 72–61 | 17–9 (9–7) | Ferrell Center Waco, Texas |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| March 6, 1997* | | vs. Texas A&M First round | W 67–58 | 18–9 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| March 7, 1997* | | vs. No. 18 Colorado Quarterfinals | W 55–41 | 19–9 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| March 8, 1997* | | vs. Missouri Semifinals | L 80–89 | 19–10 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 14, 1997* | (11 W) | vs. (6 W) No. 21 Stanford First round | L 67–80 | 19–11 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed within region W=West. ||||||