# 1996–97 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Iowa State Cyclones men's basketball team represented Iowa State University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cyclones were coached by Tim Floyd, who was in his 3rd season. They played their home games at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa and is an original member of the newly created 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 also dissolved following the 1995–1996 school year.
They finished the season 22–9 and 10–6 in conference play to finish tied for third place. They defeated Texas Tech and lost to Kansas in the semifinals of the Big 12 Conference tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Illinois State and Cincinnati to reach the Sweet Sixteen where they lost to UCLA in overtime.

## Previous season

The previous season the Cyclones finished the season 24–9, 9–5 in Big Eight play to finish in 2nd place. They defeated Nebraska, Missouri, and #5 Kansas to win the 1996 Big Eight conference tournament championship. This was Iowa State's first conference championship in program history. The conference championship earned them a bid to the NCAA tournament and a #5 seed. In the tournament they defeated Cal and lost to Utah in the round of 32.
It was the Cyclones final season in the Big Eight Conference, which dissolved at the end of the 1995–1996 school year.
The Cyclones saw individual success with Dedric Willoughby being names All-American honorable mention, first team All-Big Eight, and Big Eight tournament MVP. Tim Floyd was named Big Eight Coach of the Year and was runner up for AP Coach of the Year.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| November 13, 1996 7:00 pm | | World Basketball Opportunities (Wisconsin) Exhibition | W 91-84 | | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| November 19, 1996* 7:00 pm | | Adelaide 36ers (Australia) Exhibition | L 66-86 | | Hilton Coliseum Ames, Iowa |
| Regular season ||||||
| November 26, 1996* 7:00 pm | No. 9 | Alcorn State | W 87–58 | 1–0 | Hilton Coliseum (7,025) Ames, Iowa |
| December 1, 1996* 1:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 9 | Maryland-Eastern Shore | W 82–62 | 2–0 | Hilton Coliseum (8,920) Ames, Iowa |
| December 5, 1996* 8:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 9 | Tennessee-Martin Cyclone Challenge | W 57–36 | 3–0 | Hilton Coliseum (11,722) Ames, Iowa |
| December 6, 1996* 8:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 9 | Siena Cyclone Challenge | W 64–54 | 4–0 | Hilton Coliseum (12,601) Ames, Iowa |
| December 11, 1996* 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 6 | Drake Iowa Big Four | W 74–50 | 5–0 | Hilton Coliseum (12,950) Ames, Iowa |
| December 14, 1996* 7:05 pm, HTN | No. 6 | Iowa Rivalry | W 81–74 | 6–0 | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (15,500) Iowa City, Iowa |
| December 21, 1996* 8:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 5 | East Tennessee State ISU Holiday Classic | W 77–49 | 7–0 | Hilton Coliseum (12,135) Ames, Iowa |
| December 22, 1996* 8:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 5 | UTEP ISU Holiday Classic | W 59–48 | 8–0 | Hilton Coliseum (12,115) Ames, Iowa |
| December 30, 1996* 8:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 5 | Texas-Pan American | W 66–42 | 9–0 | Hilton Coliseum (12,105) Ames, Iowa |
| January 4, 1997 3:00 pm, Creative Sports | No. 4 | Missouri | W 68–65 | 10–0 (1–0) | Hearnes Center (13,300) Columbia, Missouri |
| January 7, 1997* 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 4 | Marquette | L 64–67 | 10–1 | Hilton Coliseum (11,210) Ames, Iowa |
| January 11, 1997 12:45 pm, Creative Sports | No. 4 | Oklahoma | W 82–55 | 11–1 (2–0) | Hilton Coliseum (13,755) Ames, Iowa |
| January 13, 1997 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 4 | at No. 1 Kansas | L 67–80 | 11–2 (2–1) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas |
| January 18, 1997 12:45 pm, Creative Sports | No. 8 | at Colorado | L 45–70 | 11–3 (2–2) | Coors Events Center (8,278) Boulder, Colorado |
| January 22, 1997 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 14 | Kansas State | W 54–48 | 12–3 (3–2) | Hilton Coliseum (12,098) Ames, Iowa |
| January 25, 1997 3:00 pm, Creative Sports | No. 14 | No. 20 Texas Tech | W 64–61 | 13–3 (4–2) | Hilton Coliseum (14,021) Ames, Iowa |
| January 29, 1997 7:05 pm | No. 11 | at Nebraska | W 77–67 | 14–3 (5–2) | Bob Devaney Center (13,623) Lincoln, Nebraska |
| February 1, 1997 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 11 | at Texas A&M | W 71–57 | 15–3 (6–2) | Reed Arena (5,501) College Station, Texas |
| February 5, 1997 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 6 | Baylor | W 61–52 | 16–3 (7–2) | Hilton Coliseum (10,706) Ames, Iowa |
| February 9, 1997 2:00 pm, CBS | No. 6 | No. 1 Kansas | L 62–69 | 16–4 (7–3) | Hilton Coliseum (14,325) Ames, Iowa |
| February 12, 1997 7:00 pm | No. 9 | Missouri | W 87–59 | 17–4 (8–3) | Hilton Coliseum (13,866) Ames, Iowa |
| February 15, 1997 12:45 pm, Creative Sports | No. 9 | at Kansas State | W 62–58 | 18–4 (9–3) | Bramlage Coliseum (10,763) Manhattan, Kansas |
| February 19, 1997 8:00 pm, Creative Sports | No. 7 | at Texas | L 56–57 | 18–5 (9–4) | Frank Erwin Center (16,175) Austin, Texas |
| February 22, 1997 12:45 pm, Creative Sports | No. 7 | Nebraska | L 69–74 $^{OT}$ | 18–6 (9–5) | Hilton Coliseum (14,322) Ames, Iowa |
| February 26, 1997 7:00 pm, Cyclone Television Network | No. 13 | No. 19 Colorado | W 65–54 | 19–6 (10–5) | Hilton Coliseum (14,020) Ames, Iowa |
| March 1, 1997 8:30 pm, ESPN | No. 13 | at Oklahoma State | L 63-67 | 19–7 (10–6) | Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,915) Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| March 7, 1997 2:20 pm, Creative Sports | No. 16 | vs. Texas Tech Quarterfinals | W 72–70 | 20–7 | Kemper Arena (18,800) Kansas City, Missouri |
| March 8, 1997 1:00 pm, Creative Sports | No. 16 | vs. No. 1 Kansas Semifinals | L 48–72 | 20–8 | Kemper Arena (19,310) Kansas City, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| March 13, 1997 1:45 pm, CBS | (#6 W) No. 18 | vs. (#11 W) Illinois State First round | W 69–57 | 21–8 | The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,020) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| March 15, 1997 3:40 pm, CBS | (#6 W) No. 18 | vs. (#3 W) No. 10 Cincinnati Second round | W 67–66 | 22–8 | The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,020) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| March 20, 1997 9:25 pm, CBS | (#6 W) No. 18 | vs. (#2 W) No. 7 UCLA Sweet Sixteen | L 73–74 $^{OT}$ | 22–9 | Alamodome (29,231) San Antonio, Texas |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||

## Rankings

During weeks eight and nine of the regular season the Cyclones were ranked #4 in the AP poll. This was the highest ranking the Cyclones had reached since the 1956–57 season when they were ranked #3. This was also the first time in school history the Cyclones were ranked in the top 25 of both the AP and Coaches Poll every week of the season.
Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP poll | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 13 | 16 | 18 | Not released |
| Coaches Poll | 11 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 12 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 12 | 15 | 17 | 13 |