# 1996–97 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team

The 1996–97 South Carolina Gamecocks men's basketball team represented the University of South Carolina as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1996–97 men's college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Eddie Fogler and played their home games at Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, South Carolina. The team finished first in the SEC regular season standings and received an at-large bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as No. 2 seed in the East region. The Gamecocks lost to 15 seed Coppin State in the first round to finish the season with a record of 24–8 (15–1 SEC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1996* | | vs. Virginia Maui Invitational | L 70–93 | 0–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 26, 1996 | | at Chaminade Maui Invitational | W 64–55 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Nov 27, 1996* | | vs. LSU Maui Invitational | W 74–68 | 2–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii |
| Dec 2, 1996* | | Wofford | W 64–41 | 3–1 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 6, 1996* | | at UNC Charlotte | W 75–60 | 4–1 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | at No. 14 North Carolina | L 75–86 | 4–2 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Dec 17, 1996* | | No. 8 Clemson | L 39–58 | 4–3 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 19, 1996* | | UNC Asheville | L 74–80 | 4–4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | South Carolina State | W 79–60 | 5–4 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | Charleston Southern | L 81–85 | 5–5 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Dec 30, 1996* | | Furman | W 100–62 | 6–5 | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 4, 1997* | | Auburn | W 66–56 | 7–5 (1–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 8, 1997 | | Tennessee | W 73–41 | 8–5 (2–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at Mississippi State | W 73–65 | 9–5 (3–0) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 15, 1997 | | at Florida | W 80–79 | 10–5 (4–0) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | No. 21 Georgia | W 82–71 | 11–5 (5–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 22, 1997 | | at Alabama | W 62–60 | 12–5 (6–0) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Jan 25, 1997 1:00 p.m., JP Sports | | Ole Miss | W 86–63 | 13–5 (7–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 29, 1997 | No. 25 | at Vanderbilt | W 65–64 | 14–5 (8–0) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 1, 1997 | No. 25 | at LSU | W 80–65 | 15–5 (9–0) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Feb 4, 1997 | No. 19 | No. 3 Kentucky | W 84–79 $^{OT}$ | 16–5 (10–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 8, 1997 | No. 19 | Florida | W 76–68 | 17–5 (11–0) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 12, 1997 | No. 12 | at Georgia | L 74–77 | 17–6 (11–1) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Feb 15, 1997* | No. 12 | at No. 8 Cincinnati | W 97–83 | 18–6 | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 18, 1997 | No. 9 | Arkansas | W 78–65 | 19–6 (12–1) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Feb 20, 1997* | No. 9 | at The Citadel | W 85–55 | 20–6 | McAlister Field House Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 9 | at Tennessee | W 69–58 | 21–6 (13–1) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Feb 26, 1997 | No. 6 | Vanderbilt | W 74–53 | 22–6 (14–1) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Mar 2, 1997 | No. 6 | at No. 3 Kentucky | W 72–66 | 23–6 (15–1) | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 1997* JP Sports | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (W4) Alabama Quarterfinals | W 72–61 | 24–6 | Memphis Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| Mar 8, 1997* JP Sports | (E1) No. 4 | vs. (E3) No. 24 Georgia Semifinals | L 63–78 | 24–7 | Memphis Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* CBS | (2 E) No. 6 | vs. (15 E) Coppin State First round | L 65–78 | 24–8 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||