# 1996–97 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University as a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by 2nd year head coach Phil Martelli, the Hawks finished with an overall record of 26–7 (13–3 in A-10 play). Saint Joseph's won both regular season and A-10 Tournament titles, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 4 seed in the West Regional. The team defeated Pacific and Boston College to advance to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to No. 1 seed Kentucky in the regional semifinal.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 20, 1996* | | at No. 10 Duke Preseason NIT | L 60–89 | 0–1 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Dec 3, 1996* | | Wyoming | W 71–57 | 1–1 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | vs. No. 21 Tulsa Coaches vs. Cancer Classic | W 67–64 | 2–1 | Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Dec 16, 1996* | | DePaul | W 71–58 | 3–1 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 19, 1996* | | at East Carolina | L 64–68 | 3–2 | Minges Coliseum Greenville, North Carolina |
| Dec 23, 1996* | | No. 10 Villanova Philadelphia Big 5 | L 65–81 | 3–3 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 30, 1996* | | vs. Austin Peay Pepsi-Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic | W 74–58 | 4–3 | Brown County Arena Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| Dec 31, 1996* | | at Green Bay Pepsi-Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic | W 64–59 | 5–3 | Brown County Arena Green Bay, Wisconsin |
| Jan 5, 1997 | | at UMass | W 72–68 | 6–3 (1–0) | Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | St. Bonaventure | W 82–80 $^{2OT}$ | 7–3 (2–0) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at Rhode Island | L 70–74 | 7–4 (2–1) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Jan 15, 1997 | | at George Washington | W 55–53 | 8–4 (3–1) | Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at Penn | W 66–61 | 9–4 | The Palestra Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 21, 1997 | | Duquesne | W 82–74 | 10–4 (4–1) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | Virginia Tech | W 68–50 | 11–4 (5–1) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 30, 1997 | | Temple | L 59–68 | 11–5 (5–2) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 2, 1997 | | Rhode Island | W 79–77 | 12–5 (6–2) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 4, 1997 | | Dayton | W 89–82 | 13–5 (7–2) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 6, 1997 | | Fordham | W 71–53 | 14–5 (8–2) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | No. 17 Xavier | W 79–65 | 15–5 (9–2) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 11, 1997* | | Drexel | W 63–62 | 16–5 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 13, 1997 | | at Temple | L 62–64 | 16–6 (9–3) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 16, 1997 | | at Fordham | W 77–66 | 17–6 (10–3) | Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York |
| Feb 18, 1997* | | Delaware | W 77–65 | 18–6 | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | at St. Bonaventure | W 86–50 | 19–6 (11–3) | Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, New York |
| Feb 25, 1997 | No. 23 | UMass | W 78–63 | 20–6 (12–3) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 1, 1997 | No. 23 | at La Salle Philadelphia Big 5 | W 62–59 | 21–6 (13–3) | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| A-10 Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1997* | No. 19 | St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals | W 75–59 | 22–6 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 7, 1997* | No. 19 | George Washington Semifinals | W 78–70 | 23–6 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 8, 1997* | No. 19 | Rhode Island Championship Game | W 61–56 | 24–6 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (13 W) Pacific First round | W 75–65 | 25–6 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Mar 15, 1997* | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (5 W) No. 23 Boston College Second Round | W 81–77 | 26–6 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Mar 20, 1997* | (4 W) No. 12 | vs. (1 W) No. 5 Kentucky West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 68–83 | 26–7 | San Jose Arena (18,543) San Jose, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. ||||||