# 1996–97 Boston University Terriers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Boston University Terriers men's basketball team represented Boston University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Terriers, led by third year head coach Dennis Wolff, played their home games at Case Gym and were members of the America East Conference. They finished the season 25–5, 17–1 in America East play to win the regular season conference title. The Terriers won the America East tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 12 seed in the Midwest region. Boston University was defeated by top seed Tulsa in the opening round, 81–52.
Senior forward Tunji Awojobi was selected America East Player of the Year and finished his career as BU's all-time leader in scoring, rebounding, and blocks.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1996* | | vs. Florida A&M | W 85–54 | 1–0 | Charles E. Smith Center (4,000) Washington, D.C. |
| Nov 23, 1996* | | at No. 24 George Washington | L 68–73 | 1–1 | Charles E. Smith Center (4,540) Washington, D.C. |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | vs. East Carolina | W 68–66 | 2–1 | Halifax Metro Centre (3,612) Halifax, Nova Scotia |
| Dec 6, 1996 | | at Towson State | W 81–63 | 3–1 (1–0) | Towson Center (975) Towson, Maryland |
| Dec 8, 1996 | | at Delaware | W 58–56 | 4–1 (2–0) | Bob Carpenter Center (2,827) Newark, Delaware |
| Dec 10, 1996* | | at Harvard | W 80–72 | 5–1 | Lavietes Pavilion (745) Cambridge, Massachusetts |
| Dec 12, 1996* | | at TCU | L 80–81 | 5–2 | Daniel-Meyer Coliseum (3,692) Fort Worth, Texas |
| Dec 23, 1996* | | at Rhode Island | L 61–69 | 5–3 | Keaney Gymnasium (3,001) Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Dec 27, 1996* | | vs. Loyola (MD) | W 71–51 | 6–3 | Sun Dome (2,000) Tampa, Florida |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | at South Florida | W 65–49 | 7–3 | Sun Dome (3,613) Tampa, Florida |
| Jan 2, 1997 | | at New Hampshire | W 61–54 | 8–3 (3–0) | Lundholm Gym (1,050) Durham, New Hampshire |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | Maine | W 67–62 $^{OT}$ | 9–3 (4–0) | Case Gym (801) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Jan 10, 1997 | | Hofstra | W 70–65 | 10–3 (5–0) | Case Gym (748) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Jan 12, 1997 | | Drexel | W 71–67 $^{OT}$ | 11–3 (6–0) | Case Gym (1,064) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Jan 16, 1997 | | at Hartford | W 61–49 | 12–3 (7–0) | Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion (1,136) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at Vermont | W 69–68 | 13–3 (8–0) | Roy L. Patrick Gymnasium (1,200) Burlington, Vermont |
| Jan 21, 1997 | | Northeastern | W 59–48 | 14–3 (9–0) | Case Gym (1,039) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Jan 24, 1997 | | Delaware | W 79–72 $^{OT}$ | 15–3 (10–0) | Case Gym (967) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Jan 26, 1997 | | Towson State | W 78–69 | 16–3 (11–0) | Case Gym (845) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | at Northeastern | W 70–52 | 17–3 (12–0) | Matthews Arena (1,251) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 7, 1997 | | at Hofstra | W 70–58 | 18–3 (13–0) | Physical Fitness Center (2,237) Hempstead, New York |
| Feb 9, 1997 | | at Drexel | L 42–73 | 18–4 (13–1) | Daskalakis Athletic Center (2,369) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 13, 1997 | | Vermont | W 61–56 | 19–4 (14–1) | Case Gym (819) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | Hartford | W 69–66 | 20–4 (15–1) | Case Gym (1,965) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 20, 1997 | | New Hampshire | W 63–60 | 21–4 (16–1) | Case Gym (1,842) Boston, Massachusetts |
| Feb 23, 1997 | | at Maine | W 57–50 | 22–4 (17–1) | Alfond Arena (3,553) Orono, Maine |
| America East tournament ||||||
| Mar 1, 1997* | | vs. Maine Quarterfinals | W 67–49 | 23–4 | Bob Carpenter Center (2,778) Newark, Delaware |
| Mar 2, 1997* | | at Delaware Semifinals | W 69–65 | 24–4 | Bob Carpenter Center (3,500) Newark, Delaware |
| Mar 7, 1997* | | Drexel Championship game | W 68–61 | 25–4 | Case Gym (2,200) Boston, Massachusetts |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (12 MW) | vs. (5 MW) Tulsa First round | L 52–81 | 25–5 | Kemper Arena (12,100) Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Tunji Awojobi – America East Player of the Year