# 1996–97 Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team

The 1996–97 Old Dominion Monarchs basketball team represented Old Dominion University in the 1996–97 college basketball season. This was head coach Jeff Capel's third of seven seasons at Old Dominion. The Monarchs competed in the Colonial Athletic Association and played their home games at the ODU Fieldhouse. They finished the season 22–11, 10–6 in CAA play to finish as regular season conference champions. They went on to win the 1997 CAA men's basketball tournament to earn the CAA's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They earned a 14 seed in the East Region where they were beaten by No. 3 seed New Mexico in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 9, 1996* | | Sundance | W 97–75 | – | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Nov 16, 1996* | | Court Authority | W 83–70 | – | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1996* | | at Towson State | W 84–82 | 1–0 | Towson Center Towson, Maryland |
| Nov 25, 1996* | | Toledo | W 65–57 | 2–0 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | UNC Charlotte | W 65–64 | 3–0 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Dec 2, 1996* | | Tennessee State | W 95–85 | 4–0 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Dec 5, 1996* | | Washington | W 67–57 | 5–0 | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Dec 10, 1996* | | at Hampton | W 57–46 | 6–0 | Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Dec 13, 1996* | | vs. Eastern Michigan | L 78–79 | 6–1 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Dec 14, 1996* | | vs. Pepperdine | W 56–47 | 7–1 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| Dec 19, 1996* | | at Mississippi State | L 73–80 | 7–2 | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Dec 30, 1996* | | vs. Nebraska Puerto Rico Holiday Classic | L 66–72 | 7–3 | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Dec 31, 1996* | | vs. Southeast Missouri State Puerto Rico Holiday Classic | W 74–61 | 8–3 | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Jan 1, 1997* | | vs. Mississippi State Puerto Rico Holiday Classic | W 72–71 $^{OT}$ | 9–3 | Eugene Guerra Sports Complex Bayamón, Puerto Rico |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | at Richmond | W 76–69 | 10–3 (1–0) | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 8, 1997 | | at George Mason | W 94–85 | 11–3 (2–0) | Patriot Center Fairfax, Virginia |
| Jan 11, 1997* | | East Carolina | W 79–70 | 12–3 (3–0) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Jan 13, 1997 | | UNC Wilmington | W 61–45 | 13–3 (4–0) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Jan 15, 1997 | | at American | L 77–80 $^{OT}$ | 13–4 (4–1) | Bender Arena Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at VCU Rivalry | W 82–65 | 14–4 (5–1) | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Jan 22, 1997 | | William & Mary Rivalry | L 55–61 | 14–5 (5–2) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | at James Madison Rivalry | L 66–84 | 14–6 (5–3) | JMU Convocation Center Harrisonburg, Virginia |
| Jan 29, 1997 | | at East Carolina | L 63–78 | 14–7 (5–4) | Williams Arena at Minges Coliseum Greenville, North Carolina |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | Richmond | W 63–51 | 15–7 (6–4) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Feb 5, 1997 | | at William & Mary Rivalry | L 52–80 | 15–8 (6–5) | William & Mary Hall Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | at UNC Wilmington | L 73–74 $^{OT}$ | 15–9 (6–6) | Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina |
| Feb 11, 1997* | | at George Washington | L 63–68 | 15–10 | Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | VCU Rivalry | W 75–70 | 16–10 (7–6) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Feb 19, 1997 | | American | W 99–61 | 17–10 (8–6) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | George Mason | W 85–62 | 18–10 (9–6) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| Feb 24, 1997 | | James Madison Rivalry | W 72–66 | 19–10 (10–6) | Norfolk Scope Norfolk, Virginia |
| CAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 1, 1997* | | vs. Richmond Quarterfinals | W 69–56 | 20–10 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 2, 1997* | | vs. William & Mary Semifinals | W 70–62 | 21–10 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 3, 1997* | | vs. James Madison Championship game | W 62–58 $^{OT}$ | 22–10 | Richmond Coliseum Richmond, Virginia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (14 E) | vs. (3 E) No. 11 New Mexico First round | L 55–59 | 22–11 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||