# 1996–97 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Charleston Southern Buccaneers men's basketball team represented Charleston Southern University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Buccaneers, led by head coach Tom Conrad, played their home games at the Buccaneer Field House in North Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.
After finishing fourth in the conference regular season standings, the Buccaneers won the Big South tournament to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team lost to No. 2 seed UCLA in the opening round to finish with a 17–13 record (7–7 Big South). To date, this is Charleston Southern's only appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1996* | | College of Charleston | L 68–81 | 0–1 | Buccaneer Field House (3,068) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Nov 26, 1996* | | at Anderson (SC) | W 82–57 | 1–1 | Abney Athletic Center (666) Anderson, South Carolina |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | at Toledo | L 66–80 | 1–2 | John F. Savage Hall (3,656) Toledo, Ohio |
| Dec 2, 1996 | | Centenary (NJ) | W 84–50 | 2–2 (2–0) | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (316) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 6, 1996* | | vs. Yale | L 55–61 | 2–3 | McCann Recreation Center (1,980) Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | at Marist | W 53–51 $^{2OT}$ | 3–3 | McCann Recreation Center (1,112) Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Dec 14, 1996* | | at No. 10 Clemson | L 57–80 | 3–4 | Littlejohn Coliseum (8,500) Clemson, South Carolina |
| Dec 16, 1996* | | at Furman | W 67–57 | 4–4 | Physical Activity Center (615) Greenville, South Carolina |
| Dec 18, 1996* | | South Carolina State | W 73–62 | 5–4 | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (307) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | at The Citadel | L 80–86 $^{OT}$ | 5–5 | McAlister Field House (724) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | at South Carolina | W 85–81 | 6–5 | Carolina Coliseum (5,582) Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 2, 1997* | | The Citadel | W 77–61 | 7–5 | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (881) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | Coastal Carolina | L 82–92 | 7–6 (0–1) | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (726) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at UNC Greensboro | L 64–78 | 7–7 (0–2) | Fleming Gymnasium (918) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Jan 16, 1997 | | UMBC | W 64–57 | 8–7 (1–2) | CSU Fieldhouse (581) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at UNC Asheville | L 71–84 | 8–8 (1–3) | Charlie Justice Center (1,550) Asheville, North Carolina |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | at Liberty | L 68–72 | 8–9 (1–4) | Vines Center (4,275) Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Jan 28, 1997 | | at Radford | W 79–73 | 9–9 (2–4) | Donald N. Dedmon Center (1,200) Radford, Virginia |
| Jan 30, 1997 | | Winthrop | W 76–65 | 10–9 (3–4) | CSU Fieldhouse (488) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | UNC Asheville | W 73–66 | 11–9 (4–4) | CSU Fieldhouse (1,048) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 3, 1997 | | at Coastal Carolina | W 72–53 | 12–9 (5–4) | Kimbel Arena (1,015) Conway, South Carolina |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | UNC Greensboro | W 79–72 | 13–9 (6–4) | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (1,276) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 13, 1997 | | at Winthrop | W 75–71 | 14–9 (7–4) | Winthrop Coliseum (592) Rock Hill, South Carolina |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | Radford | L 71–76 | 14–10 (7–5) | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (932) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 17, 1997 | | Liberty | L 77–80 | 14–11 (7–6) | Buccaneer Fieldhouse (888) North Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | at UMBC | L 80–85 $^{OT}$ | 14–12 (7–7) | RAC Arena (864) Catonsville, Maryland |
| Big South tournament ||||||
| Feb 26, 1997* | (4) | vs. (5) Coastal Carolina Quarterfinals | W 67–51 | 15–12 | Vines Center (950) Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Feb 28, 1997* | (4) | vs. (1) UNC Asheville Semifinals | W 67–57 | 16–12 | Vines Center (8,343) Lynchburg, Virginia |
| Mar 1, 1997* | (4) | at (2) Liberty Championship game | W 64–54 | 17–12 | Vines Center (7,439) Lynchburg, Virginia |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (15 MW) | vs. (2 MW) No. 7 UCLA First round | L 75–109 | 17–13 | Palace of Auburn Hills (21,020) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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