# 1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes Men's basketball team represented the University of Colorado in the 1996–97 season. Led by first-year head coach Ricardo Patton, and sophomore Guard Chauncey Billups, the Buffaloes made the NCAA tournament despite only having won nine games the previous year. Billups, was particularly impressive this particular season. Billups earned Big 12 Player of the year honors as well as all-American honors. Following this season, Billups would declare his eligibility for the NBA draft, being selected third overall in 1997. Following his career end, Billups' number would be retired by the Buffaloes. As Head Coach of the Buffaloes, Patton had been appointed after having been named interim head coach the prior season. Patton would stay head coach of the Buffaloes until 2007.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Exhibition ||||||
| Nov 15, 1996* | | Marathon | W 78–72 | | CU Events/Conference Center (1,812) Boulder, Colorado |
| Nov 19, 1996* | | No. Melbourne | W 82–74 | | CU Events/Conference Center (1,638) Boulder, Colorado |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| Nov 24, 1996* | | Drake | W 82–80 $^{OT}$ | 1–0 | CU Events/Conference Center (2,322) Boulder, Colorado |
| Nov 29, 1996* | | vs. Auburn Big Island Invitational | W 78–72 $^{OT}$ | 2–0 | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium Hilo, Hawaii |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | vs. Virginia Tech Big Island Invitational | W 63–56 | 3–0 | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium Hilo, Hawaii |
| Dec 1, 1996* | | vs. Louisville Big Island Invitational | L 82–92 | 3–1 | Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium Hilo, Hawaii |
| Dec 5, 1996* | | Texas–Arlington | W 81–52 | 3–1 | CU Events/Conference Center (2,307) Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | at George Mason | L 81–85 | 3–2 | Patriot Center (2,481) Fairfax, Virginia |
| Dec 10, 1996* | | at Wyoming | W 84–68 | 4–2 | Arena-Auditorium (7,395) Laramie, Wyoming |
| Dec 12, 1996* | | Colorado State | W 76–69 | 5–3 | CU Events/Conference Center (5,219) Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | UC Santa Barbara | W 76–55 | 6–3 | CU Events/Conference Center (2,716) Boulder, Colorado |
| Dec 23, 1996* | | at Georgia | L 52–62 | 7–3 | Stegeman Coliseum (6,458) Athens, Georgia |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | at Missouri–Kansas City | W 82–61 | 8–3 | Municipal Auditorium (4,481) Kansas City, Missouri |
| Dec 30, 1996* | | Northwestern State | W 82–70 | 9–3 | CU Events/Conference Center (1,721) Boulder, Colorado |
| Big 12 Regular Season ||||||
| Jan 4, 1997 | | Nebraska | W 79–73 | 10–3 (1–0) | CU Events/Conference Center (3,164) Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 7, 1997 | | Missouri | W 87–78 | 11–3 (2–0) | CU Events/Conference Center (13,300) Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at No. 20 Texas Tech | W 80–78 | 12–3 (3–0) | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (8,174) Lubbock, Texas |
| Jan 15, 1997 | | Oklahoma State | W 78–74 $^{OT}$ | 13–3 (4–0) | CU Events/Conference Center (8,447) Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | No. 8 Iowa State | W 70–45 | 14–3 (5–0) | CU Events/Conference Center (8,278) Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 21, 1997 | No. 18 | at Baylor | W 74–70 | 15–3 (6–0) | Ferrell Center (5,215) Waco, Texas |
| Jan 26, 1997 | No. 18 | No. 1 Kansas | L 68–77 | 15–4 (6–1) | CU Events/Conference Center (11,198) Boulder, Colorado |
| Jan 29, 1997 | No. 18 | at Kansas State | W 69–60 | 16–4 (7–1) | Bramlage Coliseum (8,970) Manhattan, Kansas |
| Feb 5, 1997 | No. 15 | at Nebraska | L 69–77 | 16–5 (7–2) | Bob Devaney Sports Center (12,398) Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Feb 8, 1997 | No. 15 | Texas A&M | W 77–64 | 17–5 (8–2) | CU Events/Conference Center (6,802) Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 12, 1997 | No. 15 | at Oklahoma | L 66–91 | 17–6 (8–3) | Lloyd Noble Center (10,517) Norman, Oklahoma |
| Feb 15, 1997 | No. 15 | at No. 1 Kansas | L 74–114 | 17–7 (8–4) | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, Kansas |
| Feb 19, 1997 | No. 21 | Kansas State | W 67–57 | 18–7 (9–4) | CU Events/Conference Center (5,072) Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 21 | Missouri | W 84–75 | 19–7 (10–4) | CU Events/Conference Center (9,947) Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 24, 1997* | No. 19 | Wofford | W 65–58 | 20–7 | CU Events/Conference Center (3,209) Boulder, Colorado |
| Feb 26, 1997 | No. 19 | at No. 13 Iowa State | L 54–65 | 20–8 (10–5) | Hilton Coliseum (14,020) Ames, Iowa |
| Mar 1, 1997 | No. 19 | Texas | W 83–60 | 21–8 (11–5) | CU Events/Conference Center (10,547) Boulder, Colorado |
| Big 12 Tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 1997* | No. 18 | vs. Oklahoma Quarterfinals | L 41–55 | 21–9 | Kemper Arena (17,300) Kansas City, Missouri |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (9 E) No. 24 | vs. (8 E) Indiana East Region – first round | W 80–62 | 22–9 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,368) Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Mar 15, 1997* | (9 E) No. 24 | vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina East Region – second round | L 56–73 | 22–10 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,368) Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Mountain Time. ||||||

### Postseason Schedule

Big 12 Tournament Quarterfinal Vs. Oklahoma, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO - L, 41-55 NCAA Tournament First Round Vs. Indiana, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC - W, 80-62 Round of 32 Vs. North Carolina, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC - L, 56-73

## Awards and honors

* Chauncey Billups – First-team All-Big 12, Consensus Second-team All-American

## Team players in the 1997 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 3 | Chauncey Billups | Boston Celtics |