# 1996–97 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team

The 1996–97 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team represented the University of California, Irvine during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Anteaters were led by sixth year head coach Rod Baker and played at the Bren Events Center and were members of the Big West Conference. They finished with the worst record in school history and Rod Baker was dismissed as head coach at the end of the season.

## Previous season

The 1995–96 UC Irvine Anteaters men's basketball team finished the season with a record of 15–12, 11–7 in Big West play.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| November 22, 1996* | at San Diego State | L 88–100 | 0–1 | Peterson Gym (1,598) San Diego, CA |
| December 2, 1996* | at Washington State | L 53–91 | 0–2 | Beasley Coliseum (2,120) Pullman, WA |
| December 4, 1996* | at Eastern Washington | L 53–80 | 0–3 | Reese Court (884) Cheney, WA |
| December 7, 1996* | UNLV | L 59–69 | 0–3 | Bren Events Center (2,098) Irvine, CA |
| December 15, 1996* | USC | L 45–107 | 0–4 | Bren Events Center (2,448) Irvine, CA |
| December 21, 1996* | at Cal State Northridge | L 53–77 | 0–5 | Matadome (493) Northridge, CA |
| December 23, 1996* | San Diego | L 49–70 | 0–6 | Bren Events Center (939) Irvine, CA |
| December 28, 1996* | Utah | L 50–77 | 0–7 | Bren Events Center (2,022) Irvine, CA |
| January 4, 1997* | at San Francisco | L 44–77 | 0–8 | War Memorial Gymnasium (3,212) San Francisco, CA |
| January 9, 1997 | Pacific | L 52–63 | 0–9 (0–1) | Bren Events Center (981) Irvine, CA |
| January 11, 1997 | Long Beach State | L 69–82 | 0–10 (0–2) | Bren Events Center (1,861) Irvine, CA |
| January 16, 1997 | at Cal Poly | L 62–79 | 0–11 (0–3) | Mott Gym (3,097) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| January 18, 1997 | at UC Santa Barbara | L 55–56 | 0–12 (0–4) | UC Santa Barbara Events Center (3,145) Santa Barbara, CA |
| January 23, 1997 | Nevada | W 76–74 $^{OT}$ | 1–12 (1–4) | Bren Events Center (854) Irvine, CA |
| January 25, 1997 | Cal State Fullerton | L 57–89 | 1–13 (1–5) | Bren Events Center (3,228) Irvine, CA |
| January 30, 1997 | at Boise State | L 46–67 | 1–14 (1–6) | BSU Pavilion (6,112) Boise, ID |
| February 1, 1997 | at Idaho | L 40–57 | 1–15 (1–7) | Cowan Spectrum (4,038) Moscow, ID |
| February 6, 1997 | North Texas | L 74–75 $^{2OT}$ | 1–16 (1–8) | Bren Events Center (490) Irvine, CA |
| February 8, 1997 | New Mexico State | L 47–81 | 1–17 (1–9) | Bren Events Center (1,015) Irvine, CA |
| February 13, 1997 | at Cal State Fullerton | L 69–84 | 1–18 (1–10) | Titan Gym (739) Fullerton, CA |
| February 15, 1997 | at Utah State | L 47–81 | 1–19 (1–11) | Smith Spectrum (7,511) Logan, UT |
| February 20, 1997 | at Long Beach State | L 63–89 | 1–20 (1–12) | The Pyramid (3,660) Long Beach, CA |
| February 22, 1997 | at Pacific | L 46–96 | 1–21 (1–13) | Alex G. Spanos Center (5,252) Stockton, CA |
| February 25, 1997* | at Southern Utah | L 65–76 | 1–22 | Centrum Arena (3,004) Cedar City, UT |
| February 27, 1997 | UC Santa Barbara | L 71–79 $^{OT}$ | 1–22 (1–14) | Bren Events Center (1,293) Irvine, CA |
| March 1, 1997 | Cal Poly | L 78–84 | 1–25 (1–15) | Bren Events Center (2,038) Irvine, CA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Brian Johnson
** Big West All-Freshman Team
* Juma Jackson
** Big West All-Freshman Team
* Andrew Carlson
** Big West All-Freshman Team
Source: