# 1996–97 Chattanooga Mocs basketball team

The 1996–97 Chattanooga Mocs basketball team represented the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga as a member of the Southern Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Their head coach was Mack McCarthy and the team played their home games at UTC Arena. The Mocs won the regular season and SoCon tournament titles, the latter earning the Mocs an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament. Participating in the Big Dance for the fourth time in five years, Chattanooga made a run to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating No. 3 seed Georgia and No. 6 seed Illinois before falling to No. 10 seed Providence in the Southeast Regional semifinals.

## Roster

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## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1996* | | Tennessee Wesleyan | W 113–46 | 1–0 | UTC Arena (3,641) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Nov 23, 1996* | | South Carolina-Aiken | W 110–61 | 2–0 | UTC Arena (3,007) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Nov 29, 1996* | | vs. Missouri San Juan Shootout | L 74–83 | 2–1 | Caguas Municipal Complex (200) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | vs. Delaware San Juan Shootout | L 74–83 | 2–2 | Caguas Municipal Complex (300) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Dec 1, 1996* | | at Puerto Rico-Mayagüez San Juan Shootout | W 83–74 | 3–2 | Caguas Municipal Complex (175) San Juan, Puerto Rico |
| Dec 3, 1996* | | Penn State | L 63–73 | 3–3 | UTC Arena (7,940) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Dec 14, 1996* | | at Middle Tennessee | L 73–83 | 3–4 | Murphy Athletic Center (3,114) Murfreesboro, Tennessee |
| Dec 18, 1996* | | at Alabama-Birmingham | L 65–75 | 3–5 | UAB Arena (3,130) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | Tennessee State | W 67–49 | 4–5 | UTC Arena (5,297) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Dec 23, 1996 | | at Marshall | L 83–90 | 4–6 (0–1) | Henderson Center (4,217) Huntington, West Virginia |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | Coastal Carolina Dr. Pepper Classic | W 75–69 $^{OT}$ | 5–6 | UTC Arena (4,119) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Dec 29, 1996* | | Canisius Dr. Pepper Classic | L 49–63 | 5–7 | UTC Arena (3,987) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Jan 6, 1997* | | Wofford | W 83–46 | 6–7 | UTC Arena (3,819) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | at Furman | W 81–45 | 7–7 (1–1) | Physical Activity Center (1,000) Greenville, South Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at VMI | W 91–76 | 8–7 (2–1) | Cameron Hall (1,116) Lexington, Virginia |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at Davidson | W 74–63 | 9–7 (3–1) | Belk Arena (2,489) Davidson, North Carolina |
| Jan 20, 1997 | | Furman | W 68–47 | 10–7 (4–1) | UTC Arena (5,280) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | Western Carolina | W 87–60 | 11–7 (5–1) | UTC Arena (5,943) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Jan 27, 1997 | | Georgia Southern | W 76–55 | 12–7 (6–1) | UTC Arena (5,231) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Jan 29, 1997 | | East Tennessee State | W 83–53 | 13–7 (7–1) | UTC Arena (5,670) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | Appalachian State | W 70–57 | 14–7 (8–1) | UTC Arena (6,911) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 3, 1997 | | at The Citadel | W 72–66 | 15–7 (9–1) | McAlister Field House (764) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 6, 1997* | | Alabama-Birmingham | W 64–59 | 16–7 | UTC Arena (7,590) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | at East Tennessee State | L 69–70 $^{OT}$ | 16–8 (9–2) | Memorial Center (4,150) Johnson City, Tennessee |
| Feb 10, 1997 | | The Citadel | W 71–59 | 17–8 (10–2) | UTC Arena (8,005) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | at Western Carolina | L 66–68 | 17–9 (10–3) | Ramsey Center (2,662) Cullowhee, North Carolina |
| Feb 17, 1997 | | at Georgia Southern | L 67–70 | 17–10 (10–4) | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,908) Statesboro, Georgia |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | Marshall | W 92–72 | 18–10 (11–4) | UTC Arena (9,211) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 24, 1997* | | Cumberland University | W 92–60 | 19–10 | UTC Arena (4,783) Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| SoCon tournament ||||||
| Feb 28, 1997* | (S1) | vs. (N4) VMI Quarterfinals | W 84–62 | 20–10 | Greensboro Coliseum (1,756) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Mar 1, 1997* | (S1) | vs. (N2) Davidson Semifinals | W 77–70 | 21–10 | Greensboro Coliseum (4,297) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Mar 2, 1997* | (S1) | vs. (N1) Marshall Championship | W 71–70 $^{OT}$ | 22–10 | Greensboro Coliseum (5,390) Greensboro, North Carolina |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (14 SE) | vs. (3 SE) No. 17 Georgia First round | W 73–70 | 23–10 | Charlotte Coliseum (11,206) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Mar 16, 1997* | (14 SE) | vs. (6 SE) No. 19 Illinois Second Round | W 75–63 | 24–10 | Charlotte Coliseum (14,864) Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Mar 21, 1997* | (14 SE) | vs. (10 SE) Providence Southeast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 65–71 | 24–11 | Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center (17,647) Birmingham, Alabama |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
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