# 1996–97 Stanford Cardinal men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Stanford Cardinal men's basketball team represented Stanford University as a member of the Pac-10 Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Mike Montgomery and played their home games at Maples Pavilion. Stanford finished in a three-way tie for second in the Pac-10 regular season standings and received an at-large bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament. The Cardinal would reach the Sweet Sixteen by defeating No. 11 seed Oklahoma in the opening round and Tim Duncan-led No. 3 seed Wake Forest in the second round. The season came to and end after an overtime loss to No. 2 seed Utah in the West Regional semifinals. Stanford finished with an overall record of 22–8 (12–6 Pac-10).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 27, 1996* | No. 21 | vs. UNC Greensboro Great Alaska Shootout | W 88–52 | 1–0 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 29, 1996* | No. 21 | vs. College of Charleston Great Alaska Shootout | L 78–82 | 1–1 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, Alaska |
| Nov 30, 1996 | No. 21 | at Alaska-Anchorage Great Alaska Shootout | W 91–69 | 2–1 | Sullivan Arena Anchorage, Alaska |
| Dec 7, 1996* | No. 24 | vs. Manhattan | W 81–59 | 3–1 | ARCO Arena Sacramento, California |
| Dec 14, 1996* | No. 21 | at San Diego | W 72–70 | 4–1 | USD Sports Center San Diego, California |
| Dec 18, 1996 | No. 22 | Alaska-Anchorage | W 105–70 | 5–1 | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Dec 22, 1996* | No. 22 | at Seton Hall | W 83–81 $^{OT}$ | 6–1 | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Dec 28, 1996* | No. 23 | Navy | W 85–68 | 7–1 | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Jan 2, 1997 | No. 21 | at Arizona State | W 81–65 | 8–1 (1–0) | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| Jan 4, 1997 | No. 21 | at No. 9 Arizona | L 75–76 | 8–2 (1–1) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan 9, 1997 | No. 21 | UCLA | W 109–61 | 9–2 (2–1) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Jan 11, 1997 | No. 21 | USC | W 85–70 | 10–2 (3–1) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Jan 16, 1997 | No. 15 | at No. 24 Oregon | W 72–69 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 (4–1) | McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon |
| Jan 18, 1997 | No. 15 | at Oregon State | L 77–86 | 11–3 (4–2) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon |
| Jan 23, 1997 | No. 17 | Washington | W 78–67 | 12–3 (5–2) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Jan 25, 1997 | No. 17 | Washington State | W 81–61 | 13–3 (6–2) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Jan 29, 1997 | No. 15 | at California | L 64–70 | 13–4 (6–3) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Feb 6, 1997 | No. 18 | at USC | L 81–84 | 13–5 (6–4) | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Feb 8, 1997 | No. 18 | at UCLA | L 68–87 | 13–6 (6–5) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Feb 13, 1997 | No. 22 | Oregon State | W 87–54 | 14–6 (7–5) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Feb 15, 1997 | No. 22 | Oregon | W 83–61 | 15–6 (8–5) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Feb 20, 1997 | No. 20 | at Washington State | W 76–63 | 16–6 (9–5) | Friel Court Pullman, Washington |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 20 | at Washington | L 61–75 | 16–7 (9–6) | Bank of America Arena Seattle, Washington |
| Feb 24, 1997* | No. 25 | San Diego State | W 97–50 | 17–7 | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Mar 1, 1997 | No. 25 | California | W 73–63 | 18–7 (10–6) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Mar 6, 1997 | No. 23 | No. 12 Arizona | W 81–80 | 19–7 (11–6) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Mar 8, 1997 | No. 23 | Arizona State | W 86–63 | 20–7 (12–6) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (6 W) No. 21 | vs. (11 W) Oklahoma First round | W 80–67 | 21–7 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar 16, 1997* | (6 W) No. 21 | vs. (3 W) No. 9 Wake Forest Second Round | W 72–66 | 22–7 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar 20, 1997* | (6 W) No. 21 | vs. (2 W) No. 2 Utah West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 77–82 | 22–8 | San Jose Arena San Jose, California |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Pacific Time. (#) during NCAA is seed within region. ||||||
Schedule Source:

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 18 | 20 | 21 | 24 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 15 | 17 | 15 | 18 | 22 | 20 | 25 | 23 | 21 | Not released |
| Coaches | 14 | 14^ | 14 | 21 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 17 | 17 | 15 | 16 | 22 | 22 | 24 | 22 | 21 | 12 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a week 2 poll

## 1997 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1 | 16 | Brevin Knight | Cleveland Cavaliers |