# 1996–97 Temple Owls men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach John Chaney and played their home games, for the final season, at McGonigle Hall. The Owls received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the Midwest region. Temple beat Ole Miss in the opening round before losing to No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Minnesota, 76–57, in the round of 32. Temple finished with a record of 20–11 (10–6 A-10).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Dec 4, 1996* | | Wisconsin | L 57–64 $^{OT}$ | 0–1 | McGonigle Hall (3,427) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | vs. Georgia Tech | W 76–58 | 1–1 | Boardwalk Hall Atlantic City, New Jersey |
| Dec 9, 1996* | | Tulane | W 67–49 | 2–1 | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 14, 1996* | | at Tulsa | L 60–67 | 2–2 | Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | Penn | W 69–45 | 3–2 | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Dec 27, 1996* | | at No. 24 Oregon | L 62–82 | 3–3 | McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | vs. Bradley | W 69–63 | 4–3 | Rose Garden Arena Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 4, 1997* | | at DePaul | W 73–60 | 5–3 | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| Jan 7, 1997 | | Rhode Island | L 72–79 $^{OT}$ | 5–4 (0–1) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | St. Bonaventure | W 68–53 | 6–4 (1–1) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 13, 1997 | | Dayton | W 75–50 | 7–4 (2–1) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 16, 1997* | | at No. 4 Cincinnati A-10/C-USA Challenge | W 70–55 | 8–4 | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 19, 1997 | | at No. 14 Xavier | L 64–68 $^{OT}$ | 8–5 (2–2) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 23, 1997 | | at Fordham | W 62–45 | 9–5 (3–2) | Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | UMass | L 66–78 | 9–6 (3–3) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 28, 1997 | | La Salle | W 70–67 $^{2OT}$ | 10–6 (4–3) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 30, 1997 | | at Saint Joseph's | W 68–59 | 11–6 (5–3) | Hagan Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 2, 1997* | | No. 9 Louisville | W 67–44 | 12–6 | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 4, 1997 | | at St. Bonaventure | L 55–73 | 12–7 (5–4) | Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, New York |
| Feb 9, 1997 | | at Duquesne | W 83–68 | 13–7 (6–4) | A.J. Palumbo Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 13, 1997 | | Saint Joseph's | W 64–62 | 14–7 (7–4) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 16, 1997 | | at Rhode Island | L 82–85 | 14–8 (7–5) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Feb 18, 1997 | | at Virginia Tech | W 45–41 | 15–8 (8–5) | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | George Washington | W 71–59 | 16–8 (9–5) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 24, 1997 | | Fordham | W 69–53 | 17–8 (10–5) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 1, 1997 | | at UMass | L 53–59 | 17–9 (10–6) | Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Atlantic 10 Tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1997* | | vs. Duquesne First round | W 64–47 | 18–9 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 6, 1997* | | vs. No. 11 Xavier Quarterfinals | W 69–62 $^{OT}$ | 19–9 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 7, 1997* | | vs. Rhode Island Semifinals | L 66–69 $^{OT}$ | 19–10 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (9 MW) | vs. (8 MW) Ole Miss First round | W 62–40 | 20–10 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Mar 16, 1997* | (9 MW) | vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Minnesota Second round | L 57–76 | 20–11 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwst. All times are in Eastern Standard Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Marc Jackson – Atlantic 10 Player of the Year