# 1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

The 1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos were coached by head coach Dave Bliss and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico finished 3rd in the WAC Mountain division regular season standings and lost to Utah in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The Lobos received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 3 seed in the East region. After defeating Old Dominion in the opening round, New Mexico was bounced in the round of 32 by Louisville, 64–63, to finish with a 25–8 record (11–5 WAC).
The top four scorers (career) in school history played on this team – Charles Smith, Kenny Thomas, Lamont Long, and Clayton Shields.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 18, 1996* | No. 18 | Simon Fraser | W 107–54 | 1–0 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Nov 22, 1996* | No. 18 | Columbia | W 94–56 | 2–0 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Nov 23, 1996* | No. 18 | Eastern Washington | W 69–53 | 3–0 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Nov 27, 1996* | No. 19 | Centenary | W 96–64 | 4–0 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Nov 30, 1996* | No. 19 | No. 11 Arizona | W 84–77 | 5–0 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 4, 1996* | No. 11 | at Texas Tech | L 68–77 | 5–1 | Lubbock Municipal Coliseum Lubbock, Texas |
| Dec 7, 1996* | No. 11 | at New Mexico State | W 86–72 | 6–1 | Pan American Center Las Cruces, New Mexico |
| Dec 13, 1996* | No. 15 | New Mexico State | W 84–82 $^{OT}$ | 7–1 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 21, 1996* | No. 15 | Sam Houston State | W 76–55 | 8–1 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 23, 1996* | No. 14 | Jackson State | W 98–45 | 9–1 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 27, 1996* | No. 14 | Bucknell | W 67–57 | 10–1 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Dec 28, 1996* | No. 14 | Ole Miss | W 75–64 | 11–1 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Jan 5, 1997 | No. 16 | at Hawaii | L 62–75 | 11–2 (0–1) | Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 10 | Hawaii | W 89–69 | 21–5 (10–4) | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| Feb 27, 1997 | No. 11 | at BYU | W 90–48 | 22–5 (11–4) | Marriott Center Provo, Utah |
| Mar 1, 1997 | No. 11 | at No. 4 Utah | L 58–78 | 22–6 (11–5) | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| WAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 4, 1997* | (3 M) No. 14 | vs. (6 P) San Jose State First round | W 103–70 | 23–6 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada |
| Mar 6, 1997* | (3 M) No. 14 | vs. (2 P) Hawaii Quarterfinals | W 65–57 | 24–6 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada |
| Mar 7, 1997* | (3 M) No. 14 | vs. (1 M) No. 3 Utah Semifinals | L 70–72 | 24–7 | Thomas & Mack Center Paradise, Nevada |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (3 E) No. 11 | vs. (14 E) Old Dominion | W 59–55 | 25–7 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 16, 1997* | (3 E) No. 11 | vs. (6 E) No. 25 Louisville Second round | L 63–64 | 25–8 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. ||||||