# 1996–97 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team

The 1996–97 College of Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by 18th-year head coach John Kresse, played their home games at F. Mitchell Johnson Arena in Charleston, South Carolina as members of the Trans America Athletic Conference.
After finishing the regular season conference schedule unbeaten (16–0), the Cougars would also win the 1997 TAAC tournament to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 12 seed in the Southeast region. College of Charleston beat No. 5 seed Maryland in the opening round before falling to eventual National champion Arizona in the second round, 73–69. The team set a school record for wins in a season and finished with an overall record of 29–3 as well as a No. 16 ranking in the season’s final AP poll.
The Charleston senior class finished with a four-year record of 101–17.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 22, 1996* | | at Charleston Southern | W 81–68 | 1–0 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,068) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Nov 27, 1996* | | vs. Arizona State Great Alaska Shootout | W 77–68 | 2–0 | Sullivan Arena (8,285) Anchorage Alaska |
| Nov 29, 1996* | | vs. No. 21 Stanford Great Alaska Shootout | W 82–78 | 3–0 | Sullivan Arena (8,285) Anchorage Alaska |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | vs. No. 8 Kentucky Great Alaska Shootout | L 65–92 | 3–1 | Sullivan Arena (8,285) Anchorage Alaska |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | The Citadel | W 68–63 | 4–1 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,622) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 14, 1996 | | Presbyterian | W 62–56 | 5–1 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (2,741) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 16, 1996 | | Elon | W 68–59 | 6–1 (2–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (2,432) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 18, 1996* | | at Oklahoma State | L 49–67 | 6–2 | Gallagher-Iba Arena (5,821) Stillwater, Oklahoma |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | Drexel | W 75–65 | 7–2 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,722) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Dec 29, 1996* | | Northern Illinois | W 71–67 $^{OT}$ | 8–2 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (2,561) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 2, 1997 | | at Mercer | W 88–64 | 9–2 (1–0) | Porter Gym (683) Macon, Georgia |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | at Georgia State | W 88–63 | 10–2 (2–0) | GSU Sports Arena (1,245) Statesboro, Georgia |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | Jacksonville State | W 90–74 | 11–2 (3–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,482) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at Samford | W 79–59 | 12–2 (4–0) | Seibert Hall (3,588) Birmingham, Alabama |
| Jan 13, 1997* | | at Wofford | W 88–64 | 13–2 | Benjamin Johnson Arena (2,422) Spartanburg, South Carolina |
| Jan 16, 1997 | | Florida Atlantic | W 72–64 | 14–2 (5–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,617) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | Florida International | W 78–75 | 15–2 (6–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,692) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 23, 1997 | | Campbell | W 77–52 | 16–2 (7–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,347) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Jan 30, 1997 | | at Central Florida | W 87–63 | 17–2 (8–0) | UCF Arena (1,345) Orlando, Florida |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | at Stetson | W 77–56 | 18–2 (9–0) | Edmunds Center (3,307) DeLand, Florida |
| Feb 3, 1997 | | at Campbell | W 97–58 | 19–2 (10–0) | Carter Gymnasium (788) Buies Creek, North Carolina |
| Feb 6, 1997 | | Central Florida | W 90–61 | 20–2 (11–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,419) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | Stetson | W 62–44 | 21–2 (12–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,607) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 13, 1997 | No. 25 | at Florida International | W 85–81 | 22–2 (13–0) | Golden Panther Arena (1,273) Miami, Florida |
| Feb 15, 1997 | No. 25 | at Florida Atlantic | W 64–60 | 23–2 (14–0) | FAU Arena (2,124) Boca Raton, Florida |
| Feb 20, 1997 | No. 22 | Southeastern Louisiana | W 81–68 | 24–2 (15–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,688) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 22 | Centenary | W 94–73 | 25–2 (16–0) | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,734) Charleston, South Carolina |
| TAAC tournament ||||||
| Feb 27, 1997* | (1) No. 20 | Centenary Quarterfinals | W 89–71 | 26–2 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,255) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Feb 28, 1997* | (1) No. 20 | Southeastern Louisiana Semifinals | W 93–63 | 27–2 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,480) Charleston, South Carolina |
| Mar 1, 1997* | (1) No. 20 | Florida International Championship Game | W 83–73 | 28–2 | F. Mitchell Johnson Arena (3,525) Charleston, South Carolina |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (12 SE) No. 16 | vs. (5 SE) No. 22 Maryland First Round | W 75–66 | 29–2 | Pyramid Arena (9,000) Memphis, Tennessee |
| Mar 15, 1997* | (12 SE) No. 16 | vs. (4 SE) No. 15 Arizona Second Round | L 69–73 | 29–3 | Pyramid Arena (11,815) Memphis, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
Source

## Awards and honors

* Anthony Johnson – TAAC Player of the Year
* John Kresse – TAAC Coach of the Year

## NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 2 | 39 | Anthony Johnson | Sacramento Kings |