# 1996–97 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1996–97 season. Led by head coach Skip Prosser, the Musketeers finished 23–6 (13–3 A-10) in the regular season, but lost in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Musketeers defeated Vanderbilt in the first round before losing to No. 2 seed UCLA, 96–83, in the round of 32.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 23, 1996* | | Western Kentucky | W 98–73 | 1–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Nov 26, 1996* | | at No. 1 Cincinnati Crosstown Shootout | W 71–69 | 2–0 | Myrl H. Shoemaker Center Cincinnati, OH |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | Miami (OH) | W 92–71 | 3–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Dec 2, 1996* | No. 23 | Florida A&M | W 95–64 | 4–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Dec 5, 1996* | No. 23 | at Loyola Marymount | W 81–65 | 5–0 | Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| Dec 10, 1996* | No. 19 | at LIU Brooklyn | W 94–86 | 6–0 | Schwartz Athletic Center Brooklyn, NY |
| Dec 14, 1996* | No. 19 | Hofstra | W 79–43 | 7–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Dec 21, 1996* | No. 17 | at Akron | W 113–111 $^{3OT}$ | 8–0 | James A. Rhodes Arena Akron, OH |
| Dec 29, 1996* | No. 17 | Kansas State | W 95–54 | 9–0 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 4, 1997* | No. 17 | Virginia Tech | W 102–67 | 10–0 (1–0) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 7, 1997 | No. 12 | at Dayton | L 91–98 | 10–1 (1–1) | UD Arena Dayton, OH |
| Jan 11, 1997 | No. 12 | Fordham | W 75–64 | 11–1 (2–1) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 16, 1997* | No. 14 | Tulane | L 85–87 | 11–2 | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 19, 1997 | No. 14 | Temple | W 68–64 $^{OT}$ | 12–2 (3–1) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 23, 1997* | No. 16 | George Washington | W 62–61 | 13–2 (4–1) | Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. |
| Jan 25, 1997 | No. 16 | Duquesne | L 70–78 | 13–3 (4–2) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Jan 28, 1997 | No. 20 | Rhode Island | W 91–79 | 14–3 (5–2) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Feb 1, 1997 | No. 20 | at UMass | W 87–84 $^{OT}$ | 15–3 (6–2) | Mullins Center Amherst, MA |
| Feb 3, 1997 | No. 17 | at La Salle | W 83–67 | 16–3 (7–2) | Spectrum Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 8, 1997 | No. 17 | at Saint Joseph's | L 65–79 | 16–4 (7–3) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia, PA |
| Feb 12, 1997 | No. 19 | Dayton | W 79–53 | 17–4 (8–3) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Feb 15, 1997 | No. 19 | George Washington | W 87–76 | 18–4 (9–3) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Feb 20, 1997 | No. 16 | at Duquesne | W 82–74 | 19–4 (10–3) | A.J. Palumbo Center Pittsburgh, PA |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 16 | La Salle | W 79–67 | 11–3 | Cincinnati Gardens (20–4) Cincinnati, OH |
| Feb 27, 1997 | No. 14 | St. Bonaventure | W 83–59 | 21–4 (12–3) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, OH |
| Mar 2, 1997 | No. 14 | at Virginia Tech | W 81–72 | 22–4 (13–3) | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, VA |
| Atlantic 10 Tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1997* | No. 11 | vs. Temple Quarterfinals | L 62–69 $^{OT}$ | 22–5 | Spectrum Philadelphia, PA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (7 MW) No. 13 | vs. (10 MW) Vanderbilt First Round | W 80–68 | 23–5 | Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI |
| Mar 15, 1997* | (7 MW) No. 13 | vs. (2 MW) No. 7 UCLA Second Round | L 83–96 | 23–6 | Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||