# 1996–97 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represented Fairfield University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Stags, led by sixth-year head coach Paul Cormier, played their home games at Alumni Hall in Fairfield, Connecticut as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 11–19, 2–12 in MAAC play to finish in eighth place. In the MAAC tournament, they went on a surprising run to the title by defeating Iona, Saint Peter's, and Canisius to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 16 seed in the East region. In the opening round, the Stags were beaten by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant North Carolina in a competitive game, 82–74.
As of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, this Fairfield team is tied with FIU (1995) and UCF (1996) for worst record for an NCAA Tournament team at 11–18.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 23, 1996* | | East Carolina | L 64–81 | 0–1 | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Nov 26, 1996* | | at Colgate | W 82–77 $^{OT}$ | 1–1 | Cotterell Court Hamilton, New York |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | Central Michigan | W 82–63 | 2–1 | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Dec 3, 1996* | | at Wagner | W 86–71 | 3–1 | Sutter Gym Staten Island, New York |
| Dec 6, 1996* | | vs. Santa Clara | L 60–64 | 3–2 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | at San Francisco | L 62–70 | 3–3 | War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | at Connecticut | L 58–68 | 3–4 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut |
| Dec 31, 1996* | | at Southern Utah | W 78–51 | 4–4 | Centrum Cedar City, Utah |
| Jan 6, 1997 | | Canisius | L 60–75 | 4–5 (0–1) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Jan 8, 1997* | | at Fordham | L 53–57 | 4–6 | Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York |
| Jan 11, 1997* | | Central Connecticut State | W 56–54 | 5–6 | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Jan 15, 1997* | | No. 19 Boston College | L 79–81 $^{OT}$ | 5–7 | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at Iona | L 70–81 | 5–8 (0–2) | Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York |
| Jan 20, 1997 | | at Siena | L 58–66 | 5–9 (0–3) | Times Union Center Loudonville, New York |
| Jan 24, 1997 | | Saint Peter's | L 52–58 | 5–10 (0–4) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Jan 26, 1997 | | Siena | W 74–64 | 6–10 (1–4) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Jan 29, 1997 | | at Manhattan | L 49–65 | 6–11 (1–5) | Draddy Gymnasium New York, New York |
| Jan 31, 1997 | | Loyola (MD) | L 53–58 | 6–12 (1–6) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Feb 5, 1997 | | at Saint Peter's | L 58–71 | 6–13 (1–7) | Yanitelli Center Jersey City, New Jersey |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | at Canisius | L 45–91 | 6–14 (1–8) | Koessler Athletic Center Buffalo, New York |
| Feb 10, 1997 | | at Niagara | L 60–65 | 6–15 (1–9) | Gallagher Center Lewiston, New York |
| Feb 12, 1997* | | vs. Marist | W 84–75 | 7–15 | McCann Arena Poughkeepsie, New York |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | Manhattan | W 68–67 | 8–15 (2–9) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Feb 18, 1997 | | Iona | L 64–74 | 8–16 (2–10) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Feb 21, 1997 | | Niagara | L 72–75 | 8–17 (2–11) | Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut |
| Feb 23, 1997 | | at Loyola (MD) | L 59–67 | 8–18 (2–12) | Reitz Arena Baltimore, Maryland |
| MAAC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 1, 1997* | | vs. Iona Quarterfinals | W 80–71 | 9–18 | Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York |
| Mar 2, 1997* | | vs. Saint Peter's Semifinals | W 73–61 | 10–18 | Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York |
| Mar 3, 1997* | | at Canisius Championship game | W 78–72 | 11–18 | Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (16 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina First round | L 74–82 | 11–19 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||
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