# 1996–97 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1996–97 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama as members of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Bill Musselman and played their home games at the Mitchell Center. They finished the season 23–7, 14–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in first place. They won the Sun Belt tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as the 13 seed in the Southeast region. In the opening round, the Jaguars lost to eventual National champion Arizona.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 23, 1996* | | Abilene Christian | W 85–62 | 1–0 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Nov 26, 1996* | | West Florida | W 86–60 | 2–0 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Nov 29, 1996* | | Grambling | W 57–54 | 3–0 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 3, 1996* | | at Southern Miss | L 36–55 | 3–1 | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | Florida A&M | W 81–53 | 4–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 10, 1996* | | UAB | W 74–63 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 18, 1996* | | at Auburn | L 51–60 | 5–2 | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | Nicholls State | W 69–66 | 6–2 | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Dec 28, 1996 | | Southwestern Louisiana | L 63–66 | 6–3 (0–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 2, 1997* | | Arkansas–Little Rock | W 64–56 | 7–3 (1–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | Arkansas State | W 72–53 | 8–3 (2–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | Texas-Rio Grande Valley | W 72–58 | 9–3 (3–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at Lamar | W 84–62 | 10–3 (4–1) | Montagne Center Beaumont, Texas |
| Jan 13, 1997 | | at Jacksonville | W 77–45 | 11–3 (5–1) | Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum Jacksonville, Florida |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at Western Kentucky | W 68–66 | 12–3 (6–1) | E.A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, Kentucky |
| Jan 20, 1997 | | New Orleans | W 65–52 | 13–3 (7–1) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Jan 23, 1997 | | at Arkansas–Little Rock | L 47–48 | 13–4 (7–2) | Barton Coliseum Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | at Arkansas State | W 79–68 | 14–4 (8–2) | Convocation Center Jonesboro, Arkansas |
| Jan 30, 1997 | | at New Orleans | L 51–58 | 14–5 (8–3) | Lakefront Arena New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | at Texas-Rio Grande Valley | W 65–51 | 15–5 (9–3) | UTPA Fieldhouse Edinburg, Texas |
| Feb 3, 1997 | | Louisiana Tech | W 56–50 | 16–5 (10–3) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 13, 1997 | | Lamar | W 66–53 | 17–5 (11–3) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | Jacksonville | W 92–74 | 18–5 (12–3) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 20, 1997 | | at Louisiana Tech | W 44–43 | 19–5 (13–3) | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, Louisiana |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | Western Kentucky | W 83–59 | 20–5 (14–3) | Jaguar Gym Mobile, Alabama |
| Feb 24, 1997 | | at Southwestern Louisiana | L 62–65 | 20–6 (14–4) | Cajundome Lafayette, Louisiana |
| Sun Belt Conference tournament ||||||
| Mar 1, 1997* | (2) | vs. (7) Southwestern Louisiana Quarterfinals | W 66–39 | 21–6 | Barton Coliseum Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Mar 2, 1997* | (2) | at (3) Arkansas–Little Rock Semifinals | W 71–52 | 22–6 | Barton Coliseum Little Rock, Arkansas |
| Mar 4, 1997* | (2) | vs. (5) Louisiana Tech Championship game | W 44–43 | 23–6 | Barton Coliseum Little Rock, Arkansas |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (13 SE) | vs. (4 SE) No. 15 Arizona First round | L 57–65 | 23–7 | The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time. ||||||