# 1996–97 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 1996–97 collegiate men's basketball season. The Huskies completed the season with an 18–15 overall record. The Huskies were members of the Big East Conference where they finished with a 7–11 record. They came in Third Place in the 1997 National Invitation Tournament. The Huskies played their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut and the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and they were led by eleventh-year head coach Jim Calhoun.

## Roster

Listed are the student athletes who were members of the 1996–1997 team.
| Name | Position | Year |
| Dion Carson | G | SR |
| Kyle Chapman | G | SR |
| Kevin Freeman | F | FR |
| Sam Funches | F | FR |
| Richard Hamilton | F/G | FR |
| Monquencio Hardnett | G | JR |
| Ruslan Inyatkin | F | JR |
| Rashamel Jones | F/G | SO |
| Kirk King | F | SR |
| Antric Klaiber | F/C | SO |
| Michael Leblanc | F | FR |
| Pete McCann | G | FR |
| Ricky Moore | G | SO |
| Jake Voskuhl | C | FR |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| 11/15/1996* ESPN | vs. No. 24 Indiana The Classic | L 61–68 | 0–1 | RCA Dome (32,250) Indianapolis |
| 11/25/1996* WTNH | Northeastern | W 89–37 | 1–1 | Hartford Civic Center (13,005) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 11/29/1996* WTNH | Yale | W 72–39 | 2–1 | Hartford Civic Center (14,529) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 12/2/1996* WTNH | Southwest Texas State | W 66–49 | 3–1 | Hartford Civic Center (14,104) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 12/4/1996 WTNH | at Pittsburgh | L 49–56 | 3–2 (0–1) | Civic Arena (9,537) Pittsburgh |
| 12/7/1996 WTNH | No. 20 Boston College | W 61–54 | 4–2 (1–1) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 12/21/1996* WTNH | Fairfield | W 68–58 | 5–2 | Hartford Civic Center (14,918) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 12/23/1996* WTNH | Virginia | W 64–61 | 6–2 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 12/27/1996* ESPN | Massachusetts MassMutual UGame | W 64–61 | 7–2 | Hartford Civic Center (14,389) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 12/29/1996* WTNH | Hartford | W 104–62 | 8–2 | Hartford Civic Center (13,793) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 1/2/1997 WTNH | at Rutgers | W 66–57 | 9–2 (2–1) | Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,806) Piscataway, New Jersey |
| 1/4/1997 WTNH | West Virginia | W 79–62 | 10–2 (3–1) | Hartford Civic Center (15,358) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 1/8/1997 WTNH | St. John's | L 67–71 $^{OT}$ | 10–3 (3–2) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 1/11/1997 WTNH | at Georgetown Rivalry | W 69–54 | 11–3 (4–2) | Capital Centre (12,181) Landover, Maryland |
| 1/19/1997* CBS | No. 1 Kansas | L 65–73 | 11–4 | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 1/22/1997 WTNH | at Miami | L 46–69 | 11–5 (4–3) | Miami Arena (6,662) Miami |
| 1/26/1997 CBS | Syracuse Rivalry | L 53–65 | 11–6 (4–4) | Hartford Civic Center (16,294) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 1/29/1997 ESPN | Providence | L 47–62 | 11–7 (4–5) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 2/1/1997 WTNH | at Seton Hall | W 62–55 | 12–7 (5–5) | Continental Airlines Arena (15,141) East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| 2/3/1997 ESPN | Georgetown Rivalry | L 51–52 | 12–8 (5–6) | Hartford Civic Center (15,842) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 2/8/1997 WTNH | at Notre Dame | L 65–71 $^{OT}$ | 12–9 (5–7) | Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,196) Notre Dame, Indiana |
| 2/12/1997 ESPN | at Boston College | W 61–56 | 13–9 (6–7) | Conte Forum (8,134) Boston |
| 2/15/1997 WTNH | Miami | W 72–52 | 14–9 (7–7) | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 2/17/1997 ESPN | at Syracuse Rivalry | L 66–71 $^{OT}$ | 14–10 (7–8) | Carrier Dome (22,950) Syracuse, New York |
| 2/23/1997 CBS | at No. 19 Villanova | L 58–65 | 14–11 (7–9) | Wells Fargo Center (17,263) Philadelphia |
| 2/25/1997 ESPN2 | Pittsburgh | L 74–77 | 14–12 (7–10) | Hartford Civic Center (15,746) Hartford, Connecticut |
| 3/1/1997 WTNH | Seton Hall | L 60–73 | 14–13 (7–11) | Hartford Civic Center (16,186) Hartford, Connecticut |
| Big East tournament ||||||
| 3/5/1997 ESPN | vs. Pittsburgh First round | L 62–63 | 14–14 | Madison Square Garden (18,291) New York City |
| NIT ||||||
| 3/12/1997* | Iona First round | W 71–66 | 15–14 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (6,029) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 3/18/1997* CPTV | Bradley Second round | W 63–47 | 16–14 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,338) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 3/21/1997* CPTV | Nebraska Quarterfinals | W 76–67 | 17–14 | Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,411) Storrs, Connecticut |
| 3/25/1997* ESPN | vs. Florida State Semifinals | L 66–71 | 17–15 | Madison Square Garden (13,841) New York |
| 3/27/1997* | vs. Arkansas Third-place game | W 74–64 | 18–15 | Madison Square Garden (15,849) New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||
Schedule Source: