# 1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference.
After going 11–7 in conference play the team was seeded fourth in the Southeast Region of the 1997 NCAA tournament. They went on to win the national championship, the first in program history, defeating three top-seeded teams in the process.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov. 22, 1996* | No. 19 | vs. No. 7 North Carolina Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic | W 83–72 | 1–0 | Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA |
| Nov. 26, 1996* | No. 11 | Northern Arizona | W 88–70 | 2–0 | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Nov. 30, 1996* | No. 11 | at No. 19 New Mexico | L 77–84 | 2–1 | The Pit Albuquerque, NM |
| Dec. 7, 1996* | No. 15 | vs. No. 3 Utah John Wooden Classic | W 69–61 | 3–1 | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Anaheim, CA |
| Dec. 9, 1996* | No. 15 | No. 18 Texas | W 83–78 | 4–1 | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Dec. 14, 1996* | No. 8 | Jackson State | W 111–83 | 5–1 | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Dec. 21, 1996* | No. 6 | at No. 4 Michigan | L 71–73 $^{OT}$ | 5–2 | The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI |
| Dec. 28, 1996* | No. 9 | Robert Morris Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic | W 118–54 | 6–2 | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Dec. 30, 1996* | No. 9 | Penn Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic | W 93–51 | 7–2 | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Jan. 2, 1997 | No. 9 | California | W 81–80 | 8–2 (1–0) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Jan. 4, 1997 | No. 9 | No. 21 Stanford | W 76–75 | 9–2 (2–0) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Jan. 11, 1997 | No. 7 | at Arizona State Rivalry | W 92–84 | 10–2 (3–0) | Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, AZ |
| Jan. 16, 1997 | No. 6 | at USC | L 62–75 | 10–3 (3–1) | Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA |
| Jan. 18, 1997 | No. 6 | at UCLA Rivalry | L 78–84 $^{OT}$ | 10–4 (3–2) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA |
| Jan. 23, 1997 | No. 11 | Oregon State | W 99–48 | 11–4 (4–2) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Jan. 25, 1997 | No. 11 | Oregon | W 88–68 | 12–4 (5–2) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Jan. 30, 1997 | No. 10 | at Washington State | W 87–78 | 13–4 (6–2) | Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA |
| Feb. 2, 1997 | No. 10 | at Washington | L 88–92 | 13–5 (6–3) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA |
| Feb. 5, 1997 | No. 14 | Arizona State Rivalry | W 87–71 | 14–5 (7–3) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Feb. 9, 1997* | No. 14 | vs. No. 21 Tulane 7-Up Shootout | W 81–62 | 15–5 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, AZ |
| Feb. 13, 1997 | No. 11 | No. 24 UCLA Rivalry | L 64–66 | 15–6 (7–4) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Feb. 15, 1997 | No. 11 | USC | W 101–77 | 16–6 (8–4) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Feb. 20, 1997 | No. 13 | at Oregon | L 72–78 | 16–7 (8–5) | McArthur Court Eugene, OR |
| Feb. 22, 1997 | No. 13 | at Oregon State | W 74–64 | 17–7 (9–5) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR |
| Feb. 27, 1997 | No. 15 | Washington State | W 100–86 | 18–7 (10–5) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Mar. 2, 1997 | No. 15 | Washington | W 103–82 | 19–7 (11–5) | McKale Center Tucson, AZ |
| Mar. 6, 1997 | No. 12 | at No. 23 Stanford | L 80–81 | 19–8 (11–6) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA |
| Mar. 8, 1997 | No. 12 | at California | L 77–79 | 19–9 (11–7) | Cow Palace Daly City, CA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar. 13, 1997* | (4 SE) No. 15 | vs. (13 SE) South Alabama First round | W 65–57 | 20–9 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, TN |
| Mar. 15, 1997* | (4 SE) No. 15 | vs. (12 SE) No. 16 College of Charleston Second round | W 73–69 | 21–9 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, TN |
| Mar. 21, 1997* | (4 SE) No. 15 | vs. (1 SE) No. 1 Kansas Sweet Sixteen | W 85–82 | 22–9 | BJCC Arena Birmingham, AL |
| Mar. 23, 1997* | (4 SE) No. 15 | vs. (10 SE) Providence Elite Eight | W 96–92 | 23–9 | BJCC Arena Birmingham, AL |
| Mar. 29, 1997* | (4 SE) No. 15 | vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina Final Four | W 66–58 | 24–9 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN |
| Mar. 31, 1997* | (4 SE) No. 15 | vs. (1 W) No. 5 Kentucky National Championship | W 84–79 $^{OT}$ | 25–9 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. ||||||

## Awards and honors

NCAA Tournament, Champions

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Year | Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1998 | 1 | 2 | Mike Bibby | Vancouver Grizzlies |
| 1998 | 1 | 14 | Michael Dickerson | Houston Rockets |
| 1998 | 2 | 42 | Miles Simon | Orlando Magic |
| 1999 | 1 | 10 | Jason Terry | Atlanta Hawks |
| 1999 | 2 | 39 | A. J. Bramlett | Cleveland Cavaliers |