# 1996–97 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball team represented Coppin State University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 11th year head coach Fang Mitchell, played their home games at the Coppin Center and were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–9, 15–3 in MEAC play to win the conference regular season title. The Eagles then went on to win the MEAC tournament title to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 15 seed in the East region. In the opening round, Coppin State became the third No. 15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game, and the first to do so by double digits, as they defeated No. 2 seed South Carolina 78–65. The Eagles narrowly missed out on becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen when they lost in the second round to No. 10 seed Texas, 82–81.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 30, 1996* | | at Oklahoma | L 64–88 | 0–1 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| Dec 6, 1996* | | at Nebraska Ameritas Classic | L 72–88 | 0–2 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | vs. Colgate Ameritas Classic | W 69–59 | 1–2 | Bob Devaney Sports Center Lincoln, Nebraska |
| Dec 10, 1996* | | Duquesne | W 91–57 | 2–2 | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dec 12, 1996* | | at Kansas State | L 80–84 $^{OT}$ | 2–3 | Bramlage Coliseum Manhattan, Kansas |
| Dec 14, 1996* | | at Illinois | L 55–91 | 2–4 | Assembly Hall (14,269) Champaign, Illinois |
| Dec 27, 1996* | | vs. Weber State Oldsmobile Spartan Classic | L 91–92 $^{OT}$ | 2–5 | Breslin Center East Lansing, Michigan |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | vs. Kent State Oldsmobile Spartan Classic | W 77–66 | 3–5 | Breslin Center East Lansing, Michigan |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | at South Carolina State | L 88–92 | 3–6 (0–1) | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at Hampton | W 76–69 | 4–6 (1–1) | Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Jan 15, 1997 | | North Carolina A&T | L 70–76 | 4–7 (1–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | Hampton | W 81–61 | 5–7 (2–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jan 20, 1997 | | at Maryland Eastern Shore | W 85–79 | 6–7 (3–2) | Tawes Gymnasium Princess Anne, Maryland |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | Florida A&M | W 84–67 | 7–7 (4–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jan 27, 1997 | | Bethune-Cookman | W 63–62 | 8–7 (5–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Jan 30, 1997 | | at Howard | W 93–79 | 9–7 (6–2) | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | at Morgan State | W 81–56 | 10–7 (7–2) | Hill Field House Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 5, 1997 | | at Delaware State | W 90–83 $^{OT}$ | 11–7 (8–2) | Memorial Hall Dover, Delaware |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | Morgan State | W 82–68 | 12–7 (9–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 10, 1997 | | Howard | W 96–66 | 13–7 (10–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 12, 1997 | | Delaware State | W 88–66 | 14–7 (11–2) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | at Florida A&M | L 82–86 | 14–8 (11–3) | Gaither Athletic Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| Feb 17, 1997 | | at Bethune-Cookman | W 73–56 | 15–8 (12–3) | Moore Gymnasium Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Feb 20, 1997 | | South Carolina State | W 75–70 $^{OT}$ | 16–8 (13–3) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Feb 26, 1997 | | at North Carolina A&T | W 61–57 | 17–8 (14–3) | Corbett Sports Center Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Mar 1, 1997 | | Maryland Eastern Shore | W 80–62 | 18–8 (15–3) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 5, 1997* | (1) | vs. (9) Maryland Eastern Shore Quarterfinals | W 90–88 $^{OT}$ | 19–8 | Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, Virginia |
| Mar 7, 1997* | (1) | vs. (4) Bethune-Cookman Semifinals | W 76–60 | 20–8 | Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, Virginia |
| Mar 8, 1997* | (1) | vs. (3) North Carolina A&T Championship | W 81–74 $^{OT}$ | 21–8 | Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, Virginia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (15 E) | vs. (2 E) No. 6 South Carolina First Round | W 78–65 | 22–8 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 16, 1997* | (15 E) | vs. (10 E) Texas Second Round | L 81–82 | 22–9 | Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||