# 1996–97 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island in the 1996–97 college basketball season. Led by head coach Al Skinner, the Rams competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference and played their home games at Keaney Gymnasium. They finished the season 20–10, 12–4 in A-10 play and lost in the championship game of the 1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament. They were invited to the 1997 NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Southeast region. Rhode Island was beaten by No. 8 seed Purdue, 83–76 in overtime, in the opening round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 23, 1996* | | at Siena | W 91–57 | 1–0 | Times Union Center Loudonville, New York |
| Nov 27, 1996* | | at No. 18 Texas | L 79–86 | 1–1 | Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 115–66 | 2–1 | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Dec 4, 1996* | | Brown | W 86–49 | 3–1 | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Dec 10, 1996* | | at Providence | W 96–79 | 4–1 | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| Dec 17, 1996* | | No. 16 Minnesota | L 72–82 | 4–2 | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Dec 23, 1996* | | Boston University | W 69–61 | 5–2 | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Dec 29, 1996* | | vs. San Francisco | W 93–76 | 6–2 | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Dec 30, 1996* | | at Seton Hall | L 70–72 | 6–3 | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Jan 2, 1997* | | Iona | L 84–89 | 6–4 | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | Dayton | W 97–68 | 7–4 (1–0) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Jan 7, 1997 | | at Temple | W 79–72 $^{OT}$ | 8–4 (2–0) | McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | Saint Joseph's | W 74–70 | 9–4 (3–0) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Jan 16, 1997 | | at Duquesne | W 85–83 | 10–4 (4–0) | A.J. Palumbo Center Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at Virginia Tech | W 73–52 | 11–4 (5–0) | Cassell Coliseum Blacksburg, Virginia |
| Jan 21, 1997 | | at UMass | L 60–64 | 11–5 (5–1) | Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | St. Bonaventure | W 79–66 | 12–5 (6–1) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Jan 28, 1997 | | at No. 20 Xavier | L 79–91 | 12–6 (6–2) | Cincinnati Gardens Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Feb 2, 1997 | | at Saint Joseph's | L 77–79 | 12–7 (6–3) | Hagan Arena Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Feb 6, 1997 | | La Salle | W 92–61 | 13–7 (7–3) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | UMass | L 61–64 | 13–8 (7–4) | Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island |
| Feb 11, 1997 | | Fordham | W 110–72 | 14–8 (8–4) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Feb 16, 1997 | | Temple | W 85–82 | 15–8 (9–4) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Feb 20, 1997 | | at St. Bonaventure | W 78–73 | 16–8 (10–4) | Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, New York |
| Feb 26, 1997 | | George Washington | W 83–72 | 17–8 (11–4) | Keaney Gymnasium Kingston, Rhode Island |
| Mar 1, 1997 | | at Fordham | W 85–58 | 18–8 (12–4) | Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York |
| Atlantic 10 tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1997* | | vs. Virginia Tech Quarterfinals | W 67–63 | 19–8 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 7, 1997* | | vs. Temple Semifinals | W 69–66 $^{OT}$ | 20–8 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Mar 8, 1997* | | at No. 19 Saint Joseph's Championship game | L 56–61 | 20–9 | The Spectrum Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (9 SE) | vs. (8 SE) Purdue First round | L 76–83 | 20–10 | The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in EST. ||||||