# 1996–97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Wake Forest Demon Deacons men's basketball team represented Wake Forest University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by 8th year head coach Dave Odom, and played their home games at LJVM Coliseum.
The Deacons finished second in the ACC regular season standings, but were unable to three-peat as champions of the ACC tournament. After a close win over Florida State in the quarterfinals, North Carolina eliminated Wake Forest in the semifinal round. The team was assigned the No. 3 seed in the West region of the NCAA tournament, and earned a victory over Saint Mary's in the opening round before being upended by No. 6 seed Stanford in the round of 32. Wake Forest finished the season with a 24–7 overall record and, once again, a final ranking of No. 9 in both major polls.
Senior forward/center Tim Duncan was named the consensus National Player of the Year, and repeated as ACC Player of the Year and a consensus First-team All-American. Duncan was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft. Duncan's No. 21 jersey was retired after a February 25 victory over Georgia Tech.

## Previous season

Wake Forest finished second in the ACC regular season standings, then defeated Virginia, Clemson, and Georgia Tech to capture the ACC tournament crown for the second straight season. Wake Forest was assigned the No. 2 seed in the Midwest region of the NCAA tournament. After defeating No. 15 seed Louisiana–Monroe, No. 10 seed Texas, and No. 6 seed Louisville to reach the Elite Eight, the team was blown out by No. 1 seed and eventual National champion Kentucky in the regional final. Wake Forest finished the season with a 26–6 and a No. 9 ranking in both major polls.
Junior forward/center Tim Duncan was named ACC Player of the Year and a Consensus First-team All-American.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular Season ||||||
| Nov 24, 1996* | No. 3 | VMI | W 92–63 | 1–0 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Nov 25, 1996* | No. 3 | at The Citadel | W 86–52 | 2–0 | McAlister Field House Charleston, South Carolina |
| Nov 29, 1996* | No. 3 | Davidson | W 69–45 | 3–0 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Dec 1, 1996* | No. 3 | at Richmond | W 80–55 | 4–0 | Robins Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Dec 3, 1996* | No. 2 | vs. Mississippi State | W 74–43 | 5–0 | United Center Chicago, Illinois |
| Dec 7, 1996 | No. 2 | at NC State | W 53–45 | 6–0 (1–0) | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina |
| Dec 14, 1996* | No. 2 | UMass | W 71–47 | 7–0 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Dec 21, 1996* | No. 2 | Campbell | W 90–53 | 8–0 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Dec 31, 1996* | No. 2 | at No. 7 Utah | W 70–59 | 9–0 | Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah |
| Jan 4, 1997 | No. 2 | No. 11 North Carolina | W 81–57 | 10–0 (2–0) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 8, 1997 | No. 2 | at Georgia Tech | W 73–63 | 11–0 (3–0) | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia |
| Jan 11, 1997 | No. 2 | at No. 10 Duke | W 81–69 | 12–0 (4–0) | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Jan 15, 1997 | No. 2 | Virginia | W 58–54 | 13–0 (5–0) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 19, 1997 | No. 2 | No. 11 Maryland | L 51–54 | 13–1 (5–1) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 23, 1997 | No. 4 | at No. 2 Clemson | W 65–62 | 14–1 (6–1) | Littlejohn Coliseum Clemson, South Carolina |
| Jan 25, 1997 | No. 4 | Florida State | W 61–58 | 15–1 (7–1) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 28, 1997* | No. 2 | Virginia Tech | W 61–44 | 16–1 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Jan 29, 1997* | No. 2 | Wofford | W 68–51 | 17–1 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 1, 1997 | No. 2 | at No. 5 Maryland | W 74–69 | 18–1 (8–1) | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Feb 5, 1997 | No. 2 | No. 8 Duke | L 68–73 | 18–2 (8–2) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 9, 1997* | No. 2 | at Missouri | W 73–65 | 19–2 | Hearnes Center Columbia, Missouri |
| Feb 12, 1997 | No. 2 | No. 7 Clemson | W 55–49 | 20–2 (9–2) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 16, 1997 | No. 2 | NC State | L 59–60 $^{OT}$ | 20–3 (9–3) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Feb 19, 1997 | No. 4 | at No. 12 North Carolina | L 60–74 | 20–4 (9–4) | Dean Smith Center Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 4 | at Virginia | W 66–60 | 21–4 (10–4) | University Hall Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Feb 25, 1997 | No. 5 | Georgia Tech | W 71–55 | 22–4 (11–4) | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, NC |
| Mar 1, 1997 | No. 5 | at Florida State | L 55–59 | 22–5 (11–5) | Donald L. Tucker Center Tallahassee, Florida |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 1997* | No. 8 | vs. Florida State ACC Tournament Quarterfinal | W 66–65 | 23–5 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Mar 8, 1997* | No. 8 | vs. No. 5 North Carolina ACC Tournament Semifinal | L 73–86 | 23–6 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1997* | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (14 W) Saint Mary's First round | W 68–46 | 24–6 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Mar 16, 1997* | (3 W) No. 9 | vs. (6 W) No. 21 Stanford Second round | L 66–72 | 24–7 | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in EST. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Tim Duncan, ACC Player of the Year
* Tim Duncan, Naismith College Player of the Year
* Tim Duncan, USBWA College Player of the Year
* Tim Duncan, John R. Wooden Award

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1 | 1 | Tim Duncan | San Antonio Spurs |