# 1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team

The 1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 1996–97 season.
Led by head coach Ben Braun, the Bears finished the regular season with a 12–6 record in the Pac-10, placing them in a tie for second. The Bears would receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament where they would make a run to the Sweet Sixteen. The Golden Bears defeated Princeton and Villanova before falling to North Carolina in the East Regional semifinal. The team finished the season with an overall record of 23–9.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1996* ESPN | | vs. Iowa Maui Invitational Tournament | W 75–59 | 1–0 | Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii |
| Nov 26, 1996* | | vs. No. 2 Kansas Maui Invitational Tournament | L 67–85 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii |
| Nov 27, 1996* | | vs. No. 17 UMass Maui Invitational Tournament | W 59–55 | 2–1 | Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii |
| Nov 30, 1996* | | Texas Southern | W 97–60 | 3–1 | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Dec 3, 1996* | | Illinois | W 89–88 $^{2OT}$ | 4–1 | Harmon Gym (6,578) Berkeley, California |
| Dec 8, 1996* | | at Maryland | L 64–80 | 4–2 | Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland |
| Dec 9, 1996* | | vs. Mississippi State | W 78–45 | 5–2 | U.S. Airways Arena Landover, Maryland |
| Dec 20, 1996* | | vs. Penn State | W 76–63 | 6–2 | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| Dec 23, 1996* | | San Francisco | W 78–63 | 7–2 | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Dec 28, 1996* | | Howard | W 86–61 | 8–2 | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Dec 29, 1996* | | Cal Poly | W 77–59 | 9–2 | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Jan 2, 1997 | | at No. 9 Arizona | L 80–81 | 9–3 (0–1) | McKale Center Tucson, Arizona |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | at Arizona State | L 60–64 | 9–4 (0–2) | ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona |
| Jan 9, 1997 | | USC | W 83–71 | 10–4 (1–2) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | UCLA | L 56–64 | 10–5 (1–3) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Jan 16, 1997 | | at Oregon State | W 80–70 | 11–5 (2–3) | Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | at No. 24 Oregon | W 73–62 | 12–5 (3–3) | McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon |
| Jan 23, 1997 | | Washington State | W 77–75 $^{2OT}$ | 13–5 (4–3) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | Washington | W 80–52 | 14–5 (5–3) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Jan 29, 1997 | | No. 15 Stanford | W 70–64 | 15–5 (6–3) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Feb 6, 1997 | | at UCLA | W 71–68 | 16–5 (7–3) | Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | at USC | L 85–93 | 16–6 (7–4) | L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California |
| Feb 13, 1997 | | Oregon | W 73–66 | 17–6 (8–4) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | Oregon State | W 90–68 | 18–6 (9–4) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Feb 20, 1997 | No. 25 | at Washington | W 78–67 | 19–6 (10–4) | Bank of America Arena Seattle, Washington |
| Feb 22, 1997 | No. 25 | at Washington State | L 87–89 | 19–7 (10–5) | Friel Court Pullman, Washington |
| Mar 1, 1997 | | at No. 25 Stanford | L 63–73 | 19–8 (10–6) | Maples Pavilion Stanford, California |
| Mar 6, 1997 | | Arizona State | W 84–66 | 20–8 (11–6) | Harmon Gym Berkeley, California |
| Mar 8, 1997 | | vs. No. 12 Arizona | W 79–77 | 21–8 (12–6) | Cow Palace Daly City, California |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (5 E) | vs. (12 E) Princeton First round | W 55–52 | 22–8 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Mar 15, 1997* | (5 E) | vs. (4 E) No. 20 Villanova Second Round | W 75–68 | 23–8 | Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina |
| Mar 21, 1997* | (5 E) | vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | L 57–63 | 23–9 | Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Pacific. ||||||

## Team players drafted into the NBA

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Team |
| 1 | 22 | Ed Gray | Atlanta Hawks |