# 1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1996–97 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jan van Breda Kolff and played its home games at Memorial Gymnasium.
The Commodores finished 4th in the SEC East regular season standings and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 10 seed in the Midwest region. The team finished with a 19–12 record (9–7 SEC).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 20, 1996* | | Valparaiso Preseason NIT | W 74–66 | 1–0 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Nov 22, 1996* | | at No. 10 Duke Preseason NIT | L 57–86 | 1–1 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina |
| Dec 4, 1996* | | UAB | W 66–62 | 2–1 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 7, 1996* | | at Memphis | W 66–59 | 3–1 | The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 9, 1996* | | at No. 25 Boston College | L 52–59 | 3–2 | Silvio O. Conte Forum Boston, Massachusetts |
| Dec 15, 1996* | | Nicholls State | W 85–37 | 4–2 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 19, 1996* | | Alabama-Huntsville | W 60–47 | 5–2 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 21, 1996* | | Tennessee Tech | W 82–61 | 6–2 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 23, 1996* | | Mississippi Valley State | W 92–56 | 7–2 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Dec 29, 1996* | | at Evansville | L 61–66 | 7–3 | Roberts Stadium Evansville, Indiana |
| Dec 31, 1996* | | Saint Louis | W 81–61 | 8–3 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 4, 1997 | | Alabama | W 92–84 | 9–3 (1–0) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 8, 1997 | | No. 24 Georgia | L 53–61 | 9–4 (1–1) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 11, 1997 | | at Tennessee | L 65–75 | 9–5 (1–2) | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee |
| Jan 15, 1997 | | at LSU | W 69–62 | 10–5 (2–2) | LSU Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 18, 1997 | | No. 20 Ole Miss | W 67–64 | 11–5 (3–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Jan 22, 1997 | | vs. No. 3 Kentucky | L 46–58 | 11–6 (3–3) | Riverfront Coliseum Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Jan 25, 1997 | | at Mississippi State | L 53–60 | 11–7 (3–4) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 29, 1997 | | No. 25 South Carolina | L 64–65 | 11–8 (3–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 1, 1997 | | at Florida | W 74–63 | 12–8 (4–5) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Feb 5, 1997* | | Memphis | W 69–62 | 13–8 | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 8, 1997 | | Arkansas | W 87–83 $^{OT}$ | 14–8 (5–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 12, 1997 | | Tennessee | W 66–53 | 15–8 (6–5) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 15, 1997 | | at Auburn | W 75–61 | 16–8 (7–5) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 19, 1997 | | at Georgia | W 86–80 | 17–8 (8–5) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia |
| Feb 22, 1997 | | No. 3 Kentucky | L 79–82 | 17–9 (8–6) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Feb 26, 1997 | | at No. 6 South Carolina | L 53–74 | 17–10 (8–7) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Mar 1, 1997 | | Florida | W 79–72 | 18–10 (9–7) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 1997* | | vs. Mississippi State | W 73–67 $^{OT}$ | 19–10 | The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| Mar 7, 1997* | | vs. Ole Miss | L 62–64 | 19–11 | The Pyramid Memphis, Tennessee |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 13, 1997* | (10 MW) | vs. (7 MW) No. 13 Xavier First round | L 68–80 | 19–12 | Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Central Time. ||||||