1996–97 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team

1996–97 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball
NIT, Third place
ConferenceBig East Conference
Record18–15 (7–11 Big East)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Karl Hobbs
  • Dave Leitao
  • Tom Moore
Home arenaHartford Civic Center
Harry A. Gampel Pavilion
Seasons
1996–97 Big East men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Big East 6
No. 20 Villanova 12 – 6   .667 24 – 10   .706
No. 23 Boston College† 12 – 6   .667 22 – 9   .710
West Virginia 11 – 7   .611 21 – 10   .677
Notre Dame 8 – 10   .444 16 – 14   .533
St. John's 8 – 10   .444 13 – 15   .464
Connecticut 7 – 11   .389 18 – 15   .545
Big East 7
Georgetown 11 – 7   .611 20 – 10   .667
Providence 10 – 8   .556 24 – 12   .667
Pittsburgh 10 – 8   .556 18 – 15   .545
Miami 9 – 9   .500 16 – 13   .552
Syracuse 9 – 9   .500 19 – 13   .594
Seton Hall 5 – 13   .278 10 – 18   .357
Rutgers 5 – 13   .278 11 – 16   .407
† 1997 Big East tournament winner
As of March 31, 1997[1][2][3]
Rankings from AP poll

The 1996–97 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team represented the University of Connecticut in the 1996–97 collegiate men's basketball season. The Huskies completed the season with an 18–15 overall record. The Huskies were members of the Big East Conference where they finished with a 7–11 record. They came in Third Place in the 1997 National Invitation Tournament. The Huskies played their home games at Harry A. Gampel Pavilion in Storrs, Connecticut and the Hartford Civic Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and they were led by eleventh-year head coach Jim Calhoun.[4][5]

Roster

Listed are the student athletes who were members of the 1996–1997 team.[6]

Name Position Year
Dion Carson G SR
Kyle Chapman G SR
Kevin Freeman F FR
Sam Funches F FR
Richard Hamilton F/G FR
Monquencio Hardnett G JR
Ruslan Inyatkin F JR
Rashamel Jones F/G SO
Kirk King F SR
Antric Klaiber F/C SO
Michael Leblanc F FR
Pete McCann G FR
Ricky Moore G SO
Jake Voskuhl C FR

Schedule

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular Season
11/15/1996*
 ESPN 		vs. No. 24 Indiana
The Classic 		L 61–68  0–1
 RCA Dome (32,250)
Indianapolis
11/25/1996*
 WTNH 		Northeastern W 89–37  1–1
 Hartford Civic Center (13,005)
Hartford, Connecticut
11/29/1996*
 WTNH 		Yale W 72–39  2–1
 Hartford Civic Center (14,529)
Hartford, Connecticut
12/2/1996*
 WTNH 		Southwest Texas State W 66–49  3–1
 Hartford Civic Center (14,104)
Hartford, Connecticut
12/4/1996
 WTNH 		at Pittsburgh L 49–56  3–2 (0–1)
 Civic Arena (9,537)
Pittsburgh
12/7/1996
 WTNH 		No. 20 Boston College W 61–54  4–2 (1–1)
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
12/21/1996*
 WTNH 		Fairfield W 68–58  5–2
 Hartford Civic Center (14,918)
Hartford, Connecticut
12/23/1996*
 WTNH 		Virginia W 64–61  6–2
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
12/27/1996*
 ESPN 		Massachusetts
MassMutual UGame 		W 64–61  7–2
 Hartford Civic Center (14,389)
Hartford, Connecticut
12/29/1996*
 WTNH 		Hartford W 104–62  8–2
 Hartford Civic Center (13,793)
Hartford, Connecticut
1/2/1997
 WTNH 		at Rutgers W 66–57  9–2 (2–1)
 Louis Brown Athletic Center (5,806)
Piscataway, New Jersey
1/4/1997
 WTNH 		West Virginia W 79–62  10–2 (3–1)
 Hartford Civic Center (15,358)
Hartford, Connecticut
1/8/1997
 WTNH 		St. John's L 67–71 OT 10–3 (3–2)
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
1/11/1997
 WTNH 		at Georgetown
Rivalry 		W 69–54  11–3 (4–2)
 Capital Centre (12,181)
Landover, Maryland
1/19/1997*
 CBS 		No. 1 Kansas L 65–73  11–4
 Hartford Civic Center (16,294)
Hartford, Connecticut
1/22/1997
 WTNH 		at Miami L 46–69  11–5 (4–3)
 Miami Arena (6,662)
Miami
1/26/1997
 CBS 		Syracuse
Rivalry 		L 53–65  11–6 (4–4)
 Hartford Civic Center (16,294)
Hartford, Connecticut
1/29/1997
 ESPN 		Providence L 47–62  11–7 (4–5)
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
2/1/1997
 WTNH 		at Seton Hall W 62–55  12–7 (5–5)
 Continental Airlines Arena (15,141)
East Rutherford, New Jersey
2/3/1997
 ESPN 		Georgetown
Rivalry 		L 51–52  12–8 (5–6)
 Hartford Civic Center (15,842)
Hartford, Connecticut
2/8/1997
 WTNH 		at Notre Dame L 65–71 OT 12–9 (5–7)
 Edmund P. Joyce Center (10,196)
Notre Dame, Indiana
2/12/1997
 ESPN 		at Boston College W 61–56  13–9 (6–7)
 Conte Forum (8,134)
Boston
2/15/1997
 WTNH 		Miami W 72–52  14–9 (7–7)
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (10,027)
Storrs, Connecticut
2/17/1997
 ESPN 		at Syracuse
Rivalry 		L 66–71 OT 14–10 (7–8)
 Carrier Dome (22,950)
Syracuse, New York
2/23/1997
 CBS 		at No. 19 Villanova L 58–65  14–11 (7–9)
 Wells Fargo Center (17,263)
Philadelphia
2/25/1997
 ESPN2 		Pittsburgh L 74–77  14–12 (7–10)
 Hartford Civic Center (15,746)
Hartford, Connecticut
3/1/1997
 WTNH 		Seton Hall L 60–73  14–13 (7–11)
 Hartford Civic Center (16,186)
Hartford, Connecticut
Big East tournament
3/5/1997
 ESPN 		vs. Pittsburgh
First round 		L 62–63  14–14
 Madison Square Garden (18,291)
New York City
NIT
3/12/1997*
 Iona
First round 		W 71–66  15–14
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (6,029)
Storrs, Connecticut
3/18/1997*
 CPTV 		Bradley
Second round 		W 63–47  16–14
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,338)
Storrs, Connecticut
3/21/1997*
 CPTV 		Nebraska
Quarterfinals 		W 76–67  17–14
 Harry A. Gampel Pavilion (8,411)
Storrs, Connecticut
3/25/1997*
 ESPN 		vs. Florida State
Semifinals 		L 66–71  17–15
 Madison Square Garden (13,841)
New York
3/27/1997*
 vs. Arkansas
Third-place game 		W 74–64  18–15
 Madison Square Garden (15,849)
New York
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Schedule Source:[4][7]

References

  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Big East Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ Keefe, Gavin, "Big East Notes: The Big East 7 and Big East 6? Big Deal!", The Day, January 1, 1996, p. 7.
  3. ^ "PLUS: COLLEGE BASKETBALL -- BIG EAST CONFERENCE; League Cuts Games In Search of Bids," The New York Times, August 7, 1998.
  4. ^ a b 2015-16 Connecticut Basketball History (PDF). UConn Huskies. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2016.
  5. ^ Davis, Ken (September 30, 2010). The University of Connecticut Basketball Vault: The History of the Huskies. Atlanta: Whitman LLC. ISBN 978-0794828035.
  6. ^ "1996-97 UConn Huskies Roster and Stats".
  7. ^ "Connecticut Men's Basketball Archive Schedule". UConn Huskies. Archived from the original on July 6, 2016. Retrieved March 7, 2016.