1996–97 Georgia Bulldogs basketball team

1996–97 Georgia Bulldogs basketball
Rainbow Classic champion
NCAA tournament, Second round
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEast
Ranking
APNo. 17
Record24–9 (10–6 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coach2nd
Home arenaStegeman Coliseum
Seasons
1996–97 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 6 South Carolina 15 – 1   .938 24 – 8   .750
No. 5 Kentucky† 13 – 3   .813 35 – 5   .875
No. 17 Georgia 10 – 6   .625 24 – 9   .727
Vanderbilt 9 – 7   .563 19 – 12   .613
Florida 5 – 11   .313 13 – 17   .433
Tennessee 4 – 12   .250 11 – 16   .407
West
Ole Miss 11 – 5   .688 20 – 9   .690
Arkansas 8 – 8   .500 18 – 14   .563
Auburn 6 – 10   .375 16 – 15   .516
Alabama 6 – 10   .375 17 – 14   .548
Mississippi State 6 – 10   .375 12 – 18   .400
LSU 3 – 13   .188 10 – 20   .333
† 1997 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996–97 Georgia Bulldogs basketball team represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach Tubby Smith, and played their home games at Stegeman Coliseum in Athens, Georgia. The Bulldogs finished 3rd in the SEC East during the regular season, had a strong showing at the SEC tournament, and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 3 seed in the Southeast region. They were upset by No. 14 seed Chattanooga in the opening round[1] and finished the season at 24–9 (10–6 SEC).

Roster

1996–97 Georgia Bulldogs men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 24 Michael Chadwick 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
—
 So
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

[2]

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Non-conference Regular season
Nov 22, 1996*
 Furman W 91–67  1–0
 Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Nov 26, 1996*
 Georgia State W 85–47  2–0
 Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Nov 29, 1996*
 Georgia Southern W 90–56  3–0
 Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Dec 3, 1996*
 at Georgia Tech L 61–62  3–1
 Alexander Memorial Coliseum 
Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 7, 1996*
 Appalachian State W 85–67  4–1
 Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Dec 14, 1996*
 at Virginia Tech W 60–57  5–1
 Cassell Coliseum 
Blacksburg, Virginia
Dec 17, 1996*
 East Carolina W 73–60  6–1
 Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Dec 21, 1996*
 vs. BYU W 84–65  7–1
 Georgia Dome 
Atlanta, Georgia
Dec 23, 1996*
 Colorado W 62–52  8–1
 Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Dec 27, 1996*
 vs. Washington State
Rainbow Classic 		W 64–61  9–1
 Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 28, 1996*
 vs. Memphis
Rainbow Classic 		W 70–68  10–1
 Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Dec 29, 1996*
 vs. No. 21 Maryland
Rainbow Classic 		W 73–65 OT 11–1
 Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
SEC Regular season
Jan 5, 1997
 at Ole Miss L 66–73  11–2
(0–1) 		Tad Smith Coliseum 
Oxford, Mississippi
Jan 8, 1997
 No. 24 at Vanderbilt W 61–53  12–2
(1–1) 		Memorial Gymnasium 
Nashville, Tennessee
Jan 14, 1997
 No. 21 No. 5 Kentucky L 65–86  12–3
(1–2) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Jan 18, 1997
 No. 21 at South Carolina L 71–82  12–4
(1–3) 		Carolina Coliseum 
Columbia, South Carolina
Jan 22, 1997*
 Florida W 77–70 OT 13–4
(2–3) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Jan 25, 1997
 Auburn W 53–48  14–4
(3–3) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Jan 29, 1997
 at Tennessee W 63–50  15–4
(4–3) 		Thompson-Boling Arena 
Knoxville, Tennessee
Feb 1, 1997
 at No. 3 Kentucky L 57–82  15–5
(4–4) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
Feb 5, 1997
 at Alabama W 83–74  16–5
(5–4) 		Coleman Coliseum 
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Feb 8, 1997
 Mississippi State W 56–54  17–5
(6–4) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Feb 12, 1997
 No. 12 South Carolina W 77–74  18–5
(7–4) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Feb 15, 1997
 at Arkansas L 74–79  18–6
(7–5) 		Bud Walton Arena 
Fayetteville, Arkansas
Feb 19, 1997
 Vanderbilt L 80–86  18–7
(7–6) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Feb 22, 1997
 LSU W 82–59  19–7
(8–6) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
Feb 26, 1997
 at Florida W 88–76  20–7
(9–6) 		Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
Gainesville, Florida
Mar 1, 1997
 Tennessee W 69–55  21–7
(10–6) 		Stegeman Coliseum 
Athens, Georgia
SEC Tournament
Mar 6, 1997*
 (E3) No. 24 vs. (W6) LSU
First round 		W 75–54  22–7
 The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 7, 1997*
 (E3) No. 24 vs. (W2) Arkansas
Quarterfinals 		W 65–63  23–7
 The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 8, 1997*
 (E3) No. 24 vs. (E1) No. 4 South Carolina
Semifinals 		W 78–63  24–7
 The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 9, 1997*
 (E3) No. 24 vs. (E2) No. 6 Kentucky
Championship game 		L 68–95  24–8
 The Pyramid 
Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1997*
 (3 SE) No. 17 vs. (14 SE) Chattanooga
First round 		L 70–73[1]  24–9
 Charlotte Coliseum 
Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.
All times are in Eastern Time.

[3][4]

Rankings

Main article: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

[5]

References

  1. ^ a b "Moccasins Show Venom In 73-70 Upset Of Georgia". The Spokesman-Review. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  2. ^ "1996–97 Georgia Bulldogs Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  3. ^ "1995–96 Men's Basketball Schedule". University of Georgia Athletics. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  4. ^ "1996–97 Georgia Bulldogs Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.