1996–97 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team

1996–97 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball
Big East Regular Season co-champions
NCAA tournament, Round of 32
ConferenceBig East Conference
Ranking
APNo. 20
Record24–10 (12–6 Big East)
Head coach
Home arenaCoreStates Center (Capacity: 6,500)
Seasons
← 1995–96
1997–98 →
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 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team represented Villanova University in the 1996–97 season. With an overall record 24–10 and conference record of 12–6, the Wildcats placed first in the Big East Conference, and after reaching the finals of the Big East tournament, the team was invited to the NCAA tournament as a 3 seed.

Roster

1996–97 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F 3 Tim Thomas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Fr Paterson, New Jersey
G 13 John Celestand 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) So Piscataway, New Jersey
C 15 Malik Allen 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Fr Medford, New Jersey
G 20 Alvin Williams 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Sr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
C 42 Jason Lawson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Sr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
November 29*
 at American-Puerto Rico W 68–62  1–0
 Eugene Guerra Sports Complex 
San Juan, Puerto Rico
November 30*
 vs. Butler W 62–54  2–0
 Eugene Guerra Sports Complex 
San Juan, Puerto Rico
December 1*
 vs. Tulane W 85–70  3–0
 Eugene Guerra Sports Complex 
San Juan, Puerto Rico
December 4
 Providence W 75–64  4–0
(1–0) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 7
 at St. John's W 82–70  5–0
(2–0) 		Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
December 10*
 at Pennsylvania W 82–62  6–0
(2–0) 		The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 14*
 Duke L 79–87  6–1
(2–0) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 21*
 Mount St. Mary's W 91–66  7–1
(2–0) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 23*
 at Saint Joseph's W 81–65  8–1
(2–0) 		Hagan Arena 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 28*
 Rider W 75–61  9–1
(2–0) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
December 30*
 North Carolina-Wilmington W 87–38  10–1
(2–0) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 2
 Seton Hall W 88–67  11–1
(3–0) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 6
 at Providence L 68–91  11–2
(3–1) 		Dunkin' Donuts Center 
Providence, RI
January 8*
 Oral Roberts W 64–46  12–2
(3–1) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 11
 Miami L 59–61  12–3
(3–2) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 14
 at Notre Dame W 68–57  13–3
(4–2) 		Joyce Center 
South Bend, IN
January 18
 Rutgers W 79–56  14–3
(5–2) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 20
 Syracuse L 60–62  14–4
(5–3) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
January 25
 at Boston College W 84–66  15–4
(6–3) 		Silvio O. Conte Forum 
Boston, Massachusetts
January 27
 at Georgetown L 67–78  15–5
(6–4) 		Capital Centre 
Landover, Maryland
February 1
 at Syracuse W 70–60  16–5
(7–4) 		Carrier Dome 
Syracuse, NY
February 4
 West Virginia W 81–70  17–5
(8–4) 		The Pavilion 
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
February 9*
 at No. 3 Kentucky L 56–93  17–6
(8–4) 		Rupp Arena 
Lexington, Kentucky
February 12
 at Pittsburgh L 89–95  17–7
(8–5) 		Fitzgerald Field House 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
February 16
 Notre Dame W 75–70  18–7
(9–5) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 19
 St. John's W 65–54  19–7
(10–5) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 23
 Connecticut W 65–58  20–7
(11–5) 		CoreStates Center 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
February 26
 at West Virginia L 76–83  20–8
(11–6) 		WVU Coliseum 
Morgantown, WV
March 1
 at Rutgers W 84–74  21–8
(12–6) 		Louis Brown Athletic Center 
Piscataway, NJ
Big East tournament
March 6
 vs. Syracuse
Quarterfinals 		W 80–70  22–8
(13–6) 		Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
March 7
 vs. Providence
Semifinals 		W 73–63  23–8
(14–6) 		Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
March 8
 vs. Boston College
Championship 		L 58–70  23–9
(14–7) 		Madison Square Garden 
New York City, New York
NCAA tournament
March 13*
 vs. Long Island
First round 		W 101–91  24–9
(14–7) 		Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, NC
March 15*
 vs. California
Second round 		L 68–75  24–10
(14–7) 		Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, NC
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

[4]

Rankings

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

Team players in the 1997 NBA draft

See also: 1997 NBA draft
Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 7 Tim Thomas New Jersey Nets

[5]

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. ^ "1996–97 Villanova Wildcats Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2020.