1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 15
Record25–9 (11–7 Pac-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
CaptainMichael Dickerson
Miles Simon
Home arenaMcKale Center
1996–97 Pacific-10 Conference
men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
No. 7 UCLA153 .833248  .750
No. 21 Stanford126 .667228  .733
California126 .667239  .719
USC126 .6671711  .607
No. 15 Arizona117 .611259  .735
Washington108 .5561711  .607
Oregon810 .4441711  .607
Washington State513 .2781317  .433
Oregon State315 .167720  .259
Arizona State216 .1111020  .333
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

The 1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference.

After going 11–7 in conference play the team was seeded fourth in the Southeast Region of the 1997 NCAA tournament. They went on to win the national championship, the first in program history, defeating three top-seeded teams in the process.

Roster

1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearPrevious schoolHometown
G 10 Mike Bibby 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
FrShadow Mountain Phoenix, AZ
G 12 Josh Pastner 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
FrKingwood Kingwood, TX
F 13 Donnell Harris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
SoNorth Salinas Salinas, CA
G 15 John Ash 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
FrSalpointe Tucson, AZ
F 21 Bennett Davison 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
JrAnaly
West Valley JC
Sebastopol, CA
F 23 Michael Dickerson (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
JrFederal Way Seattle, WA
G 24 Quynn Tebbs 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
FrBingham Salt Lake City, UT
F 30 Justin Wessel 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
FrPrairie Iowa City, IA
G 31 Jason Terry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
SoFranklin Seattle, WA
F 33 Eugene Edgerson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
FrSt. Augustine New Orleans, LA
G 34 Miles Simon (C) 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
JrMater Dei Fullerton, CA
G 40 Jason Lee (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
SrAllegheny/Irvine Irvine, CA
F 42 A. J. Bramlett 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
SoLa Cueva Albuquerque, NM
G 52 Jason Steward 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m)
SoGardena Gardena, CA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule

Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov. 22, 1996*
No. 19 vs. No. 7 North Carolina
Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic
W 83–72  1–0
Springfield Civic Center 
Springfield, MA
Nov. 26, 1996*
No. 11 Northern Arizona W 88–70  2–0
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Nov. 30, 1996*
No. 11 at No. 19 New Mexico L 77–84  2–1
The Pit 
Albuquerque, NM
Dec. 7, 1996*
No. 15 vs. No. 3 Utah
John Wooden Classic
W 69–61  3–1
Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 
Anaheim, CA
Dec. 9, 1996*
No. 15 No. 18 Texas W 83–78  4–1
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Dec. 14, 1996*
No. 8 Jackson State W 111–83  5–1
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Dec. 21, 1996*
No. 6 at No. 4 Michigan L 71–73 OT 5–2
Crisler Arena 
Ann Arbor, MI
Dec. 28, 1996*
No. 9 Robert Morris
Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic
W 118–54  6–2
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Dec. 30, 1996*
No. 9 Penn
Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic
W 93–51  7–2
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Jan. 2, 1997
No. 9 California W 81–80  8–2
(1–0)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Jan. 4, 1997
No. 9 No. 21 Stanford W 76–75  9–2
(2–0)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Jan. 11, 1997
No. 7 at Arizona State
Rivalry
W 92–84  10–2
(3–0)
Wells Fargo Arena 
Tempe, AZ
Jan. 16, 1997
No. 6 at USC L 62–75  10–3
(3–1)
Los Angeles Sports Arena 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan. 18, 1997
No. 6 at UCLA
Rivalry
L 78–84 OT 10–4
(3–2)
Pauley Pavilion 
Los Angeles, CA
Jan. 23, 1997
No. 11 Oregon State W 99–48  11–4
(4–2)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Jan. 25, 1997
No. 11 Oregon W 88–68  12–4
(5–2)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Jan. 30, 1997
No. 10 at Washington State W 87–78  13–4
(6–2)
Beasley Coliseum 
Pullman, WA
Feb. 2, 1997
No. 10 at Washington L 88–92  13–5
(6–3)
Hec Edmundson Pavilion 
Seattle, WA
Feb. 5, 1997
No. 14 Arizona State
Rivalry
W 87–71  14–5
(7–3)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Feb. 9, 1997*
No. 14 vs. No. 21 Tulane
7-Up Shootout
W 81–62  15–5
Veterans Memorial Coliseum 
Phoenix, AZ
Feb. 13, 1997
No. 11 No. 24 UCLA
Rivalry
L 64–66  15–6
(7–4)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Feb. 15, 1997
No. 11 USC W 101–77  16–6
(8–4)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Feb. 20, 1997
No. 13 at Oregon L 72–78  16–7
(8–5)
McArthur Court 
Eugene, OR
Feb. 22, 1997
No. 13 at Oregon State W 74–64  17–7
(9–5)
Gill Coliseum 
Corvallis, OR
Feb. 27, 1997
No. 15 Washington State W 100–86  18–7
(10–5)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Mar. 2, 1997
No. 15 Washington W 103–82  19–7
(11–5)
McKale Center 
Tucson, AZ
Mar. 6, 1997
No. 12 at No. 23 Stanford L 80–81  19–8
(11–6)
Maples Pavilion 
Stanford, CA
Mar. 8, 1997
No. 12 at California L 77–79  19–9
(11–7)
Cow Palace[lower-alpha 1] 
Daly City, CA
NCAA tournament
Mar. 13, 1997*
(4 SE) No. 15 vs. (13 SE) South Alabama
First round
W 65–57[3]  20–9
Pyramid Arena 
Memphis, TN
Mar. 15, 1997*
(4 SE) No. 15 vs. (12 SE) No. 16 College of Charleston
Second round
W 73–69[4]  21–9
Pyramid Arena 
Memphis, TN
Mar. 21, 1997*
(4 SE) No. 15 vs. (1 SE) No. 1 Kansas
Sweet Sixteen
W 85–82  22–9
BJCC Arena 
Birmingham, AL
Mar. 23, 1997*
(4 SE) No. 15 vs. (10 SE) Providence
Elite Eight
W 96–92 OT[5] 23–9
BJCC Arena 
Birmingham, AL
Mar. 29, 1997*
(4 SE) No. 15 vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina
Final Four
W 66–58[6]  24–9
RCA Dome 
Indianapolis, IN
Mar. 31, 1997*
(4 SE) No. 15 vs. (1 W) No. 5 Kentucky
National Championship
W 84–79 OT 25–9
RCA Dome 
Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
SE=Southeast.

[7] [8]

Rankings

Awards and honors

NCAA Tournament, Champions

Team players drafted into the NBA

YearRoundPickPlayerNBA Club
199812Mike BibbyVancouver Grizzlies
1998114Michael DickersonHouston Rockets
1998242Miles SimonOrlando Magic
1999110Jason TerryAtlanta Hawks
1999239A. J. BramlettCleveland Cavaliers

Notes

  1. Game played near San Francisco at the Cow Palace, since Cal's Harmon Gym (soon to be renamed Haas Pavilion) was beginning renovation.[2]

References

  1. "Pacific 10 conference 1996–97 standings". Retrieved November 21, 2007.
  2. "No. 12 Arizona Falls to Cal". Los Angeles Times. March 9, 1997. Retrieved January 26, 2021.
  3. "Arizona Tops S. Alabama 65-57". The Washington Post. March 14, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  4. "Arizona Ends Charleston's Dream". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1997. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  5. "1 + 1 + 1 + Arizona = Final 4". The Los Angeles Times. March 24, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  6. "Bibby Makes 6 Three-Pointers as Arizona Gains First Final". The Washington Post. March 30, 1997. p. D1. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
  7. "2019-20 Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Arizona Athletics. Retrieved April 25, 2020.
  8. "1996-97 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved April 26, 2020.
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