1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team
American college basketball season
[2]
The 1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 1996–97 season .
Led by head coach Ben Braun , the Bears finished the regular season with a 12–6 record in the Pac-10, placing them in a tie for second. The Bears would receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament where they would make a run to the Sweet Sixteen. The Golden Bears defeated Princeton[3] and Villanova[4] before falling to North Carolina[5] in the East Regional semifinal. The team finished the season with an overall record of 23–9.
[6]
Roster
1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team
Players
Coaches
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
Nov 25, 1996 * ESPN
vs. Iowa Maui Invitational Tournament
W 75–59
1–0
Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii
Nov 26, 1996 *
vs. No. 2 Kansas Maui Invitational Tournament
L 67–85
1–1
Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii
Nov 27, 1996 *
vs. No. 17 UMass Maui Invitational Tournament
W 59–55
2–1
Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii
Nov 30, 1996 *
Texas Southern
W 97–60
3–1
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Dec 3, 1996 *
Illinois
W 89–88 2OT
4–1
Harmon Gym (6,578)Berkeley, California
Dec 8, 1996 *
at Maryland
L 64–80
4–2
Cole Fieldhouse College Park, Maryland
Dec 9, 1996 *
vs. Mississippi State
W 78–45
5–2
U.S. Airways Arena Landover, Maryland
Dec 20, 1996 *
vs. Penn State
W 76–63
6–2
Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey
Dec 23, 1996 *
San Francisco
W 78–63
7–2
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Dec 28, 1996 *
Howard
W 86–61
8–2
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Dec 29, 1996 *
Cal Poly
W 77–59
9–2
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Jan 2, 1997
at No. 9 Arizona
L 80–81
9–3 (0–1)
McKale Center Tucson, Arizona
Jan 4, 1997
at Arizona State
L 60–64
9–4 (0–2)
ASU Activity Center Tempe, Arizona
Jan 9, 1997
USC
W 83–71
10–4 (1–2)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Jan 11, 1997
UCLA
L 56–64
10–5 (1–3)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Jan 16, 1997
at Oregon State
W 80–70
11–5 (2–3)
Gill Coliseum Corvallis, Oregon
Jan 18, 1997
at No. 24 Oregon
W 73–62
12–5 (3–3)
McArthur Court Eugene, Oregon
Jan 23, 1997
Washington State
W 77–75 2OT
13–5 (4–3)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Jan 25, 1997
Washington
W 80–52
14–5 (5–3)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Jan 29, 1997
No. 15 Stanford
W 70–64
15–5 (6–3)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Feb 6, 1997
at UCLA
W 71–68
16–5 (7–3)
Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California
Feb 8, 1997
at USC
L 85–93
16–6 (7–4)
L.A. Sports Arena Los Angeles, California
Feb 13, 1997
Oregon
W 73–66
17–6 (8–4)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Feb 15, 1997
Oregon State
W 90–68
18–6 (9–4)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Feb 20, 1997
No. 25
at Washington
W 78–67
19–6 (10–4)
Bank of America Arena Seattle, Washington
Feb 22, 1997
No. 25
at Washington State
L 87–89
19–7 (10–5)
Friel Court Pullman, Washington
Mar 1, 1997
at No. 25 Stanford
L 63–73
19–8 (10–6)
Maples Pavilion Stanford, California
Mar 6, 1997
Arizona State
W 84–66
20–8 (11–6)
Harmon Gym Berkeley, California
Mar 8, 1997
vs. No. 12 Arizona
W 79–77[7]
21–8 (12–6)
Cow Palace Daly City, California
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997 *
(5 E)
vs. (12 E) Princeton First round
W 55–52[3]
22–8
Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 15, 1997 *
(5 E)
vs. (4 E) No. 20 Villanova Second Round
W 75–68[4]
23–8
Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 21, 1997 *
(5 E)
vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina East Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 57–63[5]
23–9
Carrier Dome Syracuse, New York
*Non-conference game.
# Rankings from
AP Poll . (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in
Pacific .
Rankings
Team players drafted into the NBA
References
^ "Pacific 10 conference 1996–97 standings" . Retrieved November 21, 2007 .
^ "1996-97 University of California Golden Bears Schedule and Results - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com" . College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com .
^ a b "Cal Escapes Upset-Minded Princeton" . The Washington Post . March 14, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021 .
^ a b "Villanova Falls Under California Spell, 75-68" . The Los Angeles Times . March 16, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021 .
^ a b "North Carolina and Louisville Move On" . The New York Times . March 22, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021 .
^ "Cal Bears Basketball 1996-97" . www.cs.cmu.edu .
^ "No. 12 Arizona Falls to Cal" . The Los Angeles Times . March 9, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021 .
Venues Culture & lore People Seasons Premo-Poretta national championship in bold ; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics ; NCAA championship in bolded italics