1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team

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1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball
NCAA Tournament, Round of 32
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 22
APNo. 24
1996–97 record22–10 (11–5 Big 12)
Head coach
Home arenaCoors Events Center
Seasons
← 1995–96
1997–98 →
1996–97 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Kansas † 15 – 1   .938 34 – 2   .944
No. 24 Colorado 11 – 5   .688 22 – 10   .688
Texas 10 – 6   .625 18 – 12   .600
No. 18 Iowa State 10 – 6   .625 22 – 9   .710
Texas Tech 10 – 6   .625 19 – 9   .679
Oklahoma 9 – 7   .563 19 – 11   .633
Nebraska 7 – 9   .438 18 – 15   .545
Oklahoma State 7 – 9   .438 17 – 15   .531
Baylor 6 – 10   .375 18 – 12   .600
Missouri 5 – 11   .313 16 – 17   .485
Texas A&M 3 – 13   .188 9 – 18   .333
Kansas State 3 – 13   .188 10 – 17   .370
† 1997 Big 12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll [1]

The 1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes Men's basketball team represented the University of Colorado in the 1996–97 season. Led by first-year head coach Ricardo Patton, and sophomore Guard Chauncey Billups, the Buffaloes made the NCAA tournament despite only having won nine games the previous year. Billups, was particularly impressive this particular season. Billups earned Big 12 Player of the year honors as well as all-American honors. Following this season, Billups would declare his eligibility for the NBA draft, being selected third overall in 1997. Following his career end, Billups' number would be retired by the Buffaloes. As Head Coach of the Buffaloes, Patton had been appointed after having been named interim head coach the prior season. Patton would stay head coach of the Buffaloes until 2007.[2][3]

Roster[]

1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 4 Chauncey Billups 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) So George Washington Denver, CO
Head coach

Ricardo Patton

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
Non-Conference Regular Season
Nov 24, 1996*
 Drake W 82–80 OT 1–0
 CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Nov 29, 1996*
 vs. Auburn
Big Island Invitational 		W 78–72 OT 2–0
 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium 
Hilo, Hawaii
Nov 30, 1996*
 vs. Virginia Tech
Big Island Invitational 		W 63–56  3–0
 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium 
Hilo, Hawaii
Dec 1, 1996*
 vs. Louisville
Big Island Invitational 		L 82–92  3–1
 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium 
Hilo, Hawaii
Dec 30, 1996*
 Northwestern State W 82–70  9–3
 CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Big 12 Regular Season
Jan 4, 1997
 Nebraska W 79–73  10–3
(1–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 7, 1997
 Missouri W 87–78  11–3
(2–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 11, 1997
 at No. 20 Texas Tech W 80–78  12–3
(3–0) 		Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 
Lubbock, Texas
Jan 15, 1997*
 Oklahoma State W 78–74 OT 13–3
(4–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 18, 1997
 No. 8 Iowa State W 70–45  14–3
(5–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 21, 1997
 No. 18 at Baylor W 74–70  15–3
(6–0) 		Ferrell Center 
Waco, Texas
Jan 26, 1997
 No. 18 No. 1 Kansas L 68–77  15–4
(6–1) 		CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 29, 1997
 No. 18 at Kansas State W 69–60  16–4
(7–1) 		Bramlage Coliseum 
Manhattan, Kansas
Feb 26, 1997
 No. 19 at No. 13 Iowa State L 54–65  20–8
(10–5) 		Hilton Coliseum 
Ames, Iowa
Mar 1, 1997
 No. 19 Texas W 83–60  21–8
(11–5) 		CU Events/Conference Center 
Boulder, Colorado
Big 12 Tournament
Mar 7, 1997*
 No. 18 vs. Oklahoma L 41–55  21–9
 Kemper Arena 
Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997*
 (9 E) No. 24 vs. (8 E) Indiana
East Region – First Round 		W 80–62  22–9
 Lawrence Joel Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 15, 1997*
 (9 E) No. 24 vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina
East Region – Second Round 		L 56–73  22–10
 Lawrence Joel Coliseum 
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.
All times are in Mountain Time.

Postseason Schedule[]

Big 12 Tournament
Quarterfinal Vs. Oklahoma, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO - L, 41-55
NCAA Tournament
First Round Vs. Indiana, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC - W, 80-62
Round of 32 Vs. North Carolina, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC - L, 56-73

Rankings[]

See also: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

[4]

Awards and honors[]

Team players in the 1997 NBA Draft[]

See also: 1997 NBA Draft
Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 3 Chauncey Billups Boston Celtics

[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Colorado Buffaloes | 1996-97 Final Statistics and Scoreboard" (PDF). 2014-04-18. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  3. ^ "1996-97 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
  5. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
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