1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team

1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record19–12 (9–7 SEC)
Head coach
Home arenaMemorial Gymnasium
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
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 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball men's basketball team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1996–97 college basketball season. The team was led by head coach Jan van Breda Kolff and played its home games at Memorial Gymnasium.

The Commodores finished 4th in the SEC East regular season standings and received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 10 seed in the Midwest region. The team finished with a 19–12 record (9–7 SEC).

Roster

1996–97 Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
F/C 42 Dan Langhi 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Benton, Kentucky
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 (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    Nov 20, 1996*
    Valparaiso
    Preseason NIT
    W 74–66  1–0
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Nov 22, 1996*
    at No. 10 Duke
    Preseason NIT
    L 57–86  1–1
    Cameron Indoor Stadium 
    Durham, North Carolina
    Dec 4, 1996*
    UAB W 66–62  2–1
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Dec 7, 1996*
    at Memphis W 66–59  3–1
    The Pyramid 
    Memphis, Tennessee
    Dec 9, 1996*
    at No. 25 Boston College L 52–59  3–2
    Silvio O. Conte Forum 
    Boston, Massachusetts
    Dec 15, 1996*
    Nicholls State W 85–37  4–2
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Dec 19, 1996*
    Alabama-Huntsville W 60–47  5–2
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Dec 21, 1996*
    Tennessee Tech W 82–61  6–2
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Dec 23, 1996*
    Mississippi Valley State W 92–56  7–2
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Dec 29, 1996*
    at Evansville L 61–66  7–3
    Roberts Stadium 
    Evansville, Indiana
    Dec 31, 1996*
    Saint Louis W 81–61  8–3
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Jan 4, 1997
    Alabama W 92–84  9–3
    (1–0)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Jan 8, 1997
    No. 24 Georgia L 53–61  9–4
    (1–1)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Jan 11, 1997
    at Tennessee L 65–75  9–5
    (1–2)
    Thompson-Boling Arena 
    Knoxville, Tennessee
    Jan 15, 1997
    at LSU W 69–62  10–5
    (2–2)
    LSU Assembly Center 
    Baton Rouge, Louisiana
    Jan 18, 1997
    No. 20 Ole Miss W 67–64  11–5
    (3–2)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Jan 22, 1997
    vs. No. 3 Kentucky L 46–58  11–6
    (3–3)
    Riverfront Coliseum 
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Jan 25, 1997
    at Mississippi State L 53–60  11–7
    (3–4)
    Humphrey Coliseum 
    Starkville, Mississippi
    Jan 29, 1997
    No. 25 South Carolina L 64–65  11–8
    (3–5)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Feb 1, 1997
    at Florida W 74–63  12–8
    (4–5)
    Stephen C. O'Connell Center 
    Gainesville, Florida
    Feb 5, 1997*
    Memphis W 69–62  13–8
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Feb 8, 1997
    Arkansas W 87–83 OT 14–8
    (5–5)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Feb 12, 1997
    Tennessee W 66–53  15–8
    (6–5)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Feb 15, 1997
    at Auburn W 75–61  16–8
    (7–5)
    Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum 
    Auburn, Alabama
    Feb 19, 1997
    at Georgia W 86–80  17–8
    (8–5)
    Stegeman Coliseum 
    Athens, Georgia
    Feb 22, 1997
    No. 3 Kentucky L 79–82  17–9
    (8–6)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    Feb 26, 1997
    at No. 6 South Carolina L 53–74  17–10
    (8–7)
    Carolina Coliseum 
    Columbia, South Carolina
    Mar 1, 1997
    Florida W 79–72  18–10
    (9–7)
    Memorial Gymnasium 
    Nashville, Tennessee
    SEC tournament
    Mar 6, 1997*
    vs. Mississippi State W 73–67 OT 19–10
    The Pyramid 
    Memphis, Tennessee
    Mar 7, 1997*
    vs. Ole Miss L 62–64  19–11
    The Pyramid 
    Memphis, Tennessee
    NCAA tournament
    Mar 13, 1997*
    (10 MW) vs. (7 MW) No. 13 Xavier
    First round
    L 68–80[1]  19–12
    Palace of Auburn Hills 
    Auburn Hills, Michigan
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    MW=Midwest.
    All times are in Central Time.

    [2]

    Rankings

    [3]

    References

    1. ^ "Xavier's a Blur to Vanderbilt". The Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
    2. ^ "2019–20 Vanderbilt Men's Basketball Fact Book" (PDF). Vanderbilt University Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
    3. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.