1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

The 1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos were coached by head coach Dave Bliss and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico finished 3rd in the WAC Mountain division regular season standings and lost to Utah in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The Lobos received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 3 seed in the East region. After defeating Old Dominion in the opening round, New Mexico was bounced in the round of 32 by Louisville, 64–63, to finish with a 25–8 record (11–5 WAC).

1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 11
Record25–8 (11–5 WAC)
Head coach
Home arenaUniversity Arena
Seasons
1996–97 WAC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Mountain
No. 2 Utah 15 1   .938 29 4   .879
Tulsa 12 4   .750 24 10   .706
No. 11 New Mexico 11 5   .688 25 8   .758
TCU 7 9   .438 22 13   .629
SMU 7 9   .438 16 12   .571
Rice 6 10   .375 12 15   .444
UTEP 6 10   .375 13 13   .500
BYU 0 16   .000 1 25   .038
Pacific
Fresno State 12 4   .750 20 12   .625
Hawaii 12 4   .750 21 8   .724
UNLV 11 5   .688 22 10   .688
Colorado State 10 6   .625 20 9   .690
Wyoming 8 8   .500 12 16   .429
San Jose State 5 11   .313 13 14   .481
San Diego State 4 12   .250 12 15   .444
Air Force 2 14   .125 7 19   .269
1997 WAC tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll[1]

The top four scorers (career) in school history played on this team – Charles Smith, Kenny Thomas, Lamont Long, and Clayton Shields.

Roster

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1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
G 3 Lamont Long 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Fr
F 4 Kenny Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Albuquerque, New Mexico
G 5 Charles Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Fort Worth, Texas
F 22 Clayton Shields 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Baytown, Texas
G 32 David Gibson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Jr
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

[2]

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
city, state
Regular season
Nov 18, 1996*
No. 18 Simon Fraser W 107–54  1–0
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 22, 1996*
No. 18 Columbia W 94–56  2–0
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 23, 1996*
No. 18 Eastern Washington W 69–53  3–0
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 27, 1996*
No. 19 Centenary W 96–64  4–0
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 30, 1996*
No. 19 No. 11 Arizona W 84–77  5–0
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 4, 1996*
No. 11 at Texas Tech L 68–77  5–1
Lubbock Municipal Coliseum 
Lubbock, Texas
Dec 7, 1996*
No. 11 at New Mexico State W 86–72  6–1
Pan American Center 
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 13, 1996*
No. 15 New Mexico State W 84–82 OT 7–1
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 21, 1996*
No. 15 Sam Houston State W 76–55  8–1
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 23, 1996*
No. 14 Jackson State W 98–45  9–1
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 27, 1996*
No. 14 Bucknell W 67–57  10–1
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 28, 1996*
No. 14 Ole Miss W 75–64  11–1
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 5, 1997
No. 16 at Hawaii L 62–75  11–2
(0–1)
Stan Sheriff Center 
Honolulu, Hawaii
Feb 22, 1997
No. 10 Hawaii W 89–69  21–5
(10–4)
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 27, 1997
No. 11 at BYU W 90–48  22–5
(11–4)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Mar 1, 1997
No. 11 at No. 4 Utah L 58–78  22–6
(11–5)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
WAC tournament
Mar 4, 1997*
(3 M) No. 14 vs. (6 P) San Jose State
First round
W 103–70  23–6
Thomas & Mack Center 
Paradise, Nevada
Mar 6, 1997*
(3 M) No. 14 vs. (2 P) Hawaii
Quarterfinals
W 65–57  24–6
Thomas & Mack Center 
Paradise, Nevada
Mar 7, 1997*
(3 M) No. 14 vs. (1 M) No. 3 Utah
Semifinals
L 70–72  24–7
Thomas & Mack Center 
Paradise, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997*
(3 E) No. 11 vs. (14 E) Old Dominion W 59–55[3]  25–7
Civic Arena 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 16, 1997*
(3 E) No. 11 vs. (6 E) No. 25 Louisville
Second round
L 63–64[4]  25–8
Civic Arena 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.

[5]

Rankings

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[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "1996–97 New Mexico Lobos Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  3. ^ "New Mexico 59, Old Dominion 55". UPI Archives. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  4. ^ "New Mexico Its Own Worst Enemy in One-Point Loss". The Los Angeles Times. March 17, 1997. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  5. ^ "1992–93 New Mexico Men's Basketball Schedule". University of New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  6. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.