1996–97 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1996–97 men's basketball season. Led by head coach Rick Majerus, the Utes made a run through the NCAA tournament to the West regional final. The team finished with an overall record of 29–4 (15–1 WAC).

1996–97 Utah Utes men's basketball
WAC tournament champions
WAC Regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 2
Record29–4 (15–1 WAC)
Head coach
CaptainKeith Van Horn
Home arenaJon M. Huntsman Center
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]

Roster

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1996–97 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown
SF 3 David Jackson 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Portland, Oregon
F/C 13 Hanno Möttölä 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Fr Helsinki, Finland
SG 15 Derek Broomhall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Sacramento, California
SF 18 Brent Wieland 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Sr Prosper, Texas
PG 24 Andre Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Los Angeles, California
G 34 Drew Hansen
Jr
G 35 Jeff Johnsen 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Murray, Utah
F 44 Keith Van Horn (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr Diamond Bar, California
F 50 Alex Jensen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Fr Bountiful, Utah
C 51 Michael Doleac 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) Jr Portland, Oregon
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

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

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 23, 1996
No. 4 Azusa Pacific W 83–50  1–0
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 26, 1996*
No. 4 at Utah State W 60–41  2–0
Dee Glen Smith Spectrum 
Logan, Utah
Nov 30, 1996*
No. 4 at Cal State Fullerton W 74–67  3–0
Titan Gym 
Fullerton, California
Dec 4, 1996*
No. 3 Southern Utah W 60–40  4–0
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 7, 1996*
No. 3 vs. No. 15 Arizona
John Wooden Classic
L 61–69  4–1
Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim 
Anaheim, California
Dec 14, 1996*
No. 9 Weber State W 83–48  5–1
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 21, 1996*
No. 9 No. 14 Texas W 80–68  6–1
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 23, 1996*
No. 9 Wisconsin-Milwaukee W 77–63  7–1
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 28, 1996*
No. 8 at UC Irvine W 77–50  8–1
Bren Events Center 
Irvine, California
Dec 31, 1996*
No. 7 No. 2 Wake Forest L 59–70  8–2
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 4, 1997
No. 7 Colorado State W 84–63  9–2
(1–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 11, 1997
No. 9 at BYU W 61–51  10–2
(2–0)
Marriott Center 
Provo, Utah
Jan 16, 1997
No. 9 at SMU W 74–57  11–2
(3–0)
Moody Coliseum 
Dallas, Texas
Jan 18, 1997
No. 9 at TCU W 81–77  12–2
(4–0)
Daniel-Meyer Coliseum 
Fort Worth, Texas
Jan 25, 1997
No. 5 Rice W 78–58  13–2
(5–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 27, 1997*
No. 5 No. 24 Tulsa W 84–58  14–2
(6–0)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Jan 30, 1997
No. 4 at UTEP W 74–51  15–2
(7–0)
Don Haskins Center 
El Paso, Texas
Feb 1, 1997
No. 4 at No. 13 New Mexico L 71–87  15–3
(7–1)
The Pit 
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 6, 1997
No. 5 BYU W 85–49  16–3
(8–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 8, 1997
No. 5 at Colorado State W 82–67  17–3
(9–1)
Moby Arena 
Fort Collins, Colorado
Feb 13, 1997
No. 5 SMU W 84–63  18–3
(10–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 15, 1997
No. 5 TCU W 94–91  19–3
(11–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Feb 22, 1997
No. 5 at Tulsa W 56–54  20–3
(12–1)
Tulsa Convention Center 
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Feb 24, 1997
No. 5 at Rice W 75–66  21–3
(13–1)
Tudor Fieldhouse 
Houston, Texas
Feb 27, 1997
No. 4 UTEP W 68–55  22–3
(14–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 1, 1997
No. 4 No. 11 New Mexico W 78–58  23–3
(15–1)
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
WAC Tournament
Mar 6, 1997*
No. 3 vs. SMU
WAC Tournament Quarterfinal
W 59–58  24–3
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 7, 1997*
No. 3 vs. No. 14 New Mexico
WAC Tournament Semifinal
W 72–70  25–3
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
Mar 8, 1997*
No. 3 vs. TCU
WAC tournament championship
W 89–68  26–3
Thomas & Mack Center 
Las Vegas, Nevada
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1997*
(2 W) No. 2 vs. (15 W) Navy
First round
W 75–61[2]  27–3
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
Mar 16, 1997*
(2 W) No. 2 vs. (7 W) UNC Charlotte
Second Round
W 77–58[3]  28–3
McKale Center 
Tucson, Arizona
Mar 20, 1997*
(2 W) No. 2 vs. No. 21 Stanford
West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
W 82–77 OT[4] 29–3
San Jose Arena 
San Jose, California
Mar 22, 1997*
(2 W) No. 2 vs. (1 W) No. 5 Kentucky
West Regional final – Elite Eight
L 59–72  29–4
San Jose Arena (18,543)
San Jose, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

[5]

Rankings

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Awards and honors

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Team players in the 1997 NBA draft

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Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 2 Keith Van Horn Philadelphia 76ers

[6]

References

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  1. ^ sports-reference.com 1996-97 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
  2. ^ "Big and balanced, Utah sinks Navy". The Baltimore Sun. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  3. ^ "Van Horn, defense get Utah into Sweet 16". The Baltimore Sun. March 17, 1997. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Utah Holds Off Stanford in OT, 82-77". The Washington Post. March 20, 1997. Retrieved June 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "2019-20 Utah Utes Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  6. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved June 13, 2020.