1996–97 UMass Minutemen basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 March 2026 August 2023 1996–97 UMass Minutemen Basketball UMass logo.gif 150 Atlantic 10 Conference A-10 19–14 11–5 Bruiser Flint 1st Geoff Arnold Tony Barbee John Robic William D. Mullins Memorial Center NCAA Tournament Round of 64 The 1996–97 UMass Minutemen basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Minutemen, led by first year head coach Bruiser Flint, played their home games at William D. Mullins Memorial Center and are members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. The team finished the season 19–14, 11–5 in A-10 play to finish in third place. In the postseason, the team lost in the quarterfinal of the A-10 tournament and in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In June 1996, assistant coach Bruiser Flint was promoted to the role of head coach following the departure of previous head coach John Calipari.https://www.chicagotribune.com/1996/06/09/umass-assistant-coach-takes-over-for-calipari/ UMASS ASSISTANT COACH TAKES OVER FOR CALIPARI Chicago Tribune June 9, 1996 March 5, 2026 Roster Number Name Position Height Weight Year Hometown 3 Charlton Clarke Guard 6–3 205 Sophomore Bronx, New York 4 Lari Ketner Center 6-10 270 Sophomore Philadelphia 10 Ross Burns Guard 6–3 180 Sophomore Greenfield, Massachusetts 12 Edgar Padilla Guard 6-2 175 Senior Toa Alta, Puerto Rico 14 Andy Maclay Guard 6–4 190 Sophomore Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania 20 Winston Smith Forward 6–5 195 Freshman Summit, New Jersey 22 Chris Kirkland Forward 6–6 200 Freshman Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 23 Mike Babul Forward 6–6 190 Freshman North Attleboro, Massachusetts 24 Carmelo Travieso Guard 6–2 180 Senior Boston, Massachusetts 34 Tyrone Weeks Forward 6-7 260 Senior Philadelphia 42 Ajmal Basit Center/Forward 6–9 220 Freshman Brooklyn, New York 50 Inus Norville Forward 6–8 225 Junior Fayetteville, North Carolina Schedule 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 1997 yes yes |- !colspan=9| Regular season 11/25/1996 yes yes 15 Chaminade Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii Maui Invitational 2,500 59–48 1–0 11/26/1996 yes yes 17 Virginia Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii Maui Invitational 2,500 68–75 1–1 11/27/1996 yes yes 17 California Lahaina Civic Center Lahaina, Hawaii Maui Invitational 2,500 55–59 1–2 12/4/1996 yes yes Georgetown United Center Chicago Great Eight - 53–58 1–3 12/07/1996 yes Wyoming Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 90–72 2–3 12/10/1996 yes Fresno State 16 Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 81–102 2–4 12/12/1996 yes Drexel Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 69–48 3–4 12/14/1996 yes yes Wake Forest 2 Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina 14,111 47–71 3–5 12/20/1996 yes yes North Carolina 12 Meadowlands East Rutherford, New Jersey Jimmy V Classic 13,812 69–83 3–6 12/22/1996 yes yes UNC Wilmington Trask Coliseum Wilmington, North Carolina 2,543 47–46 4–6 12/27/1996 yes yes Connecticut Hartford Civic Center Hartford, Connecticut U-Game - 61–64 4–7 1/2/1997 Davidson Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 77–64 5–7 01/05/1997 no St. Joseph's Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 68–72 5–8 (0–1) 01/08/1997 no yes La Salle First Union Spectrum Philadelphia 2,551 56–50 6–8 (1–1) 01/12/1997 no Virginia Tech Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 47–63 6–9 (1–2) 01/14/1997 no yes St. Bonaventure Reilly Center St. Bonaventure, New York 6,000 63–59 7–9 (2–2) 01/18/1997 yes yes Boston College 19 Fleet Center Boston, Massachusetts Commonwealth Classic 15,215 90–78 8–9 01/21/1997 no no Rhode Island Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 64–60 9–9 (3–2) 01/25/1997 no yes Temple McGonigle Hall Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 3,913 78–66 10–9 (4–2) 01/30/1997 no yes George Washington Charles E. Smith Center Washington, D.C. 5,454 68–63 11–9 (5–2) 02/01/1997 no Xavier 20 Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 84–87 OT 11–10 (5–3) 02/03/1997 no yes Fordham Rose Hill Gymnasium Bronx, New York 2,435 75–54 12–10 (6–3) 02/06/1997 no Duquesne Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 73–71 13–10 (7–3) 2/08/1997 no yes Rhode Island Providence Civic Center Providence, Rhode Island 12,931 64–61 14–10 (8–3) 02/11/1997 no St. Bonaventure Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 74–68 15–10 (9–3) 02/15/1997 yes Maryland 10 Worcester Centrum Worcester, Massachusetts 11,210 78–61 16–10 02/20/1997 no Fordham Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 75–58 17–10 (10–3) 02/23/1997 no yes Dayton UD Arena Dayton, Ohio 11,893 67–69 17–11 (10–4) 02/25/1997 no yes St. Joseph's 23 Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse Philadelphia 3,200 63–78 17–12 (10–5) 03/01/1997 no Temple Mullins Center Amherst, Massachusetts 9,493 59–53 18–12 (11–5) |- !colspan=9| 1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament 03/05/1997 no yes La Salle CoreStates Spectrum Philadelphia 1st Round - 64–49 19–12 03/06/1997 no yes George Washington CoreStates Spectrum Philadelphia Quarterfinal 10,005 49–58 19–13 |- !colspan=9| 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament 03/14/1997 yes yes Louisville Civic Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania First Round 17,509 57–65 19–14 AP Poll Eastern Time Rankings 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings References Category:UMass Minutemen basketball seasons UMass UMass UMass Minutemen basketball UMass Minutemen basketball