1996–97 Big East Conference men's basketball season

American college basketball season April 2025 1996–97 Big East Conference Men's Basketball Season #072E67 #EFE3BB NCAA Division I Basketball Big East Conference primary logo 1979-1998.png 250px November 15, 1996through March 8, 1997 13 ESPN Regular Season Boston College and Villanova (Big East 6, 12–6) Georgetown (Big East 7, 11–7) Champion Pat Garrity – Notre Dame Big East Men's Basketball Player of the Year Tournament 1997 Big East Men's Basketball Tournament Boston College Scoonie Penn – Boston College Most Valuable Player Basketball 1995–96 1997–98 The 1996–97 Big East Conference men's basketball season was the 18th in conference history, and involved its 13 full-time member schools. Boston College and Villanova were the regular-season co-champions of the Big East 6 Division with identical records of 12–6, and Georgetown won the regular-season Big East 7 Division championship with a record of 11–5. Boston College won the Big East tournament championship. Season summary & highlights The Big East continued to use the divisional structure which had debuted the previous season, with six of its teams playing in the Big East 6 Division and seven in the Big East 7 Division. The divisional structure lasted through the 1997–98 season. The Big East played an 18-game regular-season conference schedule, making it impossible for each team to play each other conference member twice in a home-and-home series during the regular season, as Big East teams had from the 1980–81 season through the 1994–95 seasons. As they had the previous season. each team played six conference opponents twice in a home-and-home series and the other six once each. The schedule was unbalanced, with teams playing anywhere from one to four home-and-home series against teams in their own division and anywhere from two to five home-and-home series against teams in the other division. A notable anomaly that resulted was that Georgetown and St. John's each played Syracuse — in rivalries that had contributed to the rise of the Big East Conference to national prominence during the 1980s — only once for the first time since the conference's first season in 1979–80. Boston College and Villanova were the regular-season co-champions of the Big East 6 Division with identical records of 12–6. It was the third regular-season championship or co-championship as well as the first divisional title for both schools. Georgetown won the regular-season Big East 7 Division championship with a record of 11–5. It was the seventh regular-season championship or co-championship and second consecutive divisional title for Georgetown. Boston College won its first Big East tournament championship. The Big East introduced its Most Improved Player award, presented for the first time at the end of the season. Head coaches SchoolCoachSeasonNotes Boston College Jim O'Brien 11th Resigned April 2, 1997 Connecticut Jim Calhoun 11th Georgetown John Thompson, Jr. 25th Miami Leonard Hamilton 7th Notre Dame John MacLeod 6th Big East Coach of the Year Pittsburgh Ralph Willard 3rd Providence Pete Gillen 3rd Rutgers Bob Wenzel 9th Fired March 6, 1997 St. John's Fran Fraschilla 1st Seton Hall George Blaney 3rd Fired March 10, 1997 Syracuse Jim Boeheim 21st Villanova Steve Lappas 5th West Virginia Gale Catlett 19th Rankings Villanova was ranked in the Associated Press poll Top 25 all season, reaching No. 4. Boston College and Syracuse also spent time in the Top 25. + 1996–97 Big East Conference Weekly RankingsKey: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. AP Pollhttps://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/big-east/men/1997.html 1996-97 Men's Big East Conference Season Summary April 12, 2025 sports-reference.com Pre 11/18 11/25 12/2 12/9 12/16 12/23 12/30 1/6 1/13 1/20 1/27 2/3 2/10 2/17 2/24 3/3 FinalBoston College 21 21 23 20 25 25 25 23 19 22 23 Connecticut Georgetown Miami Notre Dame Pittsburgh Providence Rutgers St. John's Seton Hall Syracuse 12 13 12 19 Villanova 7 6 5 5 4 10 10 10 8 16 12 14 16 18 19 18 21 20 West Virginia Regular-season statistical leaders 18em start ScoringNameSchoolPPG Victor Page GU 22.7 Pat Garrity ND 21.1 Austin Croshere Prov 17.9 Derrick Brown Prov 17.4 Shaheen Holloway SHU 17.3 18em break ReboundingNameSchoolRPG Cheikh Yaya Dia GU 10.1 Zendon Hamilton SJU 9.4 Gordon Malone WVU 8.6 Danya Abrams BC 8.2 Charles Minlend SJU 7.8 18em break AssistsNameSchoolAPG Admore White ND 6.7 God Shammgod Prov 6.6 Shaheen Holloway SHU 6.3 Jason Hart Syr 5.8 Ricky Moore Conn 5.4 18em break StealsNameSchoolSPG Kellii Taylor Pitt 3.2 Jason Hart Syr 2.8 Shaheen Holloway SHU 2.8 Vonteego Cummings Pitt 2.6 Levell Sanders SHU 2.5 18em break BlocksNameSchoolBPG Jason Lawson Vill 3.1 Mark Blount Pitt 2.7 Cheikh Yaya Dia GU 2.3 Tim James Mia 2.2 Jahidi White GU 2.0 18em break Field GoalsNameSchoolFG% Gordon Malone WVU .563 Adrian Pledger WVU .558 Otis Hill Syr .549 Derrick Brown Prov .499 Pat Garrity ND .484 18em break 3-Pt Field GoalsNameSchool3FG% Jason Maile Pitt .392 Victor Page GU .373 Shaheen Holloway SHU .341(no other qualifiers) 18em break Free ThrowsNameSchoolFT% Austin Croshere Prov .888 Rob Hodgson RU .847 Derrick Brown Prov .810 Tim Thomas Vill .796 Richard Hamilton Conn .784 end Postseason Big East tournament 1997 Big East men's basketball tournament Seeding The division winner with the best record received the No. 1 seed in the Big East tournament, the division winner with the second-best record received the No. 2 seed, and the second-place finisher with the best record received the No. 3 seed. The rest of the schools were seeded fourth through thirteenth based on conference record and tiebreakers. Teams seeded fourth through thirteenth played a first-round game, and the other three teams received a bye into the second round. Villanova received the No. 1 seed based on it finishing as co-champion of the Big East 6 Division and winning the tiebreaker with Boston College. Georgetown received the No. 2 seed by winning the Big East 7 Division outright. Boston College received the No. 3 seed as the second-place finisher (after losing the tiebreaker with Villanova) with the best record. The tournament's seeding thus was as follows: (1) Villanova, (2) Georgetown, (3) Boston College, (4) Providence, (5) West Virginia, (6) Pittsburgh, (7) Miami, (8) Syracuse, (9) Notre Dame, (10) St. John's, (11) Connecticut, (12) Seton Hall, (13) Rutgers. Bracket First round Second round Semifinals Championship Game 8 1996-97 Syracuse Orangemen Syracuse University Syracuse 84 9 1996-97 Notre Dame Fighting Irish University of Notre Dame Notre Dame 66 4 Providence 77 13 1996-97 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Rutgers University Rutgers 56 5 1996-97 West Virginia Mountaineers West Virginia University West Virginia 77 12 1996-97 Seton Hall Pirates Seton Hall University Seton Hall 57 6 Pittsburgh 63 11 Connecticut 62 7 Miami 76OT 10 St. John's 68 1 #21 Villanova 80 8 Syracuse 70 4 Providence 76 5 West Virginia 69 3 Boston College 76 6 Pittsburgh 68 2 Georgetown 63 7 Miami 59 1 #21 Villanova 73 4 Providence 63 3 Boston College 70 2 Georgetown 58 1 #21 Villanova 58 3 Boston College 70 NCAA tournament 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Four Big East teams received bids to the NCAA Tournament. Georgetown lost in the first round and Villanova and Boston College in the second round. Providence was defeated in the Southeast Region final. School Region Seed Round 1 Round 2 Sweet 16 Elite 8 Providence Southeast 10 7 Marquette, W 81–59 2 Duke, W 98–87 14 Chattanooga, W 71–65 4 Arizona, L 96–92(OT) Villanova East 4 13 Long Island, W 101–91 5 California, L 75–68 Boston College West 5 12 Valparaiso, W 73–66 4 Saint Joseph's, L 81–77(OT) Georgetown East 10 7 Charlotte, L 79–67 National Invitation Tournament 1997 National Invitation Tournament Five Big East teams received bids to the National Invitation Tournament, which did not yet have seeding. At least one played in each of the tournament's four unnamed brackets. Miami and Syracuse lost in the first round and Pittsburgh in the second round. Notre Dame was defeated in the quarterfinals, but Connecticut reached the semifinals. As a result of the University of Michigan basketball scandal, all of Michigan's tournament wins later were vacated, including its victories over Miami and Notre Dame. School Round 1 Round 2 Quarterfinals Semifinals Connecticut Iona, W 71–66 Bradley, W 63–47 Nebraska, W 76–67 Florida State, L 71–65 Notre Dame Oral Roberts, W 74–58 TCU, W 82–72 Michigan, L 67–66 Pittsburgh New Orleans, W 82–63 Arkansas, L 86–73 Miami Michigan, L 76–63 Syracuse Florida State, L 82–67 Awards and honors Big East Conference Player of the Year: * Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, F, Jr. Defensive Player of the Year: Jason Lawson, Villanova, C, Sr. Rookie of the Year: Tim Thomas, Villanova, F, Fr. Most Improved Player: Cheikh Yaya Dia, Georgetown, C, Sr. Coach of the Year: John MacLeod, Notre Dame (6th season) All-Big East First Team Danya Abrams, Boston College, F, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 251 lb 0, Westchester, N.Y. Victor Page, Georgetown, G, So., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Washington, D.C. Pat Garrity, Notre Dame, F, Jr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 238 lb 0, Las Vegas, Nev. Austin Croshere, Providence, C, Sr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 235 lb 0, Los Angeles, Calif. Alvin Williams, Villanova, G, Sr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Philadelphia, Pa. All-Big East Second Team: Tim James, Miami, F, So., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 212 lb 0, Miami, Fla. Vonteego Cummings, Pittsburgh, G, So., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 190 lb 0, Thomson, Ga. Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall, G, Fr., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 173 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. Zendon Hamilton, St. John's, C, Jr., 6 ft 9 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, South Floral Park, N.Y. Otis Hill, Syracuse, C, Sr., 6 ft 8 in cm 0, 290 lb 0, White Plains, N.Y. Jason Lawson, Villanova, C, Sr., 6 ft 11 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, Philadelphia, Pa. All-Big East Third Team: Derrick Brown, Providence, F, Sr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 210 lb 0, Brooklyn, N.Y. Felipe López, St. John's, G, Jr., 6 ft 5 in cm 0, 199 lb 0, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Jason Cipolla, Syracuse, G, Sr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 200 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. Tim Thomas, Villanova, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, Paterson, N.J. Damian Owens, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6 ft 6 in cm 0, 215 lb 0, Seat Pleasant, Md. Big East All-Rookie Team: Richard Hamilton, Connecticut, G., Fr., 5 ft 11 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Coatesville, Pa. Earl Johnson, Rutgers, G, Fr., 6 ft 7 in cm 0, 212 lb 0, Miami, Fla. Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall, G, Fr., 5 ft 10 in cm 0, 173 lb 0, Queens, N.Y. Jason Hart, Syracuse, G, Fr., 6 ft 3 in cm 0, 180 lb 0, Los Angeles, Calif. Tim Thomas, Villanova, F, Fr., 6 ft 10 in cm 0, 240 lb 0, Paterson, N.J. All-Americans The following players were selected to the 1997 Associated Press All-America teams. 1997 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans AP Honorable Mention Danya Abrams, Boston College Pat Garrity, Notre Dame Victor Page, Georgetown Tim Thomas, Villanova Alvin Williams, Villanova See also 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season 1996–97 Boston College Eagles men's basketball team 1996–97 Connecticut Huskies men's basketball team 1996–97 Georgetown Hoyas men's basketball team 1996–97 Pittsburgh Panthers men's basketball team 1996–97 Providence Friars men's basketball team 1996–97 St. John's Red Storm men's basketball team 1996–97 Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team References