1996–97 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1996–97 Fairfield Stags Fairfield Stags wordmark.png 200 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference MAAC 11–19 2–12 Paul Cormier 6th Alumni Hall MAAC tournament champion NCAA tournament The 1996–97 Fairfield Stags men's basketball team represented Fairfield University in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Stags, led by sixth-year head coach Paul Cormier, played their home games at Alumni Hall in Fairfield, Connecticut as members of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. They finished the season 11–19, 2–12 in MAAC play to finish in eighth place. In the MAAC tournament, they went on a surprising run to the title by defeating Iona, Saint Peter's, and Canisius to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 16 seed in the East region. In the opening round, the Stags were beaten by No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant North Carolina in a competitive game, 82–74.The 16th-Seeded Stags Take Smith's No. 1 Heels to Limit The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/14/sports/the-16th-seeded-stags-take-smith-s-no-1-heels-to-limit.html March 14, 1997 February 14, 2022 Moran Malcolm As of the 2021 NCAA Tournament, this Fairfield team is tied with FIU (1995) and UCF (1996) for worst record for an NCAA Tournament team at 11–18.Teams with the worst records to make the men's NCAA tournament https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/bracketiq/2022-02-18/march-madness-history-teams-worst-records-make-ncaa-tournament National Collegiate Athletic Association February 18, 2022 February 18, 2022 Roster 1996 Fairfield Stags y yes Greg Francis G 6 3 sr Toronto, Ontario y Paul Cormier (Marist) https://fairfieldstags.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/1996-97 Schedule and results yes |- !colspan=12 style=Fairfield Stags| Regular season Nov 23, 1996 yes 1996 men East Carolina Pirates East Carolina Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 64–81 0–1 Nov 26, 1996 yes yes 1996 men Colgate Raiders Colgate Cotterell Court Hamilton, New York 82–77 OT 1–1 Nov 30, 1996 yes 1996 men Central Michigan Chippewas Central Michigan Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 82–63 2–1 Dec 3, 1996 yes yes 1996 men Wagner Seahawks Wagner Sutter Gym Staten Island, New York 86–71 3–1 Dec 6, 1996 yes yes 1996 men Santa Clara Broncos Santa Clara War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 60–64 3–2 Dec 7, 1996 yes yes 1996 men San Francisco Dons San Francisco War Memorial Gymnasium San Francisco, California 62–70 3–3 Dec 21, 1996 yes yes Connecticut Harry A. Gampel Pavilion Storrs, Connecticut 58–68 3–4 Dec 31, 1996 yes yes 1996 men Southern Utah Thunderbirds Southern Utah Centrum Cedar City, Utah 78–51 4–4 Jan 6, 1997 1996 men Canisius Golden Griffins Canisius Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 60–75 4–5 0–1 Jan 8, 1997 yes yes 1996 men Fordham Rams Fordham Rose Hill Gym Bronx, New York 53–57 4–6 Jan 11, 1997 yes 1996 men Central Connecticut State Blue Devils Central Connecticut State Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 56–54 5–6 Jan 15, 1997 yes Boston College 19 Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 79–81 OT 5–7 Jan 18, 1997 yes 1996 men Iona Gaels Iona Hynes Athletic Center New Rochelle, New York 70–81 5–8 0–2 Jan 20, 1997 yes 1996 men Siena Saints Siena Times Union Center Loudonville, New York 58–66 5–9 0–3 Jan 24, 1997 1996 men Saint Peter's Peacocks Saint Peter's Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 52–58 5–10 0–4 Jan 26, 1997 Siena Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 74–64 6–10 1–4 Jan 29, 1997 yes 1996 men Manhattan Jaspers Manhattan Draddy Gymnasium New York, New York 49–65 6–11 1–5 Jan 31, 1997 1996 men Loyola Greyhounds Loyola (MD) Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 53–58 6–12 1–6 Feb 5, 1997 yes Saint Peter's Yanitelli Center Jersey City, New Jersey 58–71 6–13 1–7 Feb 8, 1997 yes Canisius Koessler Athletic Center Buffalo, New York 45–91 6–14 1–8 Feb 10, 1997 yes 1996 men Niagara Purple Eagles Niagara Gallagher Center Lewiston, New York 60–65 6–15 1–9 Feb 12, 1997 yes yes 1996 men Marist Red Foxes Marist McCann Arena Poughkeepsie, New York 84–75 7–15 Feb 15, 1997 Manhattan Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 68–67 8–15 2–9 Feb 18, 1997 Iona Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 64–74 8–16 2–10 Feb 21, 1997 Niagara Alumni Hall Fairfield, Connecticut 72–75 8–17 2–11 Feb 23, 1997 yes Loyola (MD) Reitz Arena Baltimore, Maryland 59–67 8–18 2–12 |- !colspan=12 style=Fairfield Stags| MAAC Tournament Mar 1, 1997 yes yes Iona Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York Quarterfinals 80–71 9–18 Mar 2, 1997 yes yes Saint Peter's Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York Semifinals 73–61 10–18 Mar 3, 1997 yes yes Canisius Marine Midland Arena Buffalo, New York Championship game 78–72 11–18 |- !colspan=12 style=Fairfield Stags| NCAA Tournament Mar 13, 1997 yes yes 16 E North Carolina 4 1 E Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina First round 74–82 11–19 |- AP Poll Eastern Sourcehttps://fairfieldstags.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule/1996-97 1996-97 Basketball Schedule Fairfield University Athletics February 14, 2022 en References Category:Fairfield Stags men's basketball seasons Fairfield Stags Fairfield Fairfield Stags men's basketball Fairfield Stags men's basketball