1996–97 Utah Utes men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 1996–97 Utah Utes basketball Western Athletic Conference Mountain WAC 6 2 29–4 15–1 Rick Majerus 8th Keith Van Horn Jon M. Huntsman Center WAC tournament championsWAC Regular season champions NCAA tournament Elite Eight The 1996–97 Utah Utes men's basketball team1996-97 Utah Utes Men's Basketball Media Guide https://collections.lib.utah.edu/ark:/87278/s68943tm University of Utah Athletics 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). Roster 1996 Utah Utes y David Jackson 3 G 6 3 229 Fr Portland, Oregon Jordie McTavish 11 G 6 0 164 Fr n Salmon Arm, British Columbia Hanno Möttölä 13 F 6 9 221 Fr y Helsinki, Finland Ben Caton 15 G 6 3 194 Sr Alamosa, Colorado Andre Miller 24 G 6 2 204 So y Los Angeles, California Ashante Johnson 32 F 6 8 200 So n San Diego, California Drew Hansen 34 F/G 6 5 185 Jr Tooele, Utah Jeff Johnsen 35 G/F 6 4 194 Fr Murray, Utah Mike Puzey 42 F 6 8 195 Fr y Roy, Utah Keith Van Horn 44 F 6 10 231 Sr y Diamond Bar, California C Michael Doleac 51 F/C 6 11 269 Jr y Portland, Oregon Nate Althoff 52 C 6 11 237 Fr y Delano, Minnesota Rick Majerus (Marquette) Donny Daniels (Cal State Fullerton) Jeff Judkins (Utah) Tommy Connor (Utah) Schedule and results |- !colspan=9 style=Utah Utes| Regular season |- Nov 23, 1996 4 1996 men Azusa Pacific Cougars Azusa Pacific Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 83–50 1–0 Nov 26, 1996 yes yes 4 1996 men Utah State Aggies Utah State Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Logan, Utah 60–41 2–0 Nov 30, 1996 yes yes 4 1996 men Cal State Fullerton Titans Cal State Fullerton Titan Gym Fullerton, California 74–67 3–0 Dec 4, 1996 yes 3 1996 men Southern Utah Thunderbirds Southern Utah Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 60–40 4–0 Dec 7, 1996 yes yes 3 Arizona 15 Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Anaheim, California John Wooden Classic 61–69 4–1 Dec 14, 1996 yes 9 1996 men Weber State Wildcats Weber State Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 83–48 5–1 Dec 21, 1996 yes 9 Texas 14 Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 80–68 6–1 Dec 23, 1996 yes 9 1996 men Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers Wisconsin-Milwaukee Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 77–63 7–1 Dec 28, 1996 yes yes 8 UC Irvine Bren Events Center Irvine, California 77–50 8–1 Dec 31, 1996 yes 7 Wake Forest 2 Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 59–70 8–2 Jan 4, 1997 7 1996 men Colorado State Rams Colorado State Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 84–63 9–2 1–0 Jan 11, 1997 yes 9 1996 men BYU Cougars BYU Marriott Center Provo, Utah 61–51 10–2 2–0 Jan 16, 1997 yes 9 1996 men SMU Mustangs SMU Moody Coliseum Dallas, Texas 74–57 11–2 3–0 Jan 18, 1997 yes 9 1996 men TCU Horned Frogs TCU Daniel-Meyer Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas 81–77 12–2 4–0 Jan 25, 1997 5 1996 men Rice Owls Rice Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 78–58 13–2 5–0 Jan 27, 1997 yes 5 Tulsa 24 Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 84–58 14–2 6–0 Jan 30, 1997 yes 4 1996 men UTEP Miners UTEP Don Haskins Center El Paso, Texas 74–51 15–2 7–0 Feb 1, 1997 yes 4 New Mexico 13 The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico 71–87 15–3 7–1 Feb 6, 1997 5 BYU Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 85–49 16–3 8–1 Feb 8, 1997 yes 5 1996 men Colorado State Rams Colorado State Moby Arena Fort Collins, Colorado 82–67 17–3 9–1 Feb 13, 1997 5 SMU Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 84–63 18–3 10–1 Feb 15, 1997 5 TCU Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 94–91 19–3 11–1 Feb 22, 1997 yes 5 Tulsa Tulsa Convention Center Tulsa, Oklahoma 56–54 20–3 12–1 Feb 24, 1997 yes 5 Rice Tudor Fieldhouse Houston, Texas 75–66 21–3 13–1 Feb 27, 1997 4 UTEP Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 68–55 22–3 14–1 Mar 1, 1997 4 New Mexico 11 Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah 78–58 23–3 15–1 |- !colspan=9 style=Utah Utes| WAC Tournament Mar 6, 1997 yes yes 3 SMU Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada WAC Tournament Quarterfinal 59–58 24–3 Mar 7, 1997 yes yes 3 New Mexico 14 Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada WAC Tournament Semifinal 72–70 25–3 Mar 8, 1997 yes yes 3 TCU Thomas & Mack Center Las Vegas, Nevada WAC tournament championship 89–68 26–3 |- !colspan=9 style=Utah Utes| NCAA Tournament Mar 14, 1997 yes yes 2 2 W Navy 15 W McKale Center Tucson, Arizona First round 75–61Big and balanced, Utah sinks Navy https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/03/15/big-and-balanced-utah-sinks-navy-2nd-seeded-utes-send-midshipmen-packing-from-west-75-61/ The Baltimore Sun March 15, 1997 February 13, 2022 27–3 Mar 16, 1997 yes yes 2 2 W UNC Charlotte 7 W McKale Center Tucson, Arizona Second Round 77–58Van Horn, defense get Utah into Sweet 16 https://www.baltimoresun.com/1997/03/17/van-horn-defense-get-utah-into-sweet-16-tenacious-utes-overpower-unc-charlotte-77-58-west-regional/ The Baltimore Sun March 17, 1997 February 13, 2022 28–3 Mar 20, 1997 yes yes 2 2 W Stanford 21 San Jose Arena San Jose, California West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen 82–77 OTUtah Holds Off Stanford in OT, 82-77 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/colbask/men/articles/stanutah.htm The Washington Post March 20, 1997 June 12, 2021 29–3 Mar 22, 1997 yes yes 2 2 W Kentucky 5 1 W San Jose Arena San Jose, California West Regional final – Elite Eight 59–72 18,543 29–4 W West 2019-20 Utah Utes Men's Basketball Media Guide https://utahutes.com/documents/2019/11/8/2019_20_MBB_Media_Guide.pdf University of Utah Athletics June 13, 2020 Rankings 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Awards and honors Keith Van Horn – Consensus First-team All-American, WAC Player of the Year (3x) Rick Majerus – WAC Coach of the Year Team players in the 1997 NBA draft 1997 NBA draft Utah Utes Round Pick Player NBA club 1 2 Keith Van Horn Philadelphia 76ers https://www.basketball-reference.com/draft/NBA_1997.html 1997 NBA Draft Basketball-reference.com June 13, 2020 References Category:Utah Utes men's basketball seasons Utah Utah Utah Utes Utah Utes