1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team

American college basketball season March 2026 August 2023 Basketball 1996–97 Arizona Wildcats Arizona Wildcats logo.svg 150 Pacific-10 Conference Pac-10 1 15 25–9 11–7 Lute Olson 14th Jim Rosborough 8th Jessie Evans 9th Phil Johnson 4th Michael Dickerson Miles Simon McKale Center NCAA tournament National Champions National Championship Game W Won 84–79 OT Overtime vs. Kentucky The 1996–97 Arizona Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Arizona. The head coach was Lute Olson. The team played its home games in the McKale Center, and was a member of the Pacific-10 Conference. After going 11–7 in conference play the team was seeded fourth in the Southeast Region of the 1997 NCAA tournament. They went on to win the national championship, the first in program history, defeating three top-seeded teams in the process. Roster 1996 Arizona Wildcats y y Mike Bibby 10 G 6 1 FR Phoenix, AZ Shadow Mountain y Josh Pastner 12 G 6 FR Kingwood, TX Kingwood y Donnell Harris 13 F 6 11 SO Salinas, CA North Salinas John Ash 15 G 5 11 FR Tucson, AZ Salpointe Bennett Davison 21 F 6 8 JR Sebastopol, CA AnalyWest Valley JC y Michael Dickerson 23 F 6 5 JR Seattle, WA Federal Way y C Quynn Tebbs 24 G 6 1 FR Salt Lake City, UT Bingham Justin Wessel 30 F 6 8 FR Iowa City, IA Prairie Jason Terry 31 G 6 2 SO Seattle, WA Franklin y Eugene Edgerson 33 F 6 6 FR New Orleans, LA St. Augustine y Miles Simon 34 G 6 5 JR Fullerton, CA Mater Dei y C Jason Lee 40 G 6 4 SR Irvine, CA Allegheny/Irvine W A. J. Bramlett 42 F 6 11 SO Albuquerque, NM La Cueva y Jason Steward 52 G 5 11 SO Gardena, CA Gardena Lute Olson (Augsburg) Phil Johnson (East Central Oklahoma State) Jim Rosborough (Iowa) Jessie Evans (Eastern Michigan) Schedule 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings 1996 yes yes |- !colspan=9 style="background:#Arizona Wildcats 1; color:white;"| Regular season Nov. 22, 1996 yes yes 19 North Carolina 7 Springfield Civic Center Springfield, MA Hall of Fame Tip-Off Classic 83–72 1–0 Nov. 26, 1996 yes 11 Northern Arizona McKale Center Tucson, AZ 88–70 2–0 Nov. 30, 1996 yes yes 11 New Mexico 19 The Pit Albuquerque, NM 77–84 2–1 Dec. 7, 1996 yes yes 15 Utah 3 Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim Anaheim, CA John Wooden Classic 69–61 3–1 Dec. 9, 1996 yes 15 Texas 18 McKale Center Tucson, AZ 83–78 4–1 Dec. 14, 1996 yes 8 Jackson State McKale Center Tucson, AZ 111–83 5–1 Dec. 21, 1996 yes yes 6 Michigan 4 The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills, MI 71–73 OT 5–2 Dec. 28, 1996 yes 9 Robert Morris McKale Center Tucson, AZ Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic 118–54 6–2 Dec. 30, 1996 yes 9 Penn McKale Center Tucson, AZ Bank One Fiesta Bowl Classic 93–51 7–2 Jan. 2, 1997 9 California McKale Center Tucson, AZ 81–80 8–2 1–0 Jan. 4, 1997 9 Stanford 21 McKale Center Tucson, AZ 76–75 9–2 2–0 Jan. 11, 1997 yes 7 Arizona State Wells Fargo Arena Tempe, AZ Rivalry 92–84 10–2 3–0 Jan. 16, 1997 yes 6 USC Los Angeles Sports Arena Los Angeles, CA 62–75 10–3 3–1 Jan. 18, 1997 yes 6 UCLA Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, CA Rivalry 78–84 OT 10–4 3–2 Jan. 23, 1997 11 Oregon State McKale Center Tucson, AZ 99–48 11–4 4–2 Jan. 25, 1997 11 Oregon McKale Center Tucson, AZ 88–68 12–4 5–2 Jan. 30, 1997 yes 10 Washington State Beasley Coliseum Pullman, WA 87–78 13–4 6–2 Feb. 2, 1997 yes 10 Washington Hec Edmundson Pavilion Seattle, WA 88–92 13–5 6–3 Feb. 5, 1997 14 Arizona State McKale Center Tucson, AZ Rivalry 87–71 14–5 7–3 Feb. 9, 1997 yes yes 14 Tulane 21 Veterans Memorial Coliseum Phoenix, AZ 7-Up Shootout 81–62 15–5 Feb. 13, 1997 11 UCLA 24 McKale Center Tucson, AZ Rivalry 64–66 15–6 7–4 Feb. 15, 1997 11 USC McKale Center Tucson, AZ 101–77 16–6 8–4 Feb. 20, 1997 yes 13 Oregon McArthur Court Eugene, OR 72–78 16–7 8–5 Feb. 22, 1997 yes 13 Oregon State Gill Coliseum Corvallis, OR 74–64 17–7 9–5 Feb. 27, 1997 15 Washington State McKale Center Tucson, AZ 100–86 18–7 10–5 Mar. 2, 1997 15 Washington McKale Center Tucson, AZ 103–82 19–7 11–5 Mar. 6, 1997 yes 12 Stanford 23 Maples Pavilion Stanford, CA 80–81 19–8 11–6 Mar. 8, 1997 yes 12 California Cow PalaceGame played near San Francisco at the Cow Palace, since Cal's Harmon Gym (soon to be renamed Haas Pavilion) was beginning renovation.https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-09-sp-36543-story.html No. 12 Arizona Falls to Cal 9 March 1997 Los Angeles Times 26 January 2021 Daly City, CA 77–79 19–9 11–7 |- !colspan=9 style="background:#Arizona Wildcats 1;"| NCAA tournament Mar. 13, 1997 yes yes 15 4 SE South Alabama 13 SE Pyramid Arena Memphis, TN First round 65–57Arizona Tops S. Alabama 65-57 https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/colbask/men/articles/uasoutha.htm The Washington Post March 14, 1997 February 12, 2022 20–9 Mar. 15, 1997 yes yes 15 4 SE College of Charleston 16 12 SE Pyramid Arena Memphis, TN Second round 73–69 Arizona Ends Charleston's Dream https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-16-sp-38974-story.html The Los Angeles Times March 16, 1997 June 11, 2021 21–9 Mar. 21, 1997 yes yes 15 4 SE Kansas 1 1 SE BJCC Arena Birmingham, AL Sweet Sixteen 85–82 22–9 Mar. 23, 1997 yes yes 15 4 SE Providence 10 SE BJCC Arena Birmingham, AL Elite Eight 96–92 OT1 + 1 + 1 + Arizona = Final 4 The Los Angeles Times https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-03-24-sp-41568-story.html March 24, 1997 June 6, 2021 23–9 Mar. 29, 1997 yes yes 15 4 SE North Carolina 4 1 E RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN Final Four 66–58Bibby Makes 6 Three-Pointers as Arizona Gains First Final The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/longterm/memories/final4/articles/semi97b.htm D1 March 30, 1997 March 15, 2019 24–9 Mar. 31, 1997 yes yes 15 4 SE Kentucky 5 1 W RCA Dome Indianapolis, IN National Championship 84–79 OT 25–9 SE Southeast 2019-20 Arizona Wildcats Men's Basketball Media Guide https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/arizona.sidearmsports.com/documents/2019/11/10/1920Guide_full.pdf University of Arizona Athletics April 25, 2020 July 31, 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200731164650/https://s3.amazonaws.com/sidearm.sites/arizona.sidearmsports.com/documents/2019/11/10/1920Guide_full.pdf dead 1996-97 Arizona Wildcats Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/arizona/1997-schedule.html Sports Reference April 26, 2020 Rankings 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings Awards and honors NCAA Tournament, Champions Team players drafted into the NBA Year Round Pick Player NBA club 1998 1 2 Mike Bibby Vancouver Grizzlies 1998 1 14 Michael Dickerson Houston Rockets 1998 2 42 Miles Simon Orlando Magic 1999 1 10 Jason Terry Atlanta Hawks 1999 2 39 A. J. Bramlett Cleveland Cavaliers Notes References Category:Arizona Wildcats men's basketball seasons Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Arizona Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament championship seasons Arizona Arizona Wildcats Arizona Wildcats