1996–97 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represented Saint Joseph's University as a member of the Atlantic-10 Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by 2nd year head coach Phil Martelli, the Hawks finished with an overall record of 26–7 (13–3 in A-10 play). Saint Joseph's won both regular season and A-10 Tournament titles, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 4 seed in the West Regional. The team defeated Pacific[1] and Boston College[2] to advance to the Sweet Sixteen before losing to No. 1 seed Kentucky in the regional semifinal.

1996–97 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball
Atlantic 10 Regular season co-champions
Atlantic 10 tournament champions
ConferenceAtlantic 10
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
APNo. 12
Record26–7 (13–3 Atlantic 10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaAlumni Memorial Fieldhouse
Seasons
1996–97 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
East
No. 12 Saint Joseph's 13 3   .813 26 7   .788
Rhode Island 12 4   .750 20 10   .667
UMass 11 5   .688 19 14   .576
Temple 10 6   .625 20 11   .645
St. Bonaventure 5 11   .313 14 14   .500
Fordham 1 15   .063 6 21   .222
West
No. 13 Xavier 13 3   .813 23 6   .793
George Washington 8 8   .500 15 14   .517
Virginia Tech 7 9   .438 15 16   .484
Dayton 6 10   .375 13 14   .481
La Salle 5 11   .313 10 17   .370
Duquesne 5 11   .313 9 18   .333
1997 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

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1996–97 Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
PG 11 Rashid Bey 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 154 lb (70 kg) Jr Saint John Neumann HS Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Regular season
Nov 20, 1996*
at No. 10 Duke
Preseason NIT
L 60–89  0–1
Cameron Indoor Stadium 
Durham, North Carolina
Dec 3, 1996*
Wyoming W 71–57  1–1
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 7, 1996*
vs. No. 21 Tulsa
Coaches vs. Cancer Classic
W 67–64  2–1
Boardwalk Hall 
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Dec 16, 1996*
DePaul W 71–58  3–1
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 19, 1996*
at East Carolina L 64–68  3–2
Minges Coliseum 
Greenville, North Carolina
Dec 23, 1996*
No. 10 Villanova
Philadelphia Big 5
L 65–81  3–3
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 30, 1996*
vs. Austin Peay
Pepsi-Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic
W 74–58  4–3
Brown County Arena 
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Dec 31, 1996*
at Green Bay
Pepsi-Oneida Bingo & Casino Classic
W 64–59  5–3
Brown County Arena 
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Jan 5, 1997
at UMass W 72–68  6–3
(1–0)
Mullins Center 
Amherst, Massachusetts
Jan 9, 1997
St. Bonaventure W 82–80 2OT 7–3
(2–0)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 11, 1997
at Rhode Island L 70–74  7–4
(2–1)
Keaney Gymnasium 
Kingston, Rhode Island
Jan 15, 1997
at George Washington W 55–53  8–4
(3–1)
Charles E. Smith Center 
Washington, D.C.
Jan 18, 1997
at Penn W 66–61  9–4
The Palestra 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 21, 1997
Duquesne W 82–74  10–4
(4–1)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 25, 1997
Virginia Tech W 68–50  11–4
(5–1)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 30, 1997
Temple L 59–68  11–5
(5–2)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 2, 1997
Rhode Island W 79–77  12–5
(6–2)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 4, 1997
Dayton W 89–82  13–5
(7–2)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 6, 1997
Fordham W 71–53  14–5
(8–2)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 8, 1997
No. 17 Xavier W 79–65  15–5
(9–2)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 11, 1997*
Drexel W 63–62  16–5
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 13, 1997
at Temple L 62–64  16–6
(9–3)
McGonigle Hall 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 16, 1997
at Fordham W 77–66  17–6
(10–3)
Rose Hill Gym 
Bronx, New York
Feb 18, 1997*
Delaware W 77–65  18–6
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Feb 22, 1997
at St. Bonaventure W 86–50  19–6
(11–3)
Reilly Center 
St. Bonaventure, New York
Feb 25, 1997
No. 23 UMass W 78–63  20–6
(12–3)
Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 1, 1997
No. 23 at La Salle
Philadelphia Big 5
W 62–59  21–6
(13–3)
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
A-10 Tournament
Mar 6, 1997*
No. 19 St. Bonaventure
Quarterfinals
W 75–59  22–6
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 7, 1997*
No. 19 George Washington
Semifinals
W 78–70  23–6
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Mar 8, 1997*
No. 19 Rhode Island
Championship Game
W 61–56  24–6
The Spectrum 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997*
(4 W) No. 12 vs. (13 W) Pacific
First round
W 75–65  25–6
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 15, 1997*
(4 W) No. 12 vs. (5 W) No. 23 Boston College
Second Round
W 81–77 OT[2] 26–6
Jon M. Huntsman Center 
Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 20, 1997*
(4 W) No. 12 vs. (1 W) No. 5 Kentucky
West Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen
L 68–83  26–7
San Jose Arena (18,543)
San Jose, California
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
W=West.

[3]

Rankings

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[4]

References

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  1. ^ "St. Joseph's guards go on scoring binge, gobble Pacific, 75-65". The Baltimore Sun. March 14, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "St. Joseph's, Bey Use Long Ball to Keep Boston College at Bay in 81-77 Victory". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  3. ^ "2018-19 Saint Joseph's Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Saint Joseph's Hawks. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
  4. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.