1996–97 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team

The 1996–97 South Alabama Jaguars basketball team represented the University of South Alabama as members of the Sun Belt Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by head coach Bill Musselman and played their home games at the Mitchell Center. They finished the season 23–7, 14–4 in Sun Belt play to finish in first place. They won the Sun Belt tournament to earn an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA tournament as the 13 seed in the Southeast region. In the opening round, the Jaguars lost to eventual National champion Arizona.

1996–97 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball
Sun Belt Regular season co-champions Sun Belt tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Sun Belt Conference
Record	23–7 (14–4 Sun Belt)
Head coach	Bill Musselman (2nd season)
Home arena	Mitchell Center

1996–97 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
New Orleans	14	–	4		.778			22	–	7		.759
South Alabama †	14	–	4		.778			23	–	7		.767
Arkansas–Little Rock	11	–	7		.611			18	–	11		.621
Lamar	10	–	8		.556			15	–	12		.556
Louisiana Tech	10	–	8		.556			15	–	14		.517
Western Kentucky	9	–	9		.500			12	–	15		.444
Southwestern Louisiana	9	–	9		.500			12	–	16		.429
Arkansas State	8	–	10		.444			15	–	12		.556
Jacksonville	4	–	14		.222			5	–	23		.179
Texas–Pan American	1	–	17		.056			3	–	25		.107
† 1997 Sun Belt Conference tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1996–97 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 5 Rusty Yoder 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Jr	Head coach Bill Musselman (Wittenberg) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 23, 1996*		Abilene Christian	W 85–62	1–0	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Nov 26, 1996*		West Florida	W 86–60	2–0	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Nov 29, 1996*		Grambling	W 57–54	3–0	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Dec 3, 1996*		at Southern Miss	L 36–55	3–1	Reed Green Coliseum  Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Dec 7, 1996*		Florida A&M	W 81–53	4–1	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Dec 10, 1996*		UAB	W 74–63 OT	5–1	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Dec 18, 1996*		at Auburn	L 51–60	5–2	Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum  Auburn, Alabama
Dec 21, 1996*		Nicholls State	W 69–66	6–2	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Dec 28, 1996		Southwestern Louisiana	L 63–66	6–3 (0–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 2, 1997*		Arkansas–Little Rock	W 64–56	7–3 (1–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 4, 1997		Arkansas State	W 72–53	8–3 (2–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 9, 1997		Texas-Rio Grande Valley	W 72–58	9–3 (3–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 11, 1997		at Lamar	W 84–62	10–3 (4–1)	Montagne Center  Beaumont, Texas
Jan 13, 1997		at Jacksonville	W 77–45	11–3 (5–1)	Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum  Jacksonville, Florida
Jan 18, 1997		at Western Kentucky	W 68–66	12–3 (6–1)	E.A. Diddle Arena  Bowling Green, Kentucky
Jan 20, 1997		New Orleans	W 65–52	13–3 (7–1)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Jan 23, 1997		at Arkansas–Little Rock	L 47–48	13–4 (7–2)	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Jan 25, 1997		at Arkansas State	W 79–68	14–4 (8–2)	Convocation Center  Jonesboro, Arkansas
Jan 30, 1997		at New Orleans	L 51–58	14–5 (8–3)	Lakefront Arena  New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 1, 1997		at Texas-Rio Grande Valley	W 65–51	15–5 (9–3)	UTPA Fieldhouse  Edinburg, Texas
Feb 3, 1997		Louisiana Tech	W 56–50	16–5 (10–3)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 13, 1997		Lamar	W 66–53	17–5 (11–3)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 15, 1997		Jacksonville	W 92–74	18–5 (12–3)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 20, 1997		at Louisiana Tech	W 44–43	19–5 (13–3)	Thomas Assembly Center  Ruston, Louisiana
Feb 22, 1997		Western Kentucky	W 83–59	20–5 (14–3)	Jaguar Gym  Mobile, Alabama
Feb 24, 1997		at Southwestern Louisiana	L 62–65	20–6 (14–4)	Cajundome  Lafayette, Louisiana
Sun Belt Conference tournament
Mar 1, 1997*	(2)	vs. (7) Southwestern Louisiana Quarterfinals	W 66–39	21–6	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 2, 1997*	(2)	at (3) Arkansas–Little Rock Semifinals	W 71–52	22–6	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
Mar 4, 1997*	(2)	vs. (5) Louisiana Tech Championship game	W 44–43	23–6	Barton Coliseum  Little Rock, Arkansas
NCAA tournament
Mar 13, 1997*	(13 SE)	vs. (4 SE) No. 15 Arizona First round	L 57–65	23–7	The Pyramid  Memphis, Tennessee
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Central Time.