1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team

1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Round of 32
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 25
APNo. 24
Record22–10 (11–5 Big 12)
Head coach
Home arenaCoors Events Center
Seasons
← 1995–96
1997–98 →
1996–97 Big 12 men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 1 Kansas † 15 – 1   .938 34 – 2   .944
No. 24 Colorado 11 – 5   .688 22 – 10   .688
Texas 10 – 6   .625 18 – 12   .600
No. 18 Iowa State 10 – 6   .625 22 – 9   .710
Texas Tech 10 – 6   .625 19 – 9   .679
Oklahoma 9 – 7   .563 19 – 11   .633
Nebraska 7 – 9   .438 18 – 15   .545
Oklahoma State 7 – 9   .438 17 – 15   .531
Baylor 6 – 10   .375 18 – 12   .600
Missouri 5 – 11   .313 16 – 17   .485
Texas A&M 3 – 13   .188 9 – 18   .333
Kansas State 3 – 13   .188 10 – 17   .370
† 1997 Big 12 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP poll [1]


The 1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes Men's basketball team represented the University of Colorado in the 1996–97 season. Led by first-year head coach Ricardo Patton, and sophomore Guard Chauncey Billups, the Buffaloes made the NCAA tournament despite only having won nine games the previous year. Billups, was particularly impressive this particular season. Billups earned Big 12 Player of the year honors as well as all-American honors. Following this season, Billups would declare his eligibility for the NBA draft, being selected third overall in 1997. Following his career end, Billups' number would be retired by the Buffaloes. As Head Coach of the Buffaloes, Patton had been appointed after having been named interim head coach the prior season. Patton would stay head coach of the Buffaloes until 2007.[2][3]

Roster

1996–97 Colorado Buffaloes men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
F 3 Martice Moore 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Sr Oak Hill Atlanta, GA
G 4 Chauncey Billups 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 191 lb (87 kg) So George Washington Denver, CO
G 5 Howard Frier 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Nansemond River Suffolk, VA
F 10 Will Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 206 lb (93 kg) Fr Hamilton Memphis, TN
G 12 Marlon Hughes 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 181 lb (82 kg) Jr Hillcrest Chicago, IL
F/C 13 Charlie Melvin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Los Alamos Los Alamos, NM
G 21 Devon Gilchrist 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Saint Thomas Academy Minneapolis, MN
F 31 Fred Edmonds 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Sr George Washington Denver, CO
G 32 Alan Barksdale 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Central Livingston, LA
F 42 Greg Jensen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Eagle Grove Eagle Grove, IA
C 45 Dennis Griffin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 247 lb (112 kg) Sr   Thatcher, AZ
C 52 Ronnie DeGray 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Leesville Leesville, LA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site
city, state
Exhibition
Nov 15, 1996*
 Marathon W 78–72 
CU Events/Conference Center (1,812)
Boulder, Colorado
Nov 19, 1996*
 No. Melbourne W 82–74 
CU Events/Conference Center (1,638)
Boulder, Colorado
Non-conference regular season
Nov 24, 1996*
 Drake W 82–80 OT 1–0
 CU Events/Conference Center (2,322)
Boulder, Colorado
Nov 29, 1996*
 vs. Auburn
Big Island Invitational 		W 78–72 OT 2–0
 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium 
Hilo, Hawaii
Nov 30, 1996*
 vs. Virginia Tech
Big Island Invitational 		W 63–56  3–0
 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium 
Hilo, Hawaii
Dec 1, 1996*
 vs. Louisville
Big Island Invitational 		L 82–92  3–1
 Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium 
Hilo, Hawaii
Dec 5, 1996*
 Texas–Arlington W 81–52  3–1
 CU Events/Conference Center (2,307)
Boulder, Colorado
Dec 7, 1996*
 at George Mason L 81–85  3–2
 Patriot Center (2,481)
Fairfax, Virginia
Dec 10, 1996*
 at Wyoming W 84–68  4–2
 Arena-Auditorium (7,395)
Laramie, Wyoming
Dec 12, 1996*
 Colorado State W 76–69  5–3
 CU Events/Conference Center (5,219)
Boulder, Colorado
Dec 21, 1996*
 UC Santa Barbara W 76–55  6–3
 CU Events/Conference Center (2,716)
Boulder, Colorado
Dec 23, 1996*
 at Georgia L 52–62  7–3
 Stegeman Coliseum (6,458)
Athens, Georgia
Dec 28, 1996*
 at Missouri–Kansas City W 82–61  8–3
 Municipal Auditorium (4,481)
Kansas City, Missouri
Dec 30, 1996*
 Northwestern State W 82–70  9–3
 CU Events/Conference Center (1,721)
Boulder, Colorado
Big 12 Regular Season
Jan 4, 1997
 Nebraska W 79–73  10–3
(1–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center (3,164)
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 7, 1997
 Missouri W 87–78  11–3
(2–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center (13,300)
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 11, 1997
 at No. 20 Texas Tech W 80–78  12–3
(3–0) 		Lubbock Municipal Coliseum (8,174)
Lubbock, Texas
Jan 15, 1997
 Oklahoma State W 78–74 OT 13–3
(4–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center (8,447)
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 18, 1997
 No. 8 Iowa State W 70–45  14–3
(5–0) 		CU Events/Conference Center (8,278)
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 21, 1997
 No. 18 at Baylor W 74–70  15–3
(6–0) 		Ferrell Center (5,215)
Waco, Texas
Jan 26, 1997
 No. 18 No. 1 Kansas L 68–77  15–4
(6–1) 		CU Events/Conference Center (11,198)
Boulder, Colorado
Jan 29, 1997
 No. 18 at Kansas State W 69–60  16–4
(7–1) 		Bramlage Coliseum (8,970)
Manhattan, Kansas
Feb 5, 1997
 No. 15 at Nebraska L 69–77  16–5
(7–2) 		Bob Devaney Sports Center (12,398)
Lincoln, Nebraska
Feb 8, 1997
 No. 15 Texas A&M W 77–64  17–5
(8–2) 		CU Events/Conference Center (6,802)
Boulder, Colorado
Feb 12, 1997
 No. 15 at Oklahoma L 66–91  17–6
(8–3) 		Lloyd Noble Center (10,517)
Norman, Oklahoma
Feb 15, 1997
 No. 15 at No. 1 Kansas L 74–114  17–7
(8–4) 		Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Lawrence, Kansas
Feb 19, 1997
 No. 21 Kansas State W 67–57  18–7
(9–4) 		CU Events/Conference Center (5,072)
Boulder, Colorado
Feb 22, 1997
 No. 21 Missouri W 84–75  19–7
(10–4) 		CU Events/Conference Center (9,947)
Boulder, Colorado
Feb 24, 1997*
 No. 19 Wofford W 65–58  20–7
 CU Events/Conference Center (3,209)
Boulder, Colorado
Feb 26, 1997
 No. 19 at No. 13 Iowa State L 54–65  20–8
(10–5) 		Hilton Coliseum (14,020)
Ames, Iowa
Mar 1, 1997
 No. 19 Texas W 83–60  21–8
(11–5) 		CU Events/Conference Center (10,547)
Boulder, Colorado
Big 12 Tournament
Mar 7, 1997*
 No. 18 vs. Oklahoma
Quarterfinals 		L 41–55  21–9
 Kemper Arena (17,300)
Kansas City, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997*
 (9 E) No. 24 vs. (8 E) Indiana
East Region – first round 		W 80–62  22–9
 Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,368)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Mar 15, 1997*
 (9 E) No. 24 vs. (1 E) No. 4 North Carolina
East Region – second round 		L 56–73  22–10
 Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,368)
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
E=East.
All times are in Mountain Time.

[4]

Postseason Schedule

Big 12 Tournament
Quarterfinal Vs. Oklahoma, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO - L, 41-55
NCAA Tournament
First Round Vs. Indiana, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC - W, 80-62
Round of 32 Vs. North Carolina, Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Winston-Salem, NC - L, 56-73

Rankings

See also: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

[5]

Awards and honors

Team players in the 1997 NBA draft

See also: 1997 NBA draft
Round Pick Player NBA Club
1 3 Chauncey Billups Boston Celtics

[6]

References

  1. ^ 2019-20 Big 12 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Big 12 Conference. pp. 26–30. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ "Colorado Buffaloes | 1996-97 Final Statistics and Scoreboard" (PDF). April 18, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  3. ^ "1996-97 Colorado Buffaloes Schedule and Results - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule". cubuffs.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  5. ^ *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.
  6. ^ "1997 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved January 30, 2021.