1996–97 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in NCAA Division I competition in the 1996–97 season. The Bearcats, coached by Bob Huggins, won Conference USA and reached the second round of the 1997 NCAA tournament. The team finished with an overall record of 26–8 (12–2 C-USA) and a No. 10 ranking in the final AP poll.

1996–97 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
C-USA regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Conference USA
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
Record	26–8 (12–2 C-USA)
Head coach	Bob Huggins
Assistant coaches	Larry Harrison Steve Moeller John Loyer
Home arena	Myrl Shoemaker Center
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Conference USA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Blue
No. 10 Cincinnati	12	–	2		.857			26	–	8		.765
Marquette †	9	–	5		.643			22	–	9		.710
Saint Louis	4	–	10		.286			11	–	18		.379
DePaul	1	–	13		.071			3	–	23		.115
Red
Tulane	11	–	3		.786			20	–	11		.645
UAB	7	–	7		.500			18	–	14		.563
Southern Miss	6	–	8		.429			12	–	15		.444
South Florida	2	–	12		.143			8	–	19		.296
White
UNC Charlotte	10	–	4		.714			22	–	9		.710
Memphis	10	–	4		.714			16	–	15		.516
No. 25 Louisville	9	–	5		.643			26	–	9		.743
Houston	3	–	11		.214			11	–	16		.407
† 1997 Conference USA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

1996–97 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 34 Bobby Brannen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — Jr Cincinnati G 33 Darnell Burton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Sr Lexington, Kentucky G -- Terrence Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Sr F -- Ryan Fletcher 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Sr Franklin, Ohio G 3 Damon Flint 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Sr Cincinnati PF 25 Danny Fortson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania F -- Julson Jackson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Jr G Melvin Levett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — So Cleveland, Ohio F -- Rod Monroe (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Jr	Head coach Bob Huggins (West Virginia) Assistant coach(es) Larry Harrison (Pittsburgh) Steve Moeller (Otterbein) John Loyer (Akron) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular Season
Nov 23, 1996*	No. 1	Western Carolina	W 99–72	1–0	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 26, 1996*	No. 1	Xavier	L 69–71	1–1	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 30, 1996*	No. 1	Rutgers	W 105–65	2–1	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 4, 1996*	No. 4	vs. No. 1 Kansas Great Eight	L 65–72	2–2	United Center  Chicago, Illinois
Dec 17, 1996*	No. 7	Howard	W 90–46	3–2	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 19, 1996*	No. 7	Eastern Michigan	W 102–79	4–2	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 28, 1996*	No. 7	vs. Western Kentucky Gatorade Rock-N-Roll Shootout	W 81–57	5–2	Gund Arena  Cleveland, Ohio
Dec 30, 1996*	No. 6	vs. Southeast Missouri State Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	W 80–57	6–2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Dec 31, 1996*	No. 6	vs. Nebraska Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	W 84–73	7–2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Jan 1, 1997*	No. 6	vs. SW Missouri State Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	W 101–60	8–2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Jan 5, 1997	No. 6	at Saint Louis	W 64–52	9–2 (1–0)	Kiel Center  St. Louis, Missouri
Jan 8, 1997	No. 6	UAB	W 74–54	10–2 (2–0)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 10, 1997*	No. 6	Miami (OH)	W 91–61	11–2	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 16, 1997*	No. 4	Temple A-10/C-USA Challenge	L 55–70	11–3	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 18, 1997*	No. 4	Arkansas	W 92–57	12–3	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 21, 1997	No. 9	at UNC Charlotte	W 77–67	13–3 (3–0)	Dale F. Halton Arena  Charlotte, North Carolina
Jan 26, 1997*	No. 9	at USC	W 100–81	14–3	L.A. Sports Arena  Los Angeles, California
Jan 30, 1997	No. 8	at No. 9 Louisville	L 70–81	14–4 (3–1)	Freedom Hall  Louisville, Kentucky
Feb 1, 1997	No. 8	DePaul	W 90–53	15–4 (4–1)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 6, 1997	No. 12	No. 21 Tulane	W 65–64	16–4 (5–1)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 8, 1997	No. 12	Marquette	W 91–70	17–4 (6–1)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 10, 1997*	No. 8	at Washington	W 82–69	18–4	Hec Edmundson Pavilion  Seattle, Washington
Feb 13, 1997	No. 8	Saint Louis	W 69–56	19–4 (7–1)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 15, 1997*	No. 8	No. 12 South Carolina	L 83–97	19–5	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 18, 1997	No. 11	Houston	W 97–64	20–5 (8–1)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 20, 1997	No. 11	at South Florida	W 76–56	21–5 (9–1)	Sun Dome  Tampa, Florida
Feb 22, 1997	No. 11	at DePaul	W 83–54	22–5 (10–1)	Rosemont Horizon  Rosemont, Illinois
Feb 25, 1997	No. 9	Southern Miss	W 63–49	23–5 (11–1)	Myrl H. Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 27, 1997	No. 9	at Marquette	W 80–74	24–5 (12–1)	Bradley Center  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Mar 1, 1997	No. 9	at Memphis State	L 63–75	24–6 (12–2)	The Pyramid  Memphis, Tennessee
C-USA Tournament
Mar 6, 1997*	(1) No. 10	at (9) Saint Louis Quarterfinals	W 71–43	25–6	Kiel Center  St. Louis, Missouri
Mar 7, 1997*	(1) No. 10	vs. (5) Marquette Semifinals	L 79–91	25–7	Kiel Center  St. Louis, Missouri
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997*	(3 MW) No. 10	vs. (14 MW) Butler First Round	W 86–69[2]	26–7	Palace of Auburn Hills  Auburn Hills, Michigan
Mar 15, 1997*	(3 MW) No. 10	vs. (6 MW) No. 18 Iowa State Second Round	L 66–67[3]	26–8	Palace of Auburn Hills  Auburn Hills, Michigan
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

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Rankings

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

Awards and honors

• Danny Fortson – C-USA Player of the Year, Consensus First-Team All-American