1996–97 George Mason Patriots men's basketball team

The 1996–97 George Mason Patriots Men's basketball team represented George Mason University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. This was the 31st season for the program, the fourth and final under head coach Paul Westhead. The Patriots played their home games at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia.

1996–97 George Mason Patriots men's basketball
Conference	Colonial Athletic Association
Record	10–17 (4–12 CAA)
Head coach	Paul Westhead (4th season)
Home arena	Patriot Center
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 CAA men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Old Dominion †	10	–	6		.625			22	–	11		.667
UNC Wilmington	10	–	6		.625			16	–	14		.533
East Carolina	9	–	7		.563			17	–	10		.630
VCU	9	–	7		.563			14	–	13		.519
William & Mary	8	–	8		.500			12	–	16		.429
James Madison	8	–	8		.500			16	–	13		.552
American	7	–	9		.438			11	–	16		.407
Richmond	7	–	9		.438			13	–	15		.464
George Mason	4	–	12		.250			10	–	17		.370
† 1997 CAA tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

In the CAA tournament, the Patriots lost to Richmond in the first round.^[1]

Honors and awards

Colonial Athletic Association All-Conference Team

• Nate Langley

Colonial Athletic Association All-Rookie Team

• Ahmad Dorsett

Colonial Athletic Association All-Defensive Team

• Nate Langley

Player statistics

Player	GP	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Nate Langley	27	.428	.299	.669	4.9	2.4	3.0	0.4	20.9
Demetrius Somerville	10	.444	.425	.833	1.7	1.6	0.8	0.2	12.6
George Redd	27	.441	.293	.675	7.4	0.9	1.3	0.1	11.8
Avery Carey	27	.449	.338	.698	4.9	1.3	1.0	0.4	11.1
Contrell Scott	27	.388	.266	.745	2.9	4.7	1.9	0.2	9.9
Nik Mirich	26	.429	.235	.627	5.5	1.0	0.6	0.8	5.2
Kevin Ward	23	.404	.750	.704	3.6	4.8	0.3	0.0	4.8
Ahmad Dorsett	27	.379	.191	.556	1.5	0.9	0.9	0.1	4.6
Bernard Wanjara	24	.486	.000	.611	4.5	0.2	0.4	0.3	3.8
Leighton Henry	24	.375	.240	.385	1.5	0.3	0.3	0.1	2.0
Lee Brown	20	.341	.182	.700	0.4	0.8	0.4	0.0	1.9
Michael Sharp	25	.423	.000	.385	2.2	0.1	0.4	0.4	1.1
Shawn Woods	4	.500	.000	1.000	0.5	0.0	0.3	0.0	1.0

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 23, 1996*		Alabama State	W 97–66	1–0	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
November 30, 1996*		Virginia	L 93–106	1–1	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
December 3, 1996*		Morehead State	W 107–98	2–1	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
December 7, 1996*		Colorado	W 85–81	3–1	Patriot Center (2,481) Fairfax, VA
December 10, 1996*		at Long Beach State	W 78–70	4–1	The Pyramid  Long Beach, CA
December 14, 1996*		at Ohio State	L 72–102	4–2	St. John Arena  Columbus, OH
December 20, 1996*		St. Francis (PA)	W 96–95	5–2	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
December 29, 1996*		at Akron	L 86–99	5–3	James A. Rhodes Arena  Akron, OH
CAA regular season
January 2, 1997		VCU Rivalry	L 70–75	5–4 (0–1)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
January 4, 1997		at UNC Wilmington	W 63–59	6–4 (1–1)	Trask Coliseum  Wilmington, NC
January 6, 1997		at East Carolina	L 74–80	6–5 (1–2)	Minges Coliseum  Greenville, NC
January 8, 1997		Old Dominion	L 85–94	6–6 (1–3)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
January 13, 1997		at James Madison	L 80–85	6–7 (1–4)	JMU Convocation Center  Harrisonburg, VA
January 15, 1997		Richmond	W 98–86 OT	7–7 (2–4)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
January 18, 1997		at American	L 75–84	7–8 (2–5)	Bender Arena  Washington, DC
January 25, 1997		William & Mary	W 70–67	8–8 (3–5)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
January 29, 1997		at VCU Rivalry	L 77–90	8–9 (3–6)	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, VA
February 1, 1997		East Carolina	L 81–85	8–10 (3–7)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
February 3, 1997		UNC Wilmington	L 61–81	8–11 (3–8)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
February 5, 1997		at Richmond	L 69–86	8–12 (3–9)	Robins Center  Richmond, VA
February 8, 1997		James Madison	L 63–67	8–13 (3–10)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
February 12, 1997*		at Alabama State	L 79–81	8–14	Dunn–Oliver Acadome  Montgomery, AL
February 15, 1997		William & Mary	L 85–89	8–15 (3–11)	William & Mary Hall  Williamsburg, VA
February 22, 1997		at Old Dominion	L 62–85	8–16 (3–12)	ODU Fieldhouse  Norfolk, VA
February 25, 1997		American	W 79–70	9–17 (4–12)	Patriot Center  Fairfax, VA
1997 CAA tournament
February 28, 1997	(9)	vs. (8) Richmond First Round	L 57–85	9–18	Richmond Coliseum  Richmond, VA
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time.