1996–97 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball team represented Coppin State University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by 11th year head coach Fang Mitchell, played their home games at the Coppin Center and were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They finished the season 22–9, 15–3 in MEAC play to win the conference regular season title. The Eagles then went on to win the MEAC tournament title to receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 15 seed in the East region. In the opening round, Coppin State became the third No. 15 seed to win an NCAA Tournament game, and the first to do so by double digits, as they defeated No. 2 seed South Carolina 78–65.^[2] The Eagles narrowly missed out on becoming the first No. 15 seed to reach the Sweet Sixteen when they lost in the second round to No. 10 seed Texas, 82–81.^[3]

1996–97 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball
MEAC regular season champions MEAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	22–9 (15–3 MEAC)
Head coach	Fang Mitchell (11th season)
Home arena	Coppin Center
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 MEAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Coppin State †	15	–	3		.833			22	–	9		.710
South Carolina State	12	–	6		.667			14	–	14		.500
North Carolina A&T	11	–	7		.611			15	–	13		.536
Bethune–Cookman	9	–	9		.500			12	–	16		.429
Morgan State	8	–	10		.444			9	–	18		.333
Florida A&M	8	–	10		.444			8	–	19		.296
Hampton	7	–	11		.389			8	–	19		.296
Delaware State	7	–	11		.389			7	–	20		.259
Howard	7	–	11		.389			7	–	20		.259
Maryland Eastern Shore	6	–	12		.333			11	–	17		.393
† 1997 MEAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Roster

1996–97 Coppin State Eagles men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G Antoine Brockington 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr Northeast Philadelphia, Pennsylvania C Terquin Mott 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr La Salle Philadelphia, Pennsylvania G Danny Singletary 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) — Jr	Head coach Fang Mitchell Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

^[4][5]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 30, 1996*		at Oklahoma	L 64–88	0–1	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
Dec 6, 1996*		at Nebraska	L 72–88	0–2	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 7, 1996*		vs. Colgate	W 69–59	1–2	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 10, 1996*		Duquesne	W 91–57	2–2	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Dec 12, 1996*		at Kansas State	L 80–84 ^OT	2–3	Bramlage Coliseum  Manhattan, Kansas
Dec 14, 1996*		at Illinois	L 55–91	2–4	Assembly Hall (14,269) Champaign, Illinois
Dec 27, 1996*		vs. Weber State Oldsmobile Spartan Classic	L 91–92 ^OT	2–5	Breslin Center  East Lansing, Michigan
Dec 28, 1996*		vs. Kent State Oldsmobile Spartan Classic	W 77–66	3–5	Breslin Center  East Lansing, Michigan
Jan 9, 1997		at South Carolina State	L 88–92	3–6 (0–1)	SHM Memorial Center  Orangeburg, South Carolina
Jan 11, 1997		at Hampton	W 76–69	4–6 (1–1)	Convocation Center  Hampton, Virginia
Jan 15, 1997		North Carolina A&T	L 70–76	4–7 (1–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Jan 18, 1997		Hampton	W 81–61	5–7 (2–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Jan 20, 1997		at Maryland Eastern Shore	W 85–79	6–7 (3–2)	Tawes Gymnasium  Princess Anne, Maryland
Jan 25, 1997		Florida A&M	W 84–67	7–7 (4–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Jan 27, 1997		Bethune-Cookman	W 63–62	8–7 (5–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Jan 30, 1997		at Howard	W 93–79	9–7 (6–2)	Burr Gymnasium  Washington, D.C.
Feb 1, 1997		at Morgan State	W 81–56	10–7 (7–2)	Hill Field House  Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 5, 1997		at Delaware State	W 90–83 ^OT	11–7 (8–2)	Memorial Hall  Dover, Delaware
Feb 8, 1997		Morgan State	W 82–68	12–7 (9–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 10, 1997		Howard	W 96–66	13–7 (10–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 12, 1997		Delaware State	W 88–66	14–7 (11–2)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 15, 1997		at Florida A&M	L 82–86	14–8 (11–3)	Gaither Athletic Center  Tallahassee, Florida
Feb 17, 1997		at Bethune-Cookman	W 73–56	15–8 (12–3)	Moore Gymnasium  Daytona Beach, Florida
Feb 20, 1997		South Carolina State	W 75–70 ^OT	16–8 (13–3)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
Feb 26, 1997		at North Carolina A&T	W 61–57	17–8 (14–3)	Corbett Sports Center  Greensboro, North Carolina
Mar 1, 1997		Maryland Eastern Shore	W 80–62	18–8 (15–3)	Coppin Center  Baltimore, Maryland
MEAC tournament
Mar 5, 1997*	(1)	vs. (9) Maryland Eastern Shore Quarterfinals	W 90–88 ^OT	19–8	Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, Virginia
Mar 7, 1997*	(1)	vs. (4) Bethune-Cookman Semifinals	W 76–60	20–8	Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, Virginia
Mar 8, 1997*	(1)	vs. (3) North Carolina A&T Championship	W 81–74 ^OT	21–8	Echols Memorial Hall  Norfolk, Virginia
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997*	(15 E)	vs. (2 E) No. 6 South Carolina First Round	W 78–65^[2]^[6]	22–8	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 16, 1997*	(15 E)	vs. (10 E) Texas Second Round	L 81–82^[3]	22–9	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[7][8]

References

1. sports-reference.com 1996-97 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Season Summary
2. "Coppin State Stuns No. 2 South Carolina". The Washington Post. March 14, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
3. "Coppin St. Has Its Wild Ride Halted". The New York Times. March 17, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
4. "1996-97 Men's Basketball Roster". Coppin State University Athletics. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
5. "1996-97 Coppin State Eagles Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
6. "Coppin mission wins impossible Eagles' belief rewarded in stunning, 78-65 upset of 2nd seed S. Carolina". Baltimore Sun. March 15, 1997. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
7. "1996-97 Men's Basketball Schedule". Coppin State University Athletics. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
8. "2019-20 Coppin State Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Coppin State University Athletics. Retrieved June 6, 2021.