1996–97 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team represented Xavier University from Cincinnati, Ohio in the 1996–97 season. Led by head coach Skip Prosser, the Musketeers finished 23–6 (13–3 A-10) in the regular season, but lost in the quarterfinal round of the Atlantic 10 tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Musketeers defeated Vanderbilt in the first round^[1] before losing to No. 2 seed UCLA, 96–83, in the round of 32.^[2]

1996–97 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball
Atlantic 10 Regular Season co-champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Atlantic 10 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 13
Record	23–6 (13–3 A10)
Head coach	Skip Prosser (3rd season)
Home arena	Cincinnati Gardens
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
East
No. 12 Saint Joseph's †	13	–	3		.813			26	–	7		.788
Rhode Island	12	–	4		.750			20	–	10		.667
UMass	11	–	5		.688			19	–	14		.576
Temple	10	–	6		.625			20	–	11		.645
St. Bonaventure	5	–	11		.313			14	–	14		.500
Fordham	1	–	15		.063			6	–	21		.222
West
No. 13 Xavier	13	–	3		.813			23	–	6		.793
George Washington	8	–	8		.500			15	–	14		.517
Virginia Tech	7	–	9		.438			15	–	16		.484
Dayton	6	–	10		.375			13	–	14		.481
La Salle	5	–	11		.313			10	–	17		.370
Duquesne	5	–	11		.313			9	–	18		.333
† 1997 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1996–97 Xavier Musketeers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 4 Lenny Brown 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) So Wilmington, Delaware G 12 Gary Lumpkin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — So New Castle, Delaware F 41 James Posey 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Cleveland, Ohio C 50 Torraye Braggs 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Fresno, California	Head coach Skip Prosser Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

^[3]

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 23, 1996*		Western Kentucky	W 98–73	1–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 26, 1996*		at No. 1 Cincinnati	W 71–69	2–0	Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 30, 1996*		Miami (OH)	W 92–71	3–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 2, 1996*	No. 23	Florida A&M	W 95–64	4–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 5, 1996*	No. 23	at Loyola Marymount	W 81–65	5–0	Gersten Pavilion  Los Angeles, California
Dec 10, 1996*	No. 19	at LIU Brooklyn	W 94–86	6–0	Schwartz Athletic Center  Brooklyn, New York
Dec 14, 1996*	No. 19	Hofstra	W 79–43	7–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 21, 1996*	No. 17	at Akron	W 113–111 ^3OT	8–0	James A. Rhodes Arena  Akron, Ohio
Dec 29, 1996*	No. 17	Kansas State	W 95–54	9–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 4, 1997*	No. 17	Virginia Tech	W 102–67	10–0 (1–0)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 27, 1997	No. 14	St. Bonaventure	W 83–59	21–4 (12–3)	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 2, 1997	No. 14	at Virginia Tech	W 81–72	22–4 (13–3)	Cassell Coliseum  Blacksburg, Virginia
Atlantic 10 Tournament
Mar 6, 1997*	No. 11	vs. Temple Quarterfinals	L 62–69 ^OT	22–5	The Spectrum  Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NCAA Tournament
Mar 13, 1997*	(7 MW) No. 13	vs. (10 MW) Vanderbilt First round	W 80–68	23–5	Palace of Auburn Hills  Auburn Hills, Michigan
Mar 15, 1997*	(7 MW) No. 13	vs. (2 MW) No. 7 UCLA Second round	L 83–96	23–6	Palace of Auburn Hills  Auburn Hills, Michigan
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

^[4][5]

Rankings

Main article: 1996-97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

^[6]

References

1. "Xavier's a Blur to Vanderbilt". The Los Angeles Times. March 14, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
2. "Bruins X Out Xavier". The Los Angeles Times. March 16, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
3. "1996-97 Xavier Musketeers Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
4. "1996-97 Xavier Musketeers Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
5. "Xavier Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Xavier University Athletics. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
6. *ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 0-345-51392-4.