1996–97 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball team represented Saint Mary's College of California in the 1996–97 college basketball season, coached by Ernie Kent for the 6th and final season. The Gaels competed in the West Coast Conference and played their home games at the McKeon Pavilion. They finished conference play with a record of 10–4 to place second. They won the 1997 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament to receive an automatic bid to the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament where they entered as the No. 14 seed West Region. The Gaels were beaten by No. 3 seed Wake Forest in the opening round^[1] to end their season 23–8.

1996–97 Saint Mary's Gaels men's basketball

WCC regular season co-champions WCC tournament champions
NCAA tournament
Conference	West Coast Conference
Record	23–8 (12–4 WCC)
Head coach	Ernie Kent (6th season)
Home arena	McKeon Pavilion
Seasons ← 1995–95 1997–98 →

1996–97 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Santa Clara	10	–	4	.714	16	–	11	.593
Saint Mary's †	10	–	4	.714	23	–	8	.742
San Francisco	9	–	5	.643	16	–	13	.552
San Diego	8	–	6	.571	17	–	11	.607
Gonzaga	8	–	6	.571	15	–	12	.556
Portland	4	–	10	.286	9	–	18	.333
Pepperdine	4	–	10	.286	6	–	21	.222
Loyola Marymount	3	–	11	.214	7	–	21	.250


† 1997 WCC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster edit

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
C	52	Brad Millard	7 ft 3 in (2.21 m)	345 lb (156 kg)	Fr	Seattle, Washington

Source^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 20, 1996*		at Oklahoma State	L 70–71	0–1	Gallagher-Iba Arena Stillwater, Oklahoma
Nov 24, 1996*		San Jose State	L 64–66	0–2	McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California
Nov 26, 1996*		at Sacramento State	W 69–60	1–2	Hornets Nest Sacramento, California
Dec 1, 1996*		UC Santa Barbara	W 94–86	2–2	McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California
Feb 22, 1997		Portland	W 66–53	20–7 (10–4)	McKeon Pavilion Moraga, California
WCC tournament
Mar 1, 1997*	(2)	vs. (7) Pepperdine Quarterfinals	W 85–69	21–7	Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California
Mar 2, 1997*	(2)	at (8) Loyola Marymount Semifinals	W 80–62	22–7	Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California
Mar 3, 1997*	(2)	vs. (3) San Francisco Championship	W 66–59	23–7	Gersten Pavilion Los Angeles, California
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997*	(14 W)	vs. (3 W) No. 9 Wake Forest First round	L 46–68	23–8	McKale Center Tucson, Arizona
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West.

^ "Duncan, W. Forest stand tall in win Deacons center out-duels St. Mary's". The Baltimore Sun. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ "1996–97 Saint Mary's Gaels Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
^ "1996-97 Schedule". Retrieved February 13, 2022.