1996–97 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1996–97 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Under new head coach, Steve Lavin, the Bruins began the season ranked 5th in the AP Poll, but after an overtime loss in the opener to Tulsa, the Bruins dropped and would not be ranked as high for the rest of the season. On January 18 the Bruins beat #6 Arizona, 84–78 in overtime. The team finished 1st in the conference. The Bruins competed in the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Elite Eight. This was the first season for head coach Steve Lavin, who had been an assistant coach under Jim Harrick.

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
colspan=9 style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle|Exhibition
November 12, 1996		vs. Athletes in Action Exhibition		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion  Template:Ifnotempty
November 14, 1996		vs. German 22 & under team Exhibition		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion  Template:Ifnotempty
colspan=9 style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle|Regular Season
November 21, 1996	No. 5	Tulsa Preseason NIT		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (8,589) Template:Ifnotempty
December 3, 1996	No. 17	Cal State Northridge		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (7,427) Template:Ifnotempty
December 7, 1996	No. 17	No. 1 Kansas		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (12,060) Template:Ifnotempty
December 14, 1996	No. 23	Ohio		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (8,053) Template:Ifnotempty
December 17, 1996	No. 24	Jackson State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (6,442) Template:Ifnotempty
December 21, 1996	No. 24	at Illinois		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	United Center (15,331) Template:Ifnotempty
December 23, 1996	No. 24	at Saint Louis		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Scottrade Center (17,911) Template:Ifnotempty
December 28, 1996		[[{{{school}}}|Morgan State]]		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (7,654) Template:Ifnotempty
January 2, 1997		Washington State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (8,350) Template:Ifnotempty
January 4, 1997		Washington		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (9,584) Template:Ifnotempty
January 9, 1997		at No. 21 Stanford		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Maples Pavilion (7,391) Template:Ifnotempty
January 11, 1997		at California		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Cow Palace (11,054) Template:Ifnotempty
January 16, 1997		Arizona State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (10,067) Template:Ifnotempty
January 18, 1997		No. 6 Arizona		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (11,286) Template:Ifnotempty
January 23, 1997		at USC		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (12,843) Template:Ifnotempty
January 25, 1997		at No. 6 Louisville		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Freedom Hall (20,043) Template:Ifnotempty
January 30, 1997		at Oregon		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	McArthur Court (10,024) Template:Ifnotempty
February 1, 1997		at Oregon State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Gill Coliseum (837) Template:Ifnotempty
February 6, 1997		California		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (11,701) Template:Ifnotempty
February 8, 1997		No. 18 Stanford		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (12,378) Template:Ifnotempty
February 13, 1997	No. 24	at No. 11 Arizona		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	McKale Center (14,474) Template:Ifnotempty
February 15, 1997	No. 24	at Arizona State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	ASU Activity Center (4,823) Template:Ifnotempty
February 19, 1997	No. 17	USC		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (13,382) Template:Ifnotempty
February 23, 1997	No. 17	No. 6 Duke		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (13,478) Template:Ifnotempty
February 27, 1997	No. 10	Oregon State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (11,048) Template:Ifnotempty
March 01, 1997	No. 10	Oregon		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Pauley Pavilion (12,341) Template:Ifnotempty
March 06, 1997	No. 9	at Washington		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,836) Template:Ifnotempty
March 08, 1997	No. 9	at Washington State		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Beasley Coliseum (7,926) Template:Ifnotempty
colspan=9 style=Template:CollegePrimaryStyle| NCAA tournament
March 13, 1997	No. 7	vs. Charleston Southern First Round		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,020) Template:Ifnotempty
March 15, 1997	No. 7	vs. No. 13 Xavier Second Round		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	The Palace of Auburn Hills (21,020) Template:Ifnotempty
March 20, 1997	No. 7	vs. No. 18 Iowa State Sweet Sixteen		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Alamodome (29,231) Template:Ifnotempty
March 22, 1997	No. 7	vs. No. 3 Minnesota Elite Eight		Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty Template:Ifnotempty	Alamodome (31,930) Template:Ifnotempty
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Source