1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team

The 1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team represented the University of New Mexico as a member of the Western Athletic Conference. The Lobos were coached by head coach Dave Bliss and played their home games at the University Arena, also known as "The Pit", in Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico finished 3rd in the WAC Mountain division regular season standings and lost to Utah in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The Lobos received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 3 seed in the East region. After defeating Old Dominion in the opening round, New Mexico was bounced in the round of 32 by Louisville, 64–63, to finish with a 25–8 record (11–5 WAC).

1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second round
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Mountain
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 11
Record	25–8 (11–5 WAC)
Head coach	Dave Bliss (9th season)
Home arena	University Arena
Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 WAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Mountain
No. 2 Utah †	15	–	1		.938			29	–	4		.879
Tulsa	12	–	4		.750			24	–	10		.706
No. 11 New Mexico	11	–	5		.688			25	–	8		.758
TCU	7	–	9		.438			22	–	13		.629
SMU	7	–	9		.438			16	–	12		.571
Rice	6	–	10		.375			12	–	15		.444
UTEP	6	–	10		.375			13	–	13		.500
BYU	0	–	16		.000			1	–	25		.038
Pacific
Fresno State	12	–	4		.750			20	–	12		.625
Hawaii	12	–	4		.750			21	–	8		.724
UNLV	11	–	5		.688			22	–	10		.688
Colorado State	10	–	6		.625			20	–	9		.690
Wyoming	8	–	8		.500			12	–	16		.429
San Jose State	5	–	11		.313			13	–	14		.481
San Diego State	4	–	12		.250			12	–	15		.444
Air Force	2	–	14		.125			7	–	19		.269
† 1997 WAC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll[1]

The top four scorers (career) in school history played on this team – Charles Smith, Kenny Thomas, Lamont Long, and Clayton Shields.

Roster

1996–97 New Mexico Lobos men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 3 Lamont Long 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — Fr F 4 Kenny Thomas 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) So Albuquerque, New Mexico G 5 Charles Smith 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Fort Worth, Texas F 22 Clayton Shields 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Jr Baytown, Texas G 32 David Gibson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr	Head coach Dave Bliss Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

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Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 18, 1996*	No. 18	Simon Fraser	W 107–54	1–0	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 22, 1996*	No. 18	Columbia	W 94–56	2–0	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 23, 1996*	No. 18	Eastern Washington	W 69–53	3–0	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 27, 1996*	No. 19	Centenary	W 96–64	4–0	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nov 30, 1996*	No. 19	No. 11 Arizona	W 84–77	5–0	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 4, 1996*	No. 11	at Texas Tech	L 68–77	5–1	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, Texas
Dec 7, 1996*	No. 11	at New Mexico State	W 86–72	6–1	Pan American Center  Las Cruces, New Mexico
Dec 13, 1996*	No. 15	New Mexico State	W 84–82 OT	7–1	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 21, 1996*	No. 15	Sam Houston State	W 76–55	8–1	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 23, 1996*	No. 14	Jackson State	W 98–45	9–1	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 27, 1996*	No. 14	Bucknell	W 67–57	10–1	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dec 28, 1996*	No. 14	Ole Miss	W 75–64	11–1	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jan 5, 1997	No. 16	at Hawaii	L 62–75	11–2 (0–1)	Stan Sheriff Center  Honolulu, Hawaii
Feb 22, 1997	No. 10	Hawaii	W 89–69	21–5 (10–4)	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Feb 27, 1997	No. 11	at BYU	W 90–48	22–5 (11–4)	Marriott Center  Provo, Utah
Mar 1, 1997	No. 11	at No. 4 Utah	L 58–78	22–6 (11–5)	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
WAC tournament
Mar 4, 1997*	(3 M) No. 14	vs. (6 P) San Jose State First round	W 103–70	23–6	Thomas & Mack Center  Paradise, Nevada
Mar 6, 1997*	(3 M) No. 14	vs. (2 P) Hawaii Quarterfinals	W 65–57	24–6	Thomas & Mack Center  Paradise, Nevada
Mar 7, 1997*	(3 M) No. 14	vs. (1 M) No. 3 Utah Semifinals	L 70–72	24–7	Thomas & Mack Center  Paradise, Nevada
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997*	(3 E) No. 11	vs. (14 E) Old Dominion	W 59–55[3]	25–7	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Mar 16, 1997*	(3 E) No. 11	vs. (6 E) No. 25 Louisville Second round	L 63–64[4]	25–8	Civic Arena  Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East.

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Rankings

See also: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

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References

1. sports-reference.com 1996-97 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
2. "1996–97 New Mexico Lobos Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
3. "New Mexico 59, Old Dominion 55". UPI Archives. March 15, 1997. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
4. "New Mexico Its Own Worst Enemy in One-Point Loss". The Los Angeles Times. March 17, 1997. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
5. "1992–93 New Mexico Men's Basketball Schedule". University of New Mexico Athletics. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
6. • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.