1996–97 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team represented the University of Rhode Island in the 1996–97 college basketball season. Led by head coach Al Skinner, the Rams competed in the Atlantic 10 Conference and played their home games at Keaney Gymnasium. They finished the season 20–10, 12–4 in A-10 play and lost in the championship game of the 1997 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament. They were invited to the 1997 NCAA tournament as the No. 9 seed in the Southeast region. Rhode Island was beaten by No. 8 seed Purdue, 83–76 in overtime, in the opening round.[1]

1996–97 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball
ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
Record20–10 (12–4 A-10)
Head coach
Home arenaKeaney Gymnasium
1996–97 Atlantic 10 men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
East
No. 12 Saint Joseph's133 .813267  .788
Rhode Island124 .7502010  .667
UMass115 .6881914  .576
Temple106 .6252011  .645
St. Bonaventure511 .3131414  .500
Fordham115 .063621  .222
West
No. 13 Xavier133 .813236  .793
George Washington88 .5001514  .517
Virginia Tech79 .4381516  .484
Dayton610 .3751314  .481
La Salle511 .3131017  .370
Duquesne511 .313918  .333
1997 Atlantic 10 Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1996–97 Rhode Island Rams men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
G 12 Cuttino Mobley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)185 lb (84 kg) Jr Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
G 21 Tyson Wheeler 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)165 lb (75 kg) Jr New London, Connecticut
F/C 34 Antonio Reynolds-Dean 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)210 lb (95 kg) So Marietta, Georgia
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • (W) Walk-on

    Schedule and results

    Date
    time, TV
    Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (attendance)
    city, state
    Regular season
    Nov 23, 1996*
    at Siena W 91–57  1–0
    Times Union Center 
    Loudonville, New York
    Nov 27, 1996*
    at No. 18 Texas L 79–86  1–1
    Frank Erwin Center 
    Austin, Texas
    Nov 30, 1996*
    Fairleigh Dickinson W 115–66  2–1
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 4, 1996*
    Brown W 86–49  3–1
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 10, 1996*
    at Providence W 96–79  4–1
    Providence Civic Center 
    Providence, Rhode Island
    Dec 17, 1996*
    No. 16 Minnesota L 72–82[2]  4–2
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 23, 1996*
    Boston University W 69–61  5–2
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Dec 29, 1996*
    vs. San Francisco W 93–76  6–2
    Continental Airlines Arena 
    East Rutherford, New Jersey
    Dec 30, 1996*
    at Seton Hall L 70–72  6–3
    Continental Airlines Arena 
    East Rutherford, New Jersey
    Jan 2, 1997*
    Iona L 84–89  6–4
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 4, 1997
    Dayton W 97–68  7–4
    (1–0)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 7, 1997
    at Temple W 79–72 OT 8–4
    (2–0)
    McGonigle Hall 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Jan 11, 1997
    Saint Joseph's W 74–70  9–4
    (3–0)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 16, 1997
    at Duquesne W 85–83  10–4
    (4–0)
    A.J. Palumbo Center 
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    Jan 18, 1997
    at Virginia Tech W 73–52  11–4
    (5–0)
    Cassell Coliseum 
    Blacksburg, Virginia
    Jan 21, 1997
    at UMass L 60–64  11–5
    (5–1)
    Mullins Center 
    Amherst, Massachusetts
    Jan 25, 1997
    St. Bonaventure W 79–66  12–5
    (6–1)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Jan 28, 1997
    at No. 20 Xavier L 79–91[3]  12–6
    (6–2)
    Cincinnati Gardens 
    Cincinnati, Ohio
    Feb 2, 1997
    at Saint Joseph's L 77–79  12–7
    (6–3)
    Hagan Arena 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Feb 6, 1997
    La Salle W 92–61  13–7
    (7–3)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 8, 1997
    UMass L 61–64  13–8
    (7–4)
    Providence Civic Center 
    Providence, Rhode Island
    Feb 11, 1997
    Fordham W 110–72  14–8
    (8–4)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 16, 1997
    Temple W 85–82  15–8
    (9–4)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Feb 20, 1997
    at St. Bonaventure W 78–73  16–8
    (10–4)
    Reilly Center 
    St. Bonaventure, New York
    Feb 26, 1997
    George Washington W 83–72  17–8
    (11–4)
    Keaney Gymnasium 
    Kingston, Rhode Island
    Mar 1, 1997
    at Fordham W 85–58  18–8
    (12–4)
    Rose Hill Gym 
    Bronx, New York
    Atlantic 10 tournament
    Mar 6, 1997*
    vs. Virginia Tech
    Quarterfinals
    W 67–63  19–8
    The Spectrum 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Mar 7, 1997*
    vs. Temple
    Semifinals
    W 69–66 OT 20–8
    The Spectrum 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    Mar 8, 1997*
    at No. 19 Saint Joseph's
    Championship game
    L 56–61  20–9
    The Spectrum 
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    NCAA tournament
    Mar 13, 1997*
    (9 SE) vs. (8 SE) Purdue
    First round
    L 76–83 OT[1] 20–10
    The Pyramid 
    Memphis, Tennessee
    *Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
    SE=Southeast.
    All times are in EST.

    Rankings

    [4]

    References

    1. "Purdue Escapes Rhode Island in Overtime". The Washington Post. March 14, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
    2. "Gophers Get Past R. Island". The Chicago Tribune. December 18, 1996. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
    3. "No. 20 Xavier 91, Rhode Island 79". The Los Angeles Times. January 29, 1997. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
      • ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1053–1054. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
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