1996–97 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team

The 1996–97 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln during the 1996–97 college basketball season. Led by head coach Danny Nee (11th season), the Cornhuskers competed in the Big Twelve Conference and played their home games at the Bob Devaney Sports Center. They finished with a record of 18–15 overall and a 7–9 record in Big Twelve Conference play. Nebraska played in the National Invitation Tournament, and advanced to the third round.

1996–97 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball
NIT
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Record	18-15 (7-9 Big 12)
Head coach	Danny Nee (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Scott Howard Bill Johnson Randy Roth Jimmy Williams
Home arena	Bob Devaney Sports Center

1996–97 Big 12 men's basketball standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 1 Kansas †	15	–	1		.938			34	–	2		.944
No. 24 Colorado	11	–	5		.688			22	–	10		.688
Texas	10	–	6		.625			18	–	12		.600
No. 18 Iowa State	10	–	6		.625			22	–	9		.710
Texas Tech	10	–	6		.625			19	–	9		.679
Oklahoma	9	–	7		.563			19	–	11		.633
Nebraska	7	–	9		.438			18	–	15		.545
Oklahoma State	7	–	9		.438			17	–	15		.531
Baylor	6	–	10		.375			18	–	12		.600
Missouri	5	–	11		.313			16	–	17		.485
Texas A&M	3	–	13		.188			9	–	18		.333
Kansas State	3	–	13		.188			10	–	17		.370
† 1997 Big 12 Tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Roster

1996–97 Nebraska Cornhuskers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown C 4 Venson Hamilton 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) So Oak Hill Academy Forest City, NC F 5 Larry Florence 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 225 lb (102 kg) So Central Phenix City, AL G 10 Tyronn Lue 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) So Raytown Mexico, MO G 11 Alvin Mitchell 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) So Omaha Burke Omaha, NE F 13 Bernard Garner 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Many Many, LA F 15 Ryan Hinckley 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Highland Pocatello, ID G 20 Andy Schwindt 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Peninsula Palos Verdes, CA G 24 Michael Johnette 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Millard North Omaha, NE G 30 Cookie Belcher 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Mexico Mexico, MO C 32 Mikki Moore 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Blacksburg Gaffney, SC F 34 Troy Piatkowski 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Stevens Rapid City, SD G 35 Ryan Phifer 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jr North Platte North Platte, NE F 40 Chad Burbach 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Columbus Columbus, NE F 44 Andy Markowski 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Ord Ord, NE	Head coach Danny Nee Assistant coach(es) Scott Howard Bill Johnson Randy Roth Jimmy Williams Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: May 17, 2024

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Regular season
Nov 23, 1996*		at No. 17 Texas	L 81-83 OT	0-1	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
Nov 26, 1996*		Weber State	W 83-66	1-1	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Nov 30, 1996*		Oregon State	W 75-67	2-1	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 3, 1996*		UT-San Antonio	W 79-76	3-1	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 6, 1996*		Coppin State Ameritas Classic	W 88-72	4-1	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 7, 1996		Bowling Green Ameritas Classic	W 73-68	5-1	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 11, 1996*		at UM-Kansas City	W 76-64	6-1	Municipal Auditorium  Kansas City, Missouri
Dec 21, 1996*		No. 16 Minnesota	L 56-70	6-2	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Dec 30, 1996*		vs. No. Old Dominion  Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	W 72-66	7-2	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Dec 31, 1997*		vs. No. 6 Cincinnati Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	L 73-84	7-3	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Jan 1, 1997*		vs. Bowling Green Puerto Rico Holiday Classic	L 55-58	7-4	Eugene Guerra Sports Complex  Bayamón, Puerto Rico
Jan 4, 1996		Colorado	L 73-79	7-5 (0-1)	CU Events Center  Boulder, Colorado
Jan 8, 1997		Creighton Rivalry	W 71-52	8-5	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Jan 11, 1997		Texas A&M	W 74-72	9-5 (1-1)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Jan 15, 1997		Kansas State	W 87-77 OT	10-5 (2-1)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Jan 18, 1997		Missouri	W 76-53	11-5 (3-1)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Jan 22, 1997		at Missouri	L 74-75	11-6 (3-2)	Hearnes Center  Columbia, Missouri
Jan 25, 1997		at Oklahoma	L 77-84	11-7 (3-3)	Lloyd Noble Center  Norman, Oklahoma
Jan 29, 1997		No. 11 Iowa State	L 67-77	11-8 (3-4)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Feb 1, 1997		at No. 1 Kansas	L 77-82 OT	11-9 (3-5)	Allen Fieldhouse  Lawrence, Kansas
Feb 5, 1997		No. 15 Colorado	W 77-69	12-9 (4-5)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Feb 8, 1997		at No. 23 Texas Tech	L 74-87	12-10 (4-6)	Lubbock Municipal Coliseum  Lubbock, Texas
Feb 10, 1997		at Kansas State	L 53-61	12-11 (4-7)	Bramlage Coliseum  Manhattan, Kansas
Feb 13, 1997*		at Northern Iowa	W 77-69	13-11	UNI-Dome  Cedar Falls, Iowa
Feb 16, 1997		No. 15 Texas	W 79-67	14-11 (5-7)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Feb 19, 1997		at Baylor	L 60-71	14-12 (5-8)	Ferrell Center  Waco, Texas
Feb 22, 1997		at No. 7 Iowa State	W 74-69 OT	15-12 (6-8)	Hilton Coliseum  Ames, Iowa
Feb 26, 1997		Oklahoma State	W 77-68	16-12 (7-8)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Mar 2, 1997		No. 1 Kansas	L 65-85	16-13 (7-9)	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Big 12 Tournament
Mar 6, 1997		vs. Missouri Quarterfinals	L 72-78	16-14	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, MO
NIT
Mar 12, 1997*		Washington First round	W 67-63	17–14	Bob Devaney Sports Center  Lincoln, Nebraska
Mar 18, 1997*		at Nevada Second round	W 78-68	18–14	Lawlor Events Center  Reno, Nevada
Mar 18, 1997*		at UConn Quarterfinals	L 67-76	18–15	Harry A. Gampel Pavilion  Storrs, Connecticut
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.