1996–97 Murray State Racers men's basketball team

1996–97 Murray State Racers men's basketball
1996–97 Murray State Racers men's basketball
Ohio Valley Regular season champions; Ohio Valley tournament champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	20–10 (12–6 OVC)
Head coach	Mark Gottfried (2nd season);
Home arena	Racer Arena
	Seasons ← 1995–96 1997–98 →

1996–97 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Austin Peay	12	–	6	.667	17	–	14	.548
Murray State †	12	–	6	.667	20	–	10	.667
Middle Tennessee	11	–	7	.611	19	–	12	.613
Tennessee Tech	10	–	8	.556	15	–	13	.536
Eastern Illinois	9	–	9	.500	12	–	15	.444
Southeast Missouri State	9	–	9	.500	12	–	18	.400
UT Martin	8	–	10	.444	11	–	16	.407
Tennessee State	7	–	11	.389	9	–	18	.333
Morehead State	6	–	12	.333	8	–	19	.296
Eastern Kentucky	6	–	12	.333	8	–	18	.308

† 1997 OVC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

The 1996–97 Murray State Racers men's basketball team represented Murray State University during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Racers, led by second-year head coach Mark Gottfried, played their home games at Racer Arena in Murray, Kentucky as members of the Ohio Valley Conference. They finished the season 20–10, 12–6 in OVC play to finish second in the OVC regular season standings. They defeated Austin Peay to win the OVC tournament to advance to the NCAA tournament. As No. 15 seed in the Southeast region, the Racers were beaten by No. 2 seed Duke, 71–68.^[2]

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	10	Chad Townsend	—	—	Jr
F	22	Vincent Rainey	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Sr
G	51	De'Teri Mayes	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	Jr	Montgomery, Alabama

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 23, 1996*		Belmont	W 84–45	1–0	Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky
Nov 25, 1996*		IUPUI	W 85–75	2–0	Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky
Dec 2, 1996*		at Middle Tennessee	L 72–85	2–1	Murphy Athletic Center Murfreesboro, Tennessee
Dec 5, 1996*		Alcorn State	W 107–86	3–1	Racer Arena Murray, Kentucky
Ohio Valley Conference tournament
Feb 28, 1997*		vs. Middle Tennessee Semifinals	W 74–48	19–9	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tennessee
Mar 1, 1997*		vs. Austin Peay Championship game	W 88–85 ^OT	20–9	Bridgestone Arena Nashville, Tennessee
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1997*	(15 SE)	vs. (2 SE) No. 8 Duke First round	L 68–71	20–10	Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, North Carolina
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Central Time.

v t e Murray State Racers men's basketball
Venues	Lovett Auditorium (1925–1950) Carr Health Building (1950–1954) Racer Arena (1954–1998) CFSB Center (1998–present)
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25