1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team

1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 18
Record23–9 (12–6 Pac-10)
Head coach
Assistant coachBilly Kennedy (4th season)
Home arenaHarmon Gym
1996–97 Pacific-10 Conference
men's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 UCLA 15 3   .833 24 8   .750
No. 21 Stanford 12 6   .667 22 8   .733
California 12 6   .667 23 9   .719
USC 12 6   .667 17 11   .607
No. 15 Arizona 11 7   .611 25 9   .735
Washington 10 8   .556 17 11   .607
Oregon 8 10   .444 17 11   .607
Washington State 5 13   .278 13 17   .433
Oregon State 3 15   .167 7 20   .259
Arizona State 2 16   .111 10 20   .333
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1996–97 California Golden Bears men's basketball team represented the University of California, Berkeley in the 1996–97 season.

Led by head coach Ben Braun, the Bears finished the regular season with a 12–6 record in the Pac-10, placing them in a tie for second. The Bears would receive an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament where they would make a run to the Sweet Sixteen. The Golden Bears defeated Princeton and Villanova before falling to North Carolina in the East Regional semifinal. The team finished the season with an overall record of 23–9.