1996–97 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

1996–97 UCLA Bruins men's basketball
Pac-10 regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
ConferencePacific-10
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record24–8 (15–3 Pac-10)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPauley Pavilion
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 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Under new head coach, Steve Lavin, the Bruins began the season ranked 5th in the AP Poll, but after an overtime loss in the opener to Tulsa, the Bruins dropped and would not be ranked as high for the rest of the season. On January 18 the Bruins beat #6 Arizona, 84–78 in overtime. The team finished 1st in the conference. The Bruins competed in the 1997 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to the Minnesota Golden Gophers in the Elite Eight. This was the first season for head coach Steve Lavin, who had been an assistant coach under Jim Harrick.