1996–97 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team
The 1996–97 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team represented the University of Kansas in the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, which was the Jayhawks' 99th basketball season. The head coach was Roy Williams, who served his 9th year at KU. The team played its home games in Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas. It was the Jayhawks first year in the newly formed Big 12 Conference. The Big 12 conference was formed by the eight teams of the recently dissolved Big Eight Conference and was joined by Baylor, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech, all formally of the Southwest Conference which had dissolved following the 1995–1996 school year as well.
Roster
| Name | # | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Home Town |
| Nick Bradford | 21 | Forward/Guard | 6-6 | 175 | Freshman | Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Joel Branstrom | 20 | Forward | 6-6 | 197 | Senior | Half Moon Bay, California |
| Jerod Haase | 35 | Guard | 6-3 | 191 | Senior | South Lake Tahoe, California |
| Raef LaFrentz | 45 | Forward/Center | 6–11 | 235 | Junior | Hampton, Iowa |
| C.B. McGrath | 24 | Guard | 5-11 | 173 | Junior | Topeka, Kansas |
| Terry Nooner | 5 | Guard | 5-10 | 170 | Freshman | Raytown, Missouri |
| Paul Pierce | 34 | Forward | 6–7 | 220 | Sophomore | Inglewood, California |
| Scot Pollard | 31 | Center | 6–11 | 265 | Senior | San Diego, California |
| T.J. Pugh | 32 | Forward/Center | 6–8 | 246 | Sophomore | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Steve Ransom | 42 | Forward | 6–6 | 205 | Senior | Mission Viejo, California |
| Ryan Robertson | 4 | Guard | 6–5 | 182 | Sophomore | Saint Charles, Missouri |
| Billy Thomas | 12 | Guard/Forward | 6–4 | 208 | Junior | Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Jacque Vaughn | 11 | Guard | 6–1 | 195 | Senior | Pasadena, California |
| B.J. Williams | 22 | Forward | 6–8 | 206 | Senior | Wichita, Kansas |
Big 12 Conference standings
Schedule
!colspan=9| Big 12 Tournament!colspan=9| NCAA Tournament
Rankings
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Wk 14 | Wk 15 | Wk 16 | Wk 17 | |
| AP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Coaches | - |
- There was no coaches poll in week 1.