1996-97 Ohio State Buckeyes — schedule and results

The 1996-97 Ohio State Buckeyes went 10-17 (5-13 in the Big Ten) under head coach Randy Ayers. Simple Rating System: 8.45.

Game-by-game results (27 games)

DateOpponentResultArena
1996-11-23at South Florida BullsL 56–60Sun Dome
1996-12-01vs Louisiana Ragin' CajunsW 94–88St. John Arena
1996-12-03vs Kent State Golden FlashesW 71–55St. John Arena
1996-12-07vs Long Island University SharksW 97–73St. John Arena
1996-12-14vs George Mason PatriotsW 102–72St. John Arena
1996-12-18vs Alabama State HornetsW 81–40St. John Arena
1996-12-21at USC TrojansL 68–79L.A. Sports Arena
1996-12-23at San Diego State AztecsL 75–81San Diego Sports Arena
1996-12-28neutral Kentucky WildcatsL 65–81Gund Arena
1997-01-02at Michigan WolverinesW 73–71Crisler Arena
1997-01-04vs Illinois Fighting IlliniL 64–72St. John Arena
1997-01-08vs Penn State Nittany LionsW 70–62St. John Arena
1997-01-11at Michigan State SpartansL 66–69Breslin Student Events Center
1997-01-15at Iowa HawkeyesL 62–76Carver-Hawkeye Arena
1997-01-18vs St. Thomas-Minnesota TommiesL 67–73St. John Arena
1997-01-25at Northwestern WildcatsL 47–78Welsh–Ryan Arena
1997-01-30vs Indiana HoosiersW 73–67St. John Arena
1997-02-01vs Wisconsin BadgersW 60–42St. John Arena
1997-02-05at Purdue BoilermakersL 77–94Mackey Arena
1997-02-08at Indiana HoosiersL 76–93Assembly Hall
1997-02-13vs Northwestern WildcatsW 55–40St. John Arena
1997-02-19at St. Thomas-Minnesota TommiesL 48–60Williams Arena
1997-02-22vs Iowa HawkeyesL 56–69St. John Arena
1997-02-26vs Michigan State SpartansL 65–67St. John Arena
1997-03-01at Penn State Nittany LionsL 55–56Bryce Jordan Center
1997-03-05at Illinois Fighting IlliniL 83–90Assembly Hall
1997-03-09vs Michigan WolverinesL 81–86 (OTOT)St. John Arena

Ohio State Buckeyes program history · All Division I programs · Hoopsipedia home

Hoopsipedia
Hpsipedia
EST. 2025 · VOL. II · NCAA OFFICIAL RECORDS
● 360 PROGRAMS · VERIFIED
★ ★ ★ The complete record of college basketball ★ ★ ★
Hpsipedia
★ Built for banter. Backed by the record book. ★
THE MAIN EVENT
Program 1
?
VS
since 1900
Program 2
?
Try:
✦ Ask Hoopsipedia AI
THE RECORD BOOK

All-time wins

Full leaderboard →
Rank Team All-Time Wins

On this day

SPOTLIGHT

AP Top 25

All rankings →
DISCOVER

More to argue about

Rankings Deep Dive
Who's REALLY a blue blood?
Our composite HTSS ranking of all-time program strength. See how every team stacks up across 100+ years.
EXPLORE →
Time Machine
Travel back to any season
See who was #1, who was rising, and who was falling. Every season from 1949 to today.
EXPLORE →
Coach Trees
The coaching lineages
From Dean Smith to Roy Williams to Hubert Davis — trace the family trees of college basketball's greatest coaches.
EXPLORE →

2026 NCAA Tournament Bracket

Last updated: --:--:--
For the best bracket experience, view on a desktop or rotate your device to landscape.

Team Rankings

Rank Team Conference All-Time Wins

Teams

★ ★ The architects ★ ★

COACHES

Top 100 by all-time D1 wins. Verified against the NCAA record book — and tiered so you can argue properly.

SETTLE A DEBATE
Compare Coaches
VS
FILTER BY TIER:
# COACH RECORD WIN % SCHOOL(S) YEARS BEST SEASON / LEGACY
Ask Hoopsipedia BETA
Hi! I'm the Hoopsipedia Assistant. I can look up team histories, compare programs, explore rankings, and more. Try asking: