The 1996–97 Minnesota Golden Gophers men's basketball team represented the University of Minnesota during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team, coached by Clem Haskins, played their home games in Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota as members of the Big Ten Conference. They finished the season 31–4, 16–2 in Big Ten play to win the Big Ten championship. They received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region. There they defeated Southwest Texas State and Temple to advance to the Sweet Sixteen. In the Sweet Sixteen, they defeated Clemson and UCLA to advance to the Final Four for the first time in school history. There they lost to Kentucky.