| Sport: | basketball |
| Year: | 1996–97 |
| Team: | Temple Owls |
| Conference: | Atlantic 10 Conference |
| Short Conf: | A–10 |
| Record: | 20–11 |
| Conf Record: | 10–6 |
| Head Coach: | John Chaney |
| Hc Year: | 15th |
| Asst Coach1: | Dan Leibovitz |
| Ac1 Year: | 1st |
| Arena: | McGonigle Hall |
| Tourney: | NCAA tournament |
| Tourney Result: | Second round |
The 1996–97 Temple Owls men's basketball team represented Temple University as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference during the 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team was led by head coach John Chaney and played their home games, for the final season, at McGonigle Hall. The Owls received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the Midwest region. Temple beat Ole Miss in the opening round before losing to No. 1 seed and eventual Final Four participant Minnesota, 76–57, in the round of 32. Temple finished with a record of 20–11 (10–6 A-10).
|-!colspan=9 style=| Regular Season|-!colspan=9 style=| Atlantic 10 Tournament|-!colspan=9 style=| NCAA Tournament[2]
See main article: 1996–97 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings. [3]