1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

Basketball season March 2026 1995 NCAA primary logo 1980.svg Kentucky Wildcats November 1995 –April 1996 March 14 April 1, 1996 Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey Kentucky Wildcats Nebraska Cornhuskers Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Minutemen The 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1995 and concluded with the 64-team 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their sixth national championship by defeating the Syracuse Orangemen 76–67 on April 1, 1996. They were coached by Rick Pitino, and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Tony Delk. In the 32-team 1996 National Invitation Tournament, the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the Saint Joseph's Hawks at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Following the season, the 1996 NCAA Men's Basketball All-American Consensus First Team included Ray Allen, Marcus Camby, Tony Delk, Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson, and Kerry Kittles. Season headlines Conference USA began play, with 11 original members. It was formed prior to the season by the merger of the Great Midwest Conference and the Metro Conference. Head coach Rick Pitino led the Kentucky Wildcats to their sixth national championship, his first. The American West Conference, Big Eight Conference, and Southwest Conference disbanded at the end of the season. Pre-season polls The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll. Associated PressRankingTeam1Kentucky2Kansas3Villanova4UCLA5Georgetown6Connecticut7Massachusetts8Iowa9Mississippi State10Utah11Wake Forest12Louisville13Memphis14Missouri15Maryland16Arkansas17Michigan18Stanford19Virginia20North Carolina21Cincinnati22Virginia Tech23Indiana24Purdue25California Conference membership changes These schools joined new conferences for the 1995–96 season. SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference Alabama Birmingham Alabama–Birmingham (UAB) Blazers Great Midwest Conference Conference USA Charlotte Charlotte 49ers Metro Conference Conference USA Cincinnati Cincinnati Bearcats Great Midwest Conference Conference USA Dayton Dayton Flyers Great Midwest Conference Atlantic 10 Conference DePaul DePaul Blue Demons Great Midwest Conference Conference USA Fordham Fordham Rams Patriot League Atlantic 10 Conference Hampton Hampton Pirates CIAA (D-II) Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Jacksonville State Jacksonville State Gamecocks NCAA Division II independent Trans America Athletic Conference La Salle La Salle Explorers Midwestern Collegiate Conference Atlantic 10 Conference Louisville Louisville Cardinals Metro Conference Conference USA Marquette Marquette Golden Eagles Great Midwest Conference Conference USA Memphis Memphis Tigers Great Midwest Conference Conference USA Notre Dame Notre Dame Fighting Irish NCAA Division I independent Big East Conference Rutgers Rutgers Scarlet Knights Atlantic 10 Conference Big East Conference Saint Louis Saint Louis Billikens Great Midwest Conference Conference USA South Florida South Florida Bulls Metro Conference Conference USA Southern Mississippi Southern Miss Golden Eagles Metro Conference Conference USA Towson Towson Tigers Big South Conference North Atlantic Conference Tulane Tulane Green Wave Metro Conference Conference USA Virginia Commonwealth Virginia Commonwealth (VCU) Rams Metro Conference Colonial Athletic Association Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Hokies Metro Conference Atlantic 10 Conference West Virginia West Virginia Mountaineers Atlantic 10 Conference Big East Conference Wofford Wofford Terriers NCAA Division II independent NCAA Division I independent Xavier Xavier Musketeers Midwestern Collegiate Conference Atlantic 10 Conference Regular season Conferences Conference winners and tournaments Twenty-nine conferences concluded their seasons with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Big Ten Conference, Ivy League and Pac-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Since Penn and Princeton finished tied for the Ivy League regular-season title, the conference staged a one-game playoff between the teams at a neutral site to determine which school received the league's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Conference tournament winners, with the exception of those of the American West Conference and Conference USA, received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. ConferenceRegular season winnerhttp://web1.ncaa.org/web_files/stats/m_basketball_RB/2001/2000Standings.pdf 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section 2001 NCAA 2009-02-04Conference player of the yearConference tournamentTournament venue (City)Tournament winnerAmerican West Conference Cal Poly Ben Larson, Cal Poly Leef Ralph Cal Poly team really turned things around https://www.newspapers.com/image/312280792 The Press Democrat Santa Rosa, California April 3, 1996 22 Newspapers.com October 14, 2021 1996 American West Conference men's basketball tournament Matadome(Northridge, California) Southern UtahAtlantic 10 Conference UMass (East)George Washington (West) Virginia Tech (West) Marcus Camby, UMass 1996 Atlantic 10 men's basketball tournament Philadelphia Civic Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) UMassAtlantic Coast Conference Georgia Tech Tim Duncan, Wake Forest 1996 ACC men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) Wake ForestBig East Conference Connecticut (Big East 6) Georgetown (Big East 7) Ray Allen, Connecticut 1997 Big East men's basketball tournament Madison Square Garden(New York City, New York) ConnecticutBig Eight Conference Kansas Jacque Vaughn, Kansas 1996 Big Eight Conference men's basketball tournament Kemper Arena(Kansas City, Missouri) Iowa StateBig Sky Conference Montana State Jimmy DeGraffenried, Weber StateQuadre Lollis, Montana State 1996 Big Sky Conference men's basketball tournament Brick Breeden Fieldhouse(Bozeman, Montana) Montana StateBig South Conference UNC Greensboro T. L. Latson, Charleston Southern 1996 Big South Conference men's basketball tournament Vines Center(Lynchburg, Virginia) UNC GreensboroBig Ten Conference Purdue Brian Evans, Indiana No TournamentBig West Conference Long Beach State Raimonds Miglinieks, UC Irvine 1997 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament Lawlor Events Center(Reno, Nevada) San Jose StateColonial Athletic Association VCU Bernard Hopkins, VCU 1996 CAA men's basketball tournament Richmond Coliseum(Richmond, Virginia) VCUConference USA Cincinnati (Blue) Tulane (Red) Memphis (White) Danny Fortson, Cincinnati 1996 Conference USA men's basketball tournament Memphis Pyramid(Memphis, Tennessee) CincinnatiIvy League PennPrincetonhttps://ivyleague.com/documents/2024/2/12/MBB_Record_Book_23_24.pdf Ivy Men's Basketball Record Book 2023–2024 Ivy League 2024 February 23, 2025 Ira Bowman, Penn One-game tiebreaker playoffhttps://www.newspaperarchive.com/us/pennsylvania/doylestown/doylestown-intelligencer/1996/03-10/page-165 Princeton Ends Penn's Ivy Reign The Intelligencer Cornell Stephen March 10, 1996 B-1, B-10 February 23, 2025 Stabler Arena(Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) PrincetonMetro Atlantic Athletic Conference Fairfield Iona Darrell Barley, Canisius 1996 MAAC men's basketball tournament Knickerbocker Arena(Albany, New York) CanisiusMid-American Conference Eastern Michigan Bonzi Wells, Ball State 1996 MAC men's basketball tournament SeaGate Convention Centre(Toledo, Ohio) Eastern MichiganMid-Continent Conference Valparaiso Anthony Allison, Valparaiso 1996 Mid-Continent Conference men's basketball tournament The MARK of the Quad Cities(Moline, Illinois) ValparaisoMid-Eastern Athletic Conference Coppin State Terquin Mott, Coppin State 1997 MEAC men's basketball tournament Leon County Civic Center(Tallahassee, Florida) South Carolina StateMidwestern Collegiate Conference Green Bay Jeff Nordgaard, Green Bay 1996 MCC men's basketball tournament Nutter Center(Dayton, Ohio) Northern IllinoisMissouri Valley Conference Bradley Anthony Parker, Bradley 1996 Missouri Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Kiel Center(St. Louis, Missouri) TulsaNorth Atlantic Conference Drexel Malik Rose, Drexel 1996 North Atlantic Conference men's basketball tournament Daskalakis Athletic Center(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) DrexelNortheast Conference Mount St. Mary's Chris McGuthrie, Mount St. Mary's 1996 Northeast Conference men's basketball tournament William T. Boylan Gymnasium(West Long Branch, New Jersey) MonmouthOhio Valley Conference Murray State Marcus Brown, Murray State 1996 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament Nashville Municipal Auditorium(Nashville, Tennessee) Austin PeayPacific-10 Conference Arizona Shareef Abdur-Rahim, California No TournamentPatriot League ColgateNavy Adonal Foyle, Colgate 1996 Patriot League men's basketball tournament Cotterell Court(Hamilton, New York) ColgateSoutheastern Conference Kentucky (East)Mississippi State (West) Tony Delk, Kentucky 1996 SEC men's basketball tournament Louisiana Superdome(New Orleans, Louisiana) Mississippi StateSouthern Conference Davidson (North)Western Carolina (South) Anquell McCollum, Western Carolina 1996 Southern Conference men's basketball tournament Greensboro Coliseum(Greensboro, North Carolina) Western CarolinaSouthland Conference Louisiana–Monroe Paul Marshall, Louisiana–Monroe 1996 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament Hirsch Memorial Coliseum(Shreveport, Louisiana) Louisiana–MonroeSouthwest Conference Texas Tech Jason Sasser, Texas Tech 1996 Southwest Conference men's basketball tournament Reunion Arena(Dallas, Texas) Texas TechSouthwestern Athletic Conference Jackson StateMississippi Valley State Marcus Mann, Mississippi Valley State 1997 SWAC men's basketball tournament — Mississippi Valley StateSun Belt Conference Little RockNew Orleans Derek Fisher, Little Rock 1996 Sun Belt men's basketball tournament Barton Coliseum(Little Rock, Arkansas) New OrleansTrans America Athletic Conference College of Charleston (East)Samford (West)Southeastern Louisiana (West) Thaddeus Delaney, College of Charleston 1996 TAAC men's basketball tournament Edmunds Center(DeLand, Florida) UCFWest Coast Conference GonzagaSanta Clara Steve Nash, Santa Clara 1996 West Coast Conference men's basketball tournament Toso Pavilion(Santa Clara, California) PortlandWestern Athletic Conference Utah Keith Van Horn, Utah 1996 WAC men's basketball tournament The Pit(Albuquerque, New Mexico) New Mexico Conference standings Division I independents Two schools played as Division I independents. They had no postseason play.https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/conferences/independent/men/1996.html Sports Reference 1995-96 Men's Independent Season Summary September 5, 2024 Informal championships ConferenceRegular season winnerMost Valuable PlayerPhiladelphia Big 5 Temple Kerry Kittles, Villanova For the fifth consecutive season, the Philadelphia Big 5 did not play a full round-robin schedule in which each team met each other team once, a format it had used from its first season of competition in 1955–56 through the 1990–91 season. Instead, each team played only two games against other Big 5 members, and Temple finished with a 2–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Big 5. The Big 5 did not revive its full round-robin schedule until the 1999–2000 season. Statistical leaders Source for additional stats categories Points per game Rebounds per game Assists per game Steals per game Player School PPG Player School RPG Player School APG Player School SPG Kevin Granger TX Southern 27.0 Marcus Mann Miss. Valley St. 13.6 Raimonds Miglinieks UC Irvine 8.5 Pointer Williams McNeese St. 4.4 Marcus Brown Murray St. 26.4 Malik Rose Drexel 13.2 Curtis McCants George Mason 8.3 Johnny Rhodes Maryland 3.7 Bubba Wells Austin Peay 24.4 Adonal Foyle Colgate 12.6 Dan Pogue Campbell 8.0 Roderick Taylor Jackson St. 3.7 Jafonde Williams Hampton 25.7 Tim Duncan Wake Forest 12.3 Pointer Williams McNeese St. 7.4 Rasul Salahuddin Long Beach St. 3.6 Bonzi Wells Ball St. 25.4 Scott Farley Mercer 12.0 Lazarus Sims Syracuse 7.4 Andrell Hoard Northeastern Illinois 3.6 Blocked shots per game Field goal percentage Three-point FG percentage Free throw percentage Player School BPG Player School FG% Player School 3FG% Player School FT% Keith Closs C. Connecticut St. 6.4 Quadre Lollis Montana State .675 Mike Derockkis Drexel .477 Mike Dillard Sam Houston St. .926 Adonal Foyle Colgate 5.7 Daniel Watts Nevada .656 Peter Lisicky Penn State .471 Dion Cross Stanford .920 Roy Rogers Alabama 4.9 Link Abrams Centenary .654 Ray Allen Connecticut .466 Roderick Howard Charlotte .903 Jerome James Florida A&M 4.4 Alexander Koul George Washington .642 Keith Veney Marshall .455 Geoff Billet Rutgers .900 Peter Aluma Liberty 3.9 Terquin Mott Coppin St. .638 Tim Gill Oral Roberts .451 Steve Nash Santa Clara .894 Alan Tomidy Marist Postseason tournaments NCAA tournament 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four – Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey National semifinals National championship game E1 Massachusetts 74 M1 Kentucky 81 SE5 Mississippi State 69 W4 Syracuse 77 M1 Kentucky 76 W4 Syracuse 67 National Invitation tournament 1996 National Invitation Tournament Semifinals & finals no Semifinals Finals Third place   Tulane 78   Nebraska 90   Alabama 69   Saint Joseph's 74   Nebraska 60   Saint Joseph's 56   Tulane 87   Alabama 76 Award winners Consensus All-American teams 1996 NCAA Men's Basketball All-AmericansNCAA Record Book - DIVISION I CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS p.6 + Consensus First Team Player Position Class Team Ray Allen G Junior Connecticut Marcus Camby C Junior Massachusetts Tony Delk G Senior Kentucky Tim Duncan C Junior Wake Forest Allen Iverson G Sophomore Georgetown Kerry Kittles G Senior Villanova + Consensus Second Team Player Position Class Team Danny Fortson F Sophomore Cincinnati Keith Van Horn F Junior Utah Jacque Vaughn G Junior Kansas John Wallace F Senior Syracuse Lorenzen Wright F/C Sophomore Memphis Major player of the year awards Wooden Award: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Naismith Award: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Associated Press Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts NABC Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Adolph Rupp Trophy: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts Sporting News Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts UPI College Basketball Player of the Year: Ray Allen, Connecticut Major freshman of the year awards USBWA Freshman of the Year: No Award Given Major coach of the year awards Associated Press Coach of the Year: Gene Keady, Purdue Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Gene Keady, Purdue NABC Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Massachusetts Naismith College Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Massachusetts Sporting News Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Massachusetts Other major awards NABC Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Eddie Benton, Vermont Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Kerry Kittles, Villanova NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Adrian Griffin, Seton Hall Coaching changes A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. TeamFormerCoachInterimCoachNewCoachReasonAppalachian StateTom ApkeBuzz Peterson Peterson was hired from the Vanderbilt coaching staff.Alabama StateJohn L. WilliamsRob Spivey Spivey was hired from Division II Ashland.Alcorn StateSam WeaverDavey Whitney Cal State NorthridgePete CassidyBobby Braswell Cassidy was fired. Braswell was hired from the Oregon coaching staff.CaliforniaTodd BozemanBen Braun Bozeman resigned.Central ConnecticutMark AdamsHowie Dickenman Dickenman was hired from the Connecticut coaching staff.Charleston SouthernGary EdwardsTom Conrad Edwards stepped down and accepted head coaching duties at Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Conrad was promoted from associate head coach.Chicago StateCraig HodgesPhilip Gary Cleveland StateMike BoydRollie Massimino Boyd resigned and accepted an assistant position on Penn State.ColoradoJoe HarringtonRicardo Patton ResignedCornellAl WalkerScott Thompson Delaware StateFred GoodmanArt Perry Perry was hired from the Maryland coaching staff.DrakeRudy WashingtonKurt Kanaskie Kanaskie was hired from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.Eastern MichiganBen BraunMilton Barnes Braun left to coach California.East Tennessee StateAlan LeForceEd DeChellis DeChellis was hired from the Penn State coaching staff.FloridaLon KrugerBilly Donovan Florida A&MRon BrownMickey Clayton IdahoJoe CravensKermit Davis Cravens left to join the UC Irvine coaching staff.IllinoisLou HensonLon Kruger Henson retired from coaching. Kent StateDave GrubeGary Waters Waters was hired from the Central Michigan coaching staff.LehighDave DukeSal Mentesana Long Beach StateSeth GreenbergWayne Morgan Greenberg left to coach South Florida. Morgan was hired from the Syracuse coaching staff.MaineRudy KeelingJohn Giannini Keeling left to coach Northeastern. Giannini was hired from Division III Rowan.ManhattanFran FraschillaJohn Leonard Fraschilla left to coach St. John's. Leonard accepted the head coaching job of his alma mater.MarshallBilly DonovanGreg White Donovan left to coach Florida.Maryland Eastern ShoreJeff MendayLonnie Williams Miami (OH)Herb SendekCharlie Coles Sendek left to coach NC State. Coles was promoted from assistant.Middle TennesseeDavid FarrarRandy Wiel Farrar left to join the Idaho coaching staff. Missouri–Kansas CityLee HuntBob Sundvold Sundvold was a head coach with Division II Central Missouri State where he had three 20 win season in a row.NC StateLes RobinsonHerb Sendek Robinson stepped down as head coach and appointed athletic director.New HampshireGib ChapmanJeff Jackson Chapman was fired as head coach and let go from his men's athletic director duties. Jackson was hired from the Stanford coaching staff.NortheasternDave LeitaoRudy Keeling Leitao resigned after a 4–24 season and going 22–35 in his two years.PepperdineTony FullerMarty WilsonLorenzo Romar Fuller resigned in the middle of the season. Wilson took on interim duties and finished the season going 3–10. Romar was hired from the UCLA coaching staff.PrincetonPete CarrilBill Carmody Carril left to join the Sacramento Kings coaching staff. Carmody was promoted from assistant.Robert MorrisJarrett DurhamJim Boone South FloridaBobby PaschalSeth GreenbergSouthernBen JobeTommie Green Green promoted to head coach.Southern MissM. K. TurkJames Green Green was hired from the Iowa State coaching staff.St. John'sBrian MahoneyFran FraschillaStephen F. AustinNed FowlerDerek Allister Fowler was relieved of his duties at the end of the season. Allister was promoted to head coach.ToledoLarry GipsonStan Joplin Joplin was hired from the Michigan State coaching staff.UABGene BartowMurry Bartow Gene retired from coaching, but remained with the school as athletic director. Murray was promoted from assistant coach, by his father, to be head coach of his alma mater.UCLAJim HarrickSteve Lavin Harrick was fired at the end of the season due to NCAA violations with improper benefits towards student-athletes. Lavin was promoted from assistant.UICBob HallbergJimmy Collins Collins was an assistant on the Illinois coaching staff.UMassJohn CalipariBruiser Flint Calipari left to become head coach of the New Jersey Nets. Flint was elevated from assistant.UNC AshevilleRandy WielEddie Biedenbach Weil left to coach Middle Tennessee. Biedenbach was hired from the NC State coaching staff.UNC CharlotteJeff MullinsMelvin Watkins Mullins retired. Watkins was promoted from assistant to coach his alma mater.USCCharlie ParkerHenry Bibby Parker left to join the Dallas Mavericks coaching staff. Bibby became interim going 1–9 for the remainder of the season, he was promoted to full time head coach.Wichita StateScott ThompsonRandy Smithson Wright StateRalph UnderhillJohn Brown References March 2018