1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Edition of USA college basketball tournament August 2023 March 2026 1996 1996FinalFour.png 150px 64 Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey Kentucky Wildcats 6th 8th 11th Syracuse Orangemen 2nd 3rd UMass Minutemen (Vacated) 1st Mississippi State Bulldogs 1st Rick Pitino 1st Tony Delk Kentucky 631,834 John Wallace Syracuse 131 The 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. The 58th annual edition of the tournament began on March 14, 1996, and ended with the championship game on April 1 at Continental Airlines Arena (now known as Meadowlands Arena) in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A total of 63 games were played.1996 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records NCAA.com https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-men/article/2020-05-11/1996-ncaa-tournament-bracket-scores-stats-records?amp 2024-12-09 www.ncaa.com en The Final Four venue was notable for several reasons: This marked the first time that the NCAA finals had been held in Greater New York since 1950. This was also the last (men's) Final Four to be held in a basketball/hockey-specific facility. Every Final Four since has been held in a domed stadium (usually built for football) because of NCAA venue capacity requirements. Therefore, this was also the last time the NCAA finals have been held in the Greater New York area and the Northeastern United States (for the time being). The Final Four consisted of Kentucky, making its first appearance in the Final Four since 1993 and eleventh overall, Massachusetts, making its first ever appearance in the Final Four, Syracuse, making its third appearance in the Final Four and first since 1987, and Mississippi State, also making its first appearance. Kentucky, coached by Rick Pitino, won its sixth national championship by defeating Syracuse in the final game 76–67. It was the Orangemen's second championship game loss under coach Jim Boeheim, joining a 74–73 defeat vs. Indiana in 1987 (Boeheim and Syracuse finally won the championship in 2003). The championship game the second Final Four meeting between Pitino and Boeheim. Boeheim's Orangemen defeated Pitino's Providence Friars in the 1987 semifinals. Tony Delk of Kentucky was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Kentucky's run to the championship was one of the most dominant in NCAA tournament history, as the Wildcats won each of their first four games by at least 20 points and won every game by at least 7 points. Massachusetts, coached by John Calipari, was later stripped of its wins, including the UMass Minutemen's Final Four appearance, by the NCAA because UMass star Marcus Camby had accepted illegal gifts from agents. Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun, was additionally punished monetarily due to players accepting illegal gifts from agents.https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/09/sports/umass-and-uconn-lose-96-honors.html UMass and UConn Lose '96 Honors The New York Times 9 May 1997 Cavanaugh Jack The 1996 tournament was the last to feature teams from the Big Eight and Southwest Conferences; later four teams from the SWC would merge with the Big Eight to form the Big 12 Conference. Through 2025, they were the last Division I conferences to disband and/or merge after sending teams to the NCAA tournament. (In 2024, the Pac-12 sent four teams to the tournament before it nearly disintegrated, with all but two members--Oregon State and Washington State--leaving for other conferences. The Beavers and Cougars played in the West Coast Conference during the 2024–25 season.) This is also one of only two Final Fours between 1986 and 2001 (1987 being the other) to include neither Duke nor North Carolina. As of 2026, this is the earliest tournament from which all four Final Four coaches (Pitino, Boeheim, Calipari and Mississippi State's Richard Williams) are still living. This was the last tournament in which officials wore collared shirts. A v-neck shirt, already worn in several conferences during the regular season, was adopted association-wide in 1996–97. Schedule and venues USA 450 right 1996 first and second rounds USA green pog.svg 41.823989 -71.412834 left #FFFFFF Providence Dunkin' Donuts Center Providence Civic Center USA green pog.svg 37.540725 -77.436048 bottom #FFFFFF Richmond Richmond Coliseum USA green pog.svg 39.768403 -86.158068 left #FFFFFF Indianapolis RCA Dome USA green pog.svg 28.538335 -81.379236 top #FFFFFF Orlando Amway Arena Orlando Arena USA green pog.svg 43.038902 -87.906474 left #FFFFFF Milwaukee Bradley Center USA green pog.svg 32.780262 -96.800978 left #FFFFFF Dallas Reunion Arena USA green pog.svg 35.110703 -106.609991 top #FFFFFF Albuquerque The Pit (arena) University Arena USA green pog.svg 33.425510 -111.940005 bottom #FFFFFF Tempe Arizona State University Activity Center USA 450 right 1996 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red) USA blue pog.svg 39.738436 -104.984859 right #FFFFFF Denver McNichols Sports Arena USA blue pog.svg 44.983334 -93.266670 top #FFFFFF Minneapolis Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome USA blue pog.svg 38.040584 -84.503716 top #FFFFFF Lexington Rupp Arena USA blue pog.svg 33.748995 -84.387982 left #FFFFFF Atlanta Georgia Dome USA red pog.svg 40.833989 -74.097086 top #FFFFFF E. Rutherford Izod Center Continental Airlines Arena The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1996 tournament: First and Second Rounds March 14 and 16 East Region Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island (Host: Providence College) Midwest Region Reunion Arena, Dallas, Texas (Host: Southwest Conference) Southeast Region RCA Dome, Indianapolis, Indiana (Hosts: Butler University, Midwestern Collegiate Conference) West Region University Arena ("The Pit"), Albuquerque, New Mexico (Host: University of New Mexico) March 15 and 17 East Region Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia (Hosts: University of Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth University) Midwest Region Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Host: Marquette University) Southeast Region Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida (Host: Stetson University) West Region ASU Activity Center, Tempe, Arizona (Host: Arizona State University) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) March 21 and 23 East Regional, Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia (Host: Georgia Institute of Technology) Midwest Regional, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Host: University of Minnesota) March 22 and 24 Southeast Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky (Host: University of Kentucky) West Regional, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado (Host: University of Colorado) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) March 30 and April 1 Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference) Teams There were 30 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 27 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while three were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-10). Two conferences, the American West Conference and Conference USA, did not receive automatic bids to the tournament.NCAA to give 30 leagues automatic bids https://greensboro.com/ncaa-to-give-leagues-automatic-bids/article_497d5f64-2377-5f4f-b4fc-6787da7bf59e.html Greensboro News & Record September 7, 1995 May 20, 2023 Four conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Monmouth (NEC), UNC Greensboro (Big South), Valparaiso (Mid-Continent), and Western Carolina (Southern). Automatic qualifiers +Automatic qualifiersConferenceTeamAppearanceLast bidACCWake Forest14th1995Atlantic 10UMass (vacated)–1995Big EastConnecticut (vacated)–1995Big EightIowa State9th1995Big SkyMontana State3rd1986Big SouthUNC Greensboro1st0 NeverBig TenPurdue (vacated)–1995Big WestSan Jose State3rd1980CAAVCU6th1985Ivy LeaguePrinceton19th1992MAACCanisius4th1957MACEastern Michigan3rd1991MCCNorthern Illinois3rd1991MEACSouth Carolina State2nd1989Mid-ContinentValparaiso1st0 NeverMissouri ValleyTulsa9th1995NACDrexel4th1995NECMonmouth1st0 NeverOhio ValleyAustin Peay4th1987Pac-10UCLA31st1995PatriotColgate2nd1995SECMississippi State4th1995SouthernWestern Carolina1st0 NeverSouthlandNortheast Louisiana7th1993Sun BeltNew Orleans4th1993SWACMississippi Valley State3rd1992SWCTexas Tech (vacated)–1993TAACUCF2nd1994WACNew Mexico7th1994West CoastPortland2nd1959 Tournament seeds +East Regional – Georgia Dome, Atlanta, GeorgiaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1UMass (vacated)Atlantic 1031–1Automatic2GeorgetownBig East26–7At-Large3Texas Tech (vacated)SWC28–1Automatic4MarquetteConference USA22–7At-Large5Penn StateBig Ten21–6At-Large6North CarolinaACC20–10At-Large7New MexicoWAC28–5Automatic8BradleyMissouri Valley22–7At-Large9StanfordPac-1019–8At-Large10Kansas StateBig Eight17–11At-Large11New OrleansSun Belt21–8Automatic12ArkansasSEC18–12At-Large13MonmouthNEC20–9Automatic14Northern IllinoisMCC20–9Automatic15Mississippi Valley StateSWAC22–6Automatic16UCFTAAC11–18Automatic+Southeast Regional – Rupp Arena, Lexington, KentuckySeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1Connecticut (vacated)Big East30–2Automatic2CincinnatiConference USA25–4At-Large3Georgia TechACC22–11At-Large4UCLAPac-1023–7Automatic5Mississippi StateSEC22–7Automatic6IndianaBig Ten19–11At-Large7TempleAtlantic 1019–12At-Large8DukeACC18–12At-Large9Eastern MichiganMAC24–5Automatic10OklahomaBig Eight17–12At-Large11Boston CollegeBig East18–10At-Large12VCUCAA17–10Automatic13PrincetonIvy League21–6Automatic14Austin PeayOhio Valley19–10Automatic15UNC GreensboroBig South20–9Automatic16ColgatePatriot League15–14Automatic+Midwest Regional – Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, MinnesotaSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1KentuckySEC28–2At-Large2Wake ForestACC26–6Automatic3VillanovaBig East25–6At-Large4UtahWAC25–6At-Large5Iowa StateBig Eight23–8Automatic6LouisvilleConference USA20–11At-Large7Michigan (vacated)Big Ten20–11At-Large8Green BayMCC25–3At-Large9Virginia TechAtlantic 1022–5At-Large10TexasSWC20–9At-Large11TulsaMissouri Valley22–7Automatic12California (vacated)Pac-1017–10At-Large13CanisiusMAAC19–10Automatic14PortlandWest Coast19–10Automatic15Northeast LouisianaSouthland16–13Automatic16San Jose StateBig West13–16Automatic+West Regional – McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, ColoradoSeedSchoolConferenceRecordBerth type1Purdue (vacated)Big Ten26–4Automatic2KansasBig Eight25–5At-Large3ArizonaPac-1024–6At-Large4SyracuseBig East24–8At-Large5MemphisConference USA22–7At-Large6IowaBig Ten22–8At-Large7MarylandACC17–12At-Large8GeorgiaSEC19–9At-Large9ClemsonACC18–10At-Large10Santa ClaraWest Coast19–8At-Large11George WashingtonAtlantic 1021–7At-Large12DrexelNAC26–3Automatic13Montana StateBig Sky21–8Automatic14ValparaisoMid-Continent23–7Automatic15South Carolina StateMEAC22–7Automatic16Western CarolinaSouthern17–12Automatic Bracket East Regional – Atlanta First roundMarch 14–15 Second roundMarch 16–17 Regional semifinalsMarch 21 Regional FinalsMarch 23 1 Providence – Thu/Sat Providence – Thu/Sat Richmond – Fri/Sun Richmond – Fri/Sun Massachusetts 92 16 UCF 70 8 Bradley 58 9 Stanford 66 5 Penn State 80 12 Arkansas 86 4 Marquette 68 13 Monmouth 44 6 North Carolina 83 11 New Orleans 62 3 Texas Tech 74 14 Northern Illinois 73 7 New Mexico 69 10 Kansas State 48 2 Georgetown 93 15 Mississippi Valley State 56 1 Massachusetts 79 9 Stanford 74 12 Arkansas 65 4 Marquette 56 6 North Carolina 73 3 Texas Tech 92 7 New Mexico 65 2 Georgetown 75 1 Massachusetts 79 12 Arkansas 63 3 Texas Tech 90 2 Georgetown 98 1 Massachusetts 86 2 Georgetown 62 Regional Final summary #e3e3e3 Saturday, March 23 box score #1 Massachusetts Minutemen 86 #2 Georgetown Hoyas 62 M.Camby 22 D. Bright, M. Camby 7 C. Travieso 6 A. Iverson 23 J. Williams 8 J. Touomou, J. Williams, O. Harrington 2 38–34 48–28 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA CBS East Regional all-tournament team Marcus Camby – Massachusetts (MOP) Allen Iverson – Georgetown Donta Bright – Massachusetts Carmelo Travieso – Massachusetts Jason Sasser – Texas Tech Midwest Regional – Minneapolis First roundMarch 14–15 Second roundMarch 16–17 Regional semifinalsMarch 21 Regional FinalsMarch 23 1 Dallas – Thu/Sat Dallas – Thu/Sat Milwaukee – Fri/Sun Milwaukee – Fri/Sun Kentucky 110 16 San Jose State 72 8 UW–Green Bay 49 9 Virginia Tech 61 5 Iowa State 74 12 California 64 4 Utah 72 13 Canisius 43 6 Louisville 82OT 11 Tulsa 80 3 Villanova 92 14 Portland 58 7 Michigan 76 10 Texas 80 2 Wake Forest 62 15 Northeast Louisiana 50 1 Kentucky 84 9 Virginia Tech 60 5 Iowa State 67 4 Utah 73 6 Louisville 68 3 Villanova 64 10 Texas 62 2 Wake Forest 65 1 Kentucky 101 4 Utah 70 6 Louisville 59 2 Wake Forest 60 1 Kentucky 83 2 Wake Forest 63 Michigan's appearance in the 1996 NCAA tournament along with 20 regular season wins were vacated on November 7, 2002, as part of the settlement of the University of Michigan basketball scandal. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with the removal of any Michigan wins from all records. Regional Final summary #e3e3e3 Saturday, March 23 box score #1 Kentucky Wildcats 83 #2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 63 T. Delk 25 A. Walker 6 A. Epps 6 S. Goolsby, T. Duncan 14 T. Duncan 16 T. Duncan 6 38–19 45–44 Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN CBS Midwest Regional all-tournament team Tony Delk – Kentucky (MOP) Derek Anderson – Kentucky Anthony Epps – Kentucky Antoine Walker – Kentucky Tim Duncan – Wake Forest Southeast Regional – Lexington, Kentucky First roundMarch 14–15 Second roundMarch 16–17 Regional semifinalsMarch 22 Regional FinalsMarch 24 1 Indianapolis – Thu/Sat Indianapolis – Thu/Sat Orlando – Fri/Sun Orlando – Fri/Sun Connecticut 68 16 Colgate 59 8 Duke 60 9 Eastern Michigan 75 5 Mississippi State 58 12 VCU 51 4 UCLA 41 13 Princeton 43 6 Indiana 51 11 Boston College 64 3 Georgia Tech 90 14 Austin Peay 79 7 Temple 61 10 Oklahoma 43 2 Cincinnati 66 15 UNC Greensboro 61 1 Connecticut 95 9 Eastern Michigan 81 5 Mississippi State 63 13 Princeton 41 11 Boston College 89 3 Georgia Tech 103 7 Temple 65 2 Cincinnati 78 1 Connecticut 55 5 Mississippi State 60 3 Georgia Tech 70 2 Cincinnati 87 5 Mississippi State 73 2 Cincinnati 63 Regional Final summary #e3e3e3 Sunday, March 24 box score #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 73 #2 Cincinnati Bearcats 63 D. Jones 23 D. Jones 13 D. Wilson 6 D. Fortson 24 D. Fortson 13 K. Legree 4 37–29 36–34 Rupp Arena Lexington, KY CBS Southeast Regional all-tournament team Dontae' Jones – Mississippi State (MOP) Darnell Burton – Cincinnati Danny Fortson – Cincinnati Erick Dampier – Mississippi State Darryl Wilson – Mississippi State West Regional – Denver, Colorado First roundMarch 14–15 Second roundMarch 16–17 Regional semifinalsMarch 22 Regional FinalsMarch 24 1 Albuquerque – Thu/Sat Albuquerque – Thu/Sat Tempe – Fri/Sun Tempe – Fri/Sun Purdue 73 16 Western Carolina 71 8 Georgia 81 9 Clemson 74 5 Memphis 63 12 Drexel 75 4 Syracuse 88 13 Montana State 55 6 Iowa 81 11 George Washington 79 3 Arizona 90 14 Valparaiso 51 7 Maryland 79 10 Santa Clara 91 2 Kansas 92 15 South Carolina State 54 1 Purdue 69 8 Georgia 76 12 Drexel 58 4 Syracuse 69 6 Iowa 73 3 Arizona 87 10 Santa Clara 51 2 Kansas 76 8 Georgia 81 4 Syracuse 83OT 3 Arizona 80 2 Kansas 83 4 Syracuse 60 2 Kansas 57 Regional Final summary #e3e3e3 Sunday, March 24 box score #4 Syracuse Orangemen 60 #2 Kansas Jayhawks 57 J. Wallace, O. Hill 15 J. Wallace 9 L. Sims 4 J. Vaughn 21 R. LaFrentz 9 J. Haase 6 35–26 25–31 McNichols Sports Arena Denver, CO CBS West Regional all-tournament team John Wallace – Syracuse (MOP) Pertha Robinson – Georgia Shandon Anderson – Georgia Jacque Vaughn – Kansas Otis Hill – Syracuse Final Four at East Rutherford, New Jersey National semifinalsMarch 30 National Championship GameApril 1 E1 Massachusetts 74 MW1 Kentucky 81 SE5 Mississippi State 69 W4 Syracuse 77 MW1 Kentucky 76 W4 Syracuse 67 On May 8, 1997, the NCAA Executive Committee voted to negate the Minutemen's 1996 NCAA Tournament record, for Marcus Camby's acceptance of agents' improper gifts. The team's 35–2 season record was reduced to 31–1, and the UMass slot in the Final Four is officially marked as "vacated". The Final Four trophy, banner, and 45% of tournament revenue were returned to the NCAA. Camby reimbursed the school for the lost revenue. Unlike forfeiture, a vacated game does not result in the other school being credited with a win, only with UMass removing the wins from its own record. National semifinals #e3e3e3 Saturday, March 30 box score #1 Kentucky Wildcats 81 #1 Massachusetts Minutemen 74 T. Delk 20 W. McCarty 10 http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/Games/19960330Massachusetts.html Kentucky vs. Massachusetts (March 30, 1996) A. Epps, A. Walker, D. Anderson, W. McCarty 4 M. Camby 25 D. Bright 9 E. Padilla 12 36–28 45–46 Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ CBS #ffdead Saturday, March 30 box score #4 Syracuse Orangemen 77 #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 69 J. Wallace 21 T. Burgan 7 L. Siims 9 D. Wilson 20 E. Dampier 14 M. Bullard 8 36–36 41–33 Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ CBS National Championship 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game #e3e3e3 Monday, April 1 Box score #1 Kentucky Wildcats 76 #4 Syracuse Orangemen 67 T. Delk 24 A. Walker 9 A. Epps 7 J. Wallace 29 J. Wallace, O. Hill 10 L. Sims 7 42–33 34–34 Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, NJ CBS Final Four all-tournament team Tony Delk – Kentucky (MOP) Ron Mercer – Kentucky Marcus Camby – Massachusetts Todd Burgan – Syracuse John Wallace – Syracuse Announcers Jim Nantz/Bob Rathbun and Billy Packer First & Second Round at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Southeast Regional at Lexington, Kentucky; Final Four at East Rutherford, New Jersey Sean McDonough/Bill Raftery/Michele Tafoya First & Second Round at Orlando, Florida; Midwest Regional at Minneapolis, Minnesota Tim Ryan and Al McGuire First & Second Round at Providence, Rhode Island; West Regional at Denver, Colorado Gus Johnson/Quinn Buckner/Andrea Joyce First & Second Round at Indianapolis; East Regional at Atlanta, Georgia Mike Gorman and George Raveling First & Second Round at Dallas, Texas Ted Robinson and Larry Farmer First & Second Round at Richmond, Virginia Tim Brando and Derrek Dickey First & Second Round at Albuquerque, New Mexico Bill Macatee and Dan Bonner First & Second Round at Tempe, Arizona Note: During the Midwest Regional Final in Minneapolis; sideline reporter Michele Tafoya temporarily substituted for Sean McDonough in the play-by-play booth when McDonough became ill; calling about 10 minutes of the first half before McDonough felt well enough to resume play-by-play; in the process making her the first woman to call part of an NCAA Men's Division I Tournament game. See also 1996 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament 1996 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament 1996 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament 1996 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament 1996 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament 1996 National Invitation Tournament 1996 National Women's Invitation Tournament 1996 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament 1996 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament 1996 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament 1996 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament References Category:NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Ncaa Category:Basketball in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament