1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season explained

Year:1995
Preseason Ap:Kentucky
Regular Season:November 1995 –
April 1996
Tourney Start:March 14
Nc Date:April 1, 1996
Champ Stad:Continental Airlines Arena
Champ City:East Rutherford, New Jersey
Champ:Kentucky Wildcats
Playeroftheyear:Marcus Camby, Massachusetts

The 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season concluded in 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 1997 National Invitation Tournament, the Nebraska Cornhuskers defeated the St. 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

Pre-season polls

The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll.

Associated Press
RankingTeam
1Kentucky
2Kansas
3Villanova
4UCLA
5Georgetown
6Connecticut
7Massachusetts
8Iowa
9Mississippi State
10Utah
11Wake Forest
12Louisville
13Memphis
14Missouri
15Maryland
16Arkansas
17Michigan
18Stanford
19Virginia
20North Carolina
21Cincinnati
22Virginia Tech
23Indiana
24Purdue
25California

Conference membership changes

These schools joined new conferences for the 1995–96 season.

SchoolFormer conferenceNew conference
CharlotteMetro ConferenceConference USA
CincinnatiGreat Midwest ConferenceConference USA
DaytonGreat Midwest ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
DePaulGreat Midwest ConferenceConference USA
FordhamPatriot LeagueAtlantic 10 Conference
HamptonNCAA Division IIMid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Jacksonville StateNCAA Division IITrans America Athletic Conference
La SalleMidwestern Collegiate ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
LouisvilleMetro ConferenceConference USA
MarquetteGreat Midwest ConferenceConference USA
MemphisGreat Midwest ConferenceConference USA
Notre DameNCAA Division I IndependentBig East Conference
RutgersAtlantic 10 ConferenceBig East Conference
Saint LouisGreat Midwest ConferenceConference USA
South FloridaMetro ConferenceConference USA
Southern MissMetro ConferenceConference USA
TowsonBig South ConferenceNorth Atlantic Conference
TulaneMetro ConferenceConference USA
UABGreat Midwest ConferenceConference USA
VCUMetro ConferenceColonial Athletic Association
Virginia TechMetro ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference
West VirginiaAtlantic 10 ConferenceBig East Conference
WoffordNCAA Division IINCAA Division I Independent
XavierMidwestern Collegiate ConferenceAtlantic 10 Conference

Regular season

Conference winners and tournaments

29 conference seasons concluded with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Big Ten Conference, Ivy League and the Pac-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Conference tournament winners, with the exception of the American West Conference and Conference USA, received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

ConferenceRegular
season winner[1]
Conference
player of the year
Conference
tournament
Tournament
venue (City)
Tournament
winner
Ben Larson, Cal Poly[2] Matadome
(Northridge, California)
Southern Utah
UMass (East)
George Washington (West)
Virginia Tech (West)
Philadelphia Civic Center
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
UMass
Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
Wake Forest
Connecticut (Big East 6)
Georgetown (Big East 7)
Madison Square Garden
(New York City, New York)
Connecticut
Jacque Vaughn, KansasKemper Arena
(Kansas City, Missouri)
Iowa State
Brick Breeden Fieldhouse
(Bozeman, Montana)
Montana State
Vines Center
(Lynchburg, Virginia)
UNC Greensboro
No Tournament
Lawlor Events Center
(Reno, Nevada)
San Jose State
Richmond Coliseum
(Richmond, Virginia)
VCU
Cincinnati (Blue)
Tulane (Red)
Memphis (White)
Memphis Pyramid
(Memphis, Tennessee)
Cincinnati
No Tournament
Knickerbocker Arena
(Albany, New York)
Canisius
SeaGate Convention Centre
(Toledo, Ohio)
Eastern Michigan
The MARK of the Quad Cities
(Moline, Illinois)
Valparaiso
Leon County Civic Center
(Tallahassee, Florida)
South Carolina State
Nutter Center
(Dayton, Ohio)
Northern Illinois
Kiel Center
(St. Louis, Missouri)
Tulsa
Daskalakis Athletic Center
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Drexel
William T. Boylan Gymnasium
(West Long Branch, New Jersey)
Monmouth
Nashville Municipal Auditorium
(Nashville, Tennessee)
Austin Peay
No Tournament
Cotterell Court
(Hamilton, New York)
Colgate
Kentucky (East)
Mississippi State (West)
Louisiana Superdome
(New Orleans, Louisiana)
Mississippi State
Davidson (North)
Western Carolina (South)
Greensboro Coliseum
(Greensboro, North Carolina)
Western Carolina
Hirsch Memorial Coliseum
(Shreveport, Louisiana)
Louisiana–Monroe
Reunion Arena
(Dallas, Texas)
Texas Tech
Marcus Mann, Mississippi Valley StateMississippi Valley State
Barton Coliseum
(Little Rock, Arkansas)
New Orleans
College of Charleston (East)
Samford (West)
Southeastern Louisiana (West)
Edmunds Center
(DeLand, Florida)
UCF
Toso Pavilion
(Santa Clara, California)
Portland
The Pit
(Albuquerque, New Mexico)
New Mexico

Statistical leaders

Source for additional stats categories

Player School PPG Player School RPG Player School APG Player School SPG
27.0 13.6 8.5 4.4
26.4 13.2 8.3 3.7
24.4 12.6 8.0 3.7
25.7 12.3 Pointer Williams McNeese St. 7.4 3.6
25.4 12.0 7.4 3.6
Player School BPG Player School FG% Player School 3FG% Player School FT%
6.4 .675 .477 .926
Adonal Foyle Colgate 5.7 .656 .471 .920
4.9 .654 .466 .903
4.4 .642 .455 .900
3.9 .638 .451 .894

Postseason tournaments

NCAA tournament

See main article: 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.

National Invitation tournament

See main article: 1996 National Invitation Tournament.

Semifinals & finals

Award winners

Consensus All-American teams

See main article: 1996 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans. [3]

Consensus First Team
PlayerPositionClassTeam
Ray AllenGJuniorConnecticut
Marcus CambyCJuniorMassachusetts
Tony DelkGSeniorKentucky
Tim DuncanCJuniorWake Forest
Allen IversonGSophomoreGeorgetown
Kerry KittlesGSeniorVillanova

Consensus Second Team
Player PositionClassTeam
Danny FortsonFSophomoreCincinnati
Keith Van HornFJuniorUtah
Jacque VaughnGJuniorKansas
John WallaceFSeniorSyracuse
Lorenzen WrightF/CSophomoreMemphis

Major player of the year awards

Major freshman of the year awards

Major coach of the year awards

Other major awards

Coaching changes

A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.

TeamFormer
Coach
Interim
Coach
New
Coach
Reason
CaliforniaTodd BozemanBen Braun
Cleveland StateMike BoydRollie Massimino
ColoradoJoe HarringtonRicardo Patton
CornellAl WalkerScott Thompson
DrakeRudy WashingtonKurt Kanaskie
Eastern MichiganBen BraunMilton Barnes
FloridaLon KrugerBilly Donovan
Florida A&MRon BrownMickey Clayton
IdahoJoe CravensKermit Davis
IllinoisLou HensonLon Kruger
MarshallBilly DonovanGreg White
UNC CharlotteJeff MullinsMelvin Watkins
Wichita StateScott ThompsonRandy Smithson

Notes and References

  1. News: 2001 NCAA Men's Basketball Record Book – Conferences Section. 2001. NCAA. 2009-02-04.
  2. News: Leef. Ralph. Cal Poly team really turned things around . . . April 3, 1996. 22. Newspapers.com. October 14, 2021.
  3. http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/2012/Awards.pdf NCAA Record Book - DIVISION I CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS