| 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.
The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll.
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These schools joined new conferences for the 1995–96 season.
| School | Former conference | New conference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Metro Conference | Conference USA | |
| Cincinnati | Great Midwest Conference | Conference USA | |
| Dayton | Great Midwest Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference | |
| DePaul | Great Midwest Conference | Conference USA | |
| Fordham | Patriot League | Atlantic 10 Conference | |
| Hampton | NCAA Division II | Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference | |
| Jacksonville State | NCAA Division II | Trans America Athletic Conference | |
| La Salle | Midwestern Collegiate Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference | |
| Louisville | Metro Conference | Conference USA | |
| Marquette | Great Midwest Conference | Conference USA | |
| Memphis | Great Midwest Conference | Conference USA | |
| Notre Dame | NCAA Division I Independent | Big East Conference | |
| Rutgers | Atlantic 10 Conference | Big East Conference | |
| Saint Louis | Great Midwest Conference | Conference USA | |
| South Florida | Metro Conference | Conference USA | |
| Southern Miss | Metro Conference | Conference USA | |
| Towson | Big South Conference | North Atlantic Conference | |
| Tulane | Metro Conference | Conference USA | |
| UAB | Great Midwest Conference | Conference USA | |
| VCU | Metro Conference | Colonial Athletic Association | |
| Virginia Tech | Metro Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference | |
| West Virginia | Atlantic 10 Conference | Big East Conference | |
| Wofford | NCAA Division II | NCAA Division I Independent | |
| Xavier | Midwestern Collegiate Conference | Atlantic 10 Conference |
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.
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 | ||||||||||||
See main article: 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
See main article: 1996 National Invitation Tournament.
See main article: 1996 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans. [3]
| 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 |
| 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 |
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended.