| Year: | 1996 |
| Conference: | Southland Conference |
| Division: | I |
| Gender: | Men's |
| Teams: | 6 |
| Arena: | Hirsch Memorial Coliseum |
| City: | Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Titlecount: | 6th |
| Coach: | Mike Vining |
| Coachcount: | 6th |
| Mvp: | Paul Marshall |
| Mvpteam: | Louisiana-Monroe |
The 1996 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament was held March 7–9 at Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, Louisiana.[1]
defeated in the championship game, 71–60, to win their fifth Southland men's basketball tournament.
The Indians received a bid to the 1996 NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 seed in the Midwest region.
Six of the ten conference members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with the top two seeds receiving a bye to the semifinal round. Tournament play began with the quarterfinal round.