1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

1996 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament
Season	1995–96
Teams	64
Finals site	Continental Airlines Arena; East Rutherford, New Jersey
Champions	Kentucky Wildcats (6th title, 8th title game,; 11th Final Four)
Runner-up	Syracuse Orangemen (2nd title game,; 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	UMass Minutemen (Vacated) (1st Final Four); Mississippi State Bulldogs (1st Final Four);
Winning coach	Rick Pitino (1st title)
MOP	Tony Delk (Kentucky)
Attendance	631,834
Top scorer	John Wallace (Syracuse); (29 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments
«1995	1997»

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. It 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.

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 won its sixth national championship by defeating Syracuse in the final game 76–67.

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.^[1]

The 1996 tournament was the last to feature teams from the Big Eight and Southwest Conferences; later that year the two would form the Big 12 Conference. As of 2022 they are the last Division I conferences to disband and/or merge after sending teams to the NCAA tournament.

Schedule and venues

Providence

Richmond

Indianapolis

Orlando

Milwaukee

Dallas

Albuquerque

Tempe

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1996 first and second rounds

Denver

Minneapolis

Lexington

Atlanta

E. Rutherford

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1996 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

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 Tech)
- 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.^[2]

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 qualifiers
Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	Wake Forest	14th	1995
Atlantic 10	UMass (vacated)	–	1995
Big East	Connecticut (vacated)	–	1995
Big Eight	Iowa State	9th	1995
Big Sky	Montana State	3rd	1986
Big South	UNC Greensboro	1st	Never
Big Ten	Purdue (vacated)	–	1995
Big West	San Jose State	3rd	1980
CAA	VCU	6th	1985
Ivy League	Princeton	19th	1992
MAAC	Canisius	4th	1957
MAC	Eastern Michigan	3rd	1991
MCC	Northern Illinois	3rd	1991
MEAC	South Carolina State	2nd	1989
Mid-Continent	Valparaiso	1st	Never
Missouri Valley	Tulsa	9th	1995
NAC	Drexel	4th	1995
NEC	Monmouth	1st	Never
Ohio Valley	Austin Peay	4th	1987
Pac-10	UCLA	31st	1995
Patriot	Colgate	2nd	1995
SEC	Mississippi State	4th	1995
Southern	Western Carolina	1st	Never
Southland	Northeast Louisiana	7th	1993
Sun Belt	New Orleans	4th	1993
SWAC	Mississippi Valley State	3rd	1992
SWC	Texas Tech (vacated)	–	1993
TAAC	UCF	2nd	1994
WAC	New Mexico	7th	1994
West Coast	Portland	2nd	1959

Tournament seeds

East Regional – Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type
1	UMass (vacated)	Atlantic 10	31–1	Automatic
2	Georgetown	Big East	26–7	At-Large
3	Texas Tech (vacated)	SWC	28–1	Automatic
4	Marquette	Conference USA	22–7	At-Large
5	Penn State	Big Ten	21–6	At-Large
6	North Carolina	ACC	20–10	At-Large
7	New Mexico	WAC	28–5	Automatic
8	Bradley	Missouri Valley	22–7	At-Large
9	Stanford	Pac-10	19–8	At-Large
10	Kansas State	Big Eight	17–11	At-Large
11	New Orleans	Sun Belt	21–8	Automatic
12	Arkansas	SEC	18–12	At-Large
13	Monmouth	NEC	20–9	Automatic
14	Northern Illinois	MCC	20–9	Automatic
15	Mississippi Valley State	SWAC	22–6	Automatic
16	UCF	TAAC	11–18	Automatic

Southeast Regional – Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type
1	Connecticut (vacated)	Big East	30–2	Automatic
2	Cincinnati	Conference USA	25–4	At-Large
3	Georgia Tech	ACC	22–11	At-Large
4	UCLA	Pac-10	23–7	Automatic
5	Mississippi State	SEC	22–7	Automatic
6	Indiana	Big Ten	19–11	At-Large
7	Temple	Atlantic 10	19–12	At-Large
8	Duke	ACC	18–12	At-Large
9	Eastern Michigan	MAC	24–5	Automatic
10	Oklahoma	Big Eight	17–12	At-Large
11	Boston College	Big East	18–10	At-Large
12	VCU	CAA	17–10	Automatic
13	Princeton	Ivy League	21–6	Automatic
14	Austin Peay	Ohio Valley	19–10	Automatic
15	UNC Greensboro	Big South	20–9	Automatic
16	Colgate	Patriot League	15–14	Automatic

Midwest Regional – Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type
1	Kentucky	SEC	28–2	At-Large
2	Wake Forest	ACC	26–6	Automatic
3	Villanova	Big East	25–6	At-Large
4	Utah	WAC	25–6	At-Large
5	Iowa State	Big Eight	23–8	Automatic
6	Louisville	Conference USA	20–11	At-Large
7	Michigan (vacated)	Big Ten	20–11	At-Large
8	Green Bay	MCC	25–3	At-Large
9	Virginia Tech	Atlantic 10	22–5	At-Large
10	Texas	SWC	20–9	At-Large
11	Tulsa	Missouri Valley	22–7	Automatic
12	California (vacated)	Pac-10	17–10	At-Large
13	Canisius	MAAC	19–10	Automatic
14	Portland	West Coast	19–10	Automatic
15	Northeast Louisiana	Southland	16–13	Automatic
16	San Jose State	Big West	13–16	Automatic

West Regional – McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado
Seed	School	Conference	Record	Berth type
1	Purdue (vacated)	Big Ten	26–4	Automatic
2	Kansas	Big Eight	25–5	At-Large
3	Arizona	Pac-10	24–6	At-Large
4	Syracuse	Big East	24–8	At-Large
5	Memphis	Conference USA	22–7	At-Large
6	Iowa	Big Ten	22–8	At-Large
7	Maryland	ACC	17–12	At-Large
8	Georgia	SEC	19–9	At-Large
9	Clemson	ACC	18–10	At-Large
10	Santa Clara	West Coast	19–8	At-Large
11	George Washington	Atlantic 10	21–7	At-Large
12	Drexel	NAC	26–3	Automatic
13	Montana State	Big Sky	21–8	Automatic
14	Valparaiso	Mid-Continent	23–7	Automatic
15	South Carolina State	MEAC	22–7	Automatic
16	Western Carolina	Southern	17–12	Automatic

Bracket

East Regional – Atlanta

First round March 14–15			Second round March 16–17			Regional semifinals March 21			Regional Finals March 23

1	Massachusetts#	92

16	UCF	70
			1	Massachusetts#	79
Providence – Thu/Sat
			9	Stanford	74
8	Bradley	58

9	Stanford	66
						1	Massachusetts#	79

						12	Arkansas	63
5	Penn State	80

12	Arkansas	86
			12	Arkansas	65
Providence – Thu/Sat
			4	Marquette	56
4	Marquette	68

13	Monmouth	44
									1	Massachusetts#	86

									2	Georgetown	62
6	North Carolina	83

11	New Orleans	62
			6	North Carolina	73
Richmond – Fri/Sun
			3	Texas Tech	92
3	Texas Tech	74

14	Northern Illinois	73
						3	Texas Tech	90

						2	Georgetown	98
7	New Mexico	69

10	Kansas State	48
			7	New Mexico	65
Richmond – Fri/Sun
			2	Georgetown	75
2	Georgetown	93

15	Mississippi Valley State	56

Regional Final summary

CBS

Saturday, March 23

box score

#1 ~~Massachusetts Minutemen~~ 86, #2 Georgetown Hoyas 62
Scoring by half: 38–34, 48–28
Pts: M.Camby – 22 Rebs: D. Bright, M. Camby – 7 Asts: C. Travieso – 6		Pts: A. Iverson – 23 Rebs: J. Williams – 8 Asts: J. Touomou, J. Williams, O. Harrington – 2

Georgia Dome – Atlanta, GA

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 round March 14–15			Second round March 16–17			Regional semifinals March 21			Regional Finals March 23

1	Kentucky	110

16	San Jose State	72
			1	Kentucky	84
Dallas – Thu/Sat
			9	Virginia Tech	60
8	UW–Green Bay	49

9	Virginia Tech	61
						1	Kentucky	101

						4	Utah	70
5	Iowa State	74

12	California	64
			5	Iowa State	67
Dallas – Thu/Sat
			4	Utah	73
4	Utah	72

13	Canisius	43
									1	Kentucky	83

									2	Wake Forest	63
6	Louisville	82^OT

11	Tulsa	80
			6	Louisville	68
Milwaukee – Fri/Sun
			3	Villanova	64
3	Villanova	92

14	Portland	58
						6	Louisville	59

						2	Wake Forest	60
7	Michigan#	76

10	Texas	80
			10	Texas	62
Milwaukee – Fri/Sun
			2	Wake Forest	65
2	Wake Forest	62

15	Northeast Louisiana	50

# - 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

CBS

Saturday, March 23

box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 83, #2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 63
Scoring by half: 38–19, 45–44
Pts: T. Delk – 25 Rebs: A. Walker – 6 Asts: A. Epps – 6		Pts: S. Goolsby, T. Duncan – 14 Rebs: T. Duncan – 16 Asts: T. Duncan – 6

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome – Minneapolis, MN

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 round March 14–15			Second round March 16–17			Regional semifinals March 22			Regional Finals March 24

1	Connecticut	68

16	Colgate	59
			1	Connecticut	95
Indianapolis – Thu/Sat
			9	Eastern Michigan	81
8	Duke	60

9	Eastern Michigan	75
						1	Connecticut	55

						5	Mississippi State	60
5	Mississippi State	58

12	VCU	51
			5	Mississippi State	63
Indianapolis – Thu/Sat
			13	Princeton	41
4	UCLA	41

13	Princeton	43
									5	Mississippi State	73

									2	Cincinnati	63
6	Indiana	51

11	Boston College	64
			11	Boston College	89
Orlando – Fri/Sun
			3	Georgia Tech	103
3	Georgia Tech	90

14	Austin Peay	79
						3	Georgia Tech	70

						2	Cincinnati	87
7	Temple	61

10	Oklahoma	43
			7	Temple	65
Orlando – Fri/Sun
			2	Cincinnati	78
2	Cincinnati	66

15	UNC Greensboro	61

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 24

box score

#5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 73, #2 Cincinnati Bearcats 63
Scoring by half: 37–29, 36–34
Pts: D. Jones – 23 Rebs: D. Jones – 13 Asts: D. Wilson – 6		Pts: D. Fortson – 24 Rebs: D. Fortson – 13 Asts: K. Legree – 4

Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY

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 round March 14–15			Second round March 16–17			Regional semifinals March 22			Regional Finals March 24

1	Purdue	73

16	Western Carolina	71
			1	Purdue	69
Albuquerque – Thu/Sat
			8	Georgia	76
8	Georgia	81

9	Clemson	74
						8	Georgia	81

						4	Syracuse	83^OT
5	Memphis	63

12	Drexel	75
			12	Drexel	58
Albuquerque – Thu/Sat
			4	Syracuse	69
4	Syracuse	88

13	Montana State	55
									4	Syracuse	60

									2	Kansas	57
6	Iowa	81

11	George Washington	79
			6	Iowa	73
Tempe – Fri/Sun
			3	Arizona	87
3	Arizona	90

14	Valparaiso	51
						3	Arizona	80

						2	Kansas	83
7	Maryland	79

10	Santa Clara	91
			10	Santa Clara	51
Tempe – Fri/Sun
			2	Kansas	76
2	Kansas	92

15	South Carolina State	54

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 24

box score

#4 Syracuse Orangemen 60, #2 Kansas Jayhawks 57
Scoring by half: 35–26, 25–31
Pts: J. Wallace, O. Hill – 15 Rebs: J. Wallace – 9 Asts: L. Sims – 4		Pts: J. Vaughn – 21 Rebs: R. LaFrentz – 9 Asts: J. Haase – 6

McNichols Sports Arena – Denver, CO

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 semifinals March 30			National Championship Game April 1

E1	Massachusetts#	74

MW1	Kentucky	81
			MW1	Kentucky	76

			W4	Syracuse	67
SE5	Mississippi State	69

W4	Syracuse	77

# - 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

CBS

Saturday, March 30

box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 81, #1 ~~Massachusetts Minutemen~~ 74
Scoring by half: 36–28, 45–46
Pts: T. Delk – 20 Rebs: W. McCarty – 10 ^[3] Asts: A. Epps, A. Walker, D. Anderson, W. McCarty – 4		Pts: M. Camby – 25 Rebs: D. Bright – 9 Asts: E. Padilla – 12

Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, NJ

CBS

Saturday, March 30

box score

#4 Syracuse Orangemen 77, #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 69
Scoring by half: 36–36, 41–33
Pts: J. Wallace – 21 Rebs: T. Burgan – 7 Asts: L. Siims – 9		Pts: D. Wilson – 20 Rebs: E. Dampier – 14 Asts: M. Bullard – 8

Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, NJ

National Championship

CBS

Monday, April 1

Box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 76, #4 Syracuse Orangemen 67
Scoring by half: 42–33, 34–34
Pts: T. Delk – 24 Rebs: A. Walker – 9 Asts: A. Epps – 7		Pts: J. Wallace – 29 Rebs: J. Wallace, O. Hill – 10 Asts: L. Sims – 7

Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, NJ

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.

References

^ Cavanaugh, Jack (May 9, 1997). "UMass and UConn Lose '96 Honors". The New York Times.
^ "NCAA to give 30 leagues automatic bids". Greensboro News & Record. September 7, 1995. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
^ "Kentucky vs. Massachusetts (March 30, 1996)".

[1] Cavanaugh, Jack (May 9, 1997). "UMass and UConn Lose '96 Honors". The New York Times.

[2] "NCAA to give 30 leagues automatic bids". Greensboro News & Record. September 7, 1995. Retrieved May 20, 2023.

[3] "Kentucky vs. Massachusetts (March 30, 1996)".

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[2]

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v t e NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament
Tournaments	1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Structure	Selection process Venues No. 1 seeds First Four Elite Eight Final four
Champions & awards	List of champions Most Outstanding Player
Media & culture	Blue bloods Bracketology Broadcasting Tournament Final Four Cutting down the nets March Madness pools "One Shining Moment"
Records & statistics	Team records Bids by school Consecutive appearances Final Four participants Final Four appearances by coach Overall records Upsets Team appearances by seed
See also: Division I Women's Tournament, Division II Tournament, Division III Tournament

v t e 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournaments
Conference	American West ACC Atlantic 10 Big East Big Eight Big Sky Big South Big West CAA Conference USA MAAC MCC MEAC Mid-American Mid-Con Missouri Valley NAC Northeast Ohio Valley Patriot SEC Southern Southland Southwest SWAC Sun Belt TAAC WAC West Coast
National	NCAA NIT

Schedule and venues

Teams

Automatic qualifiers

Tournament seeds

Bracket

East Regional – Atlanta

Regional Final summary

East Regional all-tournament team

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis

Regional Final summary

Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Southeast Regional – Lexington, Kentucky

Regional Final summary

Southeast Regional all-tournament team

West Regional – Denver, Colorado

Regional Final summary

West Regional all-tournament team

Final Four at East Rutherford, New Jersey

National semifinals

National Championship

Final Four all-tournament team

Announcers

See also

References