1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1995–96 men's basketball season. Led by head coach Rick Majerus, the Utes made a run to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament. The team finished with an overall record of 27–7 (15–3 WAC).

1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball
WAC Regular season champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 12
Record	27–7 (15–3 WAC)
Head coach	Rick Majerus (7th season)
Captain	Keith Van Horn
Home arena	Jon M. Huntsman Center
Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 →

1995–96 WAC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 12 Utah	15	–	3		.833			27	–	7		.794
No. 23 New Mexico †	14	–	4		.778			28	–	5		.848
Fresno State	13	–	5		.722			22	–	11		.667
Colorado State	11	–	7		.611			18	–	12		.600
BYU	9	–	9		.500			15	–	13		.536
Wyoming	8	–	10		.444			14	–	15		.483
San Diego State	8	–	10		.444			15	–	14		.517
Hawaii	7	–	11		.389			10	–	18		.357
UTEP	4	–	14		.222			13	–	15		.464
Air Force	1	–	17		.056			5	–	23		.179
† 1996 WAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Roster

1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown PG 10 Ted Cierzniak 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Lakewood, Colorado SG 15 Derek Broomhall 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Fr Sacramento, California SF 18 Brent Wieland 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Prosper, Texas PG 24 Andre Miller 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Fr Los Angeles, California SF 29 Corey Trautner 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Sr Millville, Utah G 34 Drew Hansen — — So F 44 Keith Van Horn (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Diamond Bar, California C 51 Michael Doleac 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) So Portland, Oregon	Head coach Rick Majerus (Marquette) Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 25, 1995*	No. 8	vs. No. 2 Kansas The Classic	L 68–79	0–1	Kemper Arena  Kansas City, Missouri
Nov 29, 1995*	No. 14	at Texas	W 70–69	1–1	Frank Erwin Center  Austin, Texas
Dec 1, 1995*	No. 14	Lewis–Clark	W 91–64	2–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 4, 1995*	No. 14	Drake	W 86–50[2]	3–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 6, 1995*	No. 14	at Weber State	W 89–60	4–1	Dee Events Center  Ogden, Utah
Dec 9, 1995*	No. 14	Utah State	W 59–43	5–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 15, 1995*	No. 13	St. Thomas (MN)	W 87–63	6–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 21, 1995*	No. 13	at No. 12 Wake Forest	L 56–60	6–2	Lawrence Joel Coliseum  Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Dec 23, 1995*	No. 13	USC	W 84–49	7–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 27, 1995*	No. 15	Cal State Fullerton	W 108–58	8–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
WAC regular season
Jan 2, 1996	No. 15	BYU	W 83–77	9–2 (1–0)	Jon M. Huntsman Center  Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 2, 1996	No. 10	at BYU	W 96–85	23–5 (15–3)	Marriott Center  Provo, Utah
WAC Tournament
Mar 7, 1996*	(1) No. 10	vs. (8) Hawaii Quarterfinals	W 76–63	24–5	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 8, 1996*	(1) No. 10	vs. (4) Colorado State Semifinals	W 71–69	25–5	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 9, 1996*	(1) No. 10	vs. (2) New Mexico Championship	L 60–64	25–6	The Pit  Albuquerque, New Mexico
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1996*	(4 MW) No. 12	vs. (13 MW) Canisius First round	W 72–43	26–6	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
Mar 16, 1996*	(4 MW) No. 12	vs. (5 MW) No. 17 Iowa State Second Round	W 73–67	27–6	Reunion Arena  Dallas, Texas
Mar 21, 1996*	(4 MW) No. 12	vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kentucky Midwest Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 70–101	27–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (30,334) Minneapolis, Minnesota
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

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Rankings

See also: 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	10	8	14	14	13	13	15	15	13	15	10	7	7	7	8	10	10	12	Not released
Coaches	11	10	17	14	14	14	16	16	10	11	9	7	7	7	8	10	8	10	12

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Awards and honors

• Keith Van Horn – Consensus Second-team All-American, WAC Player of the Year (2x)

References

1. sports-reference.com 1995-96 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
2. "No. 14 Utah 86, Drake 50". Associated Press. December 5, 1995. Retrieved March 3, 2023.
3. "2020-21 Utah Utes Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
4. ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. pp. 1042–1043. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.