1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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.^[1]

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 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, coached by Rick Pitino, won its sixth national championship by defeating Syracuse in the final game 76–67. It was the Orangemen's second championship game loss under coach Jim Boeheim, joining a 74-73 defeat vs. Indiana in 1987 (Boeheim and Syracuse finally won the championship in 2003).

The championship game the second Final Four meeting between Pitino and Boeheim. Boeheim's Orangemen defeated Pitino's Providence Friars in the 1987 semifinals.

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.^[2]

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 were the last Division I conferences to disband and/or merge after sending teams to the NCAA tournament.

As of 2024, this is the earliest tournament from which all four Final Four coaches (Pitino, Boeheim, Calipari and Missisisppi State's Richard Williams) are still living.

This was the last NCAA tournament in which officials wore collared shirts. A v-neck shirt, already worn in several conferences during the regular season, was adopted association-wide during the 1996-97 season.

Schedule and venues

Providence

Richmond

Indianapolis

Orlando

Milwaukee

Dallas

Albuquerque

Tempe

1996 first and second rounds

Denver

Minneapolis

Lexington

Atlanta

E. Rutherford

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.^[3]

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	82OT
	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	83OT
	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 [4] 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

Main article: 1996 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship Game

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.

See also

• 1996 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1996 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 1996 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1996 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 1996 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1996 National Invitation Tournament
• 1996 National Women's Invitation Tournament
• 1996 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1996 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1996 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1996 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

References

1. "1996 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved December 9, 2024.
2. Cavanaugh, Jack (May 9, 1997). "UMass and UConn Lose '96 Honors". The New York Times.
3. "NCAA to give 30 leagues automatic bids". Greensboro News & Record. September 7, 1995. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
4. "Kentucky vs. Massachusetts (March 30, 1996)".