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 Orange (2nd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Massachusetts 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 (131 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 Izod Center) 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.

The committee that put together the bracket in 1996 was criticized for placing what seemed to be the best two teams in college basketball – Massachusetts and Kentucky – on the same side of the bracket so that they faced each other in the national semifinal – not the final game itself.^{[ citation needed ]} Note that there are guidelines that the selection committee follows. In 2004 the procedure would be changed so that the regional sites would first be assigned their #1 seeds, then would be placed in the bracket so that the #1 overall seed would face the fourth #1 seed while the second #1 seed would face the third #1 seed, barring any upsets. Although Kentucky was the tourney favorite, Connecticut, led by star guard Ray Allen, was the presumed #1 overall seed that season, after compiling a 30–2 record during the season in a strong Big East Conference, including a conference tournament victory over Georgetown-led by Allen Iverson, who went on to be the number one pick in the draft following the season.^{[ citation needed ]} Meanwhile, Kentucky was apparently dropped to #3 overall seed following its defeat to Mississippi State in the SEC conference tournament final.^{[ citation needed ]} Kentucky also could not be placed in the Southeast region since the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games were being played in Kentucky's home arena, Rupp Arena.

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 Twelve 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 and 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 and 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 Institute of Technology)
  • 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 (Host: Seton Hall University)

East Rutherford became the 25th different host city, and the Continental Airlines Arena the 30th host venue, to host the Final Four. While the New York metropolitan area is the largest metropolitan area to host the Final Four, and had previously at the old Madison Square Garden, the town of East Rutherford itself is the smallest town to host a Final Four. Once more, all four regional sites were former and future Final Four sites. The only new venue of the tournament was the Georgia Dome, which would host five regional rounds and three Final Fours before closing in 2017. Any future tournament games to be held in New Jersey would be played at the Prudential Center; if in Atlanta, the Mercedes-Benz Stadium or State Farm Arena; if in Orlando, the Amway Center.

Teams

East Regional – Atlanta
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Massachusetts (vacated)	John Calipari	Atlantic 10	31–1	Automatic
#2	Georgetown	John Thompson	Big East	26–7	At-Large
#3	Texas Tech	James Dickey	SWC	28–1	Automatic
#4	Marquette	Mike Deane	Conference USA	22–7	At-Large
#5	Penn State	Jerry Dunn	Big Ten	21–6	At-Large
#6	North Carolina	Dean Smith	ACC	20–10	At-Large
#7	New Mexico	Dave Bliss	WAC	28-5	Automatic
#8	Bradley	Jim Molinari	Missouri Valley	22–7	At-Large
#9	Stanford	Mike Montgomery	Pac-10	19–8	At-Large
#10	Kansas State	Tom Asbury	Big Eight	17–11	At-Large
#11	New Orleans	Tic Price	Sun Belt	21–8	Automatic
#12	Arkansas	Nolan Richardson	SEC	18–12	At-Large
#13	Monmouth	Wayne Szoke	NEC	20–9	Automatic
#14	Northern Illinois	Brian Hammel	MCC	20–9	Automatic
#15	Mississippi Valley State	Lafayette Stribling	SWAC	22–6	Automatic
#16	UCF	Kirk Speraw	TAAC	11–18	Automatic

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Kentucky	Rick Pitino	SEC	28–2	At-Large
#2	Wake Forest	Dave Odom	ACC	26-6	Automatic
#3	Villanova	Steve Lappas	Big East	25–6	At-Large
#4	Utah	Rick Majerus	WAC	25–6	At-Large
#5	Iowa State	Tim Floyd	Big Eight	23–8	Automatic
#6	Louisville	Denny Crum	Conference USA	20–11	At-Large
#7	Michigan (vacated)	Steve Fisher	Big Ten	20-11	At-Large
#8	Green Bay	Mike Heideman	MCC	25–3	At-Large
#9	Virginia Tech	Bill Foster	Atlantic 10	22–5	At-Large
#10	Texas	Tom Penders	SWC	20–9	At-Large
#11	Tulsa	Steve Robinson	Missouri Valley	22–7	Automatic
#12	California	Todd Bozeman	Pac-10	17–10	At-Large
#13	Canisius	John Beilein	MAAC	19–10	Automatic
#14	Portland	Rob Chavez	West Coast	19–10	Automatic
#15	Northeast Louisiana	Mike Vining	Southland	16–13	Automatic
#16	San Jose State	Stan Morrison	Big West	13–16	Automatic

Southeast Regional – Lexington
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Connecticut	Jim Calhoun	Big East	30–2	Automatic
#2	Cincinnati	Bob Huggins	Conference USA	25–4	Automatic
#3	Georgia Tech	Bobby Cremins	ACC	22–11	At-Large
#4	UCLA	Jim Harrick	Pac-10	23–7	Automatic
#5	Mississippi State	Richard Williams	SEC	22–7	Automatic
#6	Indiana	Bob Knight	Big Ten	19–11	At-Large
#7	Temple	John Chaney	Atlantic 10	19–12	At-Large
#8	Duke	Mike Krzyzewski	ACC	18–12	At-Large
#9	Eastern Michigan	Ben Braun	Mid-American	24–5	Automatic
#10	Oklahoma	Kelvin Sampson	Big Eight	17–12	At-Large
#11	Boston College	Jim O'Brien	Big East	18–10	At-Large
#12	VCU	Sonny Smith	CAA	17–10	Automatic
#13	Princeton	Pete Carril	Ivy League	21–6	Automatic
#14	Austin Peay	Dave Loos	Ohio Valley	19–10	Automatic
#15	UNC Greensboro	Randy Peele	Big South	20-–9	Automatic
#16	Colgate	Jack Bruen	Patriot League	15–14	Automatic

West Regional – Denver
Seed	School	Coach	Conference	Record	Bid Type
#1	Purdue	Gene Keady	Big Ten	26-4	Automatic
#2	Kansas	Roy Williams	Big Eight	25-5	At-Large
#3	Arizona	Lute Olson	Pac-10	24–6	At-Large
#4	Syracuse	Jim Boeheim	Big East	24–8	At-Large
#5	Memphis	Larry Finch	Conference USA	22–7	At-Large
#6	Iowa	Tom Davis	Big Ten	22–8	At-Large
#7	Maryland	Gary Williams	ACC	17–12	At-Large
#8	Georgia	Tubby Smith	SEC	19–9	At-Large
#9	Clemson	Rick Barnes	ACC	18–10	At-Large
#10	Santa Clara	Dick Davey	West Coast	19–8	At-Large
#11	George Washington	Mike Jarvis	Atlantic 10	21–7	At-Large
#12	Drexel	Bill Herrion	NAC	26–3	Automatic
#13	Montana State	Mick Durham	Big Sky	21–8	Automatic
#14	Valparaiso	Homer Drew	Mid-Continent	21–10	Automatic
#15	South Carolina State	Cy Alexander	MEAC	22–7	Automatic
#16	Western Carolina	Phil Hopkins	Southern	17–12	Automatic

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – Atlanta

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Massachusetts	92
	16	UCF	70
						1	Massachusetts	79
	Providence
						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
						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
						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
						2	Georgetown	75
	2	Georgetown	93
	15	Mississippi Valley State	56

Regional Final summary

CBS

Saturday, March 23

box score

#1 Massachusetts Minutemen86, #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

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kentucky	110
	16	San Jose State	72
						1	Kentucky	84
	Dallas
						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
						4	Utah	73
	4	Utah	72
	13	Canisius	43
																1	Kentucky	83
																2	Wake Forest	63
	6	Louisville	82
	11	Tulsa	80*
						6	Louisville	68
	Milwaukee
						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
						2	Wake Forest	65
	2	Wake Forest	62
	15	Northeast Louisiana	50

Regional Final summary

CBS

Saturday, March 23

box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats83, #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

Southeast Regional – Lexington, Kentucky

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Connecticut	68
	16	Colgate	59
						1	Connecticut	95
	Indianapolis
						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
						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
						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
						2	Cincinnati	78
	2	Cincinnati	66
	15	UNC Greensboro	61

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 24

box score

#5 Mississippi State Bulldogs73, #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

West Regional – Denver, Colorado

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Purdue	73
	16	Western Carolina	71
						1	Purdue	69
	Albuquerque
						8	Georgia	76
	8	Georgia	81
	9	Clemson	74
											8	Georgia	81*
											4	Syracuse	83
	5	Memphis	63
	12	Drexel	75
						12	Drexel	58
	Albuquerque
						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
						3	Arizona	87
	3	Arizona	90
	14	Valparaiso	51
											3	Arizona	80
											2	Kansas	83
	7	Maryland	99
	10	Santa Clara	91
						7	Maryland	61
	Tempe
						2	Kansas	76
	2	Kansas	92
	15	South Carolina State	54

Regional Final summary

CBS

Sunday, March 24

box score

#4 Syracuse Orangemen60, #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

Final Four at East Rutherford, New Jersey

	National Semifinals					National Championship Game
	E1	Massachusetts #	74
	M1	Kentucky	81
						M1	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.

Game summaries

CBS

Saturday, March 30

box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats81, #1 Massachusetts Minutemen 74
Scoring by half: 36–28, 45–46
Pts: T. Delk  – 20 Rebs: W. McCarty  – 10 [2] 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 Orangemen77, #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 Wildcats76, #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

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 and Bill Raftery  – 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 and Quinn Buckner  – 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. Cavanaugh, Jack (9 May 1997). "UMass and UConn Lose '96 Honors". The New York Times.
2. "Kentucky vs. Massachusetts (March 30, 1996)".