1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

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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]

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 four teams from the SWC would merge with the Big Eight to form the Big 12 Conference. Through 2025, they were the last Division I conferences to disband and/or merge after sending teams to the NCAA tournament. (In 2024, the Pac-12 sent four teams to the tournament before it nearly disintegrated, with all but two members--Oregon State and Washington State--leaving for other conferences. The Beavers and Cougars played in the West Coast Conference during the 2024–25 season.)

This is also one of only two Final Fours between 1986 and 2001 (1987 being the other) to include neither Duke nor North Carolina.

As of 2025, this is the earliest tournament from which all four Final Four coaches (Pitino, Boeheim, Calipari and Mississippi State's Richard Williams) are still living.

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

Schedule and venues

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The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1996 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

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 Script error: No such module "sort".
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 Script error: No such module "sort".
Missouri Valley Tulsa 9th 1995
NAC Drexel 4th 1995
NEC Monmouth 1st Script error: No such module "sort".
Ohio Valley Austin Peay 4th 1987
Pac-10 UCLA 31st 1995
Patriot Colgate 2nd 1995
SEC Mississippi State 4th 1995
Southern Western Carolina 1st Script error: No such module "sort".
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

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Regional Final summary

CBS
Saturday, March 23
#1 Template:Strikethrough 86, #2 Georgetown Hoyas 62
Scoring by half: 38–34, 48–28
Pts: M.CambyTemplate:Snd 22
Rebs: D. Bright, M. CambyTemplate:Snd 7
Asts: C. TraviesoTemplate:Snd 6		 Pts: A. IversonTemplate:Snd 23
Rebs: J. WilliamsTemplate:Snd 8
Asts: J. Touomou, J. Williams, O. HarringtonTemplate:Snd 2
Georgia DomeTemplate:Snd Atlanta, GA

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East Regional all-tournament team

Midwest Regional – Minneapolis

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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
#1 Kentucky Wildcats 83, #2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 63
Scoring by half: 38–19, 45–44
Pts: T. DelkTemplate:Snd 25
Rebs: A. WalkerTemplate:Snd 6
Asts: A. EppsTemplate:Snd 6		 Pts: S. Goolsby, T. DuncanTemplate:Snd 14
Rebs: T. DuncanTemplate:Snd 16
Asts: T. DuncanTemplate:Snd 6
Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeTemplate:Snd Minneapolis, MN

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Midwest Regional all-tournament team

Southeast Regional – Lexington, Kentucky

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Regional Final summary

CBS
Sunday, March 24
#5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 73, #2 Cincinnati Bearcats 63
Scoring by half: 37–29, 36–34
Pts: D. JonesTemplate:Snd 23
Rebs: D. JonesTemplate:Snd 13
Asts: D. WilsonTemplate:Snd 6		 Pts: D. FortsonTemplate:Snd 24
Rebs: D. FortsonTemplate:Snd 13
Asts: K. LegreeTemplate:Snd 4
Rupp ArenaTemplate:Snd Lexington, KY

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Southeast Regional all-tournament team

West Regional – Denver, Colorado

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Regional Final summary

CBS
Sunday, March 24
#4 Syracuse Orangemen 60, #2 Kansas Jayhawks 57
Scoring by half: 35–26, 25–31
Pts: J. Wallace, O. HillTemplate:Snd 15
Rebs: J. WallaceTemplate:Snd 9
Asts: L. SimsTemplate:Snd 4		 Pts: J. VaughnTemplate:Snd 21
Rebs: R. LaFrentzTemplate:Snd 9
Asts: J. HaaseTemplate:Snd 6
McNichols Sports ArenaTemplate:Snd Denver, CO

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West Regional all-tournament team

Final Four at East Rutherford, New Jersey

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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
#1 Kentucky Wildcats 81, #1 Template:Strikethrough 74
Scoring by half: 36–28, 45–46
Pts: T. DelkTemplate:Snd 20
Rebs: W. McCartyTemplate:Snd 10 [4]
Asts: A. Epps, A. Walker, D. Anderson, W. McCartyTemplate:Snd 4		 Pts: M. CambyTemplate:Snd 25
Rebs: D. BrightTemplate:Snd 9
Asts: E. PadillaTemplate:Snd 12
Continental Airlines ArenaTemplate:Snd East Rutherford, NJ

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CBS
Saturday, March 30
#4 Syracuse Orangemen 77, #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 69
Scoring by half: 36–36, 41–33
Pts: J. WallaceTemplate:Snd 21
Rebs: T. BurganTemplate:Snd 7
Asts: L. SiimsTemplate:Snd 9		 Pts: D. WilsonTemplate:Snd 20
Rebs: E. DampierTemplate:Snd 14
Asts: M. BullardTemplate:Snd 8
Continental Airlines ArenaTemplate:Snd East Rutherford, NJ

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National Championship

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CBS
Monday, April 1
#1 Kentucky Wildcats 76, #4 Syracuse Orangemen 67
Scoring by half: 42–33, 34–34
Pts: T. DelkTemplate:Snd 24
Rebs: A. WalkerTemplate:Snd 9
Asts: A. EppsTemplate:Snd 7		 Pts: J. WallaceTemplate:Snd 29
Rebs: J. Wallace, O. HillTemplate:Snd 10
Asts: L. SimsTemplate:Snd 7
Continental Airlines ArenaTemplate:Snd East Rutherford, NJ

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Final Four all-tournament team

Announcers

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

References

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