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 Izod Center) in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. A total of 63 games were played.

1996 NCAA Division I
Men's Basketball Tournament
Season1995–96
Teams64
Finals siteContinental Airlines Arena
East Rutherford, New Jersey
ChampionsKentucky Wildcats (6th title, 8th title game,
11th Final Four)
Runner-upSyracuse Orange (2nd title game,
3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists
Winning coachRick Pitino (1st title)
MOPTony Delk (Kentucky)
Attendance631,834
Top scorerJohn Wallace Syracuse
(131 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 their first appearance in the Final Four since 1993 and eleventh overall, Massachusetts, making their first ever appearance in the Final Four, Syracuse, making their third appearance in the Final Four and first since 1987, and Mississippi State, also making their first appearance.

Kentucky won their 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. 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. Meanwhile, Kentucky was apparently dropped to #3 overall seed following their defeat to Mississippi State in the SEC conference tournament final. 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 their 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]

Locations
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)

First & Second Rounds
RegionSiteVenueHost
East Providence, Rhode Island Providence Civic Center Providence
Richmond, Virginia Richmond Coliseum Richmond/VCU
Midwest Dallas, Texas Reunion Arena SWC
Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center Marquette/UW Milwaukee
Southeast Indianapolis, Indiana RCA Dome Butler/IUPUI
Orlando, Florida Orlando Arena Stetson
West Albuquerque, New Mexico University Arena ("The Pit") New Mexico
Tempe, Arizona ASU Activity Center Arizona State

Regional Sites and Final Four
RegionSiteVenueHost
East Atlanta, Georgia Georgia Dome Georgia Tech
Midwest Minneapolis, Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minnesota
Southeast Lexington, Kentucky Rupp Arena Kentucky
West Denver, Colorado McNichols Sports Arena Colorado
Final Four East Rutherford, New Jersey Continental Airlines Arena Seton Hall

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 27–4 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 (Horizon) 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 23–5 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 (Horizon) 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 25–5 Automatic
#2 Kansas Roy Williams Big Eight 26–4 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
#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

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
#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

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
#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

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 79
10 Santa Clara 91
10 Santa Clara 51
Tempe
2 Kansas 76
2 Kansas 92
15 South Carolina State 54

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. 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
#1 Kentucky Wildcats 81, #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
#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
#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

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
  1. https://www.nytimes.com/1997/05/09/sports/umass-and-uconn-lose-96-honors.html
  2. http://www.bigbluehistory.net/bb/statistics/Games/19960330Massachusetts.html
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