1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament
1996 Final Four logo
Teams	64
Finals site	Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey
Champions	Kentucky (6th title, 8th title game, 11th Final Four)
Runner-up	Syracuse (2nd title game, 3rd Final Four)
Semifinalists	Mississippi State (1st Final Four) Massachusetts (Vacated) (1st Final Four)
Winning coach	Rick Pitino (1st title)
MOP	Tony Delk Kentucky
Attendance	631,834
Top scorer	John Wallace Syracuse (131 points)
NCAA Men's Division I Tournaments «1995 1997»

The 1996 NCAA Men's Division I 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 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. However, it must also be noted that Connecticut 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. Meanwhile, Kentucky was apparently dropped to the #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.

Connecticut, coached by Jim Calhoun and Massachusetts, coached by John Calipari, were later stripped of their wins, including the UMass Minutemen's Final Four appearance, by the NCAA because players (including UMass star Marcus Camby) had accepted illegal gifts from agents.^[1]

Locations

Providence

Richmond

Indianapolis

Orlando

Milwaukee

Dallas

Albuquerque

Tempe

1997 first and second rounds

Denver

Minneapolis

Lexington

Atlanta

E. Rutherford

1997 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

First and second rounds

March 14 and 16

Providence Civic Center, Providence, Rhode Island

RCA Dome, Indianapolis

Reunion Arena, Dallas

University Arena, Albuquerque, New Mexico

March 15 and 17

Arizona State University Activity Center, Tempe, Arizona

Bradley Center, Milwaukee

Orlando Arena, Orlando, Florida

Richmond Coliseum, Richmond, Virginia

Regionals

March 21 and 23

East Regional, Georgia Dome, Atlanta

Midwest Regional, Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, Minneapolis

March 22 and 24

Southeast Regional, Rupp Arena, Lexington, Kentucky

West Regional, McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, Colorado

Final Four

March 30 and April 1

Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey

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	20-9	Automatic
#15	Mississippi Valley State	Lafayette Stribling	SWAC	22-6	Automatic
#16	Central Florida	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	UW-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	At-Large
#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	Virginia Commonwealth	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)

East Regional – Atlanta

	First round					Second round					Regional Semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Massachusetts	92
	16	Central Florida	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 Minutemen 86, #2 Georgetown Hoyas 62
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 Halftime Score: Massachusetts, 38-34

Georgia Dome – Atlanta

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	64
	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	64
	15	Northeast Louisiana	50

Regional Final summary

CBS

Saturday, March 23

box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 83, #2 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 64
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 Halftime Score: Kentucky, 38-19

Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome – Minneapolis

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	Virginia Commonwealth	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 Bulldogs 73, #2 Cincinnati Bearcats 63
Pts: D. Jones – 23 Rebs: D. Jones – 13 Asts: D. Wilson – 6		Pts: D. Fortson – 24 Rebs: D. Fortson – 13 Asts: K. Legree – 4 Halftime Score: Mississippi State, 37-29

Rupp Arena – Lexington, Kentucky

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

box score

#4 Syracuse Orangemen 60, #2 Kansas Jayhawks 57
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 Halftime Score: Syracuse, 35-26

McNichols Sports Arena – Denver, Colorado

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

Game summaries

CBS

Saturday, March 30

box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 81, #1 Massachusetts Minutemen 74
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 Halftime Score: 36-28

Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, New Jersey

CBS

Saturday, March 30

box score

#4 Syracuse Orangemen 77, #5 Mississippi State Bulldogs 69
Pts: J. Wallace – 21 Rebs: T. Burgan – 7 Asts: L. Siims – 9		Pts: D. Wilson – 20 Rebs: E. Dampier – 14 Asts: M. Bullard – 8 Halftime Score: 36-36

Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, New Jersey

National Championship

CBS

Monday, April, 1

Box score

#1 Kentucky Wildcats 76, #4 Syracuse Orangemen 67
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 Halftime Score: Kentucky, 42-33

Continental Airlines Arena – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Announcers

• Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – First & Second Round at Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Southwest 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
• Tim Ryan and Al McGuire – First & Second Round at Providence, RD; 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

References

1. http://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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