Market1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season
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1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1995 and concluded with the 64-team 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Kentucky Wildcats earned their sixth national championship by defeating the Syracuse Orangemen 76–67 on April 1, 1996. They were coached by Rick Pitino, and the NCAA basketball tournament Most Outstanding Player was Kentucky's Tony Delk.

Season headlines
Conference USA began play, with 11 original members. It was formed prior to the season by the merger of the Great Midwest Conference and the Metro Conference. • Head coach Rick Pitino led the Kentucky Wildcats to their sixth national championship, his first. • The American West Conference, Big Eight Conference, and Southwest Conference disbanded at the end of the season. == Pre-season polls ==
Pre-season polls
The top 25 from the pre-season AP Poll. == Conference membership changes ==
Conference membership changes
These schools joined new conferences for the 1995–96 season. == Regular season ==
Regular season
Conferences Conference winners and tournaments Twenty-nine conferences concluded their seasons with a single-elimination tournament, with only the Big Ten Conference, Ivy League and Pac-10 Conference choosing not to conduct conference tournaments. Since Penn and Princeton finished tied for the Ivy League regular-season title, the conference staged a one-game playoff between the teams at a neutral site to determine which school received the league's automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. Conference tournament winners, with the exception of those of the American West Conference and Conference USA, received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Conference standings Division I independents Two schools played as Division I independents. They had no postseason play. Informal championships For the fifth consecutive season, the Philadelphia Big 5 did not play a full round-robin schedule in which each team met each other team once, a format it had used from its first season of competition in 1955–56 through the 1990–91 season. Instead, each team played only two games against other Big 5 members, and Temple finished with a 2–0 record in head-to-head competition among the Big 5. The Big 5 did not revive its full round-robin schedule until the 1999–2000 season. Statistical leaders Source for additional stats categories == Postseason tournaments ==
Postseason tournaments
NCAA tournament ==== Final Four – Meadowlands, East Rutherford, New Jersey ==== National Invitation tournament Semifinals & finals == Award winners ==
Award winners
Consensus All-American teams Major player of the year awards Wooden Award: Marcus Camby, MassachusettsNaismith Award: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts • Associated Press Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts • NABC Player of the Year: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts • Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Marcus Camby, Massachusetts • Adolph Rupp Trophy: Marcus Camby, Massachusetts • 'Sporting News Player of the Year:' Marcus Camby, Massachusetts • UPI College Basketball Player of the Year: Ray Allen, Connecticut Major freshman of the year awards USBWA Freshman of the Year: No Award Given Major coach of the year awards Associated Press Coach of the Year: Gene Keady, PurdueHenry Iba Award (USBWA): Gene Keady, Purdue • NABC Coach of the Year: John Calipari, MassachusettsNaismith College Coach of the Year: John Calipari, Massachusetts • 'Sporting News Coach of the Year:' John Calipari, Massachusetts Other major awards NABC Defensive Player of the Year: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest • '''Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0):''' Eddie Benton, VermontRobert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Kerry Kittles, VillanovaNIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Adrian Griffin, Seton Hall == Coaching changes ==
Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches during the season and after it ended. == References ==
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