The 1996 NCAA men’s basketball tournament featured 64 teams that played in single elimination format. March Madness 1996 kicked off on march 14th, 1996 and the 1996 NCAA Basketball Championship game was held on April 1st, 1996. The Final Four was played at Continental Airlines Arena at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Kentucky Wildcats won the tournament which would be the college’s sixth overall NCAA championship and first since 1978 under Coach Rick Pitino. The 1996 NCAA tournament was the first to be held in the New York area since 1950. In later years, the NCAA would strip the UMass Final Four appearance from Coach Calipari and the school due to the team using a player who had accepted illegal gifts from agents during the tourney. The UConn Huskies would also lose their tourney wins (Coach Jim Calhoun) due to NCAA violations.
1996 Final Four
The Kentucky Wildcats would go on to defeat the Syracuse Orange (Coached by Jim Boheim) in the 1996 Championship game 76-67. Guard, Tony Delk from Kentucky was named the MVP for the 1996 Tourney, and the Wildcats won the first four games of the tourney by 20 points or more. Pundits did criticize the NCAA for placing both UMASS and Kentucky on the same side of the bracket as the strongest two teams from regular season play which meant they would potentially play in the Final Four and not in the title game. Starting in 2004, the Selection Committee changed their procedures to ensure that the top overall seed in the tourney would have the lowest overall number one seed in the opposing bracket to avoid future instances of the top two seeds meeting each other in tourney play prior to the championship game.
1996 NCAA Basketball Tournament Video
1996 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket
1996 NCAA Tournament First and Second Round Locations
Albuquerque, New Mexico (University Arena)
Dallas, Texas (Reunion Arena)
Indianapolis, Indiana (Hoosier Dome)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Bradley Center)
Orlando, Florida (Orlando Arena)
Providence, Rhode Island (Providence Civic Center)
Richmond, Virginia (Richmond Coliseum)
Tempe, Arizona (Arizona State University Activity Center)
1996 NCAA Tournament Regional Locations
Southeast Lexington, Kentucky (Rupp Arena)
West Denver, Colorado (McNichols Sports Arena)
East Atlanta, Georgia (Georgia Dome)
Midwest Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome)
1996 NCAA Final Four Location
Finals East Rutherford, New Jersey (Continental Airlines Arena)
Printable 1996 NCAA Basketball Tournament Bracket
If the image of the 1996 NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket is not of a high enough resolution for you, a printable 1996 NCAA basketball tournament bracket is included in PDF format.
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