1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

1995–1996 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
1995–1996 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National Champions; SEC regular season champions
National Championship Game, ; W 76-67 vs. Syracuse
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	34–2 (16–0 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Pitino (7th season);
Assistant coaches	Jim O'Brien; Winston Bennett; Delray Brooks;
Home arena	Rupp Arena
	Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1995–96 college basketball season. Coached by Rick Pitino, the team finished the season with a 34–2 record and won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship over the Syracuse University Orangemen, 76–67.^[2]

1995–96 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
East
No. 2 Kentucky	16	–	0	1.000	34	–	2	.944
Georgia	9	–	7	.563	21	–	10	.677
South Carolina	8	–	8	.500	19	–	12	.613
Vanderbilt	7	–	9	.438	18	–	14	.563
Florida	6	–	10	.375	12	–	16	.429
Tennessee	6	–	10	.375	14	–	15	.483
West
No. 19 Mississippi State †	10	–	6	.625	26	–	8	.765
Arkansas	9	–	7	.563	20	–	13	.606
Alabama	9	–	7	.563	19	–	13	.594
Ole Miss	6	–	10	.375	12	–	15	.444
Auburn	6	–	10	.375	19	–	13	.594
LSU	4	–	12	.250	12	–	17	.414

† 1996 SEC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]

Also known as "The Untouchables",^[3] nine players from the 95–96 team eventually played in the NBA. These players were Derek Anderson, Tony Delk, Walter McCarty, Ron Mercer, Nazr Mohammed, Mark Pope, Jeff Sheppard, Wayne Turner, and Antoine Walker. The 1995–96 Kentucky team is widely regarded as one of the greatest teams in NCAA Division I Men's Basketball history.^[4]

Roster

1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
G	00	Tony Delk	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	—	Sr	Brownsville, TN
G/F	3	Allen Edwards	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	So	Miami, FL
G	5	Wayne Turner	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Fr	Boston, MA
C	13	Nazr Mohammed	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	—	Fr	Chicago, IL
G	15	Jeff Sheppard	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	—	Jr	Peachtree City, GA
G	21	Cameron Mills	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	—	So	Lexington, KY
G/F	23	Derek Anderson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	—	Jr	Louisville, KY
F	24	Antoine Walker	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	So	Chicago, IL
G	25	Anthony Epps	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Jr	Lebanon, KY
F	32	Jared Prickett	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	—	Jr	Fairmont, WV
F	33	Ron Mercer	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	—	Fr	Nashville, TN
F	40	Walter McCarty	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	—	Sr	Evansville, IN
C	41	Mark Pope	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	—	Sr	Bellevue, WA
F	43	Jason Lathrem	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	—	Fr	Bowling Green, KY
G	51	Oliver Simmons	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	—	Fr	Nashville, TN

Head coach

Rick Pitino

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

^[5]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
7 November 1995* UKTV		Cagiva Varese	W 98–74		Rupp Arena (–) Lexington, KY
17 November 1995* UKTV		Athletes in Action	W 119–80		Rupp Arena (–) Lexington, KY
Regular Season
24 November 1995* ESPN	No. 1	vs. No. 14 Maryland Tip-off Classic	W 96–84	1–0	Springfield Civic Center (8,999) Springfield, MA
28 November 1995* ESPN	No. 1	vs. No. 5 Massachusetts Great Eight	L 82–92	1–1	The Palace (15,454) Auburn Hills, MI
2 December 1995* 3:00 p.m.^[6], CBS	No. 1	vs. Indiana	W 89–82	2–1	RCA Dome (41,071) Indianapolis, IN
6 December 1995* UKTV	No. 5	Green Bay	W 74–62	3–1	Rupp Arena (22,825) Lexington, KY
9 December 1995* 8:30 p.m.^[6], ESPN	No. 5	No. 16 Georgia Tech	W 83–60	4–1	Rupp Arena (24,238) Lexington, KY
16 December 1995* UKTV	No. 5	Morehead State	W 96–32	5–1	Rupp Arena (24,065) Lexington, KY
19 December 1995* UKTV	No. 5	vs. Marshall	W 118–99	6–1	Freedom Hall (19,795) Louisville, KY
23 December 1995* 3:00 p.m.^[6], CBS	No. 4	No. 25 Louisville	W 89–66	7–1	Rupp Arena (24,340) Lexington, KY
27 December 1995* UKTV	No. 2	vs. Rider ECAC Holiday Festival	W 90–65	8–1	Madison Square Garden (13,175) New York, NY
29 December 1995* UKTV	No. 2	vs. Iona ECAC Holiday Festival	W 106–79	9–1	Madison Square Garden (13,659) New York, NY
3 January 1996 8:00 p.m.^[6], JP	No. 2	at South Carolina	W 89–60	10–1 (1–0)	Frank McGuire Arena (12,068) Columbia, SC
6 January 1996 UKTV	No. 2	Ole Miss	W 90–60	11–1 (2–0)	Rupp Arena (21,275) Lexington, KY
9 January 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	at No. 12 Mississippi State	W 74–56	12–1 (3–0)	Humphrey Coliseum (10,315) Starkville, MS
13 January 1996 UKTV	No. 2	Tennessee	W 61–44	13–1 (4–0)	Rupp Arena (24,247) Lexington, KY
16 January 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	at LSU	W 129–97	14–1 (5–0)	Pete Maravich Assembly Center (12,684) Baton Rouge, LA
20 January 1996* 7:15 p.m.^[6], ESPN	No. 2	TCU	W 124–80	15–1	Rupp Arena (24,189) Lexington, KY
24 January 1996 8:00 p.m., JP	No. 2	at Georgia	W 82–77	16–1 (6–0)	Stegeman Coliseum (10,523) Athens, GA
27 January 1996 8:00 p.m., UKTV	No. 2	South Carolina	W 89–57	17–1 (7–0)	Rupp Arena (24,229) Lexington, KY
3 February 1996 1:00 p.m., JP	No. 2	Florida	W 77–63	18–1 (8–0)	Rupp Arena (24,251) Lexington, KY
7 February 1996 8:00 p.m.^[6], JP	No. 2	at Vanderbilt	W 120–81	19–1 (9–0)	Memorial Gymnasium (15,311) Nashville, TN
11 February 1996 3:00 p.m., CBS	No. 2	Arkansas	W 88–73	20–1 (10–0)	Rupp Arena (24,336) Lexington, KY
13 February 1996 8:00 p.m., JP	No. 2	Georgia	W 86–73	21–1 (11–0)	Rupp Arena (24,206) Lexington, KY
17 February 1996 3:00 p.m., JP	No. 2	at Tennessee	W 90–50	22–1 (12–0)	Thompson-Boling Arena (23,115) Knoxville, TN
20 February 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	Alabama	W 84–65	23–1 (13–0)	Rupp Arena (24,175) Lexington, KY
24 February 1996 1:00 p.m., CBS	No. 2	at Florida	W 94–63	24–1 (14–0)	Stephen C. O'Connell Center (10,697) Gainesville, FL
27 February 1996 9:30 p.m., ESPN	No. 2	at Auburn	W 88–73	25–1 (15–0)	Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum (10,108) Auburn, AL
2 March 1996 UKTV	No. 1	Vanderbilt Homecoming	W 101–63	26–1 (16–0)	Rupp Arena (24,257) Lexington, KY
SEC tournament
8 March 1996 JP	(E1) No. 1	vs. (E5) Florida Quarterfinals	W 100–76	27–1	Louisiana Superdome (21,248) New Orleans, LA
9 March 1996 JP	(E1) No. 1	vs. (W2) Arkansas Semifinals	W 95–75	28–1	Louisiana Superdome (24,556) New Orleans, LA
10 March 1996 CBS	(E1) No. 1	vs. (W1) No. 25 Mississippi State Championship	L 73–84	28–2	Louisiana Superdome (24,462) New Orleans, LA
NCAA tournament
14 March 1996* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (16 MW) San Jose State First Round	W 110–72	29–2	Reunion Arena (13,458) Dallas, TX
16 March 1996* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (9 MW) No. 16 Virginia Tech Second Round	W 84–60	30–2	Reunion Arena (15,469) Dallas, TX
21 March 1996* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (4 MW) No. 10 Utah Sweet Sixteen	W 101–70	31–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (30,334) Minneapolis, MN
23 March 1996* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (2 MW) No. 13 Wake Forest Elite Eight	W 83–63	32–2	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (30,397) Minneapolis, MN
30 March 1996* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Massachusetts Final Four	W 81–74	33–2	Continental Airlines Arena (19,229) East Rutherford, NJ
1 April 1996* CBS	(1 MW) No. 2	vs. (4 W) No. 15 Syracuse National Championship	W 76–67	34–2	Continental Airlines Arena (19,229) East Rutherford, NJ
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.

^[7]

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	1	1	1	5	5	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	Not released
Coaches	1	1	1	5	5	4	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	2	1	1	2	1

Awards and honors

Tony Delk, NCAA Men's MOP Award^[8]

Players drafted into the NBA

Round	Pick	Player	NBA Club
1	6	Antoine Walker	Boston Celtics
1	16	Tony Delk	Charlotte Hornets
1	19	Walter McCarty	Portland Trail Blazers
2	23 (52)	Mark Pope	Indiana Pacers

^[9]

References

^ sports-reference.com 1995-96 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
^ NCAA (11 May 2020). "1996 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records". NCAA.com. Retrieved 24 April 2024.
^ Bradley, Bill (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House, Inc. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.
^ Henderson, Pat (1996). Untouchable, the Crowning of the Commonwealth. Host Communications. ISBN 9781576400104.
^ "Roster for 1995-96".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 1995-96 Tennessee Volunteers Basketball Media Guide, page 165.
^ "Home". bigbluehistory.net.
^ "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
^ "1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

External links

Official Site Archived 7 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine

[1] sports-reference.com 1995-96 Southeastern Conference Season Summary

[2] NCAA (11 May 2020). "1996 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records". NCAA.com. Retrieved 24 April 2024.

[3] Bradley, Bill (2009). ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House, Inc. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[4] Henderson, Pat (1996). Untouchable, the Crowning of the Commonwealth. Host Communications. ISBN 9781576400104.

[5] "Roster for 1995-96".

[utmbk96-6] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f 1995-96 Tennessee Volunteers Basketball Media Guide, page 165.

[7] "Home". bigbluehistory.net.

[Tourney_History-8] "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2008.

[9] "1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.

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1995–1996 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball

NCAA tournament National Champions SEC regular season champions
National Championship Game, W 76-67 vs. Syracuse
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 2
Record	34–2 (16–0 SEC)
Head coach	Rick Pitino (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Jim O'Brien Winston Bennett Delray Brooks
Home arena	Rupp Arena
Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 →