1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team

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.

1995–1996 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball
NCAA tournament National champions
SEC regular season champions
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 2
Record34–2 (16–0 SEC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaRupp Arena
1995–96 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L PCTW L PCT
East
No. 2 Kentucky160 1.000342  .944
Georgia97 .5632110  .677
South Carolina88 .5001912  .613
Vanderbilt79 .4381814  .563
Florida610 .3751216  .429
Tennessee610 .3751415  .483
West
No. 19 Mississippi State106 .625268  .765
Arkansas97 .5632013  .606
Alabama97 .5631913  .594
Ole Miss610 .3751215  .444
Auburn610 .3751913  .594
LSU412 .2501217  .414
1996 SEC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Also known as "The Untouchables",[2] 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.

Roster

1995–96 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team
PlayersCoaches
Pos.#NameHeightWeightYearHometown
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 Current redshirt 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
Assistant coach(es)

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

[3]

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.[4], 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.[4], 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.[4], 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.[4], 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.[4], 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.[4], 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) 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.

[5]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314151617Final
AP111554222222222112Not released
Coaches1115542222222221121

Awards and honors

Players drafted into the NBA

Round Pick Player NBA Club
16Antoine WalkerBoston Celtics
116Tony DelkCharlotte Hornets
119Walter McCartyPortland Trail Blazers
223 (52)Mark PopeIndiana Pacers

[7]

References

  1. sports-reference.com 1995-96 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  2. 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.
  3. "Roster for 1995-96".
  4. 1995-96 Tennessee Volunteers Basketball Media Guide, page 165.
  5. "Home". bigbluehistory.net.
  6. "Final Four Most Outstanding Players". cbs.sportsline.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2009. Retrieved 31 March 2008.
  7. "1996 NBA Draft". Basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 24 January 2021.
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