1996 SEC men's basketball tournament

1996 SEC men's basketball tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season1995–96
Teams12
SiteLouisiana Superdome
New Orleans, Louisiana (USA)[1]
ChampionsMississippi State (1st title)
Winning coachRichard Williams (1st title)
MVPDontae' Jones (Mississippi State)
Attendance195,836
TelevisionJefferson Pilot Sports (Entire tournament)
CBS (Championship game; available nationally and outside the SEC footprint)
← 1995
1997 →
1995–96 Southeastern Conference men's basketball standings
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[2]

The 1996 SEC men's basketball tournament took place from March 7–10, 1996, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Mississippi State Bulldogs won the tournament title and received the SEC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by beating the Kentucky Wildcats by a score of 84–73.[3][4] This was the first time the Mississippi State men's basketball team won the SEC tournament.

Television coverage

Jefferson Pilot Sports regionally broadcast and syndicated coverage of the first round, the quarterfinals, and the semi-finals. Play-by-play commentary was done by Tom Hammond with color analyst Joe Dean, Jr.[5] The championship game was broadcast nationally on CBS, called by play-by-play commentator Sean McDonough and color analyst Bill Raftery.

Bracket

First round Second Round Semifinals Championship Game
            
E5 Florida 75
W4 Ole Miss 62
E1 #1 Kentucky 100
E5 Florida 76
E1 #1 Kentucky 95
W2 Arkansas 75
W2 Arkansas 80
E3 South Carolina 58
E3 South Carolina 85
W6 LSU 76
E1 #1 Kentucky 73
W1 #25 Mississippi State 84
W5 Auburn 68
E4 Vanderbilt 65
W1 #25 Mississippi State 69
W5 Auburn 58
W1 #25 Mississippi State 86
E2 Georgia 68
E2 Georgia 74
E6 Tennessee 63
E6 Tennessee [5] 77
W3 Alabama 65

References

  1. ^ 2014-2015 Southeastern Conference Men’s Basketball Media Guide, page 134
  2. ^ sports-reference.com 1995-96 Southeastern Conference Season Summary
  3. ^ 1995-96 Southeastern Conference Schedule and Results | College Basketball at Sports-reference.com
  4. ^ 1995-96 Southeastern Conference Season Summary | at Sports-reference.com
  5. ^ a b 1996 Tennessee 73 Alabama 56 (SEC Tournament) JP Sports on YouTube