1996 NCAA tournament: Bracket, scores, stats, records (2024)

The 1996 NCAA tournament saw Kentucky march to the national title with a win against Syracuse in the final. The Wildcats won their games by 38, 24, 31, 20, 7 and 9 points. Get the 1996 March Madness bracket, scores and what you need to know below.

Mississippi State and UMass also reached the Final Four, but the Minutemen's appearance in the national semifinals was later vacated. In one notable upset, No. 13 seed Princeton upset defending national champion No. 4 UCLA in the first round.

1996 NCAA tournament: Bracket

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1996 NCAA tournament: Scores, results

• First Round
  • East Regional
    • No. 1 UMass 92, No. 16 UCF 70
    • No. 9 Stanford 66, No. 8 Bradley 58
    • No. 12 Arkansas 86, No. 5 Penn State 80
    • No. 4 Marquette 68, No. 13 Monmouth 44
    • No. 6 North Carolina 83, No. 11 New Orleans 62
    • No. 3 Texas Tech 74, No. 14 Northern Illinois 73
    • No. 7 New Mexico 69, No. 10 Kansas State 48
    • No. 2 Georgetown 93, No. 15 Mississippi Valley State 56
  • Midwest Regional
    • No. 16 Kentucky 110, No. 16 San Jose State 72
    • No. 9 Virginia Tech 61, No. 8 Green Bay 49
    • No. 5 Iowa State 74, No. 12 California 64
    • No. 4 Utah 72, No. 13 Canisius 43
    • No. 6 Louisville 82, No. 11 Tulsa 80 (OT)
    • No. 3 Villanova 92, No. 14 Portland 58
    • No. 10 Texas 80, No. 7 Michigan 76
    • No. 2 Wake Forest 62, No. 15 Northeast Louisiana 50
  • Southeast Regional
    • No. 1 UConn 68, No. 16 Colgate 59
    • No. 9 Eastern Michigan 75, No. 8 Duke 60
    • No. 5 Mississippi State 58, No. 12 VCU 51
    • No. 13 Princeton 43, No. 4 UCLA 41 |Watch the full game
    • No. 11 Boston College 64, No. 6 Indiana 51
    • No. 3 Georgia Tech 90, No. 14 Austin Peay 79
    • No. 7 Temple 61, No. 10 Oklahoma 43
    • No. 2 Cincinnati 66, No. 15 UNC Greensboro 61
  • West Regional
    • No. 1 Purdue 73, No. 16 Western Carolina 71
    • No. 8 Georgia 81, No. 9 Clemson 74
    • No. 12 Drexel 75, No. 5 Memphis 63
    • No. 4 Syracuse 88, No. 13 Montana State 55
    • No. 6 Iowa 81, No. 11 George Washington 79
    • No. 3 Arizona 90, No. 14 Valparaiso 51
    • No. 10 Santa Clara 91, No. 7 Maryland 79
    • No. 2 Kansas 92, No. 15 South Carolina State 54
• Second Round
  • East Regional
    • No. 1 UMass 79, No. 9 Stanford 74
    • No. 12 Arkansas 65, No. 4 Marquette 56
    • No. 3 Texas Tech 92, No. 6 North Carolina 73
    • No. 2 Georgetown 75, No. 7 New Mexico 65
  • Midwest Regional
    • No. 1 Kentucky 84, No. 9 Virginia Tech 60
    • No. 4 Utah 73, No. 5 Iowa State 67
    • No. 6 Louisville 68, No. 3 Villanova 64
    • No. 2 Wake Forest 65, No. 10 Texas 62
  • Southeast Regional
    • No. 1 UConn 95, No. 9 Eastern Michigan 81
    • No. 5 Mississippi State 63, No. 13 Princeton 41
    • No. 3 Georgia Tech 103, No. 11 Boston College 89
    • No. 2 Cincinnati 78, No. 7 Temple 65
  • West Regional
    • No. 8 Georgia 76, No. 1 Purdue 69
    • No. 4 Syracuse 69, No. 12 Drexel 58
    • No. 3 Arizona 87, No. 6 Iowa 73
    • No. 2 Kansas 76, No. 10 Santa Clara 51
• Sweet 16
  • East Regional
    • No. 1 UMass 79, No. 12 Arkansas 63
    • No. 2 Georgetown 98, No. 3 Texas Tech 90
  • Midwest Regional
    • No. 1 Kentucky 101, No. 4 Utah 70
    • No. 2 Wake Forest 60, No. 6 Louisville 59
  • Southeast Regional
    • No. 5 Mississippi State 60, No. 1 UConn 55
    • No. 2 Cincinnati 87, No. 3 Georgia Tech 70
  • West Regional
    • No. 4 Syracuse 83, No. 8 Georgia 81 (OT)
    • No. 2 Kansas 83, No. 3 Arizona 80
• Elite Eight
  • East Regional
    • No. 1 UMass 86, No. 2 Georgetown 62
  • Midwest Regional
    • No. 1 Kentucky 83, No. 2 Wake Forest 63
  • Southeast Regional
    • No. 5 Mississippi State 73, No. 2 Cincinnati 63
  • West Regional
    • No. 4 Syracuse 60, No. 2 Kansas 57
• Final Four (East Rutherford, New Jersey)
  • National semifinals
    • No. 1 Kentucky 81, No. 1 UMass 74
    • No. 4 Syracuse 77, No. 5 Mississippi State 69
  • National championship
    • No. 1 Kentucky 76, No. 4 Syracuse 67

1996 NCAA tournament: Upsets

The following double-digit seeds won games:

1996 NCAA tournament: Stats, records

Here are the tournament leaders, with games in parentheses (minimum three games):

Individual scoring

• Allen Iverson, Georgetown (4) — 27.8

Individual rebounding

• Tim Duncan, Wake Forest (4) — 13.0

Individual assists

• Drew Barry, Georgia Tech (3) andReggie Geary, Arizona (3) — 9.7