1995–96 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team represented the University of Cincinnati in NCAA Division I competition in the 1995–96 season. The Bearcats, coached by Bob Huggins, won Conference USA and reached the Elite Eight of the 1996 NCAA tournament. The team finished with an overall record of 28–5 (11–3 GMWC) and a No. 7 ranking in the final AP poll.

1995–96 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball
C-USA regular season champions C-USA tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Elite Eight
Conference	Conference USA
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 7
Record	28–5 (11–3 C-USA)
Head coach	Bob Huggins (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Larry Harrison Steve Moeller John Loyer
Home arena	Myrl Shoemaker Center

1995–96 Conference USA men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Blue
No. 7 Cincinnati †	11	–	3		.786			28	–	5		.848
No. 20 Marquette	10	–	4		.714			23	–	8		.742
Saint Louis	4	–	10		.286			16	–	14		.533
DePaul	2	–	12		.143			11	–	18		.379
Red
Tulane	9	–	5		.643			22	–	10		.688
UAB	6	–	8		.429			16	–	14		.533
Southern Miss	6	–	8		.429			12	–	15		.444
South Florida	2	–	12		.143			12	–	16		.429
White
No. 16 Memphis	11	–	3		.786			22	–	8		.733
No. 24 Louisville	10	–	4		.714			22	–	12		.647
UNC Charlotte	6	–	8		.429			14	–	15		.483
† 1996 Conference USA Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1995–96 Cincinnati Bearcats men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown F 34 Bobby Brannen 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) — So Cincinnati G 33 Darnell Burton 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) — Jr Lexington, Kentucky G -- Terrence Davis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Jr F -- Ryan Fletcher 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — Jr Franklin, Ohio G 3 Damon Flint 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) — Jr Cincinnati PF 25 Danny Fortson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) So Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania F 21 Keith Gregor 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Sr Cincinnati, Ohio F -- Julson Jackson 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) — So G Keith LeGree 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr G Melvin Levett 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) — Fr Cleveland, Ohio C 00 Art Long 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Sr Rochester, New York F -- Rod Monroe (W) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) — So	Head coach Bob Huggins (West Virginia) Assistant coach(es) Larry Harrison (Pittsburgh) Steve Moeller (Otterbein) John Loyer (Akron) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-conference regular season
Nov 29, 1995*	No. 21	Wyoming	W 101–51	1–0	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Nov 30, 1995*	No. 17	UNC Wilmington	W 82–47	2–0	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 8, 1995*	No. 17	Wagner	W 100–64	3–0	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 9, 1995*	No. 17	at Arkansas	W 82–67	4–0	Bud Walton Arena  Fayetteville, Arkansas
Dec 12, 1995*	No. 12	Minnesota	W 84–50	5–0	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Dec 16, 1995*	No. 12	vs. Temple	W 70–49	6–0	Gund Arena  Cleveland, Ohio
Dec 20, 1995*	No. 9	at No. 24 California	W 77–70	7–0	Harmon Gym  Berkeley, California
Dec 30, 1995*	No. 5	McNeese State	W 103–69	8–0	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
C-USA Regular Season
Jan 6, 1996	No. 5	at South Florida	W 71–69	9–0 (1–0)	Sun Dome  Tampa, Florida
Jan 11, 1996	No. 4	at Southern Miss	W 75–70	10–0 (2–0)	Reed Green Coliseum  Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Jan 13, 1996	No. 4	Marquette	W 91–70	11–0 (3–0)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 17, 1996*	No. 3	at Xavier	W 99–90	12–0	Cincinnati Gardens  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 21, 1996	No. 3	at UAB	L 68–70	12–1 (3–1)	UAB Arena  Birmingham, Alabama
Jan 25, 1996	No. 5	DePaul	W 71–61	13–1 (4–1)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 28, 1996*	No. 5	USC	W 85–53	14–1	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Jan 31, 1996	No. 5	UNC Charlotte	W 78–64	15–1 (5–1)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 2, 1996*	No. 5	Illinois State	W 91–57	16–1	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 4, 1996	No. 5	South Florida	W 79–60	17–1 (6–1)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 7, 1996	No. 5	Saint Louis	W 81–49	18–1 (7–1)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 11, 1996*	No. 5	vs. No. 16 Arizona	L 76–79	18–2	Veterans Memorial Coliseum  Phoenix, Arizona
Feb 17, 1996	No. 6	at DePaul	W 87–60	19–2 (8–1)	Rosemont Horizon  Rosemont, Illinois
Feb 19, 1996	No. 6	at Saint Louis	W 69–64	20–2 (9–1)	Kiel Arena  St. Louis, Missouri
Feb 22, 1996	No. 6	No. 21 Louisville	L 66–72	20–3 (9–2)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Feb 25, 1996	No. 6	at Tulane	W 65–63	21–3 (10–2)	Avron B. Fogelman Arena  New Orleans, Louisiana
Feb 29, 1996	No. 7	No. 14 Memphis	W 71–66	22–3 (11–2)	Myrl Shoemaker Center  Cincinnati, Ohio
Mar 2, 1996	No. 7	at Marquette	L 72–74	22–4 (11–3)	Bradley Center  Milwaukee, Wisconsin
C-USA Tournament
Mar 7, 1996	(1) No. 8	vs. (9) Saint Louis Quarterfinals	W 62–59 OT	23–4	Pyramid Arena  Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 8, 1996	(1) No. 8	vs. (4) No. 22 Louisville Semifinals	W 92–81	24–4	Pyramid Arena  Memphis, Tennessee
Mar 9, 1996	(1) No. 8	vs. (3) No. 21 Marquette Championship Game	W 85–84 OT	25–4	Pyramid Arena  Memphis, Tennessee
NCAA Tournament
Mar 15, 1996*	(2 SE) No. 7	vs. (15 SE) UNC Greensboro First round	W 66–61	26–4	Orlando Arena  Orlando, Florida
Mar 17, 1996	(2 SE) No. 7	vs. (7 SE) Temple Second Round	W 78–65	27–4	Orlando Arena  Orlando, Florida
Mar 22, 1996	(2 SE) No. 7	vs. (3 SE) No. 13 Georgia Tech Southeast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	W 87–70	28–4	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
Mar 24, 1996	(2 SE) No. 7	vs. (5 SE) No. 19 Mississippi State Southeast Regional Final – Elite Eight	L 63–73	28–5	Rupp Arena  Lexington, Kentucky
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast.

Rankings

See also: 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball 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	21	21	21	17	12	9	5	5	4	3	5	5	5	6	6	7	8	7	Not released
Coaches	20	21	21	17	10	9	6	4	4	4	3	5	5	4	6	6	9	6	6

Awards and honors

• Danny Fortson – C-USA Player of the Year, Consensus Second-Team All-American