1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball team

1995–96 WAC men's basketball standings
	† 1996 WAC Tournament winner ; Rankings from AP Poll

1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball
1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball
WAC Regular season champions
NCAA Tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 12
1995–96 record	27–7 (15–3 WAC)
Head coach	Rick Majerus (7th season);
Captain	Keith Van Horn
Home arena	Jon M. Huntsman Center
	Seasons ← 1996–97 →

The 1995–96 Utah Utes men's basketball team represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference during the 1995–96 men's basketball season. Led by head coach Rick Majerus, the Utes made a run to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. The team finished with an overall record of 27–7 (15–3 WAC).

Roster[]

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown
PG	24	Andre Miller	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Fr	Los Angeles, California
G	34	Drew Hansen	—	—	So
F	44	Keith Van Horn (C)	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Jr	Diamond Bar, California
C	51	Michael Doleac	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	260 lb (118 kg)	So	Portland, Oregon

Head coach

Rick Majerus (Marquette)

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Schedule and results[]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site city, state
Non-Conference Regular Season
Nov 25, 1995*	No. 8	vs. No. 2 Kansas The Classic	L 68–79	0–1	Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri
Nov 29, 1995*	No. 14	at Texas	W 70–69	1–1	Frank Erwin Center Austin, Texas
Dec 1, 1995*	No. 14	Lewis–Clark	W 91–64	2–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 4, 1995*	No. 14	Drake	W 86–50	3–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 6, 1995*	No. 14	at Weber State	W 89–60	4–1	Dee Events Center Ogden, Utah
Dec 9, 1995*	No. 14	Utah State	W 59–43	5–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 15, 1995*	No. 13	St. Thomas (MN)	W 87–63	6–1	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 21, 1995*	No. 13	at No. 12 Wake Forest	L 56–60	6–2	Lawrence Joel Coliseum Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Dec 23, 1995*	No. 13	USC	W 84–49	7–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Dec 27, 1995*	No. 15	Cal State Fullerton	W 108–58	8–2	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
WAC Regular Season
Jan 2, 1996	No. 15	BYU	W 83–77	9–2 (1–0)	Jon M. Huntsman Center Salt Lake City, Utah
Mar 2, 1996	No. 10	at BYU	W 96–85	23–5 (15–3)	Marriott Center Provo, Utah
WAC Tournament
Mar 7, 1996*	No. 10	vs. Hawaii WAC Tournament Quarterfinal	W 76–63	24–5	The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 8, 1996*	No. 10	vs. Colorado State WAC Tournament Semifinal	W 71–69	25–5	The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico
Mar 9, 1996*	No. 10	vs. New Mexico WAC Tournament Championship	L 60–64	25–6	The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico
NCAA Tournament
Mar 14, 1996*	(4 MW) No. 12	vs. (13 MW) Canisius First Round	W 72–43	26–6	Reunion Arena Dallas, Texas
Mar 16, 1996*	(4 MW) No. 12	vs. (5 MW) No. 17 Iowa State Second Round	W 73–67	27–6	Reunion Arena Dallas, Texas
Mar 21, 1996*	(4 MW) No. 12	vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kentucky Midwest Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen	L 70–101	27–7	Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome (30,334) Minneapolis, Minnesota
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest.

^[2]

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Final
AP	10	8	14	14	13	13	15	15	13	15	10	7	7	7	8	10	10	12	Not released
Coaches	11	10	17	14	14	14	16	16	10	11	9	7	7	7	8	10	8	10	12

^[3]

Awards and honors[]

Keith Van Horn – Consensus Second-team All-American, WAC Player of the Year (2x)

References[]

^ sports-reference.com 1995-96 Western Athletic Conference Season Summary
^ "2020-21 Utah Utes Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
^ ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. p. 1042-1043. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

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

[2] "2020-21 Utah Utes Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). University of Utah Athletics. Retrieved January 25, 2021.

[rankings-3] ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia: The Complete History of the Men's Game. Random House. 2009. p. 1042-1043. ISBN 978-0-345-51392-2.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t Utah Utes men's basketball
Venues	Deseret Gymnasium (19??–1939) Nielsen Fieldhouse (1939–1969) Jon M. Huntsman Center (1969–present)
Rivalries	BYU In-state Utah schools
Culture & lore	Swoop
People	Statistical leaders
Seasons	1943–44 1960–61 1965–66 1975–76 1980–81 1982–83 1990–91 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2004–05 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22
NCAA national championship in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

1995–96 WAC men's basketball standings
v t	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 12 Utah	15	–	3	.833	27	–	7	.794
No. 23 New Mexico †	14	–	4	.778	28	–	5	.848
Fresno State	13	–	5	.722	22	–	11	.667
Colorado State	11	–	7	.611	18	–	12	.600
BYU	9	–	9	.500	15	–	13	.536
Wyoming	8	–	10	.444	14	–	15	.483
San Diego State	8	–	10	.444	15	–	14	.517
Hawaii	7	–	11	.389	10	–	18	.357
UTEP	4	–	14	.222	13	–	15	.464
Air Force	1	–	17	.056	5	–	23	.179

† 1996 WAC Tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll^[1]