# 1995–96 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team

The 1995–96 UCLA Bruins men's basketball team represented the University of California, Los Angeles in the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season as Defending National Champions from 1995, but bookended the season with two disappointing losses. While ranked #4, one loss was in the Maui Classic to a Santa Clara team led by then obscure guard Steve Nash. The team finished 1st in the conference. The Bruins competed in the 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, flopping in a spectacular upset to the unranked Princeton Tigers in the round of 64. This was the final season for head coach Jim Harrick, a national championship coach who was fired over a transgression where he lied about two current players attending a recruiting dinner at Monty's Steakhouse, in contravention of NCAA rules.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| November 20, 1995 | No. 4 | vs. Santa Clara Maui Invitational Quarterfinals | L 69–78 | 0–1 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| November 21, 1995 | No. 4 | vs. Wisconsin Maui Invitational Consolation Second Round | W 68–57 | 1–1 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| November 22, 1995 | No. 4 | vs. Vanderbilt Maui Invitational Fifth Place Game | L 71–75 | 1–2 | Lahaina Civic Center (2,400) Maui, HI |
| November 28, 1995 | No. 23 | Cal State Fullerton | W 79–63 | 2–2 | Pauley Pavilion (10,941) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 2, 1995 | No. 23 | at No. 2 Kansas | L 70–85 | 2–3 | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| December 9, 1995 | | vs. No. 20 Maryland John R. Wooden Classic | W 73–63 | 3–3 | Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim (17,330) Anaheim, CA |
| December 18, 1995 | | Stephen F. Austin | W 109–88 | 4–3 | Pauley Pavilion (9,421) Los Angeles, CA |
| December 20, 1995 | | at Notre Dame | W 83–58 | 5–3 | Edmund P. Joyce Center (9,339) Notre Dame, IN |
| December 23, 1995 | | at UNLV | W 89–82 | 6–3 | Thomas & Mack Center (9,935) Paradise, NV |
| December 30, 1995 | No. 23 | San Francisco | W 93–58 | 7–3 | Pauley Pavilion (11,495) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 4, 1996 | No. 20 | at Washington State | W 78–73 $^{OT}$ | 8–3 (1–0) | Spokane Arena (11,897) Spokane, WA |
| January 6, 1996 | No. 20 | at Washington | W 78–70 | 9–3 (2–0) | Hec Edmundson Pavilion (7,900) Seattle, WA |
| January 11, 1996 | No. 17 | No. 24 Stanford | W 64–56 | 10–3 (3–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,695) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 13, 1996 | No. 17 | California | W 93–73 | 11–3 (4–0) | Pauley Pavilion (12,881) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 18, 1996 | No. 13 | at Arizona State | W 87–73 | 12–3 (5–0) | ASU Activity Center (11,081) Tempe, AZ |
| January 20, 1996 | No. 13 | at No. 18 Arizona | L 79–88 | 12–4 (5–1) | McKale Center (14,638) Tucson, AZ |
| January 24, 1996 | No. 15 | USC | W 99–72 | 13–4 (6–1) | Pauley Pavilion (12,635) Los Angeles, CA |
| January 27, 1996 | No. 15 | Louisville | L 76–78 | 13–5 | Pauley Pavilion (11,978) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 1, 1996 | No. 19 | Oregon | W 85–78 | 14–5 (7–1) | Pauley Pavilion (12,073) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 3, 1996 | No. 19 | Oregon State | W 69–60 | 15–5 (8–1) | Pauley Pavilion (11,280) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 8, 1996 | No. 17 | at California | W 73–65 | 16–5 (9–1) | Oakland Arena (15,039) Oakland, CA |
| February 10, 1996 | No. 17 | at No. 25 Stanford | L 66–67 | 16–6 (9–2) | Maples Pavilion (7,391) Stanford, CA |
| February 15, 1996 | No. 18 | No. 13 Arizona | W 76–75 | 17–6 (10–2) | Pauley Pavilion (13,014) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 17, 1996 | No. 18 | Arizona State | W 87–70 | 18–6 (11–2) | Pauley Pavilion (12,062) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 22, 1996 | No. 16 | at USC | W 61–59 | 19–6 (12–2) | Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (9,433) Los Angeles, CA |
| February 25, 1996 | No. 16 | at Duke | L 66–85 | 19–7 | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| February 29, 1996 | No. 17 | at Oregon State | W 68–66 | 20–7 (13–2) | Gill Coliseum (5,873) Corvallis, OR |
| March 02, 1996 | No. 17 | at Oregon | W 77–71 | 21–7 (14–2) | McArthur Court (9,738) Eugene, OR |
| March 07, 1996 | No. 17 | Washington | W 91–88 $^{OT}$ | 22–7 (15–2) | Pauley Pavilion (11,890) Los Angeles, CA |
| March 09, 1996 | No. 17 | Washington State | W 82–71 | 23–7 (16–2) | Pauley Pavilion (11,966) Los Angeles, CA |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 14, 1996 | No. 14 | vs. Princeton First Round | L 41–43 | 23–8 | Hoosier Dome (31,569) Indianapolis, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time. ||||||
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