# 1995–96 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represented Memphis State University as a member of the Great Midwest Conference during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers were led by head coach Larry Finch and played their home games at the Pyramid Arena in Memphis, Tennessee.
The Tigers tied for the regular season conference title, but lost in the semifinals of the conference tournament. Despite the loss, Memphis received an at-large bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament as No. 5 seed in the West region. The Tigers were upset by No. 12 seed Drexel in the opening round. The team finished with a 22–8 record (11–3 Conference USA).

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1995* | No. 12 | vs. No. 24 Purdue BCA Classic | W 91–76 | 1–0 | Kemper Arena Kansas City, Missouri |
| Nov 28, 1995* | No. 7 | Jackson State | W 90–67 | 2–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 2, 1995* | No. 7 | Florida A&M | W 80–50 | 3–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 5, 1995* | No. 7 | Georgia State | W 89–69 | 4–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 16, 1995* | No. 6 | Tennessee | W 57–55 | 5–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 21, 1995* | No. 5 | Sam Houston State | W 74–51 | 6–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 23, 1995* | No. 5 | Louisiana-Monroe | W 96–76 | 7–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Dec 28, 1995* | No. 3 | Temple | W 68–58 | 8–0 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 4, 1996* | No. 3 | vs. No. 1 UMass Atlantic-10 / Conference USA Challenge | L 61–64 | 8–1 | Worcester Centrum Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Jan 6, 1996* | No. 3 | at Houston | L 67–69 | 8–2 | Hofheinz Pavilion Houston, Texas |
| Jan 8, 1996 | No. 9 | Charlotte | W 57–55 | 9–2 (1–0) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 11, 1996 | No. 9 | DePaul | W 74–55 | 10–2 (2–0) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 14, 1996* | No. 9 | at South Florida | W 60–59 $^{OT}$ | 11–2 (3–0) | Sun Dome Tampa, Florida |
| Jan 18, 1996* | No. 9 | Arkansas | W 94–72 | 12–2 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 20, 1996 | No. 9 | at Marquette | L 55–59 | 12–3 (3–1) | Bradley Center Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
| Jan 24, 1996 | No. 12 | UAB | W 86–77 | 13–3 (4–1) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Jan 27, 1996 | No. 12 | at Southern Miss | W 81–68 | 14–3 (5–1) | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Jan 30, 1996 | No. 11 | Saint Louis | W 80–63 | 15–3 (6–1) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 1, 1996 | No. 11 | at DePaul | W 83–82 $^{OT}$ | 16–3 (7–1) | Rosemont Horizon Rosemont, Illinois |
| Feb 3, 1996 | No. 11 | at Louisville | L 56–74 | 16–4 (7–2) | Freedom Hall Louisville, Kentucky |
| Feb 8, 1996 | No. 15 | at Charlotte | W 68–55 | 17–4 (8–2) | Dale F. Halton Arena Charlotte, North Carolina |
| Feb 17, 1996* | No. 15 | at No. 14 Georgetown | L 60–81 | 17–5 | USAir Arena (17,529) Landover, Maryland |
| Feb 20, 1996 | No. 15 | Southern Miss | W 91–66 | 18–5 (9–2) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 22, 1996* | No. 19 | at Chattanooga | W 63–55 | 19–5 | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, Tennessee |
| Feb 25, 1996 | No. 19 | No. 21 Louisville | W 57–54 | 20–5 (10–2) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Feb 29, 1996 | No. 14 | at No. 7 Cincinnati | L 66–71 | 20–6 (10–3) | Fifth Third Arena Cincinnati, Ohio |
| Mar 2, 1996 | No. 14 | Tulane | W 86–75 | 21–6 (11–3) | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Conference USA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 7, 1996* | No. 14 | DePaul Quarterfinals | W 92–69 | 22–6 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| Mar 8, 1996* | No. 14 | No. 21 Marquette Semifinals | L 60–72 | 22–7 | Pyramid Arena Memphis, Tennessee |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1996* | (5 W) No. 16 | vs. (12 W) Drexel First Round | L 63–75 | 22–8 | The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 13 | 12 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 15 | 15 | 19 | 14 | 14 | 16 | Not released |
| Coaches | 13 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 13 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 18 | 15 | 14 | 17 | — |