# 1995–96 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team

The 1995–96 Tennessee Lady Volunteers basketball team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1995–96 women's college basketball season. Coached by Pat Summitt, the Lady Volunteers opened the season ranked No. 6 in the AP poll, and played their home games at Thompson–Boling Arena in Knoxville, Tennessee. These Lady Vols finished 32–4 (9–2 SEC) while playing one of the toughest schedules in the nation, and closed out the season on a 15-game win streak. After falling in the National championship game the prior season, the 1995–96 squad started a run of three national championships back-to-back-to-back.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Dec 16, 1995* | No. 2 | at No. 9 Stanford | L 72–90 | 7–1 | Maples Pavilion Palo Alto, CA |
| Jan 2, 1996 | No. 4 | No. 21 Florida | W 87–67 | 10–1 (1–0) | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| Jan 6, 1996* | No. 4 | No. 2 Connecticut | L 53–59 | 10–2 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| Jan 8, 1996 | No. 4 | at No. 7 Georgia | L 71–77 | 10–3 (1–1) | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, GA |
| Jan 11, 1996* | No. 4 | No. 15 Old Dominion | W 69–47 | 11–3 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| Feb 22, 1996 | No. 5 | at LSU | W 88–75 | 22–4 (8–2) | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| Feb 25, 1996 | No. 5 | at No. 10 Vanderbilt | W 79–71 | 23–4 (9–2) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, TN |
| SEC tournament ||||||
| March 2, 1996* | (2) No. 4 | vs. (7) No. 23 Ole Miss Quarterfinals | W 73–51 | 24–4 | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, TN |
| March 3, 1996* | (2) No. 4 | vs. (6) No. 18 Florida Semifinals | W 74–63 | 25–4 | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, TN |
| March 4, 1996* | (2) No. 4 | vs. (4) No. 10 Alabama Championship game | W 64–60 | 26–4 | McKenzie Arena Chattanooga, TN |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| March 16, 1996* | (1 E) No. 4 | (16 E) Radford First round | W 97–56 | 27–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| March 18, 1996* | (1 E) No. 4 | (9 E) Ohio State Second round | W 97–65 | 28–4 | Thompson–Boling Arena Knoxville, TN |
| March 23, 1996* | (1 E) No. 4 | vs. (4 E) No. 20 Kansas Regional Semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 92–71 | 29–4 | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| March 25, 1996* | (1 E) No. 4 | at (3 E) No. 11 Virginia Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 52–46 | 30–4 | University Hall Charlottesville, VA |
| March 29, 1996* | (1 E) No. 4 | vs. (1 ME) No. 2 Connecticut National Semifinal – Final Four/Rivalry | W 88–83 $^{OT}$ | 31–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| March 31, 1996* | (1 E) No. 4 | vs. (2 MW) No. 5 Georgia Championship | W 83–65 | 32–4 | Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. MW=Midwest. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | 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 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | Not released |
| Coaches | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 |