# 1995–96 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Mississippi State Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Mississippi State University in the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by head coach Richard Williams, the Bulldogs won the SEC tournament and reached the Final Four.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 25, 1995* | No. 9 | Southeastern Louisiana | W 121–78 | 1–0 | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Nov 28, 1995* | No. 8 | UNC Wilmington | W 77–54 | 2–0 | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Dec 2, 1995* | No. 8 | Brigham Young | W 79–74 | 3–0 | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Dec 5, 1995* | No. 8 | Troy State | W 123–73 | 4–0 | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Dec 9, 1995* | No. 8 | Arkansas-Little Rock | L 68–70 | 4–1 | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Dec 16, 1995* | No. 15 | at Southern Miss | W 72–69 $^{OT}$ | 5–1 | Reed Green Coliseum Hattiesburg, Mississippi |
| Dec 19, 1995* | No. 16 | at Louisiana-Monroe | W 66–60 | 6–1 | Fant-Ewing Coliseum Monroe, Louisiana |
| Dec 29, 1995* | No. 17 | vs. Oregon State Far West Classic | W 76–62 | 7–1 | Rose Garden Arena Portland, Oregon |
| Dec 30, 1995* | No. 17 | vs. Nebraska Far West Classic | W 69–66 | 8–1 | Rose Garden Arena Portland, Oregon |
| Jan 3, 1996 | No. 17 | at LSU | W 77–64 | 9–1 (1–0) | Maravich Assembly Center Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
| Jan 6, 1996 | No. 17 | at Florida | W 69–66 | 10–1 (2–0) | Stephen C. O'Connell Center Gainesville, Florida |
| Jan 9, 1996 | No. 12 | No. 2 Kentucky | L 56–74 | 10–2 (2–1) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 13, 1996 | No. 12 | Alabama | L 55–56 | 10–3 (2–2) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 17, 1996 | No. 21 | Ole Miss | W 53–47 | 11–3 (3–2) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 20, 1996 | No. 21 | at Arkansas | L 68–80 | 11–4 (3–3) | Bud Walton Arena Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Jan 24, 1996 | | at South Carolina | L 69–77 | 11–5 (3–4) | Carolina Coliseum Columbia, South Carolina |
| Jan 27, 1996 | | Tennessee | W 60–59 | 12–5 (4–4) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Jan 31, 1996 | | Georgia | W 76–73 | 13–5 (5–4) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 4, 1996 | | at No. 22 Auburn | W 78–75 $^{OT}$ | 14–5 (6–4) | Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum Auburn, Alabama |
| Feb 6, 1996 | | Arkansas | W 78–63 | 15–5 (7–4) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 10, 1996* | | at Oklahoma | W 76–71 | 16–5 | Lloyd Noble Center Norman, Oklahoma |
| Feb 17, 1996 | No. 25 | at Ole Miss | L 64–71 | 16–6 (7–5) | Tad Smith Coliseum Oxford, Mississippi |
| Feb 21, 1996 | | LSU | W 88–77 | 17–6 (8–5) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| Feb 24, 1996 | | at Alabama | W 73–65 | 18–6 (9–5) | Coleman Coliseum Tuscaloosa, Alabama |
| Feb 28, 1996 | | at Vanderbilt | L 64–69 | 18–7 (9–6) | Memorial Gymnasium Nashville, Tennessee |
| Mar 2, 1996 | | Auburn | W 67–51 | 19–7 (10–6) | Humphrey Coliseum Starkville, Mississippi |
| SEC Tournament ||||||
| Mar 8, 1996* | No. 25 | vs. Auburn SEC Tournament Quarterfinal | W 69–58 | 20–7 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Mar 9, 1996* | No. 25 | vs. Georgia SEC Tournament Semifinal | W 86–68 | 21–7 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| Mar 10, 1996* | No. 25 | vs. No. 1 Kentucky SEC tournament championship | W 84–73 | 22–7 | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| Mar 14, 1996* | (5 SE) No. 19 | vs. (12 SE) VCU First round | W 58–51 | 23–7 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 16, 1996* | (5 SE) No. 19 | vs. (13 SE) Princeton Second Round | W 63–41 | 24–7 | RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana |
| Mar 22, 1996* CBS | (5 SE) No. 19 | vs. (1 SE) No. 3 Connecticut Southeast Regional semifinal – Sweet Sixteen | W 60–55 | 25–7 | Rupp Arena (28,890) Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 24, 1996* | (5 SE) No. 19 | vs. (2 SE) No. 7 Cincinnati Southeast Regional Final – Elite Eight | W 73–63 | 26–7 | Rupp Arena Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mar 30, 1996* | (5 SE) No. 19 | vs. (4 W) No. 15 Syracuse National Semifinal | L 69–77 | 26–8 | Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||
Sources

## Team players in the 1996 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 10 | Erick Dampier | Indiana Pacers |
| 1 | 21 | Dontae' Jones | New York Knicks |