1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball | |
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SoCon South division champions SoCon tournament champions | |
NCAA tournament, First round | |
Conference | Southern Conference |
Division | South |
Record | 17–13 (10–4 SoCon) |
Head coach |
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Assistant coach | Thad Matta (1st season) |
Home arena | Ramsey Center |
Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 → |
| Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
North | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Davidson | 14 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 25 | – | 5 | .833 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VMI | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 18 | – | 10 | .643 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Marshall | 8 | – | 6 | .571 | 17 | – | 11 | .607 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
East Tennessee State | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 7 | – | 20 | .259 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Appalachian State | 3 | – | 11 | .214 | 8 | – | 21 | .276 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Western Carolina † | 10 | – | 4 | .714 | 17 | – | 13 | .567 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chattanooga | 9 | – | 5 | .643 | 15 | – | 12 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Furman | 6 | – | 8 | .429 | 10 | – | 17 | .370 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Citadel | 5 | – | 9 | .357 | 10 | – | 16 | .385 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia Southern | 2 | – | 12 | .143 | 3 | – | 23 | .115 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
† SoCon Tournament winner As of April 30, 1996 Rankings from AP poll |
The 1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by first-year head coach Phil Hopkins, played their home games at the Ramsey Center and were members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 17–13, 10–4 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for first place. They defeated Appalachian State, VMI, and Davidson to capture the SoCon tournament title to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first, and only, appearance in program history. Playing as No. 16 seed in the West region, Western Carolina was narrowly beaten by No. 1 seed Purdue, 73–71,[1] in the opening round.[2]
Roster
1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||
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Schedule and results
Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state | ||||||
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Non-conference Regular season | |||||||||||
Nov 29, 1995* | at Georgia | L 71–91 | 0–3 | Stegeman Coliseum Athens, Georgia | |||||||
Dec 6, 1995* | at Tennessee | L 51–63 | 0–5 | Thompson-Boling Arena Knoxville, Tennessee | |||||||
Dec 20, 1995* | at No. 20 Duke | L 67–107 | 1–6 | Cameron Indoor Stadium Durham, North Carolina | |||||||
Jan 2, 1996* | at NC State | L 71–102 | 1–7 | Reynolds Coliseum Raleigh, North Carolina | |||||||
Jan 13, 1996* | at Georgia Tech | L 78–91 | 3–8 | Alexander Memorial Coliseum Atlanta, Georgia | |||||||
SoCon Regular season | |||||||||||
Jan 15, 1996 | at Chattanooga | L 70–84 | 3–9 (0–1) | UTC Arena Chattanooga, Tennessee | |||||||
Feb 26, 1996 | Appalachian State | W 91–72 | 14–12 (10–4) | Ramsey Center Cullowhee, North Carolina | |||||||
SoCon tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 1, 1996* | vs. Appalachian State Quarterfinals | W 74–66 | 15–12 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina | |||||||
Mar 2, 1996* | vs. VMI Semifinals | W 97–93 | 16–12 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina | |||||||
Mar 3, 1996* | vs. Davidson Championship game | W 69–60 | 17–12 | Greensboro Coliseum Greensboro, North Carolina | |||||||
NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
Mar 14, 1996* | (16 W) | vs. (1 W) No. 4 Purdue First round | L 71–73 | 17–13 | University Arena Albuquerque, New Mexico | ||||||
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time. |
[3]
References
- ^ "NO. 1 SEED PURDUE EKES PAST WESTERN CAROLINA". The Deseret News. March 14, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "Almost famous: 27 years ago, Western Carolina head coach Phil Hopkins fell short against No. 1 Purdue". ESPN. March 18, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
- ^ "1995-96 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved July 7, 2023.