1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

The 1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the Kingdome in Seattle, Washington. This Final Four would be the last time that the Final Four was hosted in the Western United States until the 2017 edition of the tournament where Glendale, Arizona was the host. A total of 63 games were played.

1995 NCAA Division I
men's basketball tournament

Season	1994–95
Teams	64
Finals site	Kingdome Seattle, Washington
Champions	UCLA Bruins (11th title, 12th title game, 15th Final Four)
Runner-up	Arkansas Razorbacks (2nd title game, 6th Final Four)
Semifinalists	North Carolina Tar Heels (12th Final Four) Oklahoma State Cowboys (5th Final Four)
Winning coach	Jim Harrick (1st title)
MOP	Ed O'Bannon (UCLA)
Attendance	540,101
Top scorer	Corliss Williamson (Arkansas) (125 points)
NCAA Division I men's tournaments «1994 1996»

The Final Four consisted of UCLA, making their fifteenth appearance and first since the 1980 team that eventually saw their appearance vacated, Oklahoma State, making their fifth appearance and first since 1951, North Carolina, making their twelfth appearance and second in three years, and Arkansas, the defending national champions.

The championship game saw UCLA win their eleventh national championship and first (and only) national title under Jim Harrick by defeating Arkansas 89–78, foiling the Razorbacks' hopes of back to back national titles.

UCLA's Ed O'Bannon was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.

Schedule and venues

Albany

Baltimore

Dayton

Tallahassee

Memphis

Austin

Salt Lake City

Boise

1995 first and second rounds

Oakland

Kansas City

Birmingham

E. Rutherford

Seattle

1995 Regionals (blue) and Final Four (red)

The following are the sites that were selected to host each round of the 1995 tournament:

First and Second Rounds

• March 16 and 18
  • East Region
    • Baltimore Arena, Baltimore, Maryland (Host: University of Maryland Baltimore County)
  • Midwest Region
    • University of Dayton Arena, Dayton, Ohio (Host: University of Dayton)
  • Southeast Region
    • Memphis Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee (Host: University of Memphis)
  • West Region
    • Jon M. Huntsman Center, Salt Lake City, Utah (Host: University of Utah)
• March 17 and 19
  • East Region
    • Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, New York (Hosts: Siena College, Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference)
  • Midwest Region
    • Frank Erwin Center, Austin, Texas (Host: University of Texas at Austin)
  • Southeast Region
    • Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center, Tallahassee, Florida (Host: Florida State University)
  • West Region
    • BSU Pavilion, Boise, Idaho (Host: Boise State University)

Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight)

• March 23 and 25
  • Southeast Regional, BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama (Host: Southeastern Conference)
  • West Regional, Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California (Host: University of California, Berkeley)
• March 24 and 26
  • East Regional, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey (Hosts: Seton Hall University, Big East Conference)
  • Midwest Regional, Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri (Host: Missouri Valley Conference)

National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship)

• April 1 and 3
  • Kingdome, Seattle, Washington (Hosts: Seattle University, University of Washington)

Teams

There were 29 automatic bids awarded to the tournament - of these, 26 were given to the winners of their conference's tournament, while three were awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in their conference (Big Ten, Ivy League and Pac-10).

Four conferences, the American West Conference,^[1] Big South Conference,^[2] Great Midwest Conference,^[3] and Mid-Continent Conference,^[4] did not receive automatic bids to the tournament.

Five conference champions made their first NCAA tournament appearances: Colgate (Patriot), FIU (TAAC), Gonzaga (West Coast), Mount St. Mary's (NEC), and Nicholls State (Southland).

Automatic qualifiers

Automatic qualifiers

Conference	Team	Appearance	Last bid
ACC	Wake Forest	13th	1994
Atlantic 10	UMass	5th	1994
Big East	Villanova	21st	1991
Big Eight	Oklahoma State	14th	1994
Big Sky	Weber State	11th	1983
Big Ten	Purdue	14th	1994
Big West	Long Beach State	4th	1993
CAA	Old Dominion	6th	1992
Ivy League	Penn	16th	1994
MAAC	Saint Peter's	2nd	1991
MAC	Ball State	6th	1993
MCC	Green Bay	3rd	1994
MEAC	North Carolina A&T	9th	1994
Metro	Louisville	25th	1994
Missouri Valley	Southern Illinois	4th	1994
NAC	Drexel	3rd	1994
NEC	Mount St. Mary's	1st	Never
Ohio Valley	Murray State	7th	1992
Pac-10	UCLA	30th	1994
Patriot	Colgate	1st	Never
SEC	Kentucky	36th	1994
Southern	Chattanooga	7th	1994
Southland	Nicholls State	1st	Never
Sun Belt	Western Kentucky	15th	1994
SWAC	Texas Southern	3rd	1994
SWC	Texas	14th	1994
TAAC	FIU	1st	Never
WAC	Utah	17th	1993
West Coast	Gonzaga	1st	Never

Tournament seeds

East Regional – Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Wake Forest ACC 24–5 Automatic 2 UMass Atlantic 10 26–4 Automatic 3 Villanova Big East 25–7 Automatic 4 Oklahoma State Big Eight 23–9 Automatic 5 Alabama SEC 22–9 At-Large 6 Tulsa Missouri Valley 22–7 At-Large 7 UNC Charlotte Metro 19–8 At-Large 8 Minnesota (vacated) Big Ten 19–11 At-Large 9 Saint Louis Great Midwest 22–7 At-Large 10 Stanford Pac-10 19–8 At-Large 11 Illinois Big Ten 19–11 At-Large 12 Penn Ivy League 22–5 Automatic 13 Drexel NAC 22–7 Automatic 14 Old Dominion CAA 20–11 Automatic 15 Saint Peter's MAAC 19–10 Automatic 16 North Carolina A&T MEAC 15–14 Automatic

Southeast Regional – BJCC Coliseum, Birmingham, Alabama Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Kentucky SEC 25–4 Automatic 2 North Carolina ACC 24–5 At-Large 3 Michigan State Big Ten 22–5 At-Large 4 Oklahoma Big Eight 23–8 At-Large 5 Arizona State (vacated) Pac-10 22–8 At-Large 6 Georgetown Big East 19–9 At-Large 7 Iowa State Big Eight 22–10 At-Large 8 BYU WAC 22–9 At-Large 9 Tulane Metro 22–9 At-Large 10 Florida SEC 17–12 At-Large 11 Xavier MCC 23–4 At-Large 12 Ball State MAC 19–10 Automatic 13 Manhattan MAAC 25–4 At-Large 14 Weber State Big Sky 20–8 Automatic 15 Murray State Ohio Valley 21–8 Automatic 16 Mount St. Mary's NEC 17–12 Automatic

West Regional – Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena, Oakland, California Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 UCLA Pac-10 25–2 Automatic 2 Connecticut Big East 25–4 At-Large 3 Maryland ACC 24–7 At-Large 4 Utah WAC 27–5 Automatic 5 Mississippi State SEC 20–7 At-Large 6 Oregon Pac-10 19–8 At-Large 7 Cincinnati Great Midwest 21–11 At-Large 8 Missouri Big Eight 19–8 At-Large 9 Indiana Big Ten 19–11 At-Large 10 Temple Atlantic 10 19–10 At-Large 11 Texas SWC 22–6 Automatic 12 Santa Clara West Coast 21–6 At-Large 13 Long Beach State Big West 20–9 Automatic 14 Gonzaga West Coast 21–8 Automatic 15 Chattanooga Southern 19–10 Automatic 16 FIU TAAC 11–18 Automatic

Midwest Regional – Kemper Arena, Kansas City, Missouri Seed School Conference Record Berth type 1 Kansas Big Eight 23–5 At-Large 2 Arkansas SEC 27–6 At-Large 3 Purdue Big Ten 24–6 Automatic 4 Virginia ACC 22–8 At-Large 5 Arizona Pac-10 23–7 At-Large 6 Memphis Great Midwest 22–9 At-Large 7 Syracuse Big East 19–9 At-Large 8 Western Kentucky Sun Belt 26–3 Automatic 9 Michigan Big Ten 17–13 At-Large 10 Southern Illinois Missouri Valley 23–8 Automatic 11 Louisville Metro 19–13 Automatic 12 Miami (OH) MAC 22–6 At-Large 13 Nicholls State Southland 24–5 Automatic 14 Green Bay MCC 22–7 Automatic 15 Texas Southern SWAC 22–6 Automatic 16 Colgate Patriot 17–12 Automatic

Bracket

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Wake Forest	79
	16	North Carolina A&T	47
						1	Wake Forest	64
	Baltimore
						9	Saint Louis	59
	8	Minnesota#	61
	9	Saint Louis	64OT
											1	Wake Forest	66
											4	Oklahoma State	71
	5	Alabama	91
	12	Penn	85
						5	Alabama	52
	Baltimore
						4	Oklahoma State	66
	4	Oklahoma State	73
	13	Drexel	49
																4	Oklahoma State	68
																2	Massachusetts	54
	6	Tulsa	68
	11	Illinois	62
						6	Tulsa	64
	Albany
						14	Old Dominion	52
	3	Villanova	81
	14	Old Dominion	893OT
											6	Tulsa	51
											2	Massachusetts	76
	7	UNC Charlotte	68
	10	Stanford	70
						10	Stanford	53
	Albany
						2	Massachusetts	75
	2	Massachusetts	68
	15	Saint Peter's	51

# Minnesota vacated its NCAA Tournament appearance from the 1994–95 season due to an academic fraud scandal.

Game summaries

East first round

At Albany, New York

CBS

Friday, March 17 12:30 pm EST

box score

#10 Stanford Cardinal 70, #7 North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers 68

Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, New York Attendance: 15,100

CBS

Friday, March 17 approx. 3:00 pm EST

box score

#2 Massachusetts Minutemen 68, #15 Saint Peter's Peacocks 51

Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, New York Attendance: 15,100

CBS

Friday, March 17 7:40 pm EST

box score

#14 Old Dominion Monarchs 89, #3 Villanova Wildcats 81 (3OT)

Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, New York Attendance: 15,100 Referees: Scott Thornley, Lonnie Dixon, Paul Janssen

CBS

Friday, March 17 approx. 10:10 pm EST

box score

#6 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 68, #11 Illinois Fighting Illini 62
Pts: S. Seals – 22 Rebs: R. Poindexter – 12 Asts: A. Williamson – 4		Pts: K. Garwis – 24 Rebs: S. Clark – 12 Asts: J. Hester, R. Keene – 2 Halftime Score: Illinois, 34–27

Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, New York Attendance: 15,100 Referees: David Libbey, Richie Ballesteros, Larry Ware

East second round

At Albany, New York

CBS

Sunday, March 19 12:25 pm EST

box score

#2 Massachusetts Minutemen 75, #10 Stanford Cardinal 53

Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, New York Attendance: 15,100

CBS

Sunday, March 19 approx. 2:55 pm EST

box score

#6 Tulsa Golden Hurricane 64, #14 Old Dominion Monarchs 52

Knickerbocker Arena – Albany, New York Attendance: 15,100 Referees: David Libbey, Scott Thornley, Paul Janssen

West Regional – Oakland, California

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	UCLA	92
	16	FIU	56
						1	UCLA	75
	Boise
						8	Missouri	74
	8	Missouri	65
	9	Indiana	60
											1	UCLA	86
											5	Mississippi State	67
	5	Mississippi State	75
	12	Santa Clara	67
						5	Mississippi State	78
	Boise
						4	Utah	64
	4	Utah	76
	13	Long Beach State	64
																1	UCLA	102
																2	Connecticut	96
	6	Oregon	73
	11	Texas	90
						11	Texas	68
	Salt Lake City
						3	Maryland	82
	3	Maryland	87
	14	Gonzaga	63
											3	Maryland	89
											2	Connecticut	99
	7	Cincinnati	77
	10	Temple	71
						7	Cincinnati	91
	Salt Lake City
						2	Connecticut	96
	2	Connecticut	100
	15	Chattanooga	71

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kentucky	113
	16	Mount St. Mary's	67
						1	Kentucky	82
	Memphis
						9	Tulane	60
	8	BYU	70
	9	Tulane	76
											1	Kentucky	97
											5	Arizona State	73
	5	Arizona State	81
	12	Ball State	66
						5	Arizona State	64
	Memphis
						13	Manhattan	54
	4	Oklahoma	67
	13	Manhattan	77
																1	Kentucky	61
																2	North Carolina	74
	6	Georgetown	68
	11	Xavier	63
						6	Georgetown	53
	Tallahassee
						14	Weber State	51
	3	Michigan State	72
	14	Weber State	79
											6	Georgetown	64
											2	North Carolina	74
	7	Iowa State	64
	10	Florida	61
						7	Iowa State	51
	Tallahassee
						2	North Carolina	73
	2	North Carolina	80
	15	Murray State	70

Midwest Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

	First round					Quarter-finals					Regional semifinals					Regional Finals
	1	Kansas	82
	16	Colgate	68
						1	Kansas	75
	Dayton
						8	Western Kentucky	70
	8	Western Kentucky	82OT
	9	Michigan	76
											1	Kansas	58
											4	Virginia	67
	5	Arizona	62
	12	Miami (OH)	71
						12	Miami (OH)	54
	Dayton
						4	Virginia	60OT
	4	Virginia	96
	13	Nicholls State	72
																4	Virginia	61
																2	Arkansas	68
	6	Memphis	77
	11	Louisville	56
						6	Memphis	75
	Austin
						3	Purdue	73
	3	Purdue	49
	14	UW–Green Bay	48
											6	Memphis	91
											2	Arkansas	96OT
	7	Syracuse	96
	10	Southern Illinois	92
						7	Syracuse	94
	Austin
						2	Arkansas	96OT
	2	Arkansas	79
	15	Texas Southern	78

Final Four - Seattle, Washington

	National semifinals					National Championship Game
	E4	Oklahoma State	61
	W1	UCLA	74
						W1	UCLA	89
						MW2	Arkansas	78
	SE2	North Carolina	68
	MW2	Arkansas	75

Game summaries

CBS

Saturday, April 1

box score

#1 UCLA Bruins 74, #4 Oklahoma State Cowboys 61
Pts: T. Edney 21 Rebs: E. O'Bannon 8 Asts: Tyus Edney 5		Pts: B. Reeves 25 Rebs: B. Reeves 9 Asts: A. Owens 9 Halftime Score: 37–37

Kingdome – Seattle Attendance: 38,540

CBS

Saturday, April 1

box score

#2 Arkansas Razorbacks 75, #2 North Carolina Tar Heels 68
Pts: C. Williamson 21 Rebs: C. Williamson 10 Asts: C. Beck 10		Pts: D. Williams 19 Rebs: R. Wallace 10 Asts: D. Calabria 9 Halftime Score: North Carolina, 38–34

Kingdome – Seattle Attendance: 38,540

National Championship

Main article: 1995 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game

CBS

Monday, April 3 8:40 pm

Box score

#1 UCLA Bruins 89, #2 Arkansas Razorbacks 78
Pts: E. O'Bannon 30 Rebs: Ed O'Bannon 17 Asts: C. Dollar 8		Pts: C. McDaniel 16 Rebs: D. Stewart 5 Asts: C. Williamson 6 Halftime Score: UCLA, 40–39

Kingdome – Seattle Attendance: 38,540

Final Four All-Tournament Team^[5]

Player	Team
Ed O'Bannon*	UCLA
Toby Bailey	UCLA
Corliss Williamson	Arkansas
Clint McDaniel	Arkansas
Bryant Reeves	Oklahoma State

*Named Most Outstanding Player

See also

• 1995 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1995 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament
• 1995 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1995 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament
• 1995 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament
• 1995 National Invitation Tournament
• 1995 National Women's Invitation Tournament
• 1995 NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament
• 1995 NAIA Division II men's basketball tournament
• 1995 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament
• 1995 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament

Notes

• March 19, 1995 – A final shot in the second round at The Boise State Pavilion is one of the most memorable moments in NCAA history. UCLA's Tyus Edney dashed the length of the 94-foot court in just over 4 seconds to make a layup that gave the Bruins a 75–74 win over Missouri, which sustained UCLA's run to a national title that year.^[6]
• April 3, 1995 – Ed O'Bannon scored 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds and is named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player as the Bruins win the championship 89–78 over Arkansas.^[7] Cameron Dollar played 36 minutes and contributed eight assists and four steals while filling in for an injured Edney, who did not return after leaving with 17:23 left in the first half.^[8] The Bruins enjoyed the biggest lead 34–26 in the first half, but led only by a point at halftime 40–39.
• To date, this is the last NCAA men's basketball tournament in which no team seeded lower than #6 reached the Sweet Sixteen.
• Five teams - Colgate, FIU, Gonzaga, Mount St. Mary's and Nicholls State - made their debut in this tournament, all as conference winners. Only FIU has failed to return to the tournament since; Gonzaga would miss the next three tournaments before starting their current streak of making every tournament since 1999.
• The 1995 tournament was the last to feature teams from the Metro and Great Midwest Conferences, as the two would merge later that year to form Conference USA.
  • Tulane, a charter member of the Metro (expelled from the conference from 1985 to 1989 when the Green Wave shuttered their men's basketball program in the wake of a point shaving scandal), has not returned to the NCAA tournament since.

Announcers

Television

Once again, CBS served as broadcasters on television for the tournament.

• Studio: Pat O'Brien (daytime) First round, Regional, Final Four, Jim Nantz (primetime) First round & all of Second Round, and Clark Kellogg.
• Dick Stockton/Jim Nantz and Billy Packer – Stockton/Packer, First & Second Round at Baltimore, Maryland; Nantz/Packer, Midwest Regional at Kansas City, Missouri; Final Four at Seattle, Washington
• Sean McDonough and Bill Raftery – First & Second Round at Dayton, Ohio; Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Alabama
• Verne Lundquist and Quinn Buckner – First & Second Round at Tallahassee, Florida; East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Tim Ryan and Al McGuire – First & Second Round at Boise, Idaho; West Regional at Oakland, California
• Mike Gorman and Ann Meyers – First & Second Round at Memphis, Tennessee
• Mike Emrick and George Raveling – First & Second Round at Albany, New York
• Ted Robinson and Derrek Dickey – First & Second Round at Salt Lake City, Utah
• Dave Sims and Dan Bonner – First & Second Round at Austin, Texas

Radio

CBS Radio was once again the radio home for the tournament.

First and second rounds

• John Rooney
• Marty Brennaman
• Gary Cohen and Dave Gavitt – 1st & 2nd Round at Albany, New York
• Wayne Larrivee
• Brad Sham
• Gus Johnson and Reggie Theus

Regionals

• John Rooney
• Marty Brennaman
• Gary Cohen and Dave Gavitt – East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey
• Wayne Larrivee

Final Four

• John Rooney and Bill Raftery – (UCLA-Oklahoma State and championship Game) Final Four at Seattle, Washington
• Marty Brennaman and Ron Franklin – (Arkansas-North Carolina) Final Four at Seattle, Washington

References

1. Hiserman, Mike (March 10, 1995). "Tournament Is Academic, Off-Season Is Automatic". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
2. Atkinson, Charlie (February 24, 1994). "MAYBE BIG SOUTH HASN'T SEEN THE LAST OF CAMPBELL ONE COACH PRIVATELY QUESTIONS MOVE TO NEW LEAGUE". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
3. "BASKETBALL; If It's Tournament Time, Then It's Time for Duke". The New York Times. March 10, 1995. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
4. Jankowski, Paul (March 2, 2012). "1995 men's hoops championship initiated years of success at Valparaiso University". The Times of Northwest Indiana. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
5. "NCAA All-Tournament Teams". FoxNews.com. Associated Press. April 9, 2013. Archived from the original on April 11, 2013.
6. Friend, Tom (March 20, 1995). "N.C.A.A. TOURNAMENT: WEST; U.C.L.A. Dash Knocks Wind Out of Missouri". New York Times. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. U.C.L.A.'s Tyus Edney ran a 94-foot dash in 4.7 seconds today. That he also managed to toss in a swooping layup left Missouri with its hands over its face
7. Penner, Mike (April 4, 1995). "Sweetness in Seattle". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 1, 2012.
8. Dufresne, Chris (April 4, 1995). "A Big Return From Dollar". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 10, 2012.