1996 National Championship Recap

The beginning of Kentucky's 1996 national championship can be traced back to the 1994-95 season, when the Wildcats suffered a season-ending loss to North Carolina. Head coach Rick Pitino constantly referred to that game throughout the 1995-96 season, using it as a reminder to his players that they must play as a team, and not as individuals.

The strategy worked, as Kentucky stormed through the NCAA championship, winning its sixth national title. Kentucky became the first school to win national championships under three different coaches.

Kentucky featured a 10-deep playing rotation, with little or no drop-off when substituting. That depth, combined with the Wildcats' pressing, running style, helped Kentucky establish an NCAA championship record for margin of victory (21.5 points).

In the final, Kentucky met a surprising Syracuse team, which had advanced behind the stellar play of forward John Wallace and a tough 2-3 zone defense. Led by 24 points from Tony Delk, voted the most outstanding player, the Wildcats held off the Orangemen, 76-67.

BOX SCORE

          FG- FT-
Syracuse FGA FTA REB PF TP
Burgan   7-10 2-5  8 5 19
Wallace 11-19 5-5 10 5 29
Hill      3-9 1-1 10 2 7
Sims      2-5 1-2  2 2 6
Cipolla   3-8 0-0  1 1 6
Janulis   0-0 0-0  2 2 0 
Nelson    0-0 0-0  0 0 0
Team               1
Totals 26-52 9-13 38 17 67

          FG- FT-
Kentucky FGA FTA REB PF TP
Anderson 4-8 1-1  4 2 11
Walker  4-12 3-6  9 2 11
McCarty  2-6 0-0  7 3 4
Delk    8-20 1-2  7 2 24
Epps     0-6 0-0  4 1 0
Pope     1-6 2-2  3 3 4
Mercer  8-12 1-1  2 3 20
Sheppard 1-2 0-1  2 3 2
Edwards  0-1 0-0  0 0 0
Team              2
Totals 28-73 8-13 40 19 76

Site: East Rutherford, N.J.
Semifinals: Syracuse 77, Mississippi St. 69; Kentucky 81, Massachusetts 74.
Tournament Attendance: 643,290 for 34 sessions.
Halftime: Kentucky 42-33.
Three-point field goals: Syracuse 6-15 (Burgan 3-5, Wallace
2-3, Sims 1-4, Cipolla 0-4); Kentucky 12-27 (Delk 7-12, Mercer 3-4,
Anderson 2-3, Epps 0-3, Pope 0-2, Walker 0-1, Sheppard 0-1, Edwards 0-1).
Officials: Clougherty, Thornley and Libbey.
Championship Coach: Rick Pitino, Kentucky.
Most Outstanding Player: Tony Delk, Kentucky.