The 1995

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...

involved 64 schools playing in

single-elimination A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final mat ...

play to determine the national champion of men's

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

. It began on March 16, 1995, and ended with the championship game on April 3 at the

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District (later SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Owned and operated by King County, it was best known as the hom ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region o ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

. A total of 63 games were played. The Final Four consisted of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

, making their fifteenth appearance and first since the 1980 team that eventually saw their appearance vacated,

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, ...

, making their fifth appearance and first since 1951,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 28th largest and List of states and territories of the United ...

, making their twelfth appearance and second in three years, and

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the O ...

, 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

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 Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore wa ...

(Host: University of Maryland Baltimore County) **Midwest Region ***

University of Dayton Arena University of Dayton Arena (commonly known as UD Arena) is a 13,409-seat multi-purpose arena located in Dayton, Ohio. The arena opened in 1969. It is home to the University of Dayton Flyers basketball teams. From 2001 to 2010, the facility hos ...

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, Ohio, Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County, Ohio, Greene County. The 2020 United S ...

(Host:

University of Dayton The University of Dayton (UD) is a private, Catholic research university in Dayton, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Society of Mary, it is one of three Marianist universities in the nation and the second-largest private university in Ohio. The univ ...

) **Southeast Region *** Memphis Pyramid,

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

(Host:

University of Memphis } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering, the Center for Ea ...

) **West Region ***

Jon M. Huntsman Center The Jon M. Huntsman Center is a 15,000-seat indoor arena in the western United States, on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. It is the home of the Utah Utes of the Pac-12 Conference, the primary venue for basketball and g ...

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, t ...

(Host:

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

) *March 17 and 19 **East Region *** Knickerbocker Arena,

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York Cit ...

(Host:

Siena College Siena College is an American private Franciscan college in Loudonville, New York. Siena was founded by the Order of Friars Minor in 1937. The college was named after Bernardino of Siena, a 15th-century Italian Franciscan friar and preacher. S ...

) **Midwest Region ***

Frank Erwin Center The Frank C. Erwin Jr. Center (commonly known as Frank Erwin Center or UT Erwin Center and originally Special Events Center) is an inactive multi-purpose arena located on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin in Austin, Texas. It is a ...

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

(Host:

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

) **Southeast Region ***

Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center The Donald L. Tucker Civic Center is a multi-purpose indoor arena located on the Florida State University campus in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. The arena has the biggest capacity of any arena in the Florida Panhandle. The arena opened ...

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the populatio ...

(Host:

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

) **West Region *** BSU Pavilion,

Boise, Idaho Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown ar ...

(Host:

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a public research university in Boise, Idaho. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has been awarding baccalaureate and master's degrees It became a p ...

) Regional semifinals and finals (Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight) *March 23 and 25 **Southeast Regional, BJCC Coliseum,

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...

(Host:

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities o ...

) **West Regional,

Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena Oakland Arena is an indoor arena located in Oakland, California, United States. From its opening in 1966 until 1996, it was known as the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. After a major renovation completed in 1997, the arena was renamed ...

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the ...

(Host:

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant un ...

) *March 24 and 26 **East Regional, Brendan Byrne Arena,

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the borough's population was 10,022, reflecting an increase of 1,109 (+12.4%) from the 8,913 counted in the 2010 census.

(Host:

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a private Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Seton Hall is the oldest diocesa ...

) **Midwest Regional, Kemper Arena,

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

(Host:

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

) National semifinals and championship (Final Four and championship) *April 1 and 3 **

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

(Host:

Seattle University Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate pro ...

and

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seatt ...

) For the third and final time, the Kingdome served as the host venue for the Final Four. It would be the last tournament games at the multipurpose stadium, which was demolished in 2000 to make way for

Lumen Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, t ...

. The 1995 tournament saw four new host venues in three new cities. For the first time, the New York capital of Albany hosted tournament games at Knickerbocker Arena, the off-campus home of the

Siena Saints men's basketball The Siena Saints men's basketball team (formerly the Siena Indians) represents Siena College in Loudonville, New York, United States. The NCAA Division I program competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and the annual Franciscan Cup. ...

team. Baltimore hosted its first and, to date, only tournament games at the Baltimore Arena, as did Tallahassee's Leon County Civic Center, the home of the Florida State Seminoles men's basketball team. To date, this marked the last time the tournament has been held in the state of Maryland. Tallahassee was the fourth new city in three years in the state of Florida. And for the second time, the tournament returned to Memphis, this time at the Pyramid Arena, the home to the

Memphis Tigers men's basketball The Memphis Tigers men's basketball team represents the University of Memphis in NCAA Division I men's college basketball. The Tigers have competed in the American Athletic Conference since 2013. As of 2020, the Tigers had the 26th highest winni ...

team. Future tournament games played in Seattle would be played at

Key Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ori ...

up to 2015; and likely

Climate Pledge Arena Climate Pledge Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is located north of Downtown Seattle in the entertainment complex known as Seattle Center, the site of the 1962 World's Fair, for which it was ori ...

thereafter.

Teams

Bracket

* – Denotes overtime period

East Regional – East Rutherford, New Jersey

Game summaries

East first round

=at Albany, New York

East second round

=at Albany, New York

West Regional – Oakland, California

Southeast Regional – Birmingham, Alabama

Midwest Regional – Kansas City, Missouri

Final Four - Seattle, Washington

Game summaries

National Championship

*Named Most Outstanding Player

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 Tyus Dwayne Edney Sr. (born February 14, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the San Diego Toreros men's team of the West Coast Conference (WCC). Listed at , he played point guard. He played coll ...

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. * 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

. 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. 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 Conference USA (C-USA or CUSA) is an intercollegiate athletic conference whose current member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports. C-USA's offices are ...

. ** Tulane, a charter member of the Metro, 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 James William Nantz III (born May 17, 1959) is an American sportscaster who has worked on telecasts of the National Football League (NFL), NCAA Division I men's basketball, the NBA and the PGA Tour for CBS Sports since the 1980s. He has ancho ...

(primetime) First round & all of Second Round, and Clark Kellogg. *

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV. ...

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 Sean McDonough (born May 13, 1962) is an American sportscaster, currently employed by ESPN and WEEI Red Sox Radio Network. Early life The son of ''Boston Globe'' sportswriter Will McDonough, McDonough graduated from the S. I. Newhouse Sch ...

and

Bill Raftery William Joseph Raftery (born April 19, 1943) is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach. High school and college years Raftery attended Saint Cecilia High School in Kearny, New Jersey, where he starred in basketball an ...

– First & Second Round at Dayton, Ohio; Southeast Regional at Birmingham, Alabama * Verne Lundquist and

Quinn Buckner William Quinn Buckner (born August 20, 1954) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played collegiate basketball for the Indiana University Hoosiers, and won a national championship in 1976. He was a captain of both ...

– 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 Ann Meyers Drysdale (born Ann Elizabeth Meyers; March 26, 1955) is an American former basketball player and sportscaster. She was a standout player in high school, college, the Olympic Games, international tournaments, and the professional level ...

– First & Second Round at Memphis, Tennessee *

Mike Emrick Michael "Doc" Emrick (born August 1, 1946) is an American former network television play-by-play sportscaster and commentator noted mostly for his work in ice hockey. He was the lead announcer for National Hockey League national telecasts on bot ...

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 CBS Radio was a radio broadcasting company and radio network operator owned by CBS Corporation and founded in 1928, with consolidated radio station groups owned by CBS and Westinghouse Broadcasting/Group W since the 1920s, and Infinity Broad ...

was once again the radio home for the tournament.

First and second rounds

* John Rooney * Marty Brennaman *

Gary Cohen Gary Cohen (born ) is an American sportscaster, best known as a radio and television play-by-play announcer for the New York Mets of Major League Baseball. Cohen currently calls Mets broadcasts for SNY and WPIX and Seton Hall basketbal ...

and

Dave Gavitt David Roy Gavitt (October 26, 1937 – September 16, 2011) was an American college basketball coach and athletic director at Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island. He was also well known as the first commissioner of the Big East Conference ...

– 1st & 2nd Round at Albany, New York * Wayne Larrivee *

Brad Sham Brad Michael Sham (born August 16, 1949) is an American sportscaster who is known as the "Voice of the Dallas Cowboys". Sham is currently the play-by-play announcer on the Dallas Cowboys Radio Network. Biography Sham has been with the Cowboys sin ...

* Gus Johnson and Reggie Theus * *

Regionals

* John Rooney * Marty Brennaman *

and

– East Regional at East Rutherford, New Jersey * Wayne Larrivee

Final Four

* John Rooney and

– (UCLA-Oklahoma State and championship Game) Final Four at Seattle, Washington * Marty Brennaman and

Ron Franklin Ronald Franklin (February 2, 1942January 18, 2022) was an American sportscaster. He was employed by ESPN from 1987 to 2011. He was fired by ESPN on January 4, 2011, after making sexist comments to a colleague.1995 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The 1995 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in a single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball as a culmination of the 1994-95 NCAA ...

1995 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament The 1995 NCAA Division III men's basketball tournament was the 21st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champions of National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) men's Division III collegiate basketball in the Uni ...

* 1995 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament *

1995 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament The 1995 NCAA Division II women's basketball tournament was the 14th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division II women's collegiate basketball in the United States. Two-time defending champions Nor ...

1995 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament The 1995 NCAA Division III women's basketball tournament was the 14th annual tournament hosted by the NCAA to determine the national champion of Division III women's collegiate basketball in the United States. Defending champions Capital defe ...

1995 National Invitation Tournament The 1995 National Invitation Tournament was the 1995 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. The 1995 tournament was notable for the roster size of eventual champion Virginia Tech - injuries prior to and during the 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 The 1995 NAIA Division I women's basketball tournament was the tournament held by the NAIA to determine the national champion of women's college basketball among its Division I members in the United States and Canada for the 1994–95 basketb ...

1995 NAIA Division II women's basketball tournament File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament

Ncaa The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

Basketball in Austin, Texas Sports competitions in Seattle

Basketball in Seattle