The 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship Game was the finals of the 1996 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and it determined the national champion for the 1995-96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season The game was played on April 1, 1996, at

Continental Airlines Arena Meadowlands Arena (formerly Brendan Byrne Arena, Continental Airlines Arena and Izod Center) is a closed indoor sports and concert venue located in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. Since closing, ...

East Rutherford, New Jersey East Rutherford is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner suburb, inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 Unit ...

, and featured the Midwest Regional Champion, #1-seeded

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

versus the West Regional Champion, #4-seeded

Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

. This was the first time the national championship game was held in the Greater New York Area since

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

. This was also the last men's national championship game to be held in a basketball/hockey-specific facility. Every Men's National Championship Game since then has been held in a domed stadium (usually built for football) because of NCAA venue capacity requirements. Therefore, this was the last time the national championship game was held in the Greater New York Area, or anywhere else in the

Northeastern United States The Northeastern United States (also referred to as the Northeast, the East Coast, or the American Northeast) is List of regions of the United States, census regions United States Census Bureau. Located on the East Coast of the United States, ...

. Kentucky defeated Syracuse 76–67 to win their first national championship since

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

. Kentucky star

Antoine Walker Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976) is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 1996 NBA draft out of the University of Kentucky and played in the NBA from 1996 to 2008. Walker ...

faced off against former high school teammate,

Donovan McNabb Donovan Jamal McNabb (born November 25, 1976) is an American former professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons, primarily with the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college ...

, in the national championship against Syracuse University. McNabb would later gain fame as a quarterback with the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

Participating teams

Syracuse Orangemen

*West **(4) Syracuse 88, (13) Montana State 55 **(4) Syracuse 69, (12) Drexel 58 **(4) Syracuse 83, (8) Georgia 81 (OT) **(4) Syracuse 60, (2) Kansas 57 *Final Four **(W4) Syracuse 77, (SE5) Mississippi State 69

Kentucky Wildcats

*Midwest **(1) Kentucky 110, (16) San Jose State 72 **(1) Kentucky 84, (9) Virginia Tech 60 **(1) Kentucky 101, (4) Utah 70 **(1) Kentucky 83, (2) Wake Forest 63 *Final Four **(MW1) Kentucky 81, (E1) Massachusetts 74

Starting lineups

Game summary

References

{{1996 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball navbox NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship games Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball Syracuse Orange men's basketball College basketball tournaments in New Jersey Sports competitions in East Rutherford, New Jersey NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game NCAA Division I men's basketball championship game 20th century in East Rutherford, New Jersey