1995–96 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball team represented Eastern Michigan University during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Eagles, led by head coach Ben Braun, played their home games at Bowen Field House and were members of the Mid-American Conference. They finished the season 25–6, 14–4 in MAC play. They were MAC Regular season and MAC tournament champions, and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as No. 9 seed in the Southeast region. The Eagles defeated Duke^[1] before falling to No. 1 seed UConn in the second round.^[2]

1995–96 Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball

MAC Regular season champions MAC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, second round
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	25–6 (14–4 MAC)
Head coach	Ben Braun (11th season)
Assistant coaches	Brian Miller Gary Waters (7th season)
Home arena	Bowen Field House
Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 →

1995–96 Mid-American Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Eastern Michigan †	14	–	4	.778	25	–	6	.806
Western Michigan	13	–	5	.722	15	–	12	.556
Miami	12	–	6	.667	21	–	8	.724
Ohio	11	–	7	.611	16	–	14	.533
Ball State	11	–	7	.611	16	–	12	.571
Bowling Green	9	–	9	.500	14	–	13	.519
Toledo	9	–	9	.500	18	–	14	.563
Kent State	8	–	10	.444	14	–	13	.519
Central Michigan	3	–	15	.167	6	–	20	.231
Akron	0	–	18	.000	3	–	23	.115

† 1996 MAC tournament winner Rankings from AP Poll

Roster edit

1995–96 Eastern Michigan Hurons men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	3	Derrick Dial	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	So	Cass Technical	Detroit, Michigan
G	10	Brian Tolbert	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	—	Sr
G	11	Earl Boykins	5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)	130 lb (59 kg)	So	Cleveland Central Catholic	Cleveland, Ohio

Source:^[3]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
Nov 25, 1995*		Saint Francis (IN)	W 83–70	1–0	Bowen Field House Ypsilanti, Michigan
Dec 27, 1995*		vs. Texas Tech	W 93–77	7–0	Don Haskins Center El Paso, Texas
Jan 3, 1996		Toledo	W 91–87 ^2OT	8–1 (1–0)	Bowen Field House Ypsilanti, Michigan
Mar 2, 1996		at Toledo	W 95–85	21–5 (14–4)	John F. Savage Hall Toledo, Ohio
MAC tournament
Mar 5, 1996*		Kent State Quarterfinals	W 84–72	22–5	Bowen Field House Ypsilanti, Michigan
Mar 8, 1996*		vs. Ball State Semifinals	W 87–71	23–5	SeaGate Convention Center Toledo, Ohio
Mar 9, 1996*		at Toledo Championship game	W 77–63	24–5	SeaGate Convention Center Toledo, Ohio
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1996*	(9 MW)	vs. (8 MW) Duke First Round	W 75–60	25–5	RCA Dome (31,373) Indianapolis, Indiana
Mar 16, 1996*	(9 MW)	vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Connecticut Second Round	L 81–95	25–6	RCA Dome Indianapolis, Indiana
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. SE=Southeast. All times are in Eastern Time.

^ "Duke Suffers First-Round KO for First Time Since 1955, 75-60". The Los Angeles Times. March 15, 1996. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
^ "UConn Catches Breath, Catches Up". The Los Angeles Times. March 17, 1996. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
^ "1995-96 Eastern Michigan Eagles Roster and Stats". Sports Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2022.
^ "2019–20 Eastern Michigan Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Eastern Michigan University Athletics. Retrieved July 9, 2022.