1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

The 1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team represented Western Carolina University during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Catamounts, led by first-year head coach Phil Hopkins, played their home games at the Ramsey Center and were members of the Southern Conference. They finished the season 17–13, 10–4 in SoCon play to finish in a tie for first place. They defeated Appalachian State, VMI, and Davidson to capture the SoCon tournament title to receive the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament – the first, and only, appearance in program history. Playing as No. 16 seed in the West region, Western Carolina was narrowly beaten by No. 1 seed Purdue, 73–71,^[1] in the opening round.^[2]

1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
SoCon South division champions SoCon tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Southern Conference
Division	South
Record	17–13 (10–4 SoCon)
Head coach	Phil Hopkins (1st season)
Assistant coach	Thad Matta (1st season)
Home arena	Ramsey Center
Seasons ← 1994–95 1996–97 →

1995–96 Southern Conference men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
North
Davidson	14	–	0		1.000			25	–	5		.833
VMI	10	–	4		.714			18	–	10		.643
Marshall	8	–	6		.571			17	–	11		.607
East Tennessee State	3	–	11		.214			7	–	20		.259
Appalachian State	3	–	11		.214			8	–	21		.276
South
Western Carolina †	10	–	4		.714			17	–	13		.567
Chattanooga	9	–	5		.643			15	–	12		.556
Furman	6	–	8		.429			10	–	17		.370
The Citadel	5	–	9		.357			10	–	16		.385
Georgia Southern	2	–	12		.143			3	–	23		.115
† SoCon Tournament winner As of April 30, 1996 Rankings from AP poll

Roster

1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Hometown G 24 Anquell McCollum 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) — Sr Fayetteville, NC	Head coach Phil Hopkins Assistant coach(es) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference Regular season
Nov 29, 1995*		at Georgia	L 71–91	0–3	Stegeman Coliseum  Athens, Georgia
Dec 6, 1995*		at Tennessee	L 51–63	0–5	Thompson-Boling Arena  Knoxville, Tennessee
Dec 20, 1995*		at No. 20 Duke	L 67–107	1–6	Cameron Indoor Stadium  Durham, North Carolina
Jan 2, 1996*		at NC State	L 71–102	1–7	Reynolds Coliseum  Raleigh, North Carolina
Jan 13, 1996*		at Georgia Tech	L 78–91	3–8	Alexander Memorial Coliseum  Atlanta, Georgia
SoCon Regular season
Jan 15, 1996		at Chattanooga	L 70–84	3–9 (0–1)	UTC Arena  Chattanooga, Tennessee
Feb 26, 1996		Appalachian State	W 91–72	14–12 (10–4)	Ramsey Center  Cullowhee, North Carolina
SoCon tournament
Mar 1, 1996*		vs. Appalachian State Quarterfinals	W 74–66	15–12	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, North Carolina
Mar 2, 1996*		vs. VMI Semifinals	W 97–93	16–12	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, North Carolina
Mar 3, 1996*		vs. Davidson Championship game	W 69–60	17–12	Greensboro Coliseum  Greensboro, North Carolina
NCAA tournament
Mar 14, 1996*	(16 W)	vs. (1 W) No. 4 Purdue First round	L 71–73	17–13	University Arena  Albuquerque, New Mexico
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. W=West. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[3]

References

1. "NO. 1 SEED PURDUE EKES PAST WESTERN CAROLINA". The Deseret News. March 14, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
2. "Almost famous: 27 years ago, Western Carolina head coach Phil Hopkins fell short against No. 1 Purdue". ESPN. March 18, 2023. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
3. "1995-96 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved July 7, 2023.