1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball team

1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
1995–96 Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
SoCon South division champions; SoCon tournament champions
NCAA tournament, First round
Conference	Southern Conference
	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

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]

Roster

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

^ "NO. 1 SEED PURDUE EKES PAST WESTERN CAROLINA". The Deseret News. March 14, 1996. Retrieved July 7, 2023.
^ "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.
^ "1995-96 Men's Basketball Schedule". Western Carolina University Athletics. Retrieved July 7, 2023.

[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.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Western Carolina Catamounts men's basketball
Venues	Breese Gymnasium (1929–1956) Reid Gymnasium (1956–1986) Ramsey Center (1986–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25