1995–96 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

{{short description|American college basketball season}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NCAA team season

| sport = basketball

| year = 1995–96

| team = Gonzaga Bulldogs

| logo =

| logo_size =

| logo_alt =

| image =

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| conference = West Coast Conference

| division =

| short_conf = WCC

| CoachRank =

| APRank =

| record = 21–9

| conf_record = 10–4

| head_coach = Dan Fitzgerald

| hc_year = 14th

| asst_coach1 = Dan Monson

| ac1_year = 8th

| asst_coach2 = Mark Few

| ac2_year = 7th

| asst_coach3 = Bill Grier

| ac3_year = 5th

| arena = Charlotte Y. Martin Centre

| champion = WCC regular season co-champion

| tourney = National Invitation Tournament

| tourney_result = First round

}}

{{1995–96 West Coast Conference men's basketball standings}}

The 1995–96 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the West Coast Conference (WCC) during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fourteenth-year head coach Dan Fitzgerald, the Bulldogs were {{nowrap|{{winning percentage|19|7|record=y}}}} overall in the regular season (10–4 in WCC, tied for first),

and played their home games on campus at the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre in Spokane, Washington.

In November 1995, athletic director Fitzgerald announced this season would be his penultimate as head coach, with plans to promote longtime assistant Dan Monson in the spring of 1997.{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=u2NWAAAAIBAJ&pg=6538%2C6434144 |work=Spokesman-Review |title=Fitzgerald will pass off to Monson in 1997 |last=Boling |first=Dave |date=November 8, 1995 |page=C1}}

Regular season co-champion, Gonzaga advanced to the final of the WCC tournament at Santa Clara, but fell to fifth seed Portland.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=xEdWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LOsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4835%2C1390925 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=Pilots down Gonzaga, clinch first NCAA berth since 1959 |date=March 5, 1996 |page=2D}} Ten days later in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT),{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DtsqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k9AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=5059%2C1142555 |work=Moscow-Pullman Daily News |location=(Idaho-Washington) |last=Miedema |first=Laurence |title=Cougs try to block GU's path |date=March 14, 1996 |page=1D}} the Bulldogs traveled to south to Pullman and lost to Washington State by nineteen points to finish at {{nowrap|{{winpct|21|9|record=y}}.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=zkdWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=LOsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6740%2C3720839 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |agency=Associated Press |title=WSU rips Gonzaga in opener |date=March 15, 1996 |page=3B}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BdsqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=k9AFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4856%2C1229126 |work=Moscow-Pullman Daily News |location=(Idaho-Washington) |last=Miedema |first=Laurence |title=Cougars crush cold GU in NIT opener |date=March 15, 1996 |page=1C}}}}