1996 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament
# 1996 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament

The 1996 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball tournament was the final event of the 1995–96 season in the Ohio Valley Conference. The tournament was held February 29-March 2, 1996, at Nashville Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Austin Peay defeated Murray State in the championship game, 70–68, to win their second OVC men's basketball tournament.

The Governors received an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament as the No. 14 seed in the Southeast region.

## Format

Seven of the nine conference members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records, with the top seed (Murray State) receiving a bye to the semifinal round. The teams were re-seeded after the opening round. Southeast Missouri State and UT Martin did not participate.

## Bracket

| Quarterfinals Tuesday, February 29 | Quarterfinals Tuesday, February 29 | Quarterfinals Tuesday, February 29 | | | Semifinals Wednesday, March 1 | Semifinals Wednesday, March 1 | Semifinals Wednesday, March 1 | Championship Thursday, March 2 | Championship Thursday, March 2 | Championship Thursday, March 2 |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | | | | | 1 | Murray State | 85 | | | |
| | | | | | 5 | Tennessee Tech | 71 | | | |
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 69 | | | 5 | Tennessee Tech | 71 | | | |
| 5 | Tennessee Tech | 89 | | | | | | | | |
| 5 | Tennessee Tech | 89 | | | | | | 1 | Murray State | 68 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 1 | Murray State | 68 |
| (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | (Pairings are reseeded after the first round) | 3 | Austin Peay | 70 |
| 3 | Austin Peay | 89 | | | | | | | | | 3 | Austin Peay | 70 |
| 6 | Eastern Kentucky | 67 | | | | | | | | |
| 6 | Eastern Kentucky | 67 | | | 3 | Austin Peay | 83 | | | |
| | | | | | 2 | Tennessee State | 62 | | | |
| 2 | Tennessee State | 71 | | | 2 | Tennessee State | 62 | | | |
| 7 | Morehead State | 60 | | | | | | | | |
