Eastern Michigan Athletics
A Walk Through History: The Postseason
4/4/2026 9:59:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By T.C. Cameron
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- The Eagles' 1996 MAC Tournament run opened on campus, and Eastern made quick amends with a methodical 84-72 win over the Golden Flashes.
Earl Boykins (26 points), Brian Tolbert (20 points) and Derrick Dial (12 points) accounted for nearly 70 percent of Eastern's scoring. James Head hauled down a game-high nine rebounds while Jon Zajac added 7. Kent State cut the lead to 72-66 with 2:22 remaining, but the Eagles would get a Tolbert basket while making 10 free throws in the final two minutes to clinch the victory.
The tournament moved to Toledo's SeaGate Center for the semifinal rounds. EMU hammered defending MAC champion Ball State for the second time in three weeks, 87-71, for their third win over the Cardinals. The Ann Arbor News headlined Eastern's relentless pressure on Ball State's Bonzi Wells as "Shutting Down BSU's 'Bonzi' Scheme."
On the other side of the bracket, Toledo had upset No. 2 Western Michigan and No. 3 Miami to reach the final. The underdog Rockets gamely hung around for the first 30 minutes, even going on a 16-8 run to cut the EMU lead to 56-51 early in the second half. That's when, according to the Detroit News' Angelique Chengalis, Tolbert was "ignited." He scored the next nine points as Eastern raced to its largest lead of the game, 69-53, and cruised to the title, 77-63.
Tolbert scored 21 and earned the MAC Tournament MVP award. Dial scored 14 and Wilson added 11, with three blocked shots. Both Dial and Wilson joined Tolbert in earning All-Tournament honors.
"Tolbert has been able to take over games in stretches … (he) got on a run and we switched back (defenders), but then it was too late for us," Toledo coach Larry Gipson said, before adding prophetically, "I wouldn't want to play them in the first round — they'll beat someone."
The next day, Eastern learned their tournament draw at a Bowen Field House watch party. It came late in the nationally-televised Selection Show when the bracket revealed the Duke-Eastern Michigan matchup.
"We jumped out of our seats because we all knew what playing Duke meant in terms of national attention," Tolbert said. "When you play for Eastern Michigan, the idea you're going to play Duke in the NCAA Tournament is a dream come true."
Tolbert and his teammates didn't notice it the seeding, but astute observers immediately realized the dreaded 8-9 matchup meant the winner would likely face No. 1 seed Connecticut in Game 2.
The NCAA's methodology for seeding the tournament is complicated. Eastern was rewarded for their season with a once-in-a-lifetime matchup with Duke, and they would play in Indianapolis. In the context of NCAA tournament travel, playing just six hours from Ypsilanti is practically a home game. In return, a potential match up with No. 1 tournament seed UConn (No. 3 ranked nationally) was all but guaranteed if Eastern won.
"As a player you don't really think much about it because your assignment is to beat Duke," Tolbert said. "After the schedule and pressures we had faced, why wouldn't we be excited about this opportunity?"
The Southeast Region at Indianapolis was as accomplished a collection of teams one could imagine. Connecticut was a No. 1 seed and the Big East champion, having defeated Georgetown, 75-74, in a thrilling Big East championship game. Colgate went 9-3 in the Patriot League and won the league's tournament title to earn an automatic bid. Princeton (21-6) had won the Ivy League, defeating Penn in the conference championship game. Virginia Commonwealth (24-8) had won the Colonial Athletic Association regular season and conference tournament as well.
Mississippi State was the Southeastern Conference's West Division champion. They upset the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 overall seed, Kentucky, to win the SEC Tournament. In addition to being the defending champion from the 1995 tournament, UCLA had won the PAC-10 regular season crown (the PAC-10 didn't play a postseason tournament) and entered the tournament ranked No. 14.
A large crowd of over 30,000 fans, including several thousand from Michigan, gave the Eagles a thunderous welcome as they strode on to the floor for pregame warm-ups.
Eastern struggled to figure out the Blue Devils' size on the back line, while Duke fought to contain the trio of Boykins, Dial and Tolbert during a tense first half that ended in a 26-all tie.
During the intermission, Braun delivered perhaps the single greatest line he ever uttered in his coaching career.
"Guys, trust me. If you will start playing the name of the back of their jersey instead of the name on the front, you will win this game."
Braun was correct. Eastern knocked down a blistering 69 percent of their shots in the second half (after shooting just 31 percent in the first half) and erupted for 49 points, racing to a stunning 75-60 win.
With Duke's lumbering forwards and centers unable to beat Eastern down the floor, and EMU's guards became uncontainable. Boykins (23 points), Tolbert (20 points) and Dial (12 points) accounted for 55 points and 73 percent of the offensive output, nearly outscoring Duke's entire team.
As Eastern began pulling away en route to blowing Duke out of the gym, the crowd reached one crescendo after another, punctuated by Wilson's thunderous dunk with just seconds remaining. The dunk was printed on the front pages of hundreds of newspapers nationwide.
The excitement in Indianapolis among thousands of Eastern fans was multiplied after 13-seed Princeton, in the final game of the night at the RCA Dome, ran a backdoor cut late to score a desperate lay-up at the buzzer and upset defending champion UCLA, 43-41.
Late into the night, bars and restaurants were filled with the two most unlikely fanbases ever celebrate NCAA tournament victories ever to celebrate wins over Duke and UCLA on the same night in the same city: Princeton and Eastern Michigan.
Immediately, legacy media gushed about the victories. George Vescey of The New York Times waxed poetically about Boykins. He posted a second piece, gushing on about Eastern Michigan and Princeton winning games being good for the tournament.
But amid the cheer, No. 1 Connecticut awaited. On the Saturday afternoon of the game, the Eagles strode out of their locker room and onto the floor to a raucous ovation. The only fans not rooting for Eastern were those who owned a driver's license issued by the state of Connecticut.
Eastern gave the partisan crowd of 32,293 a stunning first half performance. Shooting at a 70 percent clip over the first 10 minutes, EMU made 13 of their first 18 shots en route to a 32-21, the crowd swelling with energy to match Eastern's effort.
The game within the game was Tolbert dueling toe to toe with UConn All-American Ray Allen. Initially, Tolbert, who held Allen to just three points in the first 10 minutes, hit four 3s in the first half, with Allen's hand in Tolbert's face on nearly every shot.
But before the first ended, UConn awoke, ripping off a 22-6 run to get back in the game. EMU led at the half, 48-47, but the Huskies opened the first five minutes of the second half with a 13-6 run to take a lead they never surrendered. Tolbert knocked down two 3s, then made a driving lay-up to bring Eastern within 68-66 with 11:28 remaining, but that was as close at EMU would get in a 95-81 loss.
Shooting 14 from 24 from the floor — and knocking down seven 3s — Tolbert scored 36 points, the most for any player during the 1996 tournament. In the final moments, before retreating to the bench, Tolbert shook the hand of every teammate on the floor before being intercepted by UConn coach Jim Calhoun, who offered him a hearty competitor's handshake.
Tolbert left the floor to a standing ovation, then received more flowers after the game.
"You watch the tape of him and you say you've got him covered, but today I think he stepped up to another level," said Allen, who scored 25. "He didn't want to lose and carried his team. That's what great players do."
In addition to Tolbert's memorable final performance, Wilson, who had three blocked shots in the first half, finished the game a perfect 5 from 5 from the floor and 8 of 8 at the free throw line for 18 points. He also pulled down seven rebounds. Dial and Boykins each added 10.
One of the greatest seasons in EMU's modern day history, a campaign that took years of recruiting, scheduling and coaching, ended in the national spotlight over three days in Indianapolis. It was an unforgettable season, and its' success hasn't been repeated since.
Author T.C. Cameron is a 1995 graduate of Eastern Michigan University. As EMU's preeminent athletics historian, he has crafted the definitive record of the people and moments which have shaped EMU athletics over the past 50 years. A native of Royal Oak, MI, Cameron now lives in Lowes Island, VA after 16 years in Annapolis, MD.
