1996 MAAC men's basketball tournament

1996 MAAC men's basketball tournament
Classification	Division I
Season	1995–96
Teams	8
Site	Knickerbocker Arena Albany, New York
Champions	Canisius (1st title)
Winning coach	John Beilein (1st title)
MVP	Michael Meeks (Canisius)
MAAC men's basketball tournaments

1995–96 MAAC men's basketball standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
Iona	10	–	4		.714			21	–	8		.724
Fairfield	10	–	4		.714			20	–	10		.667
Manhattan	9	–	5		.643			17	–	12		.586
Loyola (MD)	8	–	6		.571			12	–	15		.444
Canisius †	7	–	7		.500			19	–	11		.633
Niagara	6	–	8		.429			13	–	15		.464
Saint Peter's	5	–	9		.357			15	–	12		.556
Siena	1	–	13		.071			5	–	22		.185
† 1996 MAAC tournament winner

The 1996 MAAC men's basketball tournament was held March 2–4, 1996 at Knickerbocker Arena in Albany, New York.

Fifth-seeded Canisius defeated Fairfield in the championship game, 52–46, to win their first MAAC men's basketball tournament.

The Golden Griffins received an automatic bid to the 1996 NCAA tournament.

Format

All eight of the conference's members participated in the tournament field. They were seeded based on regular season conference records.

Bracket

	Quarterfinals Saturday, March 2					Semifinals Sunday, March 3					Championship Monday, March 4
	1	Iona	71
	8	Siena	59
						1	Iona	62
						5	Canisius	63
	4	Loyola (MD)	67
	5	Canisius	74
											5	Canisius	52
											2	Fairfield	46
	3	Manhattan	60
	6	Niagara	62
						6	Niagara	47
						2	Fairfield	70
	2	Fairfield	67
	7	Saint Peter's	62