1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season

The 1975–76 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1975, progressed through the regular season and conference tournaments, and concluded with the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament Championship Game on March 29, 1976, at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Indiana Hoosiers won their third NCAA national championship with a 86–68 victory over the Michigan Wolverines.

Season headlines

 * The Metro Conference began play, with six original members.
 * The last basketball season for the Yankee Conference, which dropped all sports except football at the end of the season.
 * Indiana went undefeated (32–0) during the season.
 * In the Pacific 8 Conference, UCLA won its 10th of what would ultimately be 13 consecutive conference titles.
 * Two African-American head coaches met in an NCAA tournament game for the first time, when Fred Snowden’s Arizona Wildcats faced John Thompson’s Georgetown Hoyas in a first-round game on March 13, 1976.
 * Two teams from the same conference played in the NCAA championship game for the first time, when Big Ten Conference members Indiana and Michigan met on March 29, 1976.
 * Bob Knight of Indiana became the first head coach to win the NCAA championship after playing for an NCAA championship team. He had played for the 1960 champion Ohio State team.

Pre-season polls
The top 20 from the AP Poll during the pre-season.

Conference winners and tournaments
From 1975 to 1982, the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC), a loosely organized sports federation of colleges and universities in the Northeastern United States, organized Division I ECAC regional tournaments for those of its members that were independents in basketball. Each 1976 tournament winner received an automatic bid to the 1976 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament in the same way that the tournament champions of conventional athletic conferences did.

Final Four

 * Third Place – UCLA 106, Rutgers 92

Semifinals & finals

 * Third Place – NC State 74, Providence 69

Major player of the year awards

 * Naismith Award: Scott May, Indiana
 * Helms Player of the Year: Kent Benson, Indiana, & Scott May, Indiana
 * Associated Press Player of the Year: Scott May, Indiana
 * UPI Player of the Year: Scott May, Indiana
 * NABC Player of the Year: Scott May, Indiana
 * Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA): Adrian Dantley, Notre Dame
 * Adolph Rupp Trophy: Scott May, Indiana
 * Sporting News Player of the Year: Scott May, Indiana

Major coach of the year awards

 * Associated Press Coach of the Year: Bob Knight, Indiana
 * Henry Iba Award (USBWA): Johnny Orr, Michigan
 * NABC Coach of the Year: Johnny Orr, Michigan
 * UPI Coach of the Year: Tom Young, Rutgers
 * Sporting News Coach of the Year: Tom Young, Rutgers

Other major awards

 * Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award (Best player under 6'0): Frank Alagia, St. John's
 * Robert V. Geasey Trophy (Top player in Philadelphia Big 5): Charlie Wise, La Salle
 * NIT/Haggerty Award (Top player in New York City metro area): Phil Sellers, Rutgers

Coaching changes
A number of teams changed coaches throughout the season and after the season ended.