The 1995-96 Final Four Team (2021) - Hall of Fame - University of Massachusetts Athletics

The 1995-96 Final Four Team

Induction:
2021

The John Calipari-led 1995-96 men's basketball team finished with a 35-2 overall record, won the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles and advanced to the NCAA Final Four. Massachusetts began the season with a 10-point win over No. 1 Kentucky and rolled to 26 consecutive victories and the No. 1 national ranking. The regular season also included key victories over No. 3 Memphis, No. 10 Wake Forest, No. 13 Syracuse, No. 19 Maryland and No. 21 Georgia Tech.

After UMass cruised through the Atlantic 10 Tournament – including a 75-61 title game victory over heated rival Temple – and entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed. The Minutemen defeated UCF, 92-70 in the first round and battled past Stanford, 79-74 two days later. UMass then downed Arkansas, 79-63, in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen and cruised to a 24-point win over No. 4 Georgetown in the NCAA Elite Eight. The team ultimately fell to fellow No. 1 seed and No. 2 nationally ranked Kentucky, 81-74 in the NCAA Final Four.

Marcus Camby won National Player of the Year, was a consensus first team all-American and secured Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, while Edgar Padilla earned AP All-America accolades. Calipari was named the Naismith College Coach of the Year and NABC Coach of the Year.