# 1995–96 UMass Minutemen basketball team

The 1995–96 UMass Minutemen basketball team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst during the 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Minutemen, led by eighth year head coach John Calipari, played their home games at William D. Mullins Memorial Center and were members of the Atlantic 10 Conference. They finished the season 35–2, 15–1 in A-10 play to finish in first place. The Minutemen won the A-10 Conference tournament by beating Temple in the finals. They were awarded a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Minutemen advanced to the Final Four, losing to eventual National Champion Kentucky.
On May 8, 1997, the NCAA Executive Committee voted to negate the Minutemen's 1996 NCAA Tournament record, for Marcus Camby's acceptance of agents' improper gifts. The 35–2 record was reduced to 31–1, and the UMass slot in the Final Four is officially marked as "vacated." The Final Four trophy, banner, and 45% of tournament revenue were returned to the NCAA. Camby reimbursed the school for the $151,617 in lost revenue.

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Non-conference regular season ||||||
| 11/28/1995* | No. 5 | vs. No. 1 Kentucky Great 8 | W 92–82 | 1–0 | The Palace of Auburn Hills (15,454) Auburn Hills, Michigan |
| 12/2/1995* | No. 5 | vs. No. 19 Maryland Franklin National Bank Classic | W 50–47 | 2–0 | USAir Arena (16,302) Landover, Maryland |
| 12/03/1995* | No. 5 | vs. Florida Franklin National Bank Classic | W 80–58 | 3–0 | USAir Arena (16,358) Landover, Maryland |
| 12/6/1995* | No. 3 | No. 10 Wake Forest | W 60–46 | 4–0 | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 12/09/1995* | No. 3 | vs. Boston College Commonwealth Classic | W 65–57 | 5–0 | FleetCenter (9,493) Boston, Massachusetts |
| 12/12/1995* | No. 3 | UNC Wilmington | W 77–51 | 6–0 | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 12/22/1995* | No. 2 | vs. No. 21 Georgia Tech Jimmy V Classic | W 75–67 | 7–0 | Brendan Byrne Arena (13,452) East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| 12/28/1995* | No. 1 | vs. NC State Rainbow Classic | W 78–67 | 8–0 | Special Events Arena (8,871) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 12/29/1995* | No. 1 | vs. USC Rainbow Classic | W 78–63 | 9–0 | Special Events Arena (7,856) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 12/30/1995* | No. 1 | vs. No. 13 Syracuse Rainbow Classic | W 65–47 | 10–0 | Special Events Arena (8,530) Honolulu, Hawaii |
| 1/04/1996* | No. 1 | vs. No. 3 Memphis Atlantic-10 / Conference USA Challenge | W 64–61 | 11–0 | Worcester Centrum (13,557) Worcester, Massachusetts |
| Atlantic 10 regular season ||||||
| 1/06/1996 | No. 1 | Dayton | W 78–58 | 12–0 (1–0) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 01/10/1996 | No. 1 | at Saint Joseph's | W 94-89 $^{OT}$ | 13-0 (2–0) | Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse (3,200) Philadelphia |
| 01/14/1996 | No. 1 | at St. Bonaventure | W 65–52 | 14–0 (3–0) | Reilly Center (6,000) Olean, New York |
| 01/17/1996 | No. 1 | Rhode Island | W 77–71 | 15–0 (4–0) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 01/20/1996 | No. 1 | at Duquesne | W 93–89 | 16–0 (5–0) | A. J. Palumbo Center (6,119) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 01/23/1996* | No. 1 | at Pittsburgh | W 79–71 $^{OT}$ | 17–0 | Fitzgerald Field House (6,798) Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| 01/27/1996 | No. 1 | at St. Bonaventure | W 72–47 | 18–0 (6–0) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 01/30/1996 | No. 1 | at Fordham | W 80–50 | 19–0 (7–0) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 02/01/1996 | No. 1 | at Temple | W 59–35 | 20–0 (8–0) | McGonigle Hall (3,900) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 02/04/1996 | No. 1 | at Xavier | W 78–74 $^{OT}$ | 21–0 (9–0) | Cincinnati Gardens (10,118) Cincinnati, Ohio |
| 02/06/1996 | No. 1 | at Fordham | W 73–47 | 22–0 (10–0) | Madison Square Garden (9,695) New York City, New York |
| 02/11/1996 | No. 1 | Temple | W 84–55 | 23–0 (11–0) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 2/15/1996 | No. 1 | La Salle | W 70–53 | 24–0 (12–0) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 02/17/1996 | No. 1 | at Virginia Tech | W 74–68 | 25–0 (13–0) | Cassell Coliseum (10,052) Blacksburg, Virginia |
| 02/20/1996 | No. 1 | at Rhode Island | W 74–69 | 26–0 (14–0) | Providence Civic Center (13,106) Providence, Rhode Island |
| 02/24/1996 | No. 1 | George Washington | L 76–86 | 26–1 (14–1) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 02/28/1996 | No. 2 | at Saint Joseph's | W 68–66 $^{OT}$ | 27–1 (15–1) | Mullins Center (9,493) Amherst, Massachusetts |
| 03/02/1996* | No. 2 | at No. 21 Louisville | W 62–59 | 28–1 | Freedom Hall (20,076) Louisville, Kentucky |
| Atlantic 10 tournament ||||||
| 03/07/1996 | No. 2 | vs. St. Bonaventure Quarterfinals | W 69–56 | 29–1 | Philadelphia Civic Center (N/A) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 03/08/1996 | No. 2 | vs. George Washington Semifinals | W 74–65 | 30–1 | Philadelphia Civic Center (N/A) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| 03/09/1996 | No. 2 | vs. Temple Finals | W 75–61 | 31–1 | Philadelphia Civic Center (8,727) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/14/1996* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (16 E) Central Florida East Region First round | W 92–70 | 32–1* | Providence Civic Center (11,931) Providence, Rhode Island |
| 03/16/1996* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (9 E) Stanford East Region Second Round | W 79–74 | 33–1* | Providence Civic Center (11,931) Providence, Rhode Island |
| 03/21/1996* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (12 E) Arkansas East Regional semifinal | W 79–63 | 34–1* | Georgia Dome (34,614) Atlanta, Georgia |
| 03/23/1996* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (2 E) No. 4 Georgetown East Regional final | W 86–62 | 35–1* | Georgia Dome (32,328) Atlanta, Georgia |
| 03/30/1996* | (1 E) No. 1 | vs. (1 MW) No. 2 Kentucky National semifinal | L 74–81 | 35–2* | Brendan Byrne Arena (19,229) East Rutherford, New Jersey |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | Final |
| AP | 7 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | Not released |
| Coaches | 7 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 |

## Awards and honors

* Marcus Camby – National Player of the Year, Consensus First-team All-American, A-10 Player of the Year
* Edgar Padilla – Honorable Mention AP All-American
* John Calipari – Naismith College Coach of the Year, NABC Coach of the Year

## Team players in the 1996 NBA draft

| Round | Pick | Player | NBA Club |
| 1 | 2 | Marcus Camby | Toronto Raptors |