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 1995–96 NCAA Division I men's basketball season began in November 1995 and concluded with the 64-team 1996 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, whose finals were held at the Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey, ...

. The Minutemen, led by eighth year head coach

John Calipari John Vincent Calipari (; born February 10, 1959) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the Arkansas Razorbacks men's basketball, University of Arkansas. He has been named Naismith College Coach of the Year three times (1996, 2 ...

, played their home games at William D. Mullins Memorial Center and were members of the

Atlantic 10 Conference The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. The A-10's member schools are located most ...

. 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 A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...

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 Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. 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.

Roster

Schedule

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Rankings

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 *

– Naismith College Coach of the Year, NABC Coach of the Year

Team players in the 1996 NBA draft

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995-96 UMass Minutemen basketball team UMass Minutemen basketball seasons UMass NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament Final Four seasons Umass UMass Minutemen basketball UMass Minutemen basketball