The college basketball offseason is here, and we decided to have some fun over the next few months, ranking ALL 364 teams in D1. Number 85 is UMass basketball.
Before you say we’re crazy – or that all of this is up for debate, let’s go over the very intricate process of how we came to this conclusion. We took a very statistical approach – with the help of Chat GPT – taking into consideration everything from March Madness wins and finishes, to AP Poll appearances, to conference players of the year. And then, a good friend of ours, Scott Blanchard, took our approach to the MAX.
Click here to visit the FIRST article, which explains how the formula works!
Here’s the breakdown of UMass basketball!
NCAA Tournament Success
- Championships: 0
- Finals appearances: 0
- Final Fours: 1
- Elite Eights: 2
- Sweet 16s: 3
- NCAA wins: 11
- Bids: 9
Consistency Over Time
- Wins per season: 14.6
- Bids per season: 0.11
- AP Polls: 0
Player Quality & Talent
- All-Americans: 2
- NBA players drafted & played: 6
- Conference Players of the Year: 5
Conference & Other Success
- Conference regular season titles: 15
- Conference tournament titles: 5
- NIT titles: 0
- Other tournament titles: 0
Overall scoop on UMass basketball
We pause our run of Power Conference programs for a team from the Atlantic 10. UMass’s run in the 1990s was one of the best mini-dynasties in mid-major history.
It started in 1988 as a struggling program that hired John Calipari as the next head coach. After one losing season, he had seven straight winning seasons, going 193-71 at the helm. Calipari’s run was dominant, ending his tenure with five straight A-10 regular season and conference tournament titles, all leading to March Madness. The Minutemen won at least one game in all five tourneys and went to the Sweet 16 in 1992, the Elite 8 in 1995, and the Final Four in 1996. UMass was even ranked number one in the country during the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Coach Cal was even the National Coach of the Year in 1996.
But Calipari’s biggest achievement was landing prized recruit Marcus Camby, who helped lead the program to the Final Four in ’96. It was Camby’s junior season, and the Minutemen fell to Calipari’s future school, Kentucky, by seven in the semifinals.
Calipari would leave to take the head coaching job with the New Jersey Nets, but UMass would go dancing again in 1997 and 1998 under head coach Bruiser Flint. However, Flint’s tenure would end with some middle-of-the-pack seasons, and future head coaches have had a very tough time reviving the program. Steve Lappas had a losing record in a few seasons, and Travis Ford did well, but left for Oklahoma State and never led them to the big dance. Derek Kellogg finally broke the curse with an NCAA Tournament bid in 2014. But UMass hasn’t been back since, even under some solid, promising years with Frank Martin as the head coach.
And in case you think Camby was the greatest player in program history, think again. The history at UMass runs much further back, to Al Skinner and Julius “Dr. J” Erving in the 1970s. Head coach Jack Leaman was their coach from 1966 to 1979, going 217-126 and leading them to eight regular season titles in the old Yankee Conference.
Obviously, UMass doesn’t have decades and decades of history. But they have one of the most recognizable NBA figures of all time and were a legitimate title contender for a handful of seasons under John Calipari. Think the Butler Bulldogs of the 1990s (which may or may not be a hint for the Bulldogs coming up soon in this series). Can the Minutemen get back to this level? Probably not, but coach Martin can definitely turn them into a high-end A-10 program.