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Calipari coached one of the NCAA's best comebacks, 20 years ago

Drew Franklinby:Drew Franklin•02/03/15•

DrewFranklinKSR

Last Tuesday marked the 20-year anniversary of one of college basketball's greatest comebacks and our man John Calipari was on the winning side, wearing a hideous tie. Down 18 with under five minutes to go, Calipari's top-ranked UMass clawed back to win against West Virginia, at West Virginia. The Minutemen went on a 20-4 run in the closing minutes, capped off by hitting two of three free throws and tipping in the miss with nine seconds remaining to force overtime. A late three-pointer in OT gave UMass the victory. It is still the NCAA's largest comeback with less than five minutes to play and Cal reflected back on the game in a story released last night. “I remember ... their students came out of the stands and circled the court getting ready to storm it,” Calipari told Pittsburgh's TribLive.com. “We missed a shot in regulation to win the game, and you could just hear the crowd all sigh, and then they all walked back into the seats.” The Boston Globe wrote after the game, "UMass staged one of the biggest comebacks in school history, defeating the Mountaineers, 97-94, before a partisan crowd so stunned and so angry it hurled ice, beer, water, cups and Frisbees onto the court in disgust." Frisbees? Read more here in the 20th anniversary story on TribLive.com.

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2025-04-28