====== Versus Defending National Champions ======
UMass has played defending National Champions seven times, and has a 5-2 record.

^Team^Date^Game Results^Site^UM Coach^Game Notes^
|[[opponent_north_carolina|North Carolina]]|11/24/1993|@#ddffdd:[[game19931124_north_carolina|W 91-86 (OT)]]|Neutral|[[calipari_john|John Calipari]]|Pre-Season NIT at [[wp>Madison Square Garden|Madison Square Garden]].  UNC #1, UMass #18.  UM comes in as a 14½ point underdog, and plays like it to start, falling behind 11-0.  [[roe_lou|Lou Roe]] takes over and scores 28, jumping onto the scorer's table after the final horn.  UNC featured 6 players that went to the NBA, including Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, and Eric Montross.|
|[[opponent_arkansas|Arkansas]]|11/25/1994|@#ddffdd:[[game19941125_arkansas|W 104-80]]|Neutral|[[calipari_john|John Calipari]]|Starter Tip-Off Classic at [[Springfield Civic Center]], Springfield, MA.  Arkansas #1, UMass #3.  Corliss Williamson's "our second team could beat their first team" quote ends up in the UM locker room, and [[roe_lou|Lou Roe]] takes it very personally.  Roe dominates with 34 points and 13 rebounds.|
|[[opponent_connecticut|Connecticut]]|11/22/1999|@#ffdddd:[[game19991122_connecticut|L 79-65]]|Away|[[flint_bruiser|James “Bruiser” Flint]]|UConn #7. The U Game.  [[mack_monty|Monty Mack]] scores a game-high 26, but rest of team can't match the Huskies.|
|[[opponent_connecticut|Connecticut]]|12/9/2004|@#ddffdd:[[game20041209_connecticut|W 61-59]]|[[mullins_center|Home (MC)]]|[[lappas_steve|Steve Lappas]]|UConn #7. The U Game.  [[Rashaun Freeman]] hits the game winner, and UM students rush the floor after the horn.|
|[[opponent_florida|Florida]]|4/1/2008|@#ddffdd:[[http://umasshoops.com/games/2007-08/0401florida/|W 78-66]]|Neutral|[[ford_travis|Travis Ford]]|[[wp>2008 National Invitation Tournament|NIT Semifinal]] at [[wp>Madison Square Garden|Madison Square Garden]], New York, NY.  Dante Milligan with 17 & 12 in front of hometown crowd.  Future UM coach [[mccall_matt|Matt McCall]] on the Florida bench as Director of Operations.|
|[[opponent_kansas|Kansas]]|12/13/2008|@#ddffdd:[[http://umasshoops.com/games/2008-09/1213kansas/|W 61-60]]|Away|[[kellogg_derek|Derek Kellogg]]|Kansas  #25. At the [[wp>Sprint Center|Sprint Center]], Kansas City, MO.  UM holds KU to 34% shooting, and holds off final Jayhawk shots for the win, just the third of [[kellogg_derek|Derek Kellogg's]] young head coaching career.|
|[[opponent_virginia|Virginia]]|11/23/2019|@#ffdddd:[[https://umassathletics.com/news/2019/11/23/mens-basketball-no-7-6-virginia-outlasts-umass-58-46.aspx|L 58-46]]|Neutral|[[mccall_matt|Matt McCall]]|[[http://www.hoophall.com/events/tip-off-tournament/|Basketball Hall of Fame Tip-Off]], at [[https://mohegansun.com/poi/venues/mohegan-sun-arena.html|Mohegan Sun Arena]]. Virginia #7. A combination of VA's killer defense, and UM shots that refused to fall (30% overall, 19% from 3), and UM's bid to pull the major upset gets thwarted.  UM cut a 16-point first half deficit to just 3 early in the second, but went ice cold again, hitting no shots in over 14 minutes.|

{{tag>"Versus defending National Champ"}}