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John Calipari continues to cement himself as one of the best to ever coach in college basketball.
Now in his 10th season at Kentucky, Calipari once again has his team in contention for a national championship. Even if the Cats don’t claim banner No. 9, they still have a great shot at making their fifth Final Four under Calipari.
After Saturday’s demolition of the Tennessee Volunteers, Calipari now has five wins in his career against top-ranked teams. The last one was when Kentucky beat top-ranked Ohio State in the Sweet 16 of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, which eventually led to the Cats making their first Final Four trip in over a decade.
When it comes to beating No. 1, no coach in the history of college basketball has ever been better than Calipari:
No. 5 Kentucky takes down No. 1 Tennessee, 86-69.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 17, 2019
John Calipari is now 5-4 vs AP top-ranked teams. Among 87 Div. I coaches with 7+ games vs No. 1 teams, Calipari is the only one with a winning record. pic.twitter.com/QrpuKo6Od6
Calipari is also about to move deeper into the lore of Kentucky Basketball. With 296 wins at Kentucky, Calipari is one win away from tying Joe B. Hall for the second-most victories by a head coach in program history.
With four more wins, Calipari will become just the second coach to win 300 games at Kentucky along with Adolph Rupp. Hopefully, there’s plenty of more history for Calipari to make this season and in the foreseeable future.