Morgantown, West Virginia – On December 17, 2016, West Virginia Head Coach Bob Huggins won his 800th game against UMKC 112-67, joining some of the greatest, most accomplished coaches in college basketball history.
On that night, Huggins was asked which win was his favorite and Huggins replied, “‘Eight-hundred wins. How do you pick one? ‘I can’t do it. I like beating Cal (John Calipari) but that’s way more than one.”
Today, Bob Huggins stands at 885 wins. With 23 remaining regular season games this year, it’s very likely that Huggins will hit 900 wins this year.
A February 15th matchup at home against Baylor could potentially be the game that he gets his 900th win. Following that game, the Mountaineers play on the road at Texas and at TCU, and then return home for the final game of the season against Kansas State on February 27th.
When Huggins got his 900th win in 2016, West Virginia University Athletic Director Shane Lyons presented him with a jersey with the number “800” printed on it and several of Huggins’ former players.
Huggins, who has coached at Walsh College, Akron, Cincinnati, Kansas State and West Virginia, will pass Connecticut’s former Head Coach Jim Calhoun (889 wins) in the coming weeks and is going back and forth with North Carolina’s Roy Williams on the wins list.
Legendary Indiana Head Coach Bob Knight retired with 902 and sits at 3rd on the all-time wins list. It’s very possible that Bob Huggins ends this season behind only Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski as the 3rd winningest coach in college basketball history.
With that said, Huggins’ 900th win is a monumental accomplishment and is the prefect opportunity to honor Huggins by naming the basketball court after him or erecting a statue outside the West Virginia Coliseum.
With an outstanding team and Huggins’ improved health, there’s a very good chance that he can not only get 900 but also potentially chase 1,000 career wins if he can stick around for 4 or 5 years. This is, of course, a spectacular accomplishment for a coach with an absolutely legendary career.
– To track Bob Huggins’ wins this season as he approaches 900 wins, follow our “Huggy Bear All-Time Wins Tracker” at the top of our website.
