Honorable Mention
Larry Krystkowiak, Utah (212-143, 4 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
Steve Prohm, Iowa State (199-102, 4 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
Steve Alford, Nevada (606-310, 11 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 4 Sweet 16s)
Bobby Hurley, Arizona State (134-87, 3 NCAA Tournament
appearances)
Ben Jacobson, Northern Iowa (268-169, 4 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
Nate Oats, Alabama (112-58, 3 NCAA Tournament appearances)
Steve Pikiell, Rutgers (261-240, 1 NCAA Tournament
appearance)
Anthony Grant, Dayton (257-141, 3 NCAA Tournament
appearances)
20. Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska (122-81, 4 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
The Mayor’s return back to college after a few years in the
NBA was rocky, to say the least, as the Huskers finished dead last in the Big
Ten. Hoiberg remains on this list because of his accomplishments at Iowa State,
making the tournament four times in five seasons. However, he only made it past
the first weekend once, and included in that was an embarrassing 60-59 loss to
No. 14 UAB. Nebraska should be better next year with six of their top seven
scorers returning next season and the Huskers gaining transfers Kobe King
(Wisconsin, 10 ppg) and Kobe Webster (Western Illinois, 17.1 ppg). But still.
The Huskers must improve a great deal if Hoiberg wants to remain in the top 20
on this list.
19. Kevin Willard, Seton Hall (236-183, 4 NCAA Tournament
appearances)
A new entry to the list, Willard has seemingly come out of
nowhere to make Seton Hall into a national power. The Pirates had three wins in
conference play the year before he arrived in Newark. The 25 wins in 2015-16
were the most for the program since P.J. Carlesimo led them to 28 wins in
1992-93. This past year, Willard led Seton Hall to its first conference crown
since that 1992-93 season, reaching as high as No. 8 in the polls. Willard has
the Pirates on the cusp of being a force to be reckoned with, but next year
will be a little more difficult as first team All-American Myles Powell
departs. Still, what he has done at Seton Hall has been incredible.
18. Brian Dutcher, San Diego State (71-26, 1 NCAA
Tournament appearance)
It took awhile for Dutcher to be the head man at a program,
but he was given that chance when Steve Fisher retired. And he has ran with it.
Dutcher was given the reigns following a 19-14 year for the Aztecs in and has
put together two solid years and this past season, which was one of the best in
school history. The Aztecs were primed to be a No. 1 or at the very worst, a
No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A Final Four trip would have matched the
best season (record-wise) in program history. He has elevated the program from
when he took over after the last year was average for Fisher. Maybe he will be
a late bloomer like Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton.
17. Archie Miller, Indiana (194-106, 4 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
Archie took a big dip
here because Indiana is one of the most storied programs in college basketball
and he missed the NCAA Tournament in his first two years in Bloomington and on
the bubble this season. That is despite the fact that the Hoosiers have so many
resources and are in a basketball-rich state. At Dayton, he went 139-63, which
is the reason he was given this job and why he is on the list. But he needs to
not only make the Big Dance, but make a deep run or he will be feeling the
heat. At a program like Indiana, it is unacceptable to not make the NCAA
Tournament since 2015-16.
16. Brad Underwood, Illinois (157-75, 4 NCAA Tournament appearances)
After two underwhelming seasons in Champaigne, Underwood’s
crew turned it around, led by Ayo Dosunmu and Big Ten Freshman of the Year Kofi
Cockburn. The Illini won 21 games and finished 13-7 in conference, good for
fourth in the conference. The 13 league wins are more than Illinois had in its
previous two seasons combined. Illinois was going to be going to the NCAA
Tournament for the first time since 2013 before the Coronavirus cancelled March
Madness. After an incredible run at Stephen F. Austin in which he led the
Lumberjacks to an 89-14 record and an incredible 53-1 conference record, he led
the Oklahoma State Cowboys to the tournament in 2017. He showed how good of a
coach he is in Nacogdoches, so it is not a surprise he is beginning to turn
things around in Champaigne.
15. Randy Bennett, St. Mary’s (440-182, 7 NCAA
Tournaments, 1 Sweet 16)
Death, taxes, Randy Bennett leading St. Mary’s to a stellar
season. This time, it was 26-8 and likely a berth in the NCAA Tournament until
the Coronavirus forced everything to be cancelled. He has led his Gaels to 20+
wins in each of the last 13 seasons. Despite leading the Gaels to a 30-win
season in 2017-18, they missed the tournament and were bounced in the NIT
Quarterfinals. Bennett took over a woeful St. Mary’s program and has turned it
into a powerful program. I wonder if Bennett will ever take an offer from a
major conference job because that might he might have reached his ceiling with
this program and he wouldn’t be able to take the next step. Despite making the
tournament seven times, he has only advanced past the first round twice.
14. Jamie Dixon, TCU (404-166, 12 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 2 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8s)
Dixon took a tumble on this list, as TCU finished .500 and
missed the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years. This is “What have
you done for me lately?” sport and his teams have not made it to the second
weekend since 2009. In his first six years, his Pitt Panthers advanced to the
second weekend three times. Those days look so long ago. However, he does get
credit for turning the Horned Frogs around. Prior to Dixon’s arrival in Fort
Worth, the Horned Frogs were a doormat. In Trent Johnson’s four years with the
program, TCU only had one winning season and was a combined 8-64 in conference
play and never finished higher than ninth in the conference. Prior to Dixon,
TCU had not made either the NCAA Tournament or NIT since 2005, and not made the
Big Dance this millennium. Next year will be a big one for him.
13. Eric Musselman, Arkansas (129-46, 3 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
After an 18-16 season last year, Arkansas was primed to take
a major leap in year one under Musselman. The team began the season 14-2, but
dropped 10 of its last 16 games and a 7-11 SEC record took them off the bubble
and firmly out of the NCAA Tournament running. However, they improved their
overall record, which is outstanding considering the Razorbacks lost eight
players (six seniors, two transfers). Musselman came to Fayetteville after
beginning his collegiate head coaching career at Nevada. In his first season
there, he rebuilt the Wolfpack after a 9-22 season. He led Nevada to a 15-win
increase in 2015-16 and a CBI championship. In his next three seasons, he led
them to three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and a berth in the Sweet
16 in 2018. Musselman is the right man for the job and will have Arkansas among
the upper echelon teams in the SEC in a few years.
12. Mike White, Florida (209-105, 3 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Elite 8)
White has had a solid time in Gainesville so far, but
nothing has come close to the success of his 2016-17 team. In his past three
years, he has averaged 20 wins a season and has not finished higher than third
in the SEC standings. The Gators would have made the NCAA Tournament this year,
but wouldn’t have been a high seed and likely would have fallen before the
Sweet 16. He came from Louisiana Tech, where he found plenty of success. In his
final three years with Louisiana Tech, he led the Bulldogs to 83 wins and a
conference title all three years. However, he could not get his team over the
hump and into the Big Dance and had to settle for the NIT all three seasons.
His team only had two seniors on it, so the Gators could make a deep run next
season.
11. Greg Gard, Wisconsin (101-57, 3 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 2 Sweet 16s)
What a season for Gard. If I were to have made this list
after 10 games, he probably would be off the list. But fortunately for him, the
season continued and he led the Badgers to one of the more improbable Big Ten
championships in recent memory. What he and the program had to deal with and
turn the season around was remarkable. His team lost its best two defenders,
Khalil Iverson and do-everything big man Ethan Happ. In May, assistant coach
Howard Moore and his family were in a car accident that claimed the life of his
wife and daughter. Then, Micah Potter inexplicably kept being turned down in
his appeal to try to play right away. He kept being denied, so he had to begin
the season on Dec. 21 against Milwaukee. Then, finally, second-leading scorer
Kobe King transferred, and rumors surfaced that he wasn’t happy with the
direction of the program, leaving Wisconsin with only eight scholarship
players. Well, fast forward two months and Gard had the last laugh. His Badgers
won eight consecutive games to earn a share of the Big Ten title. Any one of
those could have caused the season to derail, but Gard kept the team together
and was rewarded with the Big Ten Coach of the Year. With Brevin Pritzl being
the only contributor departing the team, Wisconsin could be a contender to make
the Final Four in 2021.
10. Mike Brey, Notre Dame (536-285, 14 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16, 2 Elite 8s)
This one is similar to Jamie Dixon, as Brey fell six spots
to No. 10. What have you done for me lately? He made it to the Elite 8 in
back-to-back years in 2014-15 and 15-16, but has not made the tournament since
2017-18 and would not have made it again this year unless they made a deep run
in the conference tournament (and probably would have to actually win it). As
good as Mike Brey is, those Elite 8 appearances are the only trips to the
second weekend of the NCAA Tournament since 2003-04. In that period, the Irish
have missed the tournament completely seven times. He did have a nice bounce
back season this year after going a woeful 3-15 in league play in 2019-20, but
he is running out of time to reach his first Final Four.
9. Mark Turgeon, Maryland (451-255, nine NCAA Tournament
appearances, 2 Sweet 16s)
For the fifth time in the six seasons since Maryland joining
the Big Ten, the Terps reached at least 23 victories, including 24 wins and a
Big Ten championship this season. It was his first conference title since
2005-06 when he was with Wichita State. Turgeon had a chance to make a run this
year, but the Coronavirus ended those hopes. He’ll have to replace point guard
Anthony Cowan, but he is the only scholarship senior on the roster. He has a
great sophomore class that includes Jalen Smith and Aaron Wiggins and if they
stick around, Turgeon might exit this list soon. Still, he will need to prove
more in the NCAA Tournament, though, as he has only led one team past the first
weekend since he took the jump to a major conference school.
8. Chris Holtmann, Ohio State (180-119, 5 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
Holtmann had Ohio State in the top five early in the season
before falling off a bit and finishing at 21-10 overall and 11-9 in the Big
Ten. The Buckeyes would have made the NCAA Tournament again, but he hasn’t
gotten out of the first weekend yet in Columbus. Next year, he will be without
D.J. Carton, who transferred, and most likely Kaleb Wesson. However, they do
bring in coveted Harvard graduate transfer Seth Towns. The Harvard transfer has
missed the last two seasons with a knee injury but was the 2017-18 Ivy League
Player of the Year. The Buckeyes likely be a top 15 team next year. Holtmann’s overall
record is a little deceiving, as he turned around a Gardner-Webb program that
had not had a winning record since 2005-06. In his first two seasons with the
Runnin’ Bulldogs, they went 23-41 and did not finish higher than ninth in the
Big South. However, in his third season, he led them to a 21-13 record and a
berth in the CIT. He was hired to take over for a Butler legend in Brad Stevens
and was 70-31 in three seasons and reached the Sweet 16 in 2017.
7. Buzz Williams, Texas A&M (268-169, 8 NCAA
Tournament appearances, 3 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8)
It is only a matter of time that Buzz turns around the
Aggies. He did the same at Virginia Tech and elevated the play at Marquette
after the departure of Tom Crean. Williams took over the Hokies following a
9-22 season in which they won just two league games. In his fifth season, he
took Virginia Tech to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1966-67 and fell by
just two points to top-seeded Duke. Before Virginia Tech, he averaged more than
23 wins per season with Marquette and made the Sweet 16 twice and an Elite 8.
In his first year, he improved the team’s record to 15-14 after going 14-18 in
2018-19 and won three more league games than the previous year too, so Buzz has
the program looking up.
6. Matt Painter, Purdue (362-179, 12 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 4 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8)
Purdue took a step back this season, but that was to be
expected after Carsen Edwards graduated. They would have been NIT bound after
five consecutive years in the Big Dance, including advancing to the second
weekend the last three seasons. I have faith in Painter, as the Boilers try to
make the Final Four for the first time since 1980. It will be interesting to
see if Painter (and Purdue) will finally be able to get over the hump because
the Boilermakers are a bit snakebit in that regard because Gene Keady was the
same way.
5. Leonard Hamilton, Florida State (579-431, 10 NCAA
Tournament appearances, 3 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8)
Hamilton shot up the charts after another stellar season for
the Seminoles. He has led FSU to at least 26 wins in three of the past four
seasons. This season, unfortunately, ended due to the Coronavirus, but the
Noles would have been a top two seed and they won the ACC regular season title
with a 16-4 record. At 71, he is the oldest coach on the list and it seems like
he is getting better with age. His head coaching career began in 1986 with
Oklahoma State, and he lasted four seasons with a 47 percent winning
percentage. He went to Miami for 10 years, turning around the program, and
making the NCAA Tournament his final three seasons with the Hurricanes. In
2002-03, he went to Tallahassee and turned things around. In 2018, he led them
to their first Elite 8 in 25 years. It’s a shame that there was no tournament
because he could have made it this year.
4. Mick Cronin, UCLA (384-182, 11 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 1 Sweet 16)
Mick Cronin did a great job getting the Bruins on the right
track after Steve Alford was fired early last season. After a one-year absence,
he likely would have had UCLA right back in the NCAA Tournament, as the Bruins
went 19-12 and 12-6 in Pac-12 play. There is no doubt he is a great coach, but
he can’t seem to get his teams to the second weekend. Cronin came from
Cincinnati, and under him, the Bearcats averaged nearly 27 wins per season the
past six seasons, but could never make it to the second weekend. He’ll have the
assets to do that at UCLA, so it would be considered a failure if he doesn’t do
that with the Bruins.
3. Scott Drew, Baylor (361-220, 8 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 2 Sweet 16s, 2 Elite 8s)
Like Hamilton, he shot up this list. He has led Baylor to
unprecedented success in basketball after he came in following the scandal in
the early 2000s. The Bears would have been a No. 1 or 256-115, 2 seed and had a
chance to make it to the Final Four, if not for the Coronavirus. He has led the
guys from Waco to 11 20-win seasons in the last 13 years. Including 30 wins in
2011-12. Once his teams do get in the tournament, though, they either go far or
get bounced by a lower-seeded team early. Drew has been a really solid coach
for the Bears, and maybe at some point, he could get lucky and make a run to
the Final Four. It is a shame because this past year could have been his season
to do just that.
2. Chris Mack, Louisville (256-115, 9 NCAA Tournament
appearances, 3 Sweet 16s, 1 Elite 8)
Chris Mack has been such a good coach for so long that it is
surprising that he has never been to a Final Four before. His two best years at
Xavier, in 2016-17 and 2018-19, were spoiled before the second weekend by
Wisconsin and Florida State, respectively. He won more than 20 games in every
season but one and has had at least 24 wins five seasons. Like I said last
year, nothing against Xavier, but it is just a matter of time before Mack
reaches the Final Four with Louisville and heading to the Cardinals was great
for his career. It seems inevitable, but of course, people probably thought
that with Gene Keady and John Chaney too.
1. 1. Sean Miller, Arizona (404-147, 11 NCAA
Tournament appearances, 3 Sweet 16s, 4 Elite 8s)
Once again, Miller takes the top spot, and I
am sure the Arizona coach is sick of being at the top of this list. After a
one-year absence, the Wildcats would have made the NCAA Tournament again this year
for the seventh time in eight seasons. It seems like he is snake bit. Going to
four Elite 8s and not winning one will make it seem that way. It does not help
that two of the best teams Miller has had ran into Frank Kaminsky in the Elite
8. At some point, though, Miller will break through, you’d think. It is a
mystery how he has yet to reach the Final Four. I know I have been saying this
for awhile, but it is just a matter of time for him.
