2019 NCAA Tournament: Ranking all 68 head coaches in the Big Dance
By Joey Loose
24. Leonard Hamilton (Florida State)
9 NCAA Tournaments (10-9)
Aside from his brief stint in the NBA, Hamilton has had success at each of his head coach stops, rebuilding at Oklahoma State and getting Miami into a trio of NCAA Tournaments. Since taking over at Florida State in 2002, he’s done his best to keep these Seminoles competitive in a tough ACC. This will be their 7th NCAA Tournament and no run was sweeter than their Elite Eight trip last year as a 9-seed. Hamilton has done a great job of bringing in quality players and getting them ready for big games; we’ll have to see if Hamilton has another run in his team for this season.
23. Scott Drew (Baylor)
7 NCAA Tournaments (10-7)
The job that Drew has done at Baylor is often underappreciated. He took over a program with limited success dealing with controversies surrounding a murder, and he’s built a consistent Big 12 contender. He’s taken the Bears to a pair of Elite Eights and a pair of Sweet Sixteens in his sixteen years in Waco. He hasn’t won a regular season title since leaving Valparaiso, but typically has Baylor near the top of a Kansas-dominated league. Drew gets the most out of his players and what he has done in spite of injuries this season has been nothing short of awesome coaching.
22. Mick Cronin (Cincinnati)
10 NCAA Tournaments (6-10)
Cronin took Murray State to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before being chosen to lead the Bearcats, and he has rewarded that choice. This will be Cincinnati’s ninth straight year in the NCAA Tournament, though Cronin’s record while getting there is quite underwhelming. The Bearcats haven’t escaped the opening weekend since 2012. Regardless, he’s 89-17 since 2016 and this team has established itself in the AAC since its inception. Even when they seemed down and out this year, Cronin rallied his team and won the conference tournament.
21. Ben Howland (Mississippi State)
10 NCAA Tournaments (19-10), 3 Final Fours
Howland has done great work to put these Bulldogs back in the NCAA Tournament after a ten-year absence. His most impressive came at UCLA, where he took the Bruins to three straight Final Fours. He couldn’t bring another title to Westwood, but he also had success at Northern Arizona and Pittsburgh. The SEC has become a much tougher conference, and yet these Bulldogs have been very competitive under Howland. He may have been underappreciated by the Bruins, but this is a solid coach.