Busting Brackets
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2019 NCAA Tournament: Ranking all 68 head coaches in the Big Dance

By Joey Loose

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels shake hands before North Carolina's game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels shake hands before North Carolina's game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images) /
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts during the game DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on February 12, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 12: Head coach Steve Wojciechowski of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts during the game DePaul Blue Demons at Wintrust Arena on February 12, 2019 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

40. John Becker (Vermont)

2 NCAA Tournaments (1-2)

Becker spent five years as an assistant under Mike Lonergan before taking over the program in 2011 and has done nothing but firmly entrench Vermont at the top of the America East. They might have fallen to UMBC last season, but Becker’s had this team in the postseason in each of his eight years. He won a First Four game over Lamar back in 2012 and his hungry Catamounts squad will be looking for their first Tourney upset since 2005. Becker always has his team ready to play and any coach that’s 107-21 in conference play is doing something right.

39. Fran McCaffery (Iowa)

8 NCAA Tournaments (4-8)

His NCAA Tournament isn’t great, but McCaffery is taking the Hawkeyes to the Tourney for the fourth time. He made three straight trips with Siena and has shown that he can build up a program. There were struggles down the stretch for this season’s Hawkeyes but McCaffery’s done a good job getting this team back to the Tournament. We’ll see if he can finally get a team out of the first weekend, though he did pull off a couple of upsets with Siena.

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38. Tim Cluess (Iona)

5 NCAA Tournaments (0-5)

For the fourth season in a row, Cluess’ Iona Gaels are heading to the NCAA Tournament; a testament to his coaching ability. He’s won the MAAC six times in his nine years in New Rochelle after a successful career coaching high school and junior college. He’s yet to win an NCAA Tournament game, falling in recent years to teams like Oregon and Duke, but it’s something that’s bound to happen one day. Winning four straight league titles is impressive for any coach and Cluess has shown that he can recruit and coach these athletes in New York; let’s just see what happens against North Carolina.

37. Steve Wojciechowski (Marquette)

1 NCAA Tournament (0-1)

The former Duke player and assistant will lead the Golden Eagles to the NCAA Tournament for the second time, and Wojciechowski is certainly grateful for the emergence of Markus Howard. Wojciechowski lacks experience in big time games as a head coach, though there’s certainly still controversy after their Big East semifinals loss to Seton Hall. Regardless, a 97-68 mark at Marquette is solid, but that lack of postseason experience prevents this ranking from being higher. Their names may both be long, but Wojciechowski is not Mike Krzyzewski… at least not yet.

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