NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 68 head coaches in 2021 NCAA Tournament
By Joey Loose
8. Chris Beard (Texas Tech)
3 NCAA Tournaments (9-3)
Beard has really exploded onto the national scene in recent years. Just six years ago he was still a non-D1 head coach, but the former Bob Knight assistant took Little Rock to 30 wins and an NCAA Tournament upset before returning home to Texas Tech in 2016. When you consider that he’s taken the Red Raiders to a national title game, far more success than Knight or anyone else has accomplished, you can see the wonders he’s been not just for his program but for the competition in the Big 12.
7. Jim Boeheim (Syracuse)
34 NCAA Tournaments (60-33)
It should come as no surprise to see Boeheim and Syracuse sneak into the NCAA Tournament. Boeheim won the 2003 national title with the Orange and has led the program to five Final Fours across his 45-year tenure. Most notably, their 2016 run came as a 10-seed that was squarely on the bubble, much like this year’s team. Boeheim is one of the legends of the game and has a talent for getting his players to play their best at the right time of year.
6. Jay Wright (Villanova)
16 NCAA Tournaments (28-14)
It’d be pretty difficult to find a head coach who’s had a better decade than Wright, fresh off national championship wins in 2016 and 2018 with the Wildcats. Wright has completely dominated the new Big East with Villanova and has made their mark on the national stage with those titles. This year’s team certainly doesn’t match some of those efforts, but a savvy coach like Wright is still going to get the most out of the players he does have out there.
5. Tony Bennett (Virginia)
9 NCAA Tournaments (16-8)
What Bennett has done in his coaching career, specifically at Virginia, has been something of legends. After leading Washington State to a Sweet Sixteen in 2008 (their most recent NCAA Tournament appearance) he’s taken the Cavaliers to their first national championship and a flurry of ACC championships. In that strong league, Bennett has made Virginia the strongest and most consistent team, entering this year’s NCAA Tournament as the defending champions, albeit from two seasons ago.