NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 68 head coaches in 2023 NCAA Tournament

By Joey Loose | Mar 13, 2023

Apr 4, 2022; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self cuts down the net after defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels during the 2022 NCAA men's basketball tournament Final Four championship game at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports /

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Ragin Cajuns head coach Bob Marlin NCAA Tournament Uta Vs Louisiana Men S Basketball /

56. Bob Marlin – Louisiana

3 NCAA Tournaments (0-3)

It feels like a lifetime ago that Marlin was an assistant at Alabama under David Hobbs in the 90’s, and now he’s heading to his fourth NCAA Tournament as a head coach. A former junior college head coach, he took Sam Houston State to the Big Dance twice before taking over the Ragin’ Cajuns back in 2010. After winning his second Sun Belt Tournament title this season, Marlin and Louisiana are back in the Big Dance for the first time in nine years.

55. Johnny Jones – Texas Southern

5 NCAA Tournaments (2-5)

Jones played and coached at LSU for two decades before beginning his head coaching career with an interim year at Memphis directly before John Calipari. He took North Texas to a pair of NCAA Tournaments before a struggle-filled 5-year tenure at his alma mater in the SEC. Jones has been the head coach at Texas Southern and is leading the Tigers to a 3rd straight NCAA Tournament, with this year’s SWAC Tournament title a crazy accomplishment for a team that sits just 14-20.

54. Darrin Horn – Northern Kentucky

1 NCAA Tournament (2-1)

A return trip to the NCAA Tournament has been a long time coming for Horn who finally gets that second chance at glory. After helping Marquette to the Final Four as an assistant to Tom Crean, he lead Western Kentucky to the Sweet Sixteen back in 2018 in his first head coaching job. After flaming out across four years at South Carolina, he’s bounced back nicely in his home state. He led Northern Kentucky to a second Horizon League Tournament title but the first came right before the pandemic wiped out the season; Horn has waited 15 years for this return trip.

53. Ryan Odom – Utah State

1 NCAA Tournament (1-1)

It’s a long-awaited return to the Big Dance for Odom, whose only previous trip as a head coach was leading 16-seed UMBC to their historic upset over Virginia. An assistant at a number of schools over two decades, Odom has led both Leonir-Rhyne and UMBC before taking over at Utah State in 2021. After a tough first season, he’s gotten the Aggies back in the NCAA Tournament in year two after coming up just short in the MWC Tournament.

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