NCAA Basketball: Ranking all 68 head coaches in 2024 NCAA Tournament
By Joey Loose
20. Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s)
9 NCAA Tournaments (6-9)
A former aide under coaches like Tim Floyd and Lorenzo Romar, Bennett has turned Saint Mary’s into a behemoth of a program since arriving in Moraga back in 2001. He inherited a WCC program in relative ruin and turned them into yearly contenders. He’s won a number of league titles in a conference typically run by Gonzaga. Other highlights include making the Sweet Sixteen back in 2010, winning Tourney games in each of the last two trips, and winning both regular season and WCC Tournament titles this season.
19. Tommy Lloyd (Arizona)
2 NCAA Tournaments (2-2)
Originally from Washington, Lloyd spent more than two decades on Mark Few’s staff at Gonzaga, helping him build the Bulldogs into regular contenders during his time in Spokane. Lloyd’s head coaching career began in 2021 when Arizona brought him to town, and he’s already won 86 games with the Wildcats. Lloyd led Arizona to Pac-12 Tournament titles in his first two seasons, though fell short this season. He’s hoping to avoid a repeat of last season
18. Brian Dutcher (San Diego State)
4 NCAA Tournaments (5-4)
Dutcher really broke through with these Aztecs last season after spending much of his coaching career under Steve Fisher. He won a national title as an assistant at Michigan back in 1989 and was under Fisher for nearly thirty years both with the Wolverines and at San Diego State. Dutcher helped Fisher build the Aztecs program before becoming head coach in 2017. After a few short stints in the Big Dance, that breakthrough came last season as San Diego State marched all the way to the national championship game.
17. Brad Underwood (Illinois)
7 NCAA Tournaments (4-7)
It’s been one outstanding coaching career for Underwood, a former guard at Kansas State who cut his teeth as a junior college head coach and longtime assistant at Western Illinois. He served under Frank Martin before getting his D1 start at Stephen F. Austin. Underwood took those Lumberjacks to three Tourneys and a pair of upsets to land the Oklahoma State job. One season in Stillwater led to Illinois hiring him in 2017. While the postseason success hasn’t come quite yet, Underwood has taken the Fighting Illini to their second Big Ten Tournament this year.