8. Matt Painter (Purdue)
17 NCAA Tournaments (24-17)
Painter learned a lot under Gene Keady, playing for the Boilermakers in the early 90’s before later joining his staff. Between those stints, he had a few coaching stops, including a single season as head coach at Southern Illinois, with a Tourney bid in 2004. He returned to West Lafayette to become Keady’s successor the following season and has been prosperous across the last 21 years. Painter has a slew of Big Ten titles, star players, and Tourney runs, notably taking the Boilermakers to national title game in 2024 and another Big Ten Tournament title this past weekend.
7. Tom Izzo (Michigan State)
27 NCAA Tournaments (59-26)
The entirety of Izzo’s coaching career has come in the state of Michigan, and the Northern Michigan alum has done most of that work in East Lansing. He was on Jud Heathcote’s staff for 12 years before taking the top job in 1995 and has never looked back. Izzo most famously led the Spartans to the national title in 2000 and has also appeared eight times in the Final Four. His Michigan State program has a ton of national success, several Big Ten titles, and he boasts more than 750 career wins.
6. Rick Pitino (St. John’s)
24 NCAA Tournaments (55-22)
Fifty years ago, Pitino was the interim head coach at Hawaii and a lot sure has happened for him and this sport ever since. He’s the only person to take six different D1 programs to the NCAA Tournament, achieving success with Boston University and Providence, including a Final Four with the Friars. Pitino famously won national titles at Kentucky and Louisville (vacated), rebuilt relevance at Iona, and has now spent the last three years at St. John’s. One of the greatest coaches of many eras, he just led the Red Storm to a second straight Big East Tournament title.
5. Kelvin Sampson (Houston)
21 NCAA Tournaments (31-21)
Forty years ago Sampson was already a collegiate head coach and it’s been an eventful and prosperous career ever since. His earliest days came at Montana Tech and Washington State before eventually taking Oklahoma to the Final Four in 2002. After things went sideways at Indiana, Sampson spent a few years on NBA benches before Houston hired him in 2014. The last twelve years have been completely revitalizing, turning the Cougars from an afterthought into a national power, with a pair of Final Four’s and great success in both the AAC and Big 12.