52. Scott Cross (Troy)
2 NCAA Tournaments (0-2)
Every year that passes seems to further expose the mistake that UT Arlington made with Cross all those years ago. Cross spent more than two decades as a player, assistant, and head coach with those Mavericks before being fired in 2018. That move was a head scratcher and Cross has bounced back nicely since landing at Troy a year later. His first seven years with the Trojans have been filled with success, including five straight 20-win seasons and now a second consecutive Sun Belt Tournament title.                                Â
51. Eran Ganot (Hawaii)
1 NCAA Tournament (1-1)
Despite being from Brooklyn, Ganot has spent his entire coaching career bouncing between Saint Mary’s and Hawaii. He spent nearly a decade assisting Randy Bennett with the Gaels and has now been entrenched as Hawaii’s head coach since 2015. In his first season as a head coach at any level, he took the Rainbow Warriors to the Big Dance and to the first NCAA Tournament win in program history against California. Ten years later he’s won the Big West Tournament for the second time and has Hawaii back in the Tourney field.
50. Jake Diebler (Ohio State)
0 NCAA Tournaments
The early days for Diebler were spent at Valparaiso, where he played guard and spent a few seasons as an assistant. He’d later work again for Bryce Drew at Vanderbilt, but much of his last decade has been at Ohio State. He was a video coordinator for Thad Matta and a big piece under Chris Holtmann before being promoted to the top job in February 2024. Diebler impressed as the interim head coach and then underwhelmed last season, but this year he’s got the Buckeyes dancing again and at least trending in the right direction by the end of Big Ten play.
49. Dave Richman (North Dakota State)
2 NCAA Tournaments (1-2)
Richman has been a major part of basketball in the state of North Dakota over the last two decades and has become a particular icon at North Dakota State. He graduated from the school and later rejoined as a graduate assistant in 2003. Richman has never left, serving as an assistant under multiple head coaches before taking over the head job in 2014. His Bison have been consistent over the last twelve years, with a slew of conference success and a win in the First Four back in 2019. This year’s Summit League Tournament title marks his fourth as head coach.