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At this Sweet 16, the coaches supply the star power. We rank them 1-16

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At this Sweet 16, the coaches supply the star power. We rank them 1-16

If the performance matches the coaching talent, then this Sweet 16 will be elite.

This NCAA Tournament didn’t give us much in the way of Cinderella. Instead, we’ll see a who’s who list of coaches from Power conferences this week. As good as players like Darius Acuff Jr. and Cameron Boozer are, the coaches supply the top star power in this March Madness.

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RE-SEEDING THE SWEET 16: Separating the contenders from pretenders

Here’s my ranking of the Sweet 16 coaches, with the caveat there’s no true weak link on this list:

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16. Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska

Commission the statue in Lincoln, Nebraska. Hoiberg led the Huskers to their first NCAA win in program history. Two days later, they got their second tourney win. Basketball looks good on Nebraska all of a sudden. Hoiberg’s NBA foray was a bust, but he was quite good at Iowa State and now historic for Nebraska. No shame being No. 16 on this list of luminaries.

15. TJ Otzelberger, Iowa State

It’s a testament to the Sweet 16 coaching talent that Otzelberger ranks this low. Iowa State won just two games the year before his arrival. Insert Otzelberger. He won 22 games in his first season, then continued winning more and more with blue-collar teams that defend the heck out of you. His tournament record is 7-6. Polish that a smidge, and Otzelberger will keep trending up.

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14. Ben McCollum, Iowa

If you needed any more proof McCollum can flat-out coach, he just bested wunderkind Todd Golden, and his Hawkeyes stunned No. 1 Florida. McCollum won four Division II national titles at Northwest Missouri State, then turned Drake into a Cinderella success story, and now he’s in the Sweet 16 in Year 1 at Iowa. Buy your stock in McCollum, 44, now.

MORE: Why Ben McCollum is top newcomer coach in Big Ten

13. Brad Underwood, Illinois

Underwood restored a program that had lost its way into top-20 status, where it belongs. He’s an NCAA Tournament regular, dating to his years as a Cinderella at Stephen F. Austin. A hard-nosed, high-intensity coach, he’s starting to develop a calling card for signing and developing international talent. Consider his latest team the Euro-Illini.

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12. Sean Miller, Texas

Miller’s career winning percentage tops .700, and he’s made the Elite Eight four times. Pretty good. Two critiques, aside from that whole corruption scandal at Arizona: His resume lacks a Final Four, and his predecessors were better (Thad Matta at Xavier and Lute Olsen at Arizona). At age 57, he’s got time to make Texas his best stint yet.

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See best of March Madness 2026, from mascots and fans to celebrities

Iowa State Cyclones fans cheer against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Enterprise Center on March 22, 2026 in St Louis, Missouri.

11. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona

Lloyd’s record in five seasons at Arizona sparkles, and he’s a couple of wins away from having his national profile skyrocket. His Wildcats smoothly pivoted from the Pac-12 to the Big 12. Why not rank him higher? Well, Lloyd hasn’t advanced past the Sweet 16. Past teams didn’t live up to their NCAA seed. His latest team could change how we look at Lloyd.

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10. Rick Barnes, Tennessee

Barnes should’ve made more than one Final Four at Texas. He endured a few tourney fizzles at Tennessee, too. He’s no shark in March. That’s a familiar critique. The upsides are clear, though. His teams always play defense. He thrives in the shadows at football schools. He’s an NCAA Tournament regular. He’s a no-drama coach seeking a third straight Elite Eight.

9. Matt Painter, Purdue

Painter gets consistent results without signing McDonald’s All Americans. You could focus on what he isn’t — a national champion — or you could credit his consistent success, even if his teams come up short of the pinnacle in March. Gene Keady became a Purdue legend. Painter has been a notch better than Keady. Some might call that legendary, too.

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8. John Calipari, Arkansas

No mystery as to Calipari’s strategy. A recruiting dynamo with ample funding, he’s going to assemble McDonald’s All Americans, roll the ball out, and let the freshmen play. That strategy worked until it didn’t at Kentucky. A change of scenery to Arkansas suited him. He’s two wins away from becoming the first coach to take four schools to the Final Four.

7. Jon Scheyer, Duke

A legend’s succession plan doesn’t often unfold as smoothly as this one did. Scheyer kept Duke humming, and so Mike Krzyzewski can enjoy retirement. Duke is a recruiting machine, and credit Scheyer for getting return on that investment. Just 38 years old, he’s gotten better each season. After last year’s Final Four, the next task is obvious: National title.

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6. Nate Oats, Alabama

Oats’ teams have an established identity. His Crimson Tide will shoot a lot of 3s. And they’ll make a lot of 3s, consistently ranking among the nation’s most prolific offensive teams. He’s a force of consistency, too, with four straight Sweet 16s, including the program’s first Final Four in 2024. He turned a football school into a basketball force.

5. Tom Izzo, Michigan State

Call it a rite of spring. Mister March is back in the Sweet 16 for the 17th time. Izzo’s 2000 Spartans remain the last Big Ten team to win a national title, and just when it had started to look like he’d entered the twilight of his career, he’s enjoyed a renaissance, with 57 wins the past two seasons.

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4. Dusty May, Michigan

Others on this list have a longer list of career accomplishments, but there aren’t many coaches you’d rather have in this moment than the 49-year-old May. He took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four in 2023, and Michigan is roaring in his second season. He’s 120-26 the past four seasons. Superb.

3. Kelvin Sampson, Houston

Sampson’s teams consistently rank among the nation’s best defensively. He’s an excellent in-game tactician, too. The 70-year-old Sampson gets better with age. He’s won 30-plus games in five straight seasons. He came oh-so-close to his first national title last season. Perhaps, these Cougars will give him that final line on the resume.

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2. Rick Pitino, St. John’s

How many rings would Pitino have if he’d never left Kentucky? Big Blue Nation must wonder. As it is, he’s got two rings. Pitino and John Calipari are the only coaches to lead three schools to a Final Four. Now, he’s got St. John’s into its first Sweet 16 since 1999. Pitino’s NCAA Tournament record is 57-22. Insanely good.

1. Dan Hurley, UConn

If nice guys finish last, what’s the opposite of that? Guys who throw temper-tantrums finishing first. No matter what you think of his antics, there’s no denying Hurley’s success. He just keeps winning, with a chance at three national titles in the past four seasons. Hurley elevated UConn to blue-blood status.

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Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ranking college basketball Sweet 16 coaches, Dan Hurley to Fred Hoiberg



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