How Prominent Active Coaches Fared in League Tournaments Pre-Big Dance
February 27th, 2023 - 20:05
For quality teams in upper-echelon leagues, conference tournament action is only the beginning of what they hope will be a long postseason experience culminating with memorable success in the NCAA playoffs. Because of their season-long excellence, quality power-league members are virtually immune to exclusion from the NCAA Tournament. So along with trying to win the league tournament title, the squads are tuning up for the main event by jockeying for position in the NCAA bracket.
Purdue's Matt Painter has struggled the most in league tournament play among a total of 19 active coaches appearing in at least a dozen NCAA tourneys by 2023. Following is a look at how these prominent mentors have fared in conference tournament competition through 2022 before attending the Big Dance a majority of the time:
| Celebrated Coach | Current School | League Tourney Mark Overall | Conference Tournament Summary Through 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 49-5 (.907) | all appearances in West Coast Conference Tournament |
| John Calipari | Kentucky | 55-14 (.797) | 14-3 (.824) in Atlantic 10 Tournament, 17-5 (.773) in CUSA Tournament and 24-6 (.800) in SEC Tournament |
| Bill Self | Kansas | 45-13 (.776) | 4-3 (.571) in Western Athletic Tournament, 5-2 (.714) in Big Ten Tournament and 36-8 (.818) in Big 12 Tournament |
| Thad Matta | Butler | 34-10 (.773) | 3-0 (1.000) in Midwestern Collegiate Tournament, 8-1 (.889) in Atlantic 10 Tournament, 23-9 (.719) in Big Ten Tournament and making first appearance in Big East Tournament |
| Rick Pitino | Iona | 49-15 (.766) | 4-1 (.800) in ECAC North/ECAC North Atlantic Tournament, 14-7 (.667) in Big East Tournament, 17-1 (.944) in SEC Tournament, 8-2 (.800) in CUSA Tournament, 2-1 (.667) in American Athletic Tournament, 0-2 (.000) in ACC Tournament and 4-1 (.800) in MAAC Tournament |
| Sean Miller | Xavier | 25-10 (.714) | 7-3 (.700) in Atlantic 10 Tournament, 18-7 in Pac-12 Tournament and making first appearance in Big East Tournament |
| Bob Huggins | West Virginia | 47-22 (.681) | 3-1 (.750) in Ohio Valley Tournament, 1-2 (.333) in Metro Tournament, 10-0 (1.000) in Great Midwest Tournament, 16-6 (.727) in CUSA Tournament, 10-10 (.500) in Big 12 Tournament and 7-3 (.700) in Big East Tournament |
| Dana Altman | Oregon | 44-22 (.667) | 0-1 (.000) in Southern Conference Tournament, 2-4 (.333) in Big Eight Tournament, 21-9 (.700) in Missouri Valley Tournament and 21-8 (.724) in Pac-12 Tournament |
| Tom Izzo | Michigan State | 34-18 (.654) | all appearances in Big Ten Tournament |
| Mick Cronin | UCLA | 23-13 (.639) | 6-1 (.857) in Ohio Valley Tournament, 6-6 (.500) in Big East Tournament, 9-4 (.692) in American Athletic Tournament and 2-2 (.500) in Pac-12 Tournament |
| Kelvin Sampson | Houston | 31-18 (.633) | 2-3 (.400) in Pacific-10 Tournament, 1-2 (.333) in Big Eight Tournament, 17-7 (.708) in Big 12 Tournament, 0-1 (.000) in Big Ten Tournament and 11-5 (.688) in American Athletic Tournament |
| Steve Alford | Nevada | 36-21 (.632) | 6-4 (.600) in Missouri Valley Tournament, 13-6 (.684) in Big Ten Tournament, 10-7 (.588) in Mountain West Tournament and 7-4 (.636) in Pac-12 Tournament |
| Fran McCaffery | Iowa | 31-19 (.620) | 4-2 (.667) in ECC Tournament, 7-5 (.583) in Southern Conference Tournament, 11-2 (.846) in MAAC Tournament and 9-10 (.474) in Big Ten Tournament |
| Jim Boeheim | Syracuse | 55-36 (.604) | 50-29 (.633) in Big East Tournament and 5-7 (.417) in ACC Tournament |
| Bruce Pearl | Auburn | 18-12 (.600) | 5-2 (.714) in Horizon League Tournament and 13-10 (.565) in SEC Tournament |
| Rick Barnes | Tennessee | 41-32 (.562) | 2-1 (.667) in CAA Tournament, 5-5 (.500) in Big East Tournament, 2-4 (.333) in ACC Tournament, 22-17 (.564) in Big 12 Tournament and 10-5 (.667) in SEC Tournament |
| Mike Brey | Notre Dame | 31-28 (.525) | 9-3 (.750) in North Atlantic/America East Tournament, 11-18 (.379) in Big East Tournament and 11-7 (.611) in ACC Tournament |
| Jamie Dixon | Texas Christian | 19-18 (.514) | 12-9 (.571) in Big East Tournament, 3-3 (.500) in ACC Tournament and 4-6 (.400) in Big 12 Tournament |
| Matt Painter | Purdue | 12-15 (.444) | 1-1 (.500) in Missouri Valley Tournament and 11-14 (.440) in Big Ten Tournament |