Kings of the Hill: Few Have Made Their League Mark Like Gonzaga's Guru
June 23rd, 2012 - 23:10
Gonzaga's Mark Few is expected to extend his stunning string of 13 consecutive NCAA playoff appearances in as many seasons as coach of a mid-major school. But what's equally impressive is his domination of the West Coast Conference not only in regular-season competition (167-21) but also in league tournament action (25-4).
Jerry Tarkanian is the only coach in NCAA Division I history to win more than 90% of his assignments for a school in a single conference including both regular season and postseason league tourney (229-19 mark in PCAA/Big West with UNLV in 10-year span from 1982-83 through 1991-92). Brad Stevens won 80.8% of Butler's Horizon League games in the last five seasons but fell just short of meeting the minimum of 100 decisions in conference competition. Few ranks third among the following coaches who have won more than 75% of their games in a single conference including participation in league tourney play:
| Coach | School | Conference | Seasons | Regular-Season | League Tourney | Overall | Pct. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerry Tarkanian | UNLV | PCAA/Big West | 1983-92 | 205-17 | 24-2 | 229-19 | .923 |
| Everett Case | North Carolina State | Southern | 1947-53 | 87-11 | 20-1 | 107-12 | .899 |
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | West Coast | 2000-12 | 167-21 | 25-4 | 192-25 | .885 |
| Adolph Rupp | Kentucky | SEC | 1933-72 | 397-75 | 57-6 | 454-81 | .849 |
| Bill Self | Kansas | Big 12 | 2004-12 | 123-23 | 18-4 | 145-27 | .843 |
| Roy Williams | Kansas | Big 12 | 1997-2003 | 94-18 | 14-4 | 108-22 | .831 |
| Gregg Marshall | Winthrop | Big South | 1999-2007 | 104-24 | 19-2 | 123-26 | .826 |
| John Calipari | Memphis | C-USA | 2001-09 | 117-25 | 17-5 | 134-30 | .817 |
| Rick Majerus | Utah | Western Athletic | 1991-99 | 118-30 | 15-6 | 133-36 | .787 |
| Eddie Sutton | Arkansas | Southwest | 1975-85 | 139-35 | 13-7 | 152-42 | .784 |
| Bob Huggins | Cincinnati | C-USA | 1996-2005 | 123-33 | 16-6 | 139-39 | .781 |
| Pete Gillen | Xavier | Midwestern Collegiate | 1986-94 | 83-25 | 17-4 | 100-29 | .775 |
| Vic Bubas | Duke | ACC | 1960-69 | 106-32 | 22-6 | 128-38 | .771 |
| Stew Morrill | Utah State | Big West | 1999-2005 | 91-28 | 13-3 | 104-31 | .770 |
| Charlie Spoonhour | SW Missouri State | Mid-Continent | 1984-90 | 73-21 | 9-4 | 82-25 | .766 |
| Lute Olson | Arizona | Pacific-10 | 1984-2007 | 328-102 | 16-6 | 344-108 | .761 |
| Joe Williams | Furman | Southern | 1971-78 | 67-25 | 18-3 | 85-28 | .752 |
| Denny Crum | Louisville | Metro | 1977-95 | 173-59 | 33-9 | 206-68 | .752 |
NOTES: Calipari (Kentucky), Huggins (West Virginia), Majerus (Saint Louis), Marshall (Wichita State) and Williams (North Carolina) are active coaches now at other schools. . . . UCLA's John Wooden won 81% of his games in the PCC/AAWU/Pacific-8 from 1949-75 but none of those contests included conference tournament competition.