Either Barnes or May Will Join Coaches Guiding Multiple Schools to Final Four
Either Tennessee's Rick Barnes or Michigan's Dusty May will become the 17th coach a total of 19 times (John Calipari and Rick Pitino doing so twice) to direct multiple schools to Final Four when they meet in Midwest Regional final. Barnes, who guided Texas to 2003 national semifinals, would have the longest such stint between appearances with different institutions, breaking current mark of 22 years set by Lon Kruger (Florida 94/Oklahoma 16). May, who steered Florida Atlantic to F4 in 2023, would tie Forddy Anderson (Bradley 54/Michigan State 57), Gene Bartow (Memphis State 73/UCLA 76), John Calipari (Memphis 08/Kentucky 11) and Lee Rose (UNC Charlotte 77/Purdue 80) at three years between appearances - one season longer than Roy Williams' shortest-ever stint of two years (Kansas 03/North Carolina 05).
Kansas, Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina and Oklahoma have been involved multiple times. Following is an alphabetical list of bench bosses directing different schools to the Final Four:
| Multiple-School Coach (Years) | First F4 School | Next F4 School |
|---|---|---|
| Forddy Anderson (3) | Bradley 54 | Michigan State 57 |
| Gene Bartow (3) | Memphis State 73 | UCLA 76 |
| Larry Brown (6) | UCLA 80 | Kansas 86 |
| John Calipari (12) | Massachusetts 96 | Memphis 08 |
| John Calipari (3) | Memphis 08 | Kentucky 11 |
| Hugh Durham (11) | Florida State 72 | Georgia 83 |
| Jack Gardner (10) | Kansas State 51 | Utah 61 |
| Lou Henson (19) | New Mexico State 70 | Illinois 89 |
| Bob Huggins (18) | Cincinnati 92 | West Virginia 10 |
| Lon Kruger (22) | Florida 94 | Oklahoma 16 |
| Jim Larranaga (17) | George Mason 06 | Miami (Fla.) 23 |
| Frank McGuire (5) | St. John's 52 | North Carolina 57 |
| Lute Olson (8) | Iowa 80 | Arizona 88 |
| Rick Pitino (6) | Providence 87 | Kentucky 93 |
| Rick Pitino (8) | Kentucky 97 | Louisville 05 |
| Lee Rose (3) | UNC Charlotte 77 | Purdue 80 |
| Kelvin Sampson (19) | Oklahoma 02 | Houston 21 |
| Eddie Sutton (17) | Arkansas 78 | Oklahoma State 95 |
| Roy Williams (2) | Kansas 03 | North Carolina 05 |