How Have Elite Coaches Fared in Conference Tournaments Before Big Dance?
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 16 active coaches appearing in at least 12 NCAA tourneys. Following is a look at how these prominent mentors have fared in conference tournament competition before attending the Big Dance majority of the time:
| Celebrated Coach | Current School | League Tourney Mark | Conference Tournament Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Few | Gonzaga | 47-5 (.904) | all appearances in West Coast Conference Tournament |
| John Calipari | Kentucky | 54-13 (.806) | 14-3 (.824) in Atlantic 10 Tournament, 17-5 (.773) in CUSA Tournament and 23-5 (.893) in SEC Tournament |
| Rick Pitino | Iona | 49-14 (.778) | 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 4-0 (1.000) in MAAC Tournament |
| Bill Self | Kansas | 42-13 (.764) | 4-3 (.571) in Western Athletic Tournament, 5-2 (.714) in Big Ten Tournament and 33-8 (.805) in Big 12 Tournament |
| Mike Krzyzewski | Duke | 67-23 (.744) | all appearances in ACC Tournament |
| Bob Huggins | West Virginia | 46-21 (.687) | 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, 9-9 (.500) in Big 12 Tournament and 7-3 (.700) in Big East Tournament |
| Dana Altman | Oregon | 43-21 (.672) | 0-1 (.000) in Southern Conference Tournament, 2-4 (.333) in Big Eight Tournament, 21-9 (.700) in Missouri Valley Tournament and 20-7 (.741) in Pac-12 Tournament |
| Tom Izzo | Michigan State | 32-17 (.653) | all appearances in Big Ten Tournament |
| Mick Cronin | UCLA | 21-12 (.636) | 6-1 (.857) in Ohio Valley Tournament, 6-6 (.500) in Big East Tournament, 9-4 (.692) in American Athletic Tournament and 0-1 (.000) in Pac-12 Tournament |
| Jay Wright | Villanova | 33-20 (.623) | 9-5 (.643) in North Atlantic/America East Tournament and 24-15 (.615) in Big East Tournament |
| Kelvin Sampson | Houston | 28-18 (.609) | 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 8-5 (.615) in American Athletic Tournament |
| Jim Boeheim | Syracuse | 54-35 (.607) | 50-29 (.633) in Big East Tournament and 4-6 (.400) in ACC Tournament |
| Bruce Weber | Kansas State | 25-21 (.543) | 5-5 (.500) in Missouri Valley Tournament, 12-8 (.600) in Big Ten Tournament and 8-8 (.500) in Big 12 Tournament |
| Rick Barnes | Tennessee | 38-32 (.543) | 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 7-5 (.583) in SEC Tournament |
| Mike Brey | Notre Dame | 31-27 (.534) | 9-3 (.750) in North Atlantic/America East Tournament, 11-18 (.379) in Big East Tournament and 11-6 (.647) in ACC Tournament |
| Matt Painter | Purdue | 12-15 (.444) | 1-1 (.500) in Missouri Valley Tournament and 11-14 (.440) in Big Ten Tournament |