Best Coaches Who Have Yet to Reach a Final Four
By Jason Lisk
The 2017 Final Four features three coaches making their first appearance. Mark Few would have held the title of “best coach not to reach a Final Four” prior to this year, while Dana Altman would have also been on the short list after stints at Kansas State, Creighton, and now at Oregon. Frank Martin made some runs with Kansas State as well that fell short, and has now made it with South Carolina.
So who are the coaches who will hope to get off this list next year? Looking at wins, tournament appearances, and tournament results, here are the candidates for Best Coach Yet to Reach a Final Four.
#10 Jamie Dixon
Dixon had a run at Pittsburgh from 2008 to 2011 where he was a top 4 seed every year, but came up just short, often in painful fashion. The closest he came was in 2009, when Scottie Reynolds went the length of the court in the final seconds of the Elite Eight game. Dixon moved to TCU before this season, and the Horned Frogs just missed the NCAA Tournament in his first year, and then won the NIT.
#9 Mark Turgeon
#8 Steve Alford
Alford had some notorious flameouts in the tournament, with both Iowa and New Mexico. He still makes this list because he has averaged over 25 wins a season over the last decade. UCLA has reached (and lost in) the Sweet 16 in all three of their tournament appearances with Alford.
#7 Archie Miller
Miller is moving from Dayton to Indiana, and success should follow. He’s had Dayton in the NCAA Tournament each of the last four seasons, averaging 25.5 wins over that span. In 2014, Dayton went on a run all the way to the Elite Eight. Expect more in his future.
#6 Mick Cronin
Cronin has worked his way through the coaching ranks, going from high school to video coordinator under Bob Huggins, to assistant, to Murray State. He took the Racers to two tournaments in three years before returning to Cincinnati a year after Bob Huggins was fired. Cronin had some rebuilding years, but over the last seven years, Cincinnati has consistently been a Top 30 program. Cronin has only gotten past the second round once, so far.
#5 Scott Drew
Drew can be much-maligned in some circles, but what he has done at Baylor is remarkable. He took over in August of 2003 in the aftermath of the Dave Bliss scandal. He made his first tournament appearance in 2008. Over the last decade, Baylor has made the NCAA Tournament seven times, reached the Elite Eight twice, and in two of the three other years, reached the NIT Final. For perspective, Baylor had four tournament appearances, total, before Scott Drew.
#4 Chris Mack
Xavier has been a hotbed of coaches moving on to other programs (Thad Matta, Sean Miller, Pete Gillen, Skip Prosser) but Mack is a former Xavier player and long-time assistant.
He’s also been as good as any of them while at Xavier. The Musketeers have made the Sweet 16 four different times while being seeded 6 or lower in Mack’s tenure, and just missed out on the Final Four after making a run in the West Region.
#3 Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett’s teams are known for their stifling defense and slow pace, and (before this year) efficient offense. Taking over for his father at Washington State, Tony Bennett led the Cougars to back-to-back tournament appearances as a top 4 seed, something virtually unprecedented in Pullman. He then moved to Virginia, where he has turned the Cavaliers into a consistent top program.
Virginia won the ACC double in 2013-2014, and again won the ACC in 2014-2015. Unfortunately, they have come up just short in the tournament, losing twice to Michigan State in the East regional, and then getting upset by Syracuse last year in the Elite Eight as a #1 seed.
#2 Mike Brey
If it seems like Brey has been at Notre Dame forever, well, he has. He took the job in 2000, after Notre Dame had missed the tournament for a decade, following five years at Delaware. His teams are known for their ball movement and offensive execution, and it doesn’t hurt that he has the best stubble/tie-less look working in college basketball.
Notre Dame won the ACC Tourney title in 2015, reached the Elite Eight in consecutive years in 2015 and 2016, and gave Kentucky a scare back in 2015 to reach the Final Four. Brey was voted National Coach of the Year in 2011, and has been conference coach of the year four times.
#1 Sean Miller
Miller will be atop this list as long as he’s at Arizona and hasn’t reached the Final Four. It’s not an honor he wants. Miller went to one Elite Eight with Xavier and three more in Arizona (losing the last two to Wisconsin), but has yet to break through. Miller has averaged a ridiculous 29 wins over the last seven seasons in Tucson. It will happen, Arizona fans, just be patient.