Seven national Championships, 17 Final Fours, and 174 March Madness Victories. Those are the accolades between coaches Dan Hurley, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, and Bill Self. The West Region of the March Madness bracket has four outstanding coaches who have kept their name synonymous with March and have been winning for a long time.
West Region’s Head Coaching Pool
UConn Huskies: Dan Hurley
Dan Hurley has won back-to-back champions in college basketball at UConn. The Huskies became the 9th team to repeat as champions. This year, though, they have taken a small step back. Losing players like Stephon Castle and Donovan Clignan to the draft has hurt their roster, and this year, they enter the tournament 23-10 as an eighth seed.
Though UConn is not having the season they had over the last couple of years, Hurley always makes sure his teams are tough and ready to play for 40 minutes. UConn’s first game is against Oklahoma on Friday.
St. John’s Red Storm: Rick Pitino
Rick Pitino is in the top 5 in coach wins with 884. He started his collegiate head coaching career in 1975 with Hawaii and has now guided St. John’s to 30 regular season wins for the third time in program history. The Red Storm has three players averaging over 12 points a game and six averaging over 8 points.
This is the first time St. John’s has been a two-seed or better in 25 years, and they have a legitimate shot to get their first championship in program history. St. John’s faces off against the 15th-seeded Omaha Mavericks on Thursday.
Arkansas Razorbacks: John Calipari
John Calipari has 57 career March Madness wins, ranking 5th all-time. Though he has gotten wins throughout his career, he has not made a Final Four in ten years. His first year in Arkansas has gone decent. Though his team has only gotten 20 wins on the season and is a ten seed, he beat his formally coached Kentucky Wildcats this season.
Though Arkansas, short of a Cinderella run, does not have a real chance at the National Championship, Calipari has made it to the Final Four with every program he has coached for, and some of those times when you have least expected it. Calipari faces off against the great Bill Self on Thursday night.
Kansas Jayhawks: Bill Self
The Kansa Jayhawks have been one of college basketball’s powerhouses throughout the 21st century, and a large part of the reason has been coach Bill Self. He is 6th all-time with 56 career March Madness wins. Kansas has had a disappointing season thus far.
They came into the season tied with Duke as the favorites to win, but being under .500 over their last 13 games caused them to be only a 7-seed in the tournament.
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Self is a great coach, and the Jayhawks still have talent. Led by seniors Hunter Dickinson and Zeke Mayo, Kansas has a chance to make a deep run in the tournament.
These four coaches believe they can help guide their team on a deep playoff run, regardless of their seed. Thursday, March 20, is the best time for college basketball, and we will see which coach can get the most out of their team.
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