3 Most Underrated NCAA Men’s Basketball Coaches in the 2023–24 Season

The NCAA tournament has had its own surprises and shocks. While the Purdue have undone their walk of shame from last season, the Michigan State lost its very first game against an unranked team. Midway season there have been many changes from what the preseason polls had highlighted.

And all this has been possible because of coaches. Here are the three most underrated coaches for this season:- 

Bruce Pearl, Auburn Tigers

The Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl is considered one of the best coaches because the Auburn had failed to make the cut for any significant rank in the pre-season poll. However, the Auburn are ranked thirteenth in the AP men’s basketball polls right now. The team has a 14-2 stat and occupies the first position in SEC. They have won all their three conference matches against the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Texas A&M Aggies, and the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers. 

They are now competing neck to neck with teams like the Kentucky Wildcats and the Tennessee Volunteers and can prove their mettle with the top-tier ranked teams. If they win their next game against the Kentucky then it will be a resume win for this team and will serve to add shining stars to the Auburn uniform. They won by a blowout margin against the Razorbacks with an 83-51 tally, handing the Razorbacks their worst loss in the history at the Bud Walton Arena. 

Credit goes to Pearl because this team might not have any player of the NBA caliber on their roster, still, the coach has united the team and helped them stick together and execute their plans efficiently.

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The Auburn have been good with their rotation and at least four players in their roster have stepped up on any given day in the conference matches which has helped them decimate their opponents. If the Auburn continue their on-song performance, who knows they might be able to defeat the Kentucky Wildcats at home.

Greg Gard, Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard is another coach who is in top contention for the best coach awards this year. The Badgers have a 13-3 tally and are ranked at the eleventh position in the AP men’s basketball polls. They are also currently placed at the first spot in the Big Ten. They have won all their five conference games and have shown their prowess as a top-ranked team. 

They have won games against the Michigan State, the Iowa Hawkeyes, the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the Ohio State, and the Northwestern Wildcats. The Badgers upended the Michigan State by a remarkable 70-57 margin and thrashed the Huskers by a decent 88-72 tally. The Badgers have thus stood out in a conference that has the highly ranked the Purdue Boilermakers. While the Purdue stand second in the Big Ten, the Badgers occupy the top spot which has been a surprise this season. 

The Wisconsin have carried on with their core from the previous year. But what has been admirable this year has been their pieces around the core. Gard has polished his players and that has propelled them to perform their best and give the team a decent standing. Their guard Chucky Hepburn, and forwards Steven Crowl and Tyler Wahl have put up a decent show.

Wahl has played the role of a second fiddle, basketing an average of 11.8 points per game and nabbing 5.7 rebounds per match. Thus he has contributed a major chunk in the team’s wins. Gard has done a good job this year and they have one of the best offensive teams compared to their recent past season’s performances. 

Penny Hardaway, Memphis Tigers

The third coach in this list to keep an eye on is the Memphis Tigers head coach Penny Hardaway. Hardaway has helped his team notch up a 15-2 tally and occupy the top position in the American Athletic Conference. They have been undefeated in the four conference games they have played so far. The Memphis hammered the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, the SMU Mustangs, the UTSA Roadrunners, and the Wichita State Shockers. Their recent win against the Wichita State was exceptional since the Memphis throttled a humongous 112 points as compared to the Wichita State’s 86. 

Hardaway has done a commendable job this year. The roster construction for this team was huge. They had a lot of incoming transfers this season. Attracting so many guys to a college program deserves attention since Hardaway not only executed his strategies well on the court but has gone back to the basics of team building. 

The major thing to note is that some of the top players this team recruited are not playing as of now. The four-star recruit Mikey Williams has not played. Similarly, a top transfer for this team Jordan Brown has played an average of 13.6 minutes in 7 games. He hasn’t contributed so much from his side and yet the Memphis look to be a top tier team. 

The Memphis got their top players late namely – the guard Jahvon Quinerly and the forward David Jones. Jones has been the alpha for this team, besotting 20.9 points per game with 6.7 rebounds per match and 1.8 steals per contest. He sits atop the points scored average, rebounds average, and the steals average. Likewise, Quinerly has played the role of a second fiddle quite well supporting with 4.8 assists per game. He also stands next to Jones in the points scored average.

Hopefully, these coaches can propel their respective teams to greater height this season.

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