Top 5 Coaches to Keep An Eye in NCAA Men’s Division

They’re curt, compelling and captive as a class, but they know the games they play. With their star players failing to live up their hype, the NCAA coaches are getting traction this season. Some are trending for their blatant bickering with their top guns, while others have become talk of town for schooling reporters. But beyond this postgame pugnacious posturing, some of these coaches are making the tournament an open-ended contest based on their plan of action.

Over the years many legendary coaches like Mike Krzyzewski aka ‘Coach K’, Bob Knight and others set the basketball ablaze with their impressive court strategies. Under their leadership, teams conquered championships. In the 2023-24 NCAA season, the top 5 coaches in the men’s division are doing no different in order to emerge the first among the equals.

Top Coaches to look out for

Bill Self: Coach Self’s remarkable coaching career stands as a testament to his success and strategic brilliance in college basketball. He has been the men’s basketball team head coach at the University of Kansas since 2003. And over the years he helped the Jayhawks build their legacy. During his time as the head coach, he helped Jayhawks to 17 Big 12 regular season championships, three NCAA Final Four appearances, the 2008 NCAA championship and 2022 NCAA championship.

In the ongoing season, the Jayhawks remains invincible under the leadership of Coach Self so far. They won their three matches with an impressive average score difference of 28.6 points.

Tom Izzo: Being the head coach at  Michigan State University since 1995, Coach Izzo led his team to eight Final Fours, with the NCAA championship title in 2000 and a runner-up in 2009. Under the guidance of Coach Izzo, the Spartans have won 10 Big Ten regular season titles and 6 Big Ten tournament titles.  

His record remains impressive with the four national coach of the year awards. But Izzo is far from stopping just yet. With his leadership, the Spartans have played a total of 4 matches till now in the ongoing season, in which they have won 2 matches.

Kelvin Sampson: In his two and three seasons as the Houston Cougars’ head coach, Coach Sampson guided his team to the NIT and, later, to its first Top 25 finish since 1984. 

In spite of the team losing several important players to injuries last season, he guided the Cougars to the American Athletic Conference regular-season title and the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. The Cougars have won five of their five games this season thanks to his assistance. 

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Mark Few: The Gonzaga men’s basketball team’s head coach, Few has achieved remarkable achievements. In the 2016-17 season, the Bulldogs reached the NCAA Tournament Final Four for the first time in school history and this stands as a testament to Coach Few’s training skills. 

The Bulldogs have played 2 matches so far in the 2023-24 season, and won both of them. They will be playing Purdue in their next game.

Scott Drew: After his father retired, Coach Drew took his place to become the next head coach for the Valparaiso Beacons, where he stayed for only a season before transferring to Baylor. There he built the program from scratch, as he helped them achieve new heights in the league despite facing several setbacks. 

In the following years, he led the Bears to achieve a 21–9 record and secured an NCAA tournament spot. After that in 2021, the Bears won its first-ever national championship with the help of Coach Drew’s excellence. In the ongoing season, his team has won 4 out 4 matches so far. 

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As the season moves forward, fans will keep an eye on these coaches and their teams to see how their story unfolds.