Basketball

Top Basketball Coaches with Most NCAA Tournament Wins

We all tend to focus on the star players and regular-season records for the best basketball teams. However, we often forget the masterminds who make these teams successful.

Unquestionably, one of the most important factors contributing to the team’s success is its head coach. Regardless of the quality of players in a team,  if they are not well coached, the team might fall short of success. Therefore, when we talk about NBA Point Spreads, coaches should certainly be the major factor to consider.

If you’re interested in knowing who the top basketball coaches are and who has the most NCAA tournament wins, then this article will prove beneficial for you.

1) Mike Krzyzewski

Number one on our list is Mike Krzyzewski from Duke. This one has to be quite obvious. Krzyzewski has 104 career tournament wins, which is the most by any coach in the history of NCAA.

He belongs to the Bobby Knight School of Coaching, which shows why he is the best among the best. Krzyzewski did play at Army for Bobby Knight, and he also coached with him at Indiana.

The following are a few of the most amazing things or milestones achieved by Krzyzewski:

  • Won a lot of NCAA tournament games from 1988 to 1992
  • Made the Blue Devils reach the Final Four five times consecutively
  • In 1991 and 1992, he won back-to-back titles
  • Won three more championships. In 2001, 2010, and 2015
  • Reached the Final Four 13 times

2) Roy Williams

Number two on our list is Roy Williams from North Carolina. He is from the Dean Smith School of Coaching. Williams is certainly regarded as one of the best in the business because of his amazing career and how he led the team to success.

He began his career in 1988 in Kansas. He was the school’s second-winningest coach at the time he left. Things didn’t work well with the Jayhawks. However, it all changed once he returned to Chapel Hill.

In 2009, he won the championship. In 2017, he managed to get another title. As of now, he is regarded as the 2nd all-time in NCAA Tournament wins (with 79 tournament wins). Not just that, but he is also the 4th-best in terms of Final Four appearances.

3) Dean Smith

Dean Smith is ranked number three on our list. He’s considered one of the most competitive and successful basketball coaches, with 65 NCAA tournament wins.

Dean is known for making a great team and managing them in the best manner possible. He’s deemed one of the most successful because of his wonderful tactics and management of the team.

In 1961, he first started the job of head coach of North Carolina. He turned the program into the most successful program in college basketball history.

Final Thoughts

This list of the most successful NCAA basketball coaches is based on the number of wins. Besides these names, other coaches have led their teams to NCAA Tournament glory. A few of them are Jim Boeheim, Rick Pitino, John Calipari, Jim Calhoun, Tom Izzo, John Wooden, Bill Self, etc.