Candy 16 coaches, ranked by who’s dealing with essentially the most strain in 2025 males’s March Insanity

The NCAA event’s second weekend brings a heightened stage of strain for each coach and each participant lucky sufficient to take part in it. For some, although, the stakes are just a bit bit increased than everybody else.

Let’s rank the extent of strain on the 16 head coaches nonetheless chasing a nationwide championship from the least quantity of strain to the very best quantity of strain.

16. Dusty Could, Michigan

He’s the primary coach in faculty basketball historical past to take over a program that misplaced 24 or extra video games the earlier season and instantly cause them to the Candy 16. Even when the Wolverines have been to lose convincingly to No. 1 general seed Auburn on Friday night time, nobody goes to characterize Could’s first season in Ann Arbor as something apart from a rousing success.

15. Chris Beard, Ole Miss

Ole Miss athletic director Keith Carter knew he would draw greater than somewhat warmth for hiring Beard, however weekends like final one have been the “take” a part of the give and take equation that got here with bringing in one of the controversial names within the sport. Ole Miss is headed to the Candy 16 for simply the second time in program historical past, and the one controversy surrounding Beard now (not less than for many Insurgent followers) appears to be how lengthy they’ll maintain him in Oxford.

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14. Kevin Younger, BYU

BYU misplaced its head coach to one of many greatest names within the sport final spring when Mark Pope left to take the job at Kentucky. A yr later and the Cougars secured each their first NCAA event win since 2012 and their first journey to the Candy 16 since 2011. It’s protected to say they’re fairly thrilled with Kevin Younger no matter how he fares in opposition to Alabama.

13. Kevin Willard, Maryland

Willard’s first journey to the Candy 16 as a head coach additionally marks Maryland’s first return to the second week since 2016, and simply its second within the final 22 years. Extra shall be anticipated from Willard transferring ahead, however for now, he’s returned the Terps to nationwide prominence, and that was all the time going to be the primary and most essential bar to clear.

12. Grant McCasland, Texas Tech

We’ll put McCasland in entrance of Willard simply because he’s teaching in opposition to the one double-digit seed remaining within the event whereas Willard is teaching in opposition to Florida. Texas Tech followers can be bummed about an upset loss to Arkansas, positive, however they’d additionally nonetheless should really feel fairly assured concerning the general course of their program after the success McCasland has had in his first two years.

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11. Matt Painter, Purdue

Sure, Boilermaker followers are determined to win a nationwide championship, however this was all the time going to be a season the place Purdue was much less of a risk to win the title than the earlier two. That’s what occurs while you lose essentially the most dominant pressure within the sport. Painter has completed a masterful job conserving the Boilers among the many nation’s elite even with out Zach Edey, and most followers will concentrate on that even when the crew can’t maintain tempo with top-seeded Houston Friday night time.

10. John Calipari, Arkansas

A steadier season shall be anticipated in yr two, however Calipari saved the notion that he was nonetheless value investing in by pulling upsets of Corridor-of-Famers Invoice Self and Rick Pitino in consecutive video games final weekend. The followers in Fayetteville got here into Calipari’s first season anticipating a visit to the second weekend. Regardless that the previous 5 months didn’t precisely go in response to plan, in the end, they acquired a visit to the second weekend. The rest can be gravy. A minimum of for now.

9. Mark Pope, Kentucky

Pope gained the 2 video games he completely needed to win final week, bucking UK’s first spherical upset development by pounding Troy, after which taking good care of Illinois to make sure (not less than in the interim) that Calipari didn’t advance additional within the event than Kentucky in his first season away from Lexington. Shedding to rival Tennessee — particularly after beating the Vols twice within the common season — can be a bitter tablet for BBN to swallow, however for almost all of the fan base, it wouldn’t change the prevailing sentiment that this system is in good arms with Pope on the helm.

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8. Kelvin Sampson, Houston

The one “strain” round Sampson revolves across the query of whether or not or not he can get the Cougars all the way in which to the mountain prime and win a nationwide championship. He’s already completed one of many extra exceptional teaching jobs in faculty basketball that we’ve seen in a long time.

Between 1992 and 2018, Houston appeared within the NCAA event a grand complete of 1 time. Sampson has taken that very same program and turned it into faculty basketball’s most constant performer. They went to the Last 4 in 2021, they made the transfer to the Large 12 and instantly began dominating the convention, and so they now have the longest energetic streak of consecutive Candy 16 appearances at six.

Sampson is predicted to get Houston to San Antonio this weekend, however not getting the job completed isn’t going to make what he’s achieved during the last 11 seasons any much less unimaginable.

7. Todd Golden, Florida

The accusations in opposition to Golden that arose earlier than the season (accusations that he was cleared of in January) could have put some extra strain on the third-year head coach to take issues to a different stage. He definitely answered the bell, main the Gators to a 32-4 file, an SEC event championship and this system’s first No. 1 seed within the NCAA Match since Billy Donovan’s penultimate yr.

The Gators are one in all favorites to chop down the nets in San Antonio subsequent week, and with that distinction definitely comes a strong quantity of strain. However that is the primary time that Golden, who’s simply 39-years-old, has been on this place. A loss earlier than the Last 4 gained’t alter his repute as one of many brightest younger teaching stars within the sport.

6. Tommy Lloyd, Arizona

Upset losses in the end outlined Lloyd’s in any other case stellar first three seasons at Arizona. He now has an opportunity to flip the script by main a fourth-seeded Wildcats crew to an upset of a Duke crew that’s presently the betting favourite to win the entire thing.

Arizona hasn’t been to a Last 4 since 2001 (once they misplaced to the Blue Devils within the nationwide title sport). The fan base is greater than somewhat bit antsy to get again, particularly after having so many shut calls over the previous 20 years. Doing it in a season the place most didn’t anticipate it to occur can be candy, however developing brief wouldn’t draw the identical ire from the ‘Zona followers that the previous couple of years has.

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5. Tom Izzo, Michigan State

One of many best “what-ifs” in faculty basketball historical past is what if Cincinnati famous person Kenyon Martin doesn’t break his leg within the Convention USA event in 2000. The Bearcats gave the impression to be heads and shoulders above each different crew within the sport that yr, however with out the nationwide Participant of the Yr, they bowed out within the NCAA Match’s second spherical. The largest benefactor was Michigan State and Izzo, who toppled Florida to assert this system’s second nationwide title.

However what if a wholesome Martin and Cincinnati had gotten the job completed?

On this world, Tom Izzo instantly morphs from “Mr. March” to the man who merely can’t get the the job completed underneath the brightest of lights. Izzo can be a head coach who had been to an astounding eight Last Fours with out a single nationwide championship.

Whereas this world doesn’t exist and Izzo is definitely one of many sport’s most legendary energetic coaches, the query of whether or not or not he’s ever going to win a second title has definitely been on the market for some time. That is the perfect shot the 70-year-old has had in a number of years, and whereas the Spartans aren’t a top-tier favourite to get the job completed, there will definitely be some disappointment in East Lansing in the event that they don’t not less than make it again to the nationwide semifinals.

4. Nate Oats, Alabama

Oats has been hailed as the subsequent large factor in faculty basketball for the final handful of years, and for essentially the most half, he’s delivered on that assigned title.

He took the Crimson Tide to the Candy 16 in his second season, had them because the event’s No. 1 general seed two years after that, and acquired them to the Last 4 in 2024.

Now, as is all the time the case in some of these conditions, a fan base that beforehand wasn’t used to this stage of constant success has develop into a fan base that wishes extra. A loss to Duke within the Elite Eight wouldn’t ship anybody in Tuscaloosa right into a frenzy, however a stumble in opposition to BYU a spherical earlier wouldn’t be met with indifference.

3. Bruce Pearl, Auburn

Talking of head coaches at locations the place basketball isn’t going to be king.

Pearl has completed just about the whole lot there may be to do as a coach on this sport apart from win the nationwide championship. This looks like his finest probability, 2019 included.

The Tigers have spent extra time ranked No. 1 this season than some other crew within the sport, they’ve a nationwide Participant of the Yr front-runner manning the center, and so they have a stage of age and expertise that merely isn’t going to be attainable as we transfer away from the additional yr of COVID-eligibility.

Soccer is all the time going to be prime canine Auburn, so there isn’t the extent of warmth for him to win the large one as there can be if he have been in the very same state of affairs at Duke or Kentucky or Kansas, however nonetheless, there’s strain. Something lower than a nationwide championship shall be seen as a disappointment for a fan base that has realized (not less than a strong chunk of them) to like basketball greater than they thought attainable since Pearl’s arrival.

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2. Jon Scheyer, Duke

Shocking losses at instances when it appeared just like the Blue Devils had a transparent path to the Last 4 wound up defining Scheyer’s first two seasons as Duke’s head coach. Add in a 3rd yr to that development — and toss within the information that his crew had the doubtless nationwide Participant of the Yr and was the betting favourite to win all of it — and all of a sudden March failure would develop into extra hooked up to Scheyer’s identify than anything.

This Duke crew has each piece essential to win a nationwide championship, and it’s truthful to surprise if that may not be the case subsequent season. Toss in dropping assistant coach Jai Lucas (and probably a few recruits?) to Miami, and the strain to get the job completed over these subsequent weeks ratchets up much more.

Taking up for arguably the best coach in faculty basketball historical past was all the time going to end in your identify being at or close to the highest of lists like this. Scheyer knew that getting into.

1. Rick Barnes, Tennessee

The one coach with extra strain than Scheyer to succeed this week is Rick Barnes, who as soon as once more has a possibility to rid himself of the stigma of being a coach who can solely get it completed within the common season and rid Tennessee of the title of “finest faculty basketball program to by no means make a Last 4.”

That is the third straight yr Tennessee has been to the Candy 16, and a win over Kentucky on Friday would ship them to a regional closing for a second straight yr.

“Now or by no means” is extra relevant to this program and this head coach than some other pair within the sport.