The 10 best college basketball coaches without a national title

After years of strong NCAA tournament appearances, Baylor coach Scott Drew broke through last season to win his first national championship, authoring arguably the most remarkable rebuilding job in the history of the sport.

Now that Drew has his title, who are the remaining marquee college coaches yet to cut down the nets?

On3 ranked the best active coaches whose résumés still are missing a national title. We considered a variety of factors, including longevity, consistency and ability as both a game tactician and recruiter. Preference, in most cases, was given to those who have led programs to the Final Four. But there are exceptions as well.

Feel free to quibble with the rankings. These are all well-respected, highly successful coaches. And at least a few of these guys have their teams well-positioned to challenge for a championship this season. We’ll find out in early April if this is the final time they’ll find their name on this list.

1. Mark Few, Gonzaga

Head coaching history: Gonzaga (23rd season)
Age: 59
Highlights: Final Four (2017, 2021); Elite Eight (2015, 2019); Sweet 16 (2000, 2001, 2006, 2009, 2016, 2018)
The buzz: After succeeding Dan Monson, Few has stewarded Gonzaga through its dramatic ascension the past two decades. His team was within a few plays of beating North Carolina for the 2017 title. Gonzaga was poised to enter the tournament as a top seed in 2020 before the event was canceled. Last season, they were one game from a historic undefeated season before losing to Baylor in the title game. And the Zags are No. 1 this year. Few is the winningest active coach by percentage. He’s excelled both in player development — the Zags have a slew of players in the NBA — as well as in recruiting. The program’s international pipeline is long established. Now they are getting coveted one-and-done talents such as Jalen Suggs and Chet Holmgren. Last season’s unit was one of the best passing teams in memory. The way things are trending, Few is unlikely to be on this list five years from now.

2. Bob Huggins, West Virginia

Head coaching history: West Virginia (15th season); Kansas State (2006-07); Cincinnati (1989-2005); Akron (1984-89); Walsh (1980-83)
Age: 68
Highlights: Final Four (1992, 2010); Elite Eight (1993, 1996); Sweet 16 (2001, 2008, 2015, 2017, 2018)
The buzz: Perhaps the most underappreciated great coach in the game, a Hall of Fame invitation for Huggins is long overdue. He tapped into the junior college pipeline with great success at Cincinnati to help build a program defined by physicality and defense. The pre-tournament injury to All-American Kenyon Martin cost him a shot at the title in 2000. His West Virginia teams have been consistently formidable in the deep Big 12, even though he isn’t consistently landing the most high-profile recruits. Huggins is the third-winningest active coach, behind only Mike Krzyzewski and Jim Boeheim. His teams have averaged 23.2 victories a season through his 39 years as a head coach.

3. Kelvin Sampson, Houston

Head coaching history: Houston (8th season); Indiana (2006-08); Oklahoma (1994-2006); Washington State (1987-94); Montana Tech (1981-85)
Age: 66
Highlights: Final Four (2002, 2021); Elite Eight (2003); Sweet 16 (1999, 2019)
The buzz: Sampson’s teams play with the same physicality and grit that he infused in his Montana Tech teams four decades ago. It’s difficult to out-tough Sampson-coached teams. That trait is reflected in their defensive tenacity and rebounding prowess. He has taken two teams to the Final Four — Oklahoma in 2002 and Houston last season — after revitalizing his college career following his forced resignation from Indiana and serving a five-year show-cause penalty. He spent six years as an NBA assistant before resuscitating his college career at Houston. Sampson has earned four national coach of the year honors and six conference coach of the year awards. The Cougars don’t land Phi Slama Jama-level talent, but they win.

4. Bruce Pearl, Auburn

Head coaching history: Auburn (8th season); Tennessee (2005-11); Milwaukee (2001-05); Southern Indiana (1992-2001)
Age: 61
Highlights: Final Four (2019); Elite Eight (2010); Sweet 16 (2005, 2007, 2008); Division II championship (1995)
The buzz: It should surprise no one that Pearl has built once-lowly Auburn into a strong national title contender. He is part coach, part recruiter and part showman, making him one of the most fascinating figures in the sport. Pearl came within a whisker of playing for the national title in 2019, losing a heartbreaker to eventual national champion Virginia in the Final Four. His current team is poised to perhaps take the next step this season. Pearl has set single-season win records at four schools. His career certainly hasn’t lacked controversy, the latest being the NCAA sanctioning his program with four years’ probation. Pearl received a two-game suspension for failing to monitor a former assistant and promote an atmosphere of compliance. 

5. Rick Barnes, Tennessee

Head coaching history: Tennessee (7th season); Texas (1998-2015); Clemson (1994-98); Providence (1988-94); George Mason (1987-88)
Age: 67
Highlights: Final Four (2003); Elite Eight (2006, 2008); Sweet 16 (1997, 2002, 2004, 2019)
The buzz: Barnes had a tremendous run at a football school in Austin, reaching the Final Four with T.J. Ford in 2003 and landing generational talent Kevin Durant for one season in 2006-07. Toward the end of his tenure, recruiting became ultra-competitive in one of the most talent-rich states. Kudos to Barnes for reinvigorating his stellar career in Knoxville. Not everyone envisioned he’d have this degree of success at Tennessee, where he won the 2019 Naismith Coach of the Year Award. During his career, he has coached 29 NBA draft picks, including 17 first-rounders. The SEC is one of the nation’s best basketball conferences, and the Volunteers are among the elite because of Barnes.

6. Dana Altman, Oregon

Head coaching history: Oregon (12th season); Creighton (1994-2010); Kansas State (1990-94); Marshall (1989-90)
Age: 63
Highlights: Final Four (2017); Elite Eight (2016); Sweet 16 (2013, 2019, 2021)
The buzz: Among the central tenets of Altman’s distinguished career have been uncanny consistency, excellence in the waning moments of tight games and the nimbleness to adjust in real time. He’s one of the finest tacticians in the game, and has been for quite some time. He is in an exclusive fraternity with Bill Self, Krzyzewski and Boeheim as coaches who have amassed at least 24 consecutive winning seasons. He was the 2013 national coach of the year and is a three-time winner of Pac-12 coach of the year honors. Despite an uneven start to this season, Altman’s track record suggests that the Ducks will be a team to watch in March. 

7. Ben Howland, Mississippi State

Head coaching history: Mississippi State (7th season); UCLA (2003-13); Pitt (1999-2003); Northern Arizona (1994-99)
Age: 64
Highlights: Final Four (2006, 2007, 2008), Sweet 16 (2002, 2003)
The buzz: Howland took his gritty playing style from Pittsburgh to Westwood and reached three consecutive Final Fours with star-studded teams that included Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook and Darren Collison. It wasn’t always the most congruous fit in a city that typically favors glitz. Among active coaches, only Tom Izzo and Krzyzewski also have led a team to three consecutive Final Four berths. He is one of 15 coaches to lead four teams to the NCAA tournament. He has earned seven national coach of the year honors throughout his career. Now he’s having success in a locale, Starkville, Miss., that has long presented a formidable recruiting challenge for coaches.

8. Bob McKillop, Davidson

Head coaching history: Davidson (33rd season)
Age: 71
Highlights: Elite Eight (2008)
The buzz: His teams play in relative obscurity, away from the national spotlight. His league rarely gets a slew of NCAA tournament bids — the bulk of his tenure came in the Southern Conference — much less high seeds. But any conversation about the best game tacticians today must include McKillop. Leave aside the fact that McKillop was among the few coaches who saw potential in a skinny kid named Steph Curry, who nearly led Davidson to the Final Four in 2008. McKillop has made a small school a consistent contender, a consistent tough out in the NCAA tournament. He earned NABC coach of the year honors in 2008 and 10 times won coach of the year honors in the Southern Conference. He’s elite.

9. Leonard Hamilton, Florida State

Head coaching history: Florida State (20th season); Miami (1990-2000); Oklahoma State (1986-90)
Age: 73
Highlights: Elite Eight (2018); Sweet 16 (2000, 2011, 2019, 2021)
The buzz: Employed in a region where spring football can take precedence over hoops, Hamilton is among the most underappreciated coaches nationwide. His teams seemingly have been on the brink of reaching the Final Four the past several years. For his best teams, the constants have been stingy defensive play and an abundance of size — both in the starting lineup and on the bench. Hamilton has won four national coach of the year awards and earned ACC coach of the year honors three times. Hamilton has a winning recipe, and it may be just a matter of time before he adds a Final Four berth to his impressive résumé. 

10. Mick Cronin, UCLA

Head coaching history: UCLA (3rd season); Cincinnati (2006-19); Murray State (2003-06)
Age: 50
Highlights: Final Four (2021); Sweet 16 (2012)
The buzz: Cronin may not have been the hot name to get the coaching role at UCLA but it has worked out. The Bruins emerged from the play-in game last season to make a memorable run to the Final Four, where they starred in one of the greatest games of all time, losing on a near-halfcourt shot to Gonzaga. The son of a distinguished high school coach, Cronin has been well-groomed under the tutelage of Huggins and Rick Pitino. He has a lengthy career ahead and is positioned to contend for the national title this season.

Honorable mention: Matt Painter (Purdue), Jamie Dixon (TCU), Chris Mack (Louisville), Jim Larranaga (Miami), Chris Beard (Texas), Greg Kampe (Oakland), Shaka Smart (Marquette), Cliff Ellis (Coastal Carolina), Randy Bennett (Saint Mary’s), Mark Schmidt (St. Bonaventure).