Top 10 Best College Basketball Coaches – Power Rankings

Ranking the best College Basketball Coaches of the 2023-2024 NCAA season as Dan Hurley of the UConn Huskies leads the way

By admin | November 4, 2024

The 2023-2024 NCAA Men’s College Basketball season delivered excitement from the opening tip off of the regular season to the final whistle of the 2024 NCAA Men’s National Championship tournament. As the landscape of college basketball continues to evolve with the new NIL deals and the new rules of the transfer portal, the importance of having a great head coach in place plays a key role in any team’s success. That is the case with the top men’s basketball teams in the country who are each led by some of the top coaches in the country. This includes Dan Hurley of the UConn Huskies who headlines the Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list.

It is hard to look past a better coach in Men’s College Basketball to date after Hurley and the Huskies repeated as National Champions in a field of teams loaded with star talent.

The second consecutive championship delivered the Huskies men’s program their sixth National Championship all since 1999 while becoming the first team since the Florida Gators in 2007 to repeat.

As Hurley headlines the top men’s coaches, he is joined by a thorough list of talented coaches including Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars, Nate Oats of the Alabama Crimson Tide, Hubert Davis of the North Carolina Tar Heels, and Jon Scheyer of the Duke Blue Devils.

Here is a look at the Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings:

Honorable Mention

Brian Dutcher

School: San Diego State Aztecs

Just missing the Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the San Diego Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher. Dutcher is possibly one of the most underrated coaches in college basketball while leading the Aztecs to four straight NCAA tournaments.

Like a few of the other smaller school head coaches, Dutcher continues to find success while failing to land a top recruiting class or top of the class prospects. Despite that the Aztecs continue to win including winning 26 of 37 games this past season and posting a 11-7 record within the Mountain West conference.

However, Dutcher’s best coaching comes during post season play after leading the Aztecs to the National Championship game last season, the team would follow that up with another run to the Sweet 16 this season. Since arriving the Aztecs head coach has posted a 177-58 overall record.

Tommy Lloyd

School: Arizona Wildcats

After taking over in a sticky situation with the Arizona Wildcats with the departure of Sean Miller, Tommy Lloyd has continued to put a winning basketball team on the court each season.

In three seasons the Wildcats have won at least 27 games in each season including a final mark of 27-9 during the 2023-2024 season while posting a 15-5 record in the Pac-12 Conference.

The strong conference record landed the Wildcats their final Pac-12 regular season championship before heading to the Big 12 conference next season.

During the regular season, the Wildcats picked up wins against both the Duke Blue Devils and Michigan State Spartans en route to a 3-3 record against AP Top 25 ranked programs. Despite the strong season the Wildcats success would come to an end with a 77-72 during the Sweet 16.

Top 10 Best College Basketball Coaches

10. Brad Underwood

School: Illinois Fighting Illini

Sliding in at number 10 on the Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood.

Underwood and the Fighting Illini have been one of the most overlooked programs in college basketball over the past few seasons including heading into the 2023-2024 Men’s College Basketball season while sitting at just 25^th among the AP Top 25 rankings and outside of the Top 25 on the coach’s poll.

Nonetheless Underwood had his team ready to fight all season including finishing second within the Big Ten during the regular season with a 14-6 record before winning the Big Ten Tournament. The success did not stop as the Fighting Illini would make a run to the Elite Eight before falling to the UConn Huskies.

9. T.J. Otzelberger

School: Iowa State Cyclones

Since arriving as the head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones during the 2021-2022 NCAA Season, the Cyclones have made a run to three straight NCAA Tournaments.

Over those three runs T.J. Otzelberger and the Cyclones have reached the Sweet 16 in two of those trips including during this past season.

With an 70-35 overall record in three seasons, Otzelberger is slowly building a winning culture within the Cyclones program including posting an impressive 29-8 record and a 13-5 Big 12 conference record during the 2023-2024 NCAA tournament.

The impressive performance landed the Cyclones eighth on the AP Top 25 rankings final standings as well as on the coach’s poll.

8. Greg McDermott

School: Creighton Bluejays

When you start to look around at the best college basketball coaches you must take a deep look at all the successful teams as well as the resources that program has to work with.

That is the case with Greg McDermott who continues to put together a competitive Creighton Bluejays roster despite the recruiting power of the top college basketball schools in the country.

McDermott helped guide the Bluejays to a second-place finish within the Big East conference winning 14 of 20 games during the regular season while finishing the overall season with a 25-10 record losing to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Tournament.

7. Matt Painter

School: Purdue Boilermakers

The long time Purdue Boilermakers head coach continues to lead the Purdue Boilermakers to successful seasons year in and year out. While the past few seasons included the National Player of the Year Zach Edey, the team’s success with Painter includes nine straight NCAA tournaments with only the Covid 19 cancelled tournament being missed along the way.

Over those nine straight appearances the Boilermakers have made three Sweet 16 trips, one Elite Eight, and the National Championship Game during the 2023-2024 NCAA Season.

Despite coming up short of a National Championship after losing to the UConn Huskies, the Boilermakers season was as successful as any team including the Big Ten regular season champions and a 34-5 overall record leading to Painter earning his fifth overall Big Ten Coach of the Year Award.

6. Rick Barnes

School: Tennessee Volunteers

After his first two seasons with the Tennessee Volunteers in which the team struggled, Rick Barnes has since turned the program into a consistent ranked team among the AP Top 25 while also making six straight trips to the NCAA Tournament.

His latest success came during the 2023-2024 NCAA season leading the Volunteers to their first SEC regular season title since the 2018-2019 season winning 14 of 18 conference games en route to a 27-9 overall record. After the Volunteers struggled to find a successor after having two coaches over a two-year stretch, Barnes has been the answer ever since.

In addition to a strong regular season the Volunteers knocked off three teams en route to the Elite Eight including wins over a talented Creighton Bluejays team within the Sweet 16. The strong finish landed the Volunteers fifth on the AP Top 25 rankings final rankings list of the season.

5. Jon Scheyer

School: Duke Blue Devils

Rounding out the Top 5 on the Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is the Duke Blue Devils head coach Jon Scheyer. Scheyer, who is in his second season with the Blue Devils displayed his ability to coach this past season despite losing multiple top prospects to the NBA after just his first season with the program.

The Blue Devils would not miss a beat this season rolling to a 27-9 overall record during the regular season including posting a 3-3 overall record against teams ranked within the AP Top 25 rankings.

After a strong regular season including finishing second within the ACC conference, the Blue Devils would start off strong within the 2024 NCAA Tournament picking up three straight wins including knocking off number one seeded the Houston Cougars to advance to the Elite Eight.

4. Hubert Davis

School: North Carolina Tar Heels

The North Carolina Tar Heels continue to rank among the top teams in the country as well as within the ACC Conference. In his first season with the team the Tar Heels would cruise to a 29-10 before losing in the National Championship game to the Kansas Jayhawks.

After a disappointing season last year, Davis had the Tar Heels ready to play this season helping the team to roll to a 29-8 overall record as well as a 17-3 ACC record while taking home the ACC regular season championship.

The regular season success landed Davis the ACC Coach of the Year Award. The strong regular season landed the Tar Heels a top seed entering the 2024 NCAA Tournament, however the Tar Heels season would come to an end in a hard two-point loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet 16.

3. Nate Oats

School: Alabama Crimson Tide

Over the years the Alabama Crimson Tide has been known for their dominance on the football field, however Nate Oats is slowly making changes to elevate the team’s men’s basketball team.

Since taking over during the 2019-2020 season, Oats has delivered two SEC regular season championships and two SEC tournament championships. Despite losing talented freshman Brandon Miller to the NBA Oats and the Crimson Tide rolled to an 25-12 overall record and a 13-5 conference record while finishing second within the SEC Conference.

The success continued into the NCAA tournament, as the Crimson Tide rolled to four straight wins including a key 89-87 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet 16 en route. Ultimately the hot streak would come to an end with a loss to the eventual National Champions the UConn Huskies in the Final Four.

2. Kelvin Sampson

School: Houston Cougars

When it comes to the top ranked coaches in Men’s College Basketball, Houston Cougars head coach Kelvin Sampson ranks among the best in the game.

Sampson, who has been at the helm of the Cougars program for the past 10 college seasons, has turned around the program while leading the team to at least the Sweet 16 in each of the five last NCAA Tournaments that has been played including this past season.

In addition to leading the Cougars to the Sweet 16 this season, the team rolled to a 32-5 record and a 15-3 record in their first season within the Big 12 Conference.

1. Dan Hurley

School: UConn Huskies

In at number one on the Top 10 Men’s College Basketball Coaches 2023-2024 Rankings list is Dan Hurley who is coming off another impressive season as the head coach of the UConn Huskies. The same Huskies that failed to recruit one of the Top 50 2023 recruiting classes.

Nonetheless Hurley found success with a strong returning core of players including Tristen Newton, Alex Karaban, and Donovan Clingan. In addition, freshman Stephon Castle and senior guard transfer Cam Spencer provided additional talent to the team’s starting roster.

Ultimately the Huskies would roll to an 37-3 overall record in route to winning the National Championship. Over the course of the season, the Huskies posted an impressive 11-2 record against AP Top 25 ranked opponents. Entering next season, the big question is can Hurley lead the Huskies to a three peat?