Fansided

2022 March Madness: 5 coaches primed to win first national championship

By Mike Phillips

PROVO, UT - FEBRUARY 5: Mark Few head coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs calls in a play during the second half of their game against the BYU Cougars February 5, 2022 at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - FEBRUARY 5: Mark Few head coach of the Gonzaga Bulldogs calls in a play during the second half of their game against the BYU Cougars February 5, 2022 at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah.(Photo by Chris Gardner/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 5
Next
TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 13: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers cuts the net in celebration for defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 65-50 in the Championship game of the SEC Men’s Tournament at Amalie Arena on March 13, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 13: Head coach Rick Barnes of the Tennessee Volunteers cuts the net in celebration for defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 65-50 in the Championship game of the SEC Men’s Tournament at Amalie Arena on March 13, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

4. Rick Barnes – Tennessee Volunteers

Few teams in the country are hotter than Tennessee, which put together an excellent stretch run to wind up winning the SEC Tournament title. It is also vindication for head coach Rick Barnes, who was underrated for what he accomplished at Texas as his team is capable of beating the nation’s best on any given night.

Barnes took the Longhorns to their only Final Four in 2002 and guided the program to 16 NCAA Tournament Appearances in 17 years with Texas. The fan base felt underwhelmed by that performance since it involved plenty of early exits in March, leading Texas to let Barnes go in 2015.

Tennessee quickly pounced on Barnes at that point and he has done a good job rebuilding the Volunteers into a perennial SEC contender. This year’s team has done some excellent work down the stretch, picking up a win over Auburn and a pair over Kentucky on their way to the SEC Tournament crown.

The selection committee did the Volunteers no favors by dropping them a seed line despite the fact their resume was better than Duke’s, leaving Tennessee as a No. 3 in the South Region. The good news is that they have a good path to get to the Elite Eight by potentially taking down Villanova in the Sweet 16 before getting another crack at No. 1 seed Arizona, who they already beat in non-conference play.

Home/March Madness