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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) /
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TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 11: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers shouts against the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half in the Quarterfinal game of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on March 11, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA – MARCH 11: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers shouts against the Texas A&M Aggies during the second half in the Quarterfinal game of the SEC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Amalie Arena on March 11, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

3. Bruce Pearl – Auburn Tigers

After spending most of the year as the nation’s top team, Auburn raised a few red flags with some road struggles in late February. Bruce Pearl’s team has righted the ship and is loaded with talent, including the potential top NBA Draft pick in forward Jamari Smith, that will make a potential title run a very strong possibility.

This wouldn’t be the first time that Pearl took the Tigers deep into March either. Auburn made a stunning run to the Final Four in 2019 as a 5-seed and could have beaten eventual national champion Virginia if not for last-second free throws that gave the Cavaliers the win.

It looked for a while like Auburn was the team to beat this season after racing out to a 22-1 start that helped the program earn its first-ever No. 1 ranking in the polls. Offensive issues on the road led to a few close calls before a trio of upsets knocked the Tigers out of the top spot in mid-February.

An early upset at the SEC Tournament cost Auburn a No. 1 seed, landing them as the No. 2 seed in the Midwest Region behind Kansas. The bottom half of the draw isn’t terrible for the Tigers but their Sweet 16 opponent could be Wisconsin, which boasts National Player of the Year candidate Johnny Davis and is capable of bogging down the pace against Auburn’s high-flying offense.

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