Bama Hammer
Fansided

SEC Basketball: Measuring SEC toughness by the head coaches

By Ronald Evans

AUBURN, ALABAMA - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts during the game against the Murray State Racers at Auburn Arena on December 22, 2018 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
AUBURN, ALABAMA - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Bruce Pearl of the Auburn Tigers reacts during the game against the Murray State Racers at Auburn Arena on December 22, 2018 in Auburn, Alabama. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

SEC basketball keeps getting tougher each season with star players and top teams progressing in the NCAA Tournament. The reason is the head coaches.

The argument can be made SEC basketball takes a backseat to SEC football no more. Another argument can be made that SEC basketball is better than the PAC 12, at least equal to the Big 12 and nearing a strength equal to the Big Ten and the ACC.

Of course, Power Five does not automatically connote superiority in college basketball. Gonzaga, Buffalo, Villanova, Wofford and others showed this season there are top teams throughout Division One.

What has changed with SEC basketball over the last few seasons is the quality of head coaching. The coffers of SEC schools are more full than ever and more money keeps going to hiring men’s basketball coaches. The investments have paid off with on-court success as SEC basketball is no longer the Kentucky Wildcats and then everybody else.

Assessing who are the best SEC head coaches is tricky. There is a wide disparity in the length of careers. The full body of work of each coach at every Division One stop must be included. Ranking the head coaches by only one or two categories would be incomplete.

We decided to not attempt an overall ranking, but rather to rank each coach by seven measurements. The ranking categories are Total Wins; Winning Percentage; NCAA Appearances; Sweet 16 Appearances; Final Four Appearances; SEC Regular Season Championships and SEC Tournament Championships. Except for the last two categories, the totals are for each head coach’s career at all schools.

SEC Head Coaches Total Wins

  1. John Calipari (Kentucky) – 708 wins
  2. Rick Barnes (Tennessee) – 692 wins
  3. Bruce Pearl (Auburn) – 562 wins
  4. Ben Howland (Mississippi State) – 479 wins
  5. Kermit Davis (Ole Miss) – 423 wins
  6. Tom Crean (Georgia) – 367 wins
  7. Buzz Williams (Texas A&M) – 252 wins
  8. Frank Martin (South Carolina) – 246 wins
  9. Cuonzo Martin (Missouri) – 221 wins
  10. Mike White (Florida) – 190 wins
  11. Nate Oats (Alabama) – 96 wins

SEC Head Coaches Winning Percentage

  1. John Calipari – 77.3 percent
  2. Bruce Pearl – 72.2 percent
  3. Nate Oats – 69.1 percent
  4. Mike White – 67.1 percent
  5. Rick Barnes – 65.5 percent
  6. Ben Howland – 64.6 percent
  7. Kermit Davis  – 62.8 percent
  8. Buzz Williams – 62 percent
  9. Frank Martin – 60.6 percent
  10. Cuonzo Martin – 59.4 percent
  11. Tom Crean – 59.3 percent

SEC Head Coaches NCAA Tournament Appearances

  1. Rick Barnes – 24
  2. John Calipari – 18
  3. Ben Howland – 11
  4. Bruce Pearl – 10
  5. Tom Crean – 9
  6. Buzz Williams – 8
  7. Kermit Davis – 6
  8. Frank Martin – 5
  9. Nate Oats – 3
  10. Mike White – 3
  11. Cuonzo Martin – 3

SEC Head Coaches Sweet 16 Appearances

  1.  John Calipari – 13
  2. Rick Barnes – 7
  3. Ben Howland – 5
  4. Bruce Pearl – 5
  5. Tom Crean – 4
  6. Buzz Williams – 4
  7. Frank Martin -2
  8. Mike White – 1
  9. Cuonzo Martin – 1

SEC Head Coaches Final Four Appearances

  1. John Calipari – 4
  2. Ben Howland – 3
  3. Rick Barnes – 1
  4. Bruce Pearl – 1
  5. Tom Crean – 1
  6. Frank Martin – 1

SEC Head Coaches SEC Regular Season Championships

  1. John Calipari – 5
  2. Bruce Pearl – 4
  3. Rick Barnes – 1

SEC Head Coaches SEC Tournament Championships

  1. John Calipari – 6
  2. Bruce Pearl – 1

Alabama basketball fans are enthused by Nate Oats. He has a long way to go in catching up to other SEC head coaches in the categories we measured. Being third in winning percentage is a strong place to start his SEC head coaching career.

Our source for all the numbers is Sports Reference – CBB. Any search for stats should begin with the group that does it best.

Next. Things to do before rooting for the Aubies. dark

A totally subjective but interesting argument can be made that SEC basketball coaches are better than the football coaches. Not at Alabama of course or TAMU and maybe not Georgia. At the other schools, take a look and see which head coach, between basketball and football, has accomplished more.

Home/Alabama Basketball