Illinois head coach Brad Underwood joined the Illini in 2017 and faced criticism from some Illinois fans for failing to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament during his first few seasons. It took him three seasons to lead the Illini back to the Big Dance, but he has since guided the program to an Elite Eight and a Final Four.
Underwood silenced his critics by leading Illinois to its first Final Four since 2005 and winning 20 or more games for the seventh consecutive season. He has established himself as one of the best coaches in college basketball and will look to further cement his legacy by leading Illinois to another Final Four this season.
To accurately compare Underwood with some of the top coaches in the sport, I have compiled statistics for other active coaches who have reached the Final Four. Several active coaches have won national championships, and for the sake of this exercise, I will consider them a tier above Underwood.
Those coaches are Dan Hurley (my pick for the best coach in college basketball right now), Tom Izzo, Rick Pitino, Bill Self, Todd Golden, John Calipari, and Scott Drew. I would argue that Underwood is better than some of them at this point, but we will give those seven the edge based on their national championship success.
I used several metrics to compare these coaches. It is not a perfect science, as some have spent more time coaching at the Division I level than Underwood, but it provides a reasonable basis for comparison. I also limited the data to the post-COVID era, as college basketball has changed significantly due to eligibility rules, the transfer portal, and NIL.
With that in mind, I used the 2020-21 season as the starting point. The metrics include Final Four appearances, total wins, NCAA Tournament appearances, NCAA Tournament wins, regular-season conference championships, and conference tournament championships.
Active Coaches with a Final Four Appearance but no National Championship
Brad Underwood
- Final Fours: 1
- Total Wins: 146
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 10
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 1
- Conference Tournament Titles: 2
Kelvin Sampson
- Final Fours: 2
- Total Wins: 190
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 18
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 3
- Conference Tournament Titles: 3
Jon Scheyer
- Final Fours: 1
- Total Wins: 124
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 11
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 2
- Conference Tournament Titles: 3
Tommy Lloyd
- Final Fours: 1
- Total Wins: 148
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 5
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 10
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 3
- Conference Tournament Titles: 3
Matt Painter
- Final Fours: 1
- Total Wins: 164
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 12
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 2
- Conference Tournament Titles: 2
Mark Few
- Final Fours: 1
- Total Wins: 174
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 14
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 4
- Conference Tournament Titles: 5
Rick Barnes
- Final Fours since 2020-21: 0 (1 overall, in 2003)
- Total Wins: 152
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 6
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 12
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 1
- Conference Tournament Titles: 1
Shaka Smart
- Final Fours since 2020-21: 0 (1 overall, in 2011)
- Total Wins: 110
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4
- NCAA Tournament Wins: 3
- Regular-Season Conference Titles: 1
- Conference Tournament Titles: 1
Where Does Brad Underwood Rank?
I think it is fair to put Rick Barnes and Shaka Smart below Underwood in the current rankings, as neither has reached a Final Four in more than 15 years. Both are excellent coaches, but I would not rank them ahead of Underwood based on their recent accomplishments.
The other six coaches are much more difficult to separate. Ultimately, their rankings depend on what you value most in a coach and which metrics you consider the most important. Kelvin Sampson has reached two Final Fours since the 2020-21 season, while the other coaches in this group have reached one. Because of that, I would place Sampson in a tier above the remaining five, even though Underwood recently got the better of him in the Sweet 16.
That leaves seven coaches with national championship rings and Sampson ahead of Underwood, leaving five coaches to compare with the Illinois head coach.
Brad Underwood, Matt Painter, Jon Scheyer, Tommy Lloyd, and Mark Few make up the next tier. All five are competing for a spot among the top 10 coaches in the country.
Comparing these five is particularly difficult because of their different circumstances. Few has spent his career at Gonzaga in a non-power conference; Scheyer took over at Duke in 2022 rather than 2021; and Lloyd coached in the Pac-12 before Arizona moved to the Big 12. All five have reached one Final Four during the period being evaluated, although Few also reached the championship game in 2017 after Gonzaga lost just one game during the regular season.
Few has benefited from coaching in the West Coast Conference, where Gonzaga has consistently dominated the competition and accumulated conference championships. However, I would still place him in the tier ahead of the other four coaches in this tier. His advantages in total wins, NCAA Tournament wins, and conference titles since 2020-21, combined with his ability to build Gonzaga into a national powerhouse, separate him from Painter, Scheyer, Lloyd, and Underwood.
I will leave the evaluations of the remaining four coaches up to you. Each has a legitimate case to be ranked ahead of the others, depending on which accomplishments you value most. Regardless of where you place Underwood among this group, his recent success makes a strong case that he is at least a top-15 coach in college basketball.
I considered using additional metrics, such as NCAA Tournament wins as an underdog (which can demonstrate a coach’s ability to exceed expectations) and first-round NBA Draft picks, but ultimately decided against it.
If you are interested in exploring those numbers further, feel free to do so and let me know what you find!