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Sweet 16 Handicapping: Five Best Coaching Jobs in 2014 Tournament

NCAA Hoops Insight

Basketball programs are as much about coaches as they are players which is why some schools have been good for so long and other rocket up when they make the right hire. [ad-4468020]

Here is a quick look at who is impressing so far in the tournament.

One of these guys is going to be on some serious short lists. I wonder who?

Cuonzo Martin – Tennessee

This is not necessarily a ranked list but Martin jumps to mind given the Vols have won an extra game. It also says something that with each round they have extended their margin of victory.

They are not doing anything special but their confidence is about as high as it could be right now and I think that has a lot to do with coaching. Given it took OT to win in round one it would have been easy to come out flat but they didn’t.

John Calipari – Kentucky

There is no doubt Cal can recruit but it almost seems like Xs and Os bore him. I don’t think they are doing anything all that special strategically right now but he has finally gotten his team to come together and become more than the sum of their parts.

Despite the headlines the Wildcats are kind of in an underdog role and he has used that to motivate and bond the team.

Now he can let their talents take over.

Archie Miller – Dayton

I suppose that Dayton is the darling of the dance this season, tied with Tennessee for the highest seed remaining. Miller has been getting a lot of pub and even though he is getting confused with his bro (the coach at Arizona) he is saying all the right things and has his team right where they need to be.

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He has two wins by a combined three points against way more talented teams. I don’t want to say it was because he outcoached Thad Matta and Jim Boeheim but he clearly isn’t holding this group back either.
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Kevin Ollie – Connecticut

Replacing the legendary Jim Calhoun has gone pretty well for former Husky PG Kevin Ollie. I am still not sure how good he will be at recruiting but he has used his experience to empower one of the best backcourts in the nation. They were solid during the regular season and diced through #2 Villanova like it was nothing.

This year’s Huskies are looking like they may have the eye of tiger and his calm on the bench is amazing.

Scott Drew – Baylor

I suppose that one way to measure coaching performance is to get your guys peaking at the best time.

Even though they had to struggle through some rough spots during conference play they Bears have been looking really good over the last month. Drew finally figured out what works for his team late in the season and it has pushed them through two easy tournament wins to get started.

He has guided Baylor to two Elite Eights in the past 5 years too.

Looking for College basketball Free Picks? Cappers Picks has your back! Check out the links below for the Sweet 16.

By The Wiesguy

The Wiesguy is a newcomer to the handicapping scene. Hailing from Toronto, Canada he is always sweet on the underdogs and you can often find his thoughts, musings and picks at moneydogs.blogspot.com.