In sports, opinions that start with a snowflake can turn into an avalanche because so many hear a viewpoint, run with it as their own and don’t ever stop to think whether it’s fair.
In the case of Bill Self, who has led Kansas basketball to seven No. 1 NCAA tournament seeds in the past 11 seasons (seeded No. 2 three times in that span, No. 3 the other) and has had at least a share of the Big 12 title for 13 consecutive years and counting, the rap on him is that he’s not the same coach in the tournament. Much of that stems from a 2-7 career record in Elite Eight games, including a 2-5 mark at Kansas, which he has taken to the Elite Eight in 50 percent of his seasons.
In an attempt to capture tournament success with a formula, I decided to award one point for every victory, two points for each Final Four appearance and 10 points for a national title to see where Self stacks up among active Div. I basketball coaches.
Based on my research, which does not include the work done by Jim Calhoun at UConn, Billy Donovan at Florida and Rick Pitino at Louisville because they are not active college coaches, Self placed fourth, which pokes holes in the theory that his teams routinely disappoint during March Madness. The Elite Eight remains his Achilles heel and he doesn’t hide from that, talks about needing to burst through the door instead of just knocking on it, and each year holds himself up to that standard, but it’s not accurate to term a coach who places fourth among active coaches in tourney success a disappoint.
A look at active college basketball coaches’ NCAA tournament success since 2003-04, Self’s first at Kansas, based on the aforementioned formula:
| Coach | NCAA record | Final Fours | National titles | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – Roy Williams | 42-10 | 5 | 3 | 82 |
| 2 – John Calipari | 40-11 | 5 | 1 | 60 |
| 3 – Mike Krzyzewski | 31-12 | 3 | 2 | 57 |
| 4 – Bill Self | 33-13 | 2 | 1 | 47 |
| 5 – Tom Izzo | 29-14 | 4 | 0 | 37 |
| 6 – Jay Wright | 21-11 | 2 | 1 | 35 |
| 7t – Jim Boeheim | 19-10 | 2 | 0 | 23 |
| 7t – Mark Few | 21-14 | 1 | 0 | 23 |
| 9 – Ben Howland | 15-6 | 3 | 0 | 21 |
| 10t – John Bielein | 17-9 | 1 | 0 | 19 |
| 10t – Sean Miller | 19-10 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 10t – Kevin Ollie | 7-1 | 1 | 1 | 19 |
| 13 – Bob Huggins | 13-10 | 1 | 0 | 15 |
| 14t – Dana Altman | 11-7 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 14t – Gregg Marshall | 11-9 | 1 | 0 | 13 |
| 16t – Rick Barnes | 12-11 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 16t – Jamie Dixon | 12-11 | 0 | 0 | 12 |
| 16t – Frank Martin | 10-4 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| 16t – Bruce Weber | 10-9 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
