Jul. 28—The collection of Big Ten head coaches is a mix of firmly entrenched lifers, some up-and-comers and, in a unique twist this offseason the last three leaders at Drake. Beat writer Scott Richey shines a spotlight on the 10 best:
1. Matt Painter, Purdue
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Painter has turned Purdue into arguably the Big Ten’s most consistent program in the last decade-plus with a top four finish in the league in 10 of the last 11 seasons. That includes two outright regular season titles and a share of two more. Not to mention a runner-up finish in the NCAA tournament in 2023-24. All without landing all that many high-profile recruits. Turning underrated prospects into Big Ten stars has become Painter’s specialty.
2. Tom Izzo, Michigan State
The dean of Big Ten coaches is entering his 31st season with the Spartans in 2025-26 and coming off his first conference championship since 2019-20. Last year’s regular season title was the 11th of Izzo’s career but came after a stretch Michigan State finished outside the top five in the league four out of five years — a stretch the Spartans hadn’t experienced in nearly two decades with the longtime coach at the helm.
3. Brad Underwood, Illinois
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Underwood is at the opposite end of the roster building spectrum from Izzo. If there’s a transfer — particularly an experienced one that might be 22, 23 or 24 years old — the Illinois coach is willing to throw open the doors at Ubben Basketball Complex and State Farm Center. Underwood’s ability to adapt to the changing landscape of college basketball and cater his system to regular new-look rosters has led to six straight seasons with at least 20 wins.
4. Dana Altman, Oregon
Oregon was a middle-of-the-pack Big Ten team last year in its first season in the conference, which tracks with the Ducks jumping from a Pac-12 that didn’t have the same depth of talent. Even trying for seventh in the Big Ten, however, came with 25 wins and an NCAA tournament experience. Par for the Oregon course. If Altman is anything, it’s consistent. The Ducks have never won fewer than 20 games in his 14 seasons as coach.
5. Greg Gard, Wisconsin
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Gard can thank Bo Ryan for gifting him a Sweet 16 caliber team in 2015-16 when he moved over one seat on the bench to take over the program midseason. The Badgers haven’t reached that level since making back-to-back Sweet 16s in Gard’s first two seasons, but they’ve won a share of a pair of regular season Big Ten titles and continue to defy preseason expectations and finish in the top half of the league on a regular basis. Must be coaching.
6. Dusty May, Michigan
That May took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four to cap an extraordinary 2022-23 season in with the Owls meant he could basically write his own check when it came time to move on (and up). May stuck around in Boca Raton, Fla., for another season because all his players did before he wound up at Michigan last offseason. Despite inheriting a mess of a program that went 8-24 the year prior, May got the Wolverines to 27 wins and a Sweet 16 last season.
7. Buzz Williams, Maryland
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Wanderlust might be the most apt way to describe Williams’ coaching career considering he’s never stayed anywhere long. Brilliant. Most coaches don’t snag lifetime jobs. Maybe it’s better to leave while the program is strong before getting forced out during an inevitable dip. Williams has a career .621 winning percentage, and his teams have won at least 20 games in 13 of his 18 seasons, including the last four at Texas A&M before he bolted for Maryland.
8. Mick Cronin, UCLA
Would Cronin be happier back in the Midwest now that UCLA is in the Big Ten? It sure seemed that way last season when he continually expressed his displeasure about all the travel the Bruins had during their first season in the league. But they won 23 games — a needed bounce back from the year prior — tied for fourth in the conference and made the NCAA tournament. The type of success Cronin’s teams have had both at UCLA and Cincinnati before that.
9. Ben McCollum, Iowa
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McCollum is a winner. Now, most of the new Iowa coach’s winning has come outside of the Big Ten — and outside of Division I basketball — but you can’t ignore the four(!) Division II national championships he won at Northwest Missouri State. Or the fact he turned Drake into a 31-win team that won a game in the NCAA tournament in his first season at the D-I level. Another year with All-American guard Bennett Stirtz could bring more of the same to the Hawkeyes.
10. Eric Musselman, USC
The transfer portal was Musselman’s playground before it was cool. It’s how he built Nevada into a dominant power in the Mountain West Conference, which he parlayed into the Arkansas job and then bolted back home to California when the USC job came open last offseason. He’s had diminishing returns since leading the Razorbacks to consecutive Elite Eight appearances. Not having to flip his entire roster every year might help stabilize the Trojans.
