The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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Rodriguez has reestablished himself, leading Arizona to three consecutive bowl games. He won 10 games in 2014, guiding the Wildcats to a Pac-12 South first-place finish and a Fiesta Bowl berth. 5. Louisville — Rick Pitino and Bobby Petrino: Pitino has won championships with Kentucky (1996) and Louisville (2013), and has the Cardinals rolling, with four consecutive Sweet 16 ap- pearances, three Elite Eights since 2012 and two Final Fours. Pitino is 123-30 (.804) these past four years. Petrino may be despised for his unscrupulous ways, but he continues to win no matter where he coaches. Last season, he led Louisville to a 9-4 record, and in his last four collegiate seasons— 2010-11 with Arkansas, 2013 with Western Kentucky and 2014 with the Cardinals — he is 38-13 (.745). 6. Notre Dame — Mike Brey and Brian Kelly: Brey just finished his most suc- cessful campaign in South Bend, lead- ing ND to a 32-6 record and an Elite Eight finish, and he has nine NCAA Tournament appearances in 15 sea- sons with Notre Dame. Kelly guided the Fighting Irish to the 2012 national championship game, has three bowl wins among five games since joining Notre Dame in 2010, and is 45-20 overall (.692) with the Blue and Gold. 7. Duke — Mike Krzyzewski and David Cutcliffe: This season, Krzyzewski had Duke in its 12th Final Four among his 35 campaigns, and secured his fifth career NCAA title with a win over Wisconsin. Cutcliffe, meanwhile, has turned traditional basement-dweller Duke into a 19-win team over the past two seasons, while leading the Blue Devils to three straight bowl berths. 8. Oklahoma — Lon Kruger and Bob Stoops: Kruger has brought his long, distinguished career to Norman — he had 13 NCAA appearances among 25 seasons at five stops — and has led Oklahoma to three straight NCAA Tournaments. Stoops has led OU to 10 or more wins in 12 of 16 seasons, including an 11-2 campaign in 2013 that culminated with a Sugar Bowl win and a No. 6 final ranking. 9. UCLA — Steve Alford and Jim Mora Jr.: Alford has led UCLA to back-to- back Sweet 16 appearances, and has coached in four straight NCAA Tour- naments dating back to his final two season with New Mexico. Mora is 29-11 (.725) in three seasons with UCLA, has two bowl wins and guided the Bruins to a No. 10 national ranking in 2014. 10. Baylor — Scott Drew and Art Briles: Drew has led Baylor to the NCAA Tournament five times over the past eight seasons, and is 103-44 (.701) the past four years. Briles has made Baylor a legitimate Big 12 challenger, winning conference titles in 2013 and 2014 with identical 11-2 records. The Bears have won 40 games the past four seasons, with Briles posting a .769 winning percent- age. ❑ Associate Editor Michael Spath has been with The Wolverine since 2002. Contact him at mspath@thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @Spath_Wolverine.