Seeding the Coaches of the Sweet 16

With the Sweet 16 just days away, we'll give you the rundown of the 16 coaches that still remain — and seed them from 1 to 16.

Three of them — Roy Williams, Rick Pitino and Tom Izzo — are all looking for their second national title. Four more have been to at least one Final Four, but are still searching for the elusive national championship.

Then you've got guys like Kansas' Bill Self, who has been criticized for his inability to get to the Final Four.

Our No. 16 seed is also the youngest coach of the group, Western Kentucky's Darrin Horn. However, there are a couple other under-40 coaches — Washington State's Tony Bennett and Xavier's Sean Miller — that are both making their first trip to the Sweet 16.

1. Roy Williams, North Carolina

NCAA tournaments: 19
Tournament record: 47-17
Final Four appearances: 5
Analysis: It's difficult not to put him at No. 1 after he moved ahead of Bob Knight in NCAA tournament wins and is now tied with John Wooden for third on the all-time list. Williams, 57, has made 19 consecutive appearances in the Big Dance and has been to five Final Fours -- four with Kansas (1991, 1993, 2002, 2003) and a national championship in 2005 with the Tar Heels.

2. Rick Pitino, Louisville

NCAA tournaments: 13
Tournament record: 34-11
Final Four appearances: 5
Analysis: He's the only coach that has led three different teams to the Final Four. He did it with Providence in 1987, then won the national title with Kentucky in 1996 and advanced to the title game in 1997 with the Wildcats -- and advanced to the Final Four in 2005 with Louisville. Pitino's NCAA tournament winning percentage is third among active coaches (behind Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and Florida's Billy Donovan) at nearly 76 percent.

3. Tom Izzo, Michigan State

NCAA tournaments: 11
Tournament record: 26-9
Final Four appearances: 4
Analysis: He's gone to 11 consecutive NCAA tournaments, has been to four Final Fours in the last 10 years and won the national championship in 2000. His winning percentage in the Big Dance (.743) ranks fifth among active coaches.

4. Ben Howland, UCLA

NCAA tournaments: 7
Tournament record: 15-6
Final Four appearances: 2
Analysis: Has been to the NCAA tournament with three different schools -- UCLA, Pittsburgh and Northern Arizona. The 50-year-old Howland is looking to advance to the Final Four for the third straight season with the Bruins. He's also been to the Sweet 16 five times in the last seven years -- three with UCLA (2006, 2007, 2008) and two with Pittsburgh (2002, 2003).

5. John Calipari, Memphis

NCAA tournaments: 10
Tournament record: 20-9
Final Four appearances: 1
Analysis: Calipari, 49, has led the Tigers to consecutive Elite Eight appearances, using a drive-and-kick offense that is well-suited to his personnel. Calipari, in his eighth season at Memphis, has led the Tigers to the Big Dance five times. He also went his final five seasons at UMass -- and led the Minutemen to the Final Four in 1996 and the Elite Eight in 1995.

6. Bob Huggins, West Virginia

NCAA tournaments: 16
Tournament record: 22-15
Final Four appearances: 1
Analysis: Huggins, 54, is making his 16th NCAA tournament appearance and the first with his alma mater. He went 14 consecutive times with Cincinnati from 1992-2005 and also went once with Akron in 1986. Huggins led the Bearcats to the Final Four in 1992 and the Elite Eight in 1993 and 1996.

7. Rick Barnes, Texas

NCAA tournaments: 16
Tournament record: 17-15
Final Four appearances: 1
Analysis: He's taken the Longhorns to the Big Dance in each of his 10 seasons since taking the reins. The 53-year-old has also led Texas to the Sweet 16 in five of the last seven years and the Longhorns advanced to the Final Four in 2003. Barnes was also the first Clemson coach to take the Tigers to three straight NCAA tournaments (1995-98).

8. Bill Self -- Kansas
NCAA tournaments: 10
Tournament record: 18-9
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: One of just four coaches in D-I history to lead three programs -- Tulsa, Illinois and Kansas -- to the Elite Eight. Self, 45, took a hit when he lost two straight years in the first round in 2005 and 2006, but he's taken the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight twice -- in 2004 and 2007. He is still looking to go to the Final Four for the first time in his career.

9. Bo Ryan, Wisconsin

NCAA tournaments: 7
Tournament record: 10-6
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: In his seven seasons with the Badgers, the 60-year-old Ryan has gone to the NCAA tournament every year. Ryan, the first coach to lead the school to three Sweet 16 berths, took the Badgers to the Elite Eight in 2005. Ryan also has four national titles to his credit as a Division III head coach with UW-Platteville.

10. Jay Wright, Villanova

NCAA tournaments: 6
Tournament record: 7-5
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: Wright, 46, has led the Wildcats to the Big Dance in each of the last four years -- and a Sweet 16 appearance in three of the last four seasons. 'Nova went to the Elite Eight in 2006. Wright also led Hofstra to a pair of NCAA tournament appearances back in 2000 and 2001.

11. Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

NCAA tournaments: 5
Tournament record: 7-4
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: Pearl has taken the Vols to three consecutive NCAA tournaments since taking over the program. He also took Wisconsin-Milwaukee twice -- and led the school to its first-ever Sweet 16 berth in 2005. Pearl also went to the D-II NCAA tournament nine times while at Southern Indiana -- with six Sweet 16s and one national title to his credit.

12. Trent Johnson, Stanford

NCAA tournaments: 4
Tournament record: 4-3
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: Johnson has led the Cardinal to the NCAA tournament in four of his five seasons on The Farm, but this is the first time Stanford has gotten out of the first round. Johnson, 51, does have Sweet 16 experience as a head coach, taking Nevada to its first-ever Sweet 16 after knocking off Michigan State and Gonzaga in 2004.

13. Tony Bennett, Washington State

NCAA tournaments: 2
Tournament record: 3-1
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: One of the elite young coaches in the game. Bennett will be mentioned for just about every high-major job opening -- and for good reason. However, he's still unproven in the Big Dance, with just four games under his belt in just his second season as a head coach.

14. Sean Miller, Xavier

NCAA tournaments: 3
Tournament record: 3-2
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: The 39-year-old has led the Musketeers to the NCAA tournament in three of his four seasons at the helm, but this is the first time he's gone to the Sweet 16. A year ago, Xavier lost a heartbreaker to Ohio State in the second round.

15. Bob McKillop, Davidson

NCAA tournaments: 5
Tournament record: 2-4
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: He's led the Wildcats to three consecutive NCAA tournaments and five overall in his tenure, which began in 1989. McKillop, 57, helped give Davidson its first NCAA tournament victory since 1969.

16. Darrin Horn, Western Kentucky

NCAA tournaments: 1
Tournament record: 2-0
Final Four appearances: 0
Analysis: The former Marquette assistant is the Cinderella of the group, leading the Hilltoppers to their first Sweet 16 since 1993, when he was a player at Western Kentucky. It's also his first NCAA tournament in his five years as a head coach for the Hilltoppers.

Jeff Goodman is a senior college basketball writer for FOXSports.com. He can be reached at or check out his blog, Good 'N Plenty.