1989

[Montana81]

That’s the last time a team won the cbb ship without a coach that had already previously been to at least the Elite Eight or had taken over a team with a bunch of players that already had a ring(tubby smith 1998, Kevin Ollie 2014).

Congrats to Purdue and Matt Painter for their first E8 together.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

That’s the last time a team won the cbb ship without a coach that had already previously been to at least the Elite Eight or had taken over a team with a bunch of players that already had a ring(tubby smith 1998, Kevin Ollie 2014).

Congrats to Purdue and Matt Painter for their first E8 together.

Welp sounds like as good a time as any for Iowa to be that first team since then.......

 

[Montana81]

Welp sounds like as good a time as any for Iowa to be that first team since then.......

Not impossible. I think it just illustrates how much tourney experience matters.

 

[BeerPoisoning]

You’re not wrong but the list of NCAA champions since then is littered by the same HOF coaches. Don’t get me wrong, they’ve all EARNED their legacy and rightfully attract elite players... but success is so much easier with elite talent. Almost every year a Cinderella or two makes noise, usually behind a great coach. They might get lucky for a couple games but the player talent gap is the biggest factor.

Great coaches with mediocre talent can sharpen some great knifes and dodge a couple bullets but a vast majority of the time the gun doesn’t misfire 6 in a row.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

but a vast majority of the time the gun doesn’t misfire 6 in a row.

Virginia being the exception this year....

 

[FaithPlusOne]

That’s the last time a team won the cbb ship without a coach that had already previously been to at least the Elite Eight or had taken over a team with a bunch of players that already had a ring(tubby smith 1998, Kevin Ollie 2014).

Congrats to Purdue and Matt Painter for their first E8 together.

Bennet made the elite 8 in 2016.

Re-read it and realized you didn’t say they hadn’t. Let’s just chalk this up to lack of caffeine.