If the face of college basketball is its coaches, this Sweet 16 will look very familiar to viewers.
Three Hall of Famers -- Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Louisville’s Rick Pitino and North Carolina’s Roy Williams -- are among the 16, along with at least four more probable inductees (John Calipari, Bob Huggins, Tom Izzo and Bo Ryan).
Beyond those seven are two more (Gregg Marshall and Lon Kruger) who have taken teams to the Final Four; one who’s approaching the top 25 in active wins (Mark Few), and five others who have taken multiple teams to the Big Dance (Steve Alford, Mike Brey, Mark Gottfried, Larry Krystkowiak and Sean Miller). Then there's Xavier’s Chris Mack, who has the Musketeers playing in the second weekend for the third time in six years.
But with big names come big expectations. Who’s under the most pressure during the next two weekends? Let’s count them down, from those facing the least pressure to those facing the most:
16. Gregg Marshall, Wichita State Shockers
Wichita State Final Fours/national titles: 2/0
Marshall Final Fours/national titles: 1/0
Pressure and expectations: The guy can do whatever he wants in Wichita. He’s the king of the city, and rightfully so. He went to the Final Four a couple of years ago, went into the NCAA tourney unbeaten last season and just got done knocking off Kansas to advance to the Sweet 16. It’s all gravy now.
