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Rick Barnes named a Naismith Coach of the Year candidate, other SEC coaches snubbed
By Adam Spencer
Published:
On Wednesday, the Naismith Trophy Coach of the Year candidates were announced, and there were 15 coaches named.
Despite recent struggles, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes was named a finalist for leading the Vols to a 24-3 season so far (with their three losses all coming to top-15 teams).
Below, you can see the 15 finalists, which have a noticeable lack of other SEC coaches:
Coach of the Year Candidates:
Rick Barnes
Chris Beard
John Beilein
Tony Bennett
Mark Few
Tom Izzo
Mike Krzyzewski
Chris Mack
Eric Musselman
Nate Oats
Matt Painter
Kelvin Sampson
Roy Williams
Steve Wojciechowski
Mike Young
? https://t.co/iMNCKFrzsk pic.twitter.com/7QPipQAk3E— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) February 27, 2019
The noticeable SEC omissions are Kentucky’s John Calipari and LSU’s Will Wade, both of whom have their teams tied for the lead in the SEC regular-season standings and have wins over Tennessee.
The ACC leads the way with four coaches named — Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Louisville’s Chris Mack, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Virginia’s Tony Bennett.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.