Scott Winters/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesHouston's Kelvin Sampson, UConn's Dan Hurley, South Carolina's Lamont Paris and Iowa State's T.J. Otzelberger have been announced as the four finalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award.
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Sampson led the Cougars to a 30-4 record (15-3 Big 12) heading into the tournament, marking the third straight year his team has won 30 or more games. Houston finished first in the Big 12 regular-season standings and reached the tournament's conference championship game before falling to Iowa State. The Cougars earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament for their efforts.
Hurley guided the defending national champion UConn Huskies to a Big East title and a 31-3 mark despite losing the top two scorers from last year's team in Adama Sanogo and Jordan Hawkins. The Huskies rolled into the NCAA tournament as winners of 21 of their last 22 games and earned March Madness' No. 1 overall seed after doing so.
South Carolina finished dead last in the SEC men's basketball preseason poll, but Paris' team proved the naysayers wrong with a 26-win season and a tie for second place in the league standings. The Gamecocks' 26 wins also tied the school record, which was previously set by the Final Four team from 2016-17. They earned a No. 6 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Iowa State wasn't considered a powerhouse heading into this year, with Otzelberger's Cyclones finishing seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll. But ISU finished as the league champions after crushing regular-season winners Houston in the conference title game. Iowa State went a perfect 18-0 at home en route to 27 victories overall before the NCAA tournament, where it earned a No. 2 seed.
All four coaches are seeking their first-ever Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year Award. Sampson was a finalist last year before Kansas State's Jerome Tang took home the honor.
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