Tom Izzo is widely considered one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time and he now has the numbers to prove it.
Everyone already knew that Izzo is one of the best to ever do it, and now he has the numbers to back it up. He’s one of the greatest NCAA Tournament coaches of all time, according to win totals.
According to CBK Report on X, Izzo has now moved into fifth place all time in terms of head coaching wins in the NCAA Tournament. He’s now tied in fifth place with John Calipari who also won his 60th NCAA Tournament game on Thursday evening.
Most March Madness Wins Of All Time:
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 19, 2026
Mike Krzyzewski - 101
Roy Williams - 77
Dean Smith - 65
Jim Boeheim - 61
John Calipari - 60
Tom Izzo - 60
John Calipari and Tom Izzo are now one of six coaches to have 60+ Tournament wins 🔥
Two legends. pic.twitter.com/4NudinhxGN
Although he’s far from Coach K who’s No. 1 on the list with 101 career NCAA Tournament wins, there’s a good chance that he’ll finish his coaching career at No. 3, if all goes as planned.
It’s going to be tough for Izzo to pass Roy Williams’ 77 careeer NCAA Tournament wins, and Coach K’s 101 isn’t going to happen for the 71-year-old Izzo. He’s not going to win 100 NCAA Tournament games, and he wouldn’t unless he were to win seven straight national titles — that’s how impressive Coach K’s numbers are.
Michigan State’s win over North Dakota State and Arkansas’ win over Hawaii put both Calipari and Izzo in an exclusive club with just four other coaches.
Izzo and Calipari are two of just six coaches all time to win 60-plus NCAA Tournament games.
Tom Izzo’s job isn’t nearly done yet
While reaching 60 NCAA Tournament wins is impressive and it puts Izzo in one of the most exclusive clubs in college basketball. Only six coaches have ever reached that plateau, and two of them did so on the same night in the 2026 NCAA Tournament.
Wild.
Izzo isn’t going to be content with that, though. He wants to win that elusive second national title and he’s not going to rest until he gets it, and this may very well be the year.
The Spartans looked really good in the first round against North Dakota State, but beating Louisville on Saturday isn’t going to be easy. The Cardinals may be without their second-leading scorer, but they looked good for about 35 minutes on Thursday afternoon.
Izzo will look to win No. 61 on Saturday and advance to his second straight Sweet 16.