Big Ten Basketball: All-Time Winningest Coach at All 14 Schools

Winning basketball games in the Big Ten isn't the easiest task in the world. Some of had more success than others. 

We decided to compile a list of the winningest coaches at every Big Ten school — even if they're a new addition to the conference. Here's the list for all 14 teams in the conference:

Illinois Fighting Illini

• Winningest coach: Lou Henson
• Overall record: 423-224 (.654)
• Years coached: 1975-1996
• Achievements at Illinois: 12 NCAA Tournament appearances; 1 Big Ten regular season title (1984); 1 Final Four (1989); 1 Big Ten Coach of the Year (1993). 

Indiana Hoosiers

• Winningest coach: Bob Knight
• Overall record: 662-239 (.735)
• Years coached: 1971-2000
• Achievements at Indiana: 24 NCAA Tournament appearances; 11 Big Ten regular season titles (1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993); 5 Final Fours (1973, 1976, 1981, 1987, 1992); 3 National Championships (1976, 1981, 1987); 5 Big Ten Coach of the Year (1975, 1976, 1980, 1981, 1989).

Iowa Hawkeyes

• Winningest coach: Fran McCaffery
• Overall record: 272-184 (.596)
• Years coached: 2010-Present
• Achievements at Iowa: 7 NCAA Tournament appearances; 1 Big Ten Tournament title (2022).

Maryland Terrapins

• Winningest coach: Gary Williams
• Overall record: 461-252 (.647)
• Years coached: 1989-2011
• Achievements at Maryland: 14 NCAA Tournament appearances; 3 ACC regular seasons titles (1995, 2002, 2010); 1 ACC Tournament title (2004); 2 Final Fours (2001, 2002); 1 National Championship (2002); 2 ACC Coach of the Year (2002, 2010).

Michigan Wolverines

• Winningest coach: John Beilein
• Overall record: 278-150 (.650)
• Years coached: 2007-2019
• Achievements at Michigan: 9 NCAA Tournament appearances; 2 Big Ten regular season titles (2012, 2014); 2 Big Ten Tournament titles (2017, 2018); 2 Final Fours (2013, 2018); 1 Big Ten Coach of the Year (2014).

Michigan State Spartans

• Winningest coach: Tom Izzo
• Overall record: 699-287 (.709)
• Years coached: 1995-Present
• Achievements at Michigan State: 25 NCAA Tournament appearances; 10 Big Ten regular season titles (1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2018, 2019, 2020); 6 Big Ten Tournament titles (1999, 2000, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2019); 8 Final Fours (1999, 2000, 2001, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2015, 2019); 1 National Championship (2000); 3 Big Ten Coach of the Year (1998, 2009, 2012).

Minnesota Golden Gophers

• Winningest coach: L.J. Cooke
• Overall record: 250-135-2 (.649)
• Years coached: 1896-1924
• Achievements at Minnesota: 5 Big Ten regular season titles (1906, 1907, 1911, 1917, 1919); 3 National Championships (1902, 1903, 1919).

Nebraska Cornhuskers

• Winningest coach: Danny Nee
• Overall record: 254-190 (.572)
• Years coached: 1986-2000
• Achievements at Nebraska: 5 NCAA Tournament appearances; 1 Big Eight Tournament title (1994); 1 Big Eight Coach of the Year (1991).

Northwestern Wildcats

• Winningest coach: Arthur "Dutch" Lonborg
• Overall record: 236-203-1 (.538)
• Years coached: 1927-1950
• Achievements at Northwestern: 2 Big Ten regular season titles (1931, 1933). 

Ohio State Buckeyes

• Winningest coach: Thad Matta
• Overall record: 337-123 (.733)
• Years coached: 2004-2017
• Achievements at Ohio State: 9 NCAA Tournament appearances; 5 Big Ten regular season titles (2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012); 4 Big Ten Tournament titles (2007, 2010, 2011, 2013); 2 Final Fours (2007, 2012); 3 Big Ten Coach of the Year (2006, 2007, 2010). 

Penn State Nittany Lions

• Winningest coach: John Egli
• Overall record: 187-135 (.581)
• Years coached: 1954-1968
• Achievements at Penn State: 2 NCAA Tournament appearances. 

Purdue Boilermakers

• Winningest coach: Gene Keady
• Overall record: 512-270 (.655)
• Years coached: 1980-2005
• Achievements at Purdue: 17 NCAA Tournament appearances; 6 Big Ten regular season titles (1984, 1987, 1988, 1994, 1995, 1996); 7 Big Ten Coach of the Year (1984, 1988, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000).

Rutgers Scarlet Knights

• Winningest coach: Tom Young
• Overall record: 239-116 (.673)
• Years coached: 1973-1985
• Achievements at Rutgers: 4 NCAA Tournament appearances; 4 Atlantic 10 regular season titles (1977, 1978, 1980, 1983); 2 ECAC Tournament titles (1975, 1976); 1 Atlantic 10 Tournament title (1979); 1 Final Four (1976).

Wisconsin Badgers

• Winningest coach: Bo Ryan
• Overall record: 364-130 (.737)
• Years coached: 2001-2015
• Achievements at Wisconsin: 14 NCAA Tournament appearances; 4 Big Ten regular season titles (2002, 2003, 2008, 2015); 3 Big Ten Tournament titles (2004, 2008, 2015); 2 Final Fours (2014, 2015); 4 Big Ten Coach of the Year (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015).