SUZY MERCHANT OF MSU vs JOHN BEILEIN OF UM: WHO IS THE BETTER COACH? (round one)

(July is "Beilein Month" - - - originally published on 4-11-15)

Everyone and their sister is in love with John Beilein, am I right? I mean, the guy can flat-out work miracles. Just look what he did this past season, with a team ranked #23 in the pre-season poll. First, the classic upset-losses to Eastern Michigan and New Jersey Tech. Then, with an injury-depleted roster, he rallied the team to lose eight of their last eleven games for a ninth-place league finish. Amazing, true genius indeed.

But what about Suzy Merchant? She also suffered from an injury-depleted roster last season, and rallied her team to win five of their last seven games. She's been Head Coach of the Michigan State women for eight seasons, exactly the same span as Beilein. Why not compare them to each other?

Below is a summary of the eight-year coaching careers of John Beilein at UM and Suzy Merchant of MSU:

SUZY MERCHANT:  Eight Years at MSU

Total Wins = 179
Win Pct. = .673
NCAA Bids = 6
B1G Titles = 2

JOHN BEILEIN:  Eight Years at UM

Total Wins = 166

Win Pct. = .601

NCAA Bids = 5

B1G Titles = 2

Merchant has the edge in three categories

and matches up in the fourth.

Looks like Coach Merchant has done

at least as well as Coach Beilein in their time

at MSU and UM, probably a bit better.

So why all the hype over the old apple-picker?

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