Jeff Goodman: ‘TJ Otzelberger is the National Coach of the Year’
Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger has had an incredible start to the 2023-24 season.
With the Cyclones currently tied for first place in the Big 12 Conference, Otzelberger has been getting a lot of love from members of the media in conversations surrounding the Naismith Coach of the Year award, one of whom is the Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman.
“Now, with Lamont Paris losing these last two games, if I’m polling you for the National Coach of the Year, I might choose TJ Otzelberger,” Goodman said. “Why not? Tell me why not.”
If Otzelberger is named National Coach of the Year, he would join a selective group of two coaches from the Big 12 Conference to win the award since 2000 and would become the Big 12’s fifth coach to claim the honor. Otz would join Kansas State’s Jerome Tang (2022-23) and a trio of Kansas coaches in Bill Self (2011-12), Roy Williams (1996-97), and Larry Brown (1987-1988) as the only five coaches in the league to take home the award.
While Otzelberger and the Cyclones have been firing on all cylinders over their four-game winning streak, Iowa State has their most challenging task of the season on Monday night, taking on Kelvin Sampson and the No. 3 Houston Cougars. The clash for the top spot in the Big 12 Conference will tip off at 8:00 PM CT from the Fertitta Center on ESPN.
