Gonzaga coach Mark Few moves into top spot in all-time winning percentage

Gonzaga’s Mark Few has been No. 1 in winning percentage among active college basketball coaches for several years.

Saturday’s win over San Diego at the McCarthey Athletic Center elevated Few into the top spot all time.

Gonzaga’s latest victory improved Few’s 22-year record to 621-124 for an .8336 winning percentage. Few shared the spot at .8333 with Sam Burton, who was 210-42 at West Texas A&M from 1922-33, according to sports-reference.com.

Sports-reference.com’s all-time list includes coaches with a minimum of 10 seasons at major (Division I or equivalent) programs.

Former UCLA coach John Wooden, one of Few’s coaching idols, is fifth at .8039. Clair Bee and Adolph Rupp are third and fourth, respectively.

John Kresse, Thomas Kibler, Ralph Jones, Jerry Tarkanian and Al McGuire round out the top 10.

North Carolina’s Roy Williams, a close friend of Few’s, is second among active coaches and 14th overall at .7757, followed by No. 15 John Calipari (.7730), No. 16 Bill Self (.7664) and No. 17 Mike Krzyzewski (.7652).

Gonzaga (22-0) knocked off Self and Kansas 102-90 in the season opener for Few’s 600{sup}th{/sup} career win. Few entered the season with an .828 winning percentage.

Few ranks 36th in all-time coaching wins with 621. Krzyzewski is first at 1,167, Jim Boeheim is second at 1,078 and Bob Knight and Williams share third with 899.

Dean Smith is fifth at 879.