Regardless of venue, that five-game winning streak by one of Smart's teams is more impressive than any win streak by one of Painter's teams. Postseason win streaks trump regular season win streaks.
One of his teams won 5 straight games, beating a #11 seed USC, a #6 seed Georgetown by 18 points, a #3 seed Purdue by 18 points, a Florida State team (forget their seed) in a close one, and #1 seed Kansas on their way to the Final Four.
Key missed free throws by Carsen and Boudreaux didn't help matters, either. Eastern doesn't have the look of a good decision maker. It was a nice comeback until it wasn't.