AJ Hoops

By Aidan Joly

On Tuesday night, Dajuan Harris played his 166th collegiate game. Hunter Dickinson played his 155th. Shakeel Moore played his 141st. KJ Adams played his 131st. Zeke Mayo played his 126th.

In that game, Kansas went to Provo and lost to BYU 91-57, the Jayhawks’ worst loss of the season as it fell to 8-7 in Big 12 play and 17-9 overall.

Usually, this would be a team that we are praising for having a pretty good season. However, not this team.

The Jayhawks started the 2024-25 season as the No. 1 team in the country. Now, it is set to fall out of the rankings for the first time this season after the loss to BYU. It plays Oklahoma State on Saturday before the next version of the rankings come out on Monday, but a win there likely won’t be enough to keep them in the rankings.

Kansas’ issues this season have been pronounced and there seems to be several of them.

The first one I have already eluded to is the real lack of leadership on this team, and it is a strange as to why the team has this issue. Eight of its nine rotational players have played 84 or more collegiate games, and five of them have played 100 or more, while a sixth in Rylan Griffen has played in 99 games.

Somebody on this team should be stepping up, and it is simply not happening. It’s happened in several games this season that somebody should have taken charge when things were beginning to unravel, and nobody really did. This seems to be even more of an issue in road games. The Jayhawks are 3-7 this year in true road games – those three wins coming against TCU, Cincinnati and UCF – and is 208th in the country in BartTorvik offensive efficiency when it comes to road games. It is 16th in home games.

Which brings to the next point, is there perhaps an issue with the way the roster is constructed?

Coach Bill Self kept around a core of wings in Adams, Dickinson and Harris, and added a group of key transfers in Mayo, Griffen and AJ Storr.

Mayo has been as advertised, but Griffen and Storr have both seen significant decreases in production that have made them liabilities on the court at times. It’s even more pronounced with Storr, who averaged 16.1 points per game at Wisconsin last season and shot 43.2% from the field. This season, he has seen those numbers drop to 6.2 points per game on 38.2% from the field. These issues have forced Kansas to play down a productive guard and has thrust Harris into the spotlight, one that he should really just be a sixth man role player type. Storr has seen his minutes dwindle and has played seven or less minutes in four of Kansas’ last eight games.

Even Dickinson has seen a drop in productivity. His PPG has only dropped from 17.9 PPG last year to 16.3 this year, but his overall shooting numbers have dropped from 54.8% last year to 52.1% this year, and his three-point numbers have dropped by 12 percentage points, from 35.4% to 23.1%.

Self is 62 years old and has been the Kansas coach for more than two decades. Is he starting to lose a step? That’s really only for him to decide. However, it is a fact that Kansas’ worst two seasons since he has been there have been this season and last season. Last season, Kansas went 10-8 in the league and lost in the round of 32. This season, and get this stat, there is a very real chance that the Jayhawks will be outside of the 1-4 line in NCAA tournament seeding for the first time since 2000. Sure, he won a national championship three years ago, but it hasn’t been super great since then. That national title in 2022 is the most recent time Kansas has been in the second weekend of the tournament. He has even seemed more and more defeated in press conferences last year and this year.

So, what is there to do for the Jayhawks here? Unsure. It does have the aforementioned Oklahoma State game on Saturday followed by going to 1-14 Colorado on Monday, so those games are opportunities to get right. It doesn’t get easier after that though, with a home game against Texas Tech on March 1, at Houston on March 3 and wrapping up the regular season at home against Arizona on March 8.

We will see how Kansas fares there and in the Big 12 tournament. If things go well, maybe they get some faith back. If not, the odds may be stacked against them in the NCAA tournament.

By Aidan Joly

Florida State needs a new head coach for the first time in over 20 years.

The school announced Monday that Leonard Hamilton, who has been the head coach in Tallahassee in 2002, will step down at the end of the season. With 456 wins, he is the winningest coach in program history, brought the program to the NCAA tournament eight times, made the Sweet 16 four times and the Elite Eight once.

Now, FSU will move on after the past few years haven’t gone so well, and considering that Hamilton is 76 years old, it’s time to make a move.

Now, who could take this job?

FSU has never been a hoops juggernaut, but it has had success before. Outside of the name brands in the league like Duke and North Carolina, it has as much potential as any of the other middle tier jobs in the league. With the league’s struggles, there’s certainly room for the next coach to elevate the program.

Below, here are seven potential candidates for the job.

Luke Loucks, Sacramento Kings assistant

Loucks, a popular young NBA assistant at 34, played at Florida State from 2008-2012 and made the NCAA tournament all four years he was with the program. After his playing career ended he has worked his way up through the coaching ranks beginning as an intern with the Golden State Warriors and currently serves as Sacramento’s de facto defensive coordinator. He has never been a head coach nor has he worked at the college level, but he knows the landscape well. He would fit into the mold of NBA assistants that colleges have begun to target the past few seasons.

Sam Cassell, Boston Celtics assistant

Another former FSU player in the NBA assistant ranks. Cassell is a program legend, helping lead the program to the Elite Eight in 1993 and has his jersey number retired. He has a similar path in that he worked his way up through the coaching ranks, but has never worked in college and has never been a head coach. He’s still regarded as one of the best assistant coaches in the league. Cassell is 55, so the question is would he be interested in leaving his situation with the best team in the NBA to go to the college ranks.

Dennis Gates, Missouri head coach

If this job opened up while Gates was at Cleveland State he would surely be the top candidate. Gates served as an assistant coach in Tallahassee from 2011 to 2019 and was crucial to the program’s on-court success as well as recruiting some of its best players at the time such as Jonathan Isaac and Malik Beasley, who are both in the NBA. He has a strange resume, Missouri was great in his first season before going 0-18 in SEC play last year, but Gates has righted things this season. Still, going from Missouri to Florida State would be considered a downgrade, and his buyout is close to $20 million.

Bucky McMillan, Samford head coach

McMillan has one of the most unique coaching stories out there. He went directly from coaching high school basketball to the Samford job in 2020. At Samford he is 95-46 with his high speed, press defense, three-point launching style of play, dubbed “Bucky Ball.” Samford won the Southern Conference last season and scored 89 points while being a bad call away from upsetting Kansas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. This year, he has the Bulldogs at 18-5 and 8-2 in the league. It’s only a matter of time before he is coaching in the high majors.

Takayo Siddle, UNC Wilmington head coach

Siddle checks a lot of boxes here and should be a hot name in this upcoming cycle. He is a native of ACC country in North Carolina, played and assisted under NC State head coach Kevin Keatts, has ACC assistant coaching experience in Raleigh, and he has head coaching success. He inherited a program that had struggled in the few years before he took over. After a first season under .500 he has led the Seahawks to three straight 20+ win seasons and is on track to do it for a fourth year, sitting at 18-5 and 8-2 in the CAA, good for second place in the league. He hasn’t made an NCAA tournament yet, but his name will get even hotter if UNCW does.

Chris Mack, Charleston head coach

Mack, the former head coach at Xavier and Louisville, has excelled in his return to coaching this season. He was fired from Louisville midway through the 2021-22 season and was out of the game until being brought back by Charleston this year. He has the Cougars at 17-6 and 7-3 in CAA play. Might he want to return to the high major ranks?

Will Wade, McNeese head coach

Wade is easily the hottest name on the market for this off-season. He is most known for his stint at LSU that unceremoniously ended due to NCAA violations, but he resurfaced at McNeese and has done a great job there, dominating the Southland and making the NCAA tournament and has a chance to do it again this season. He’s still only 42 as well. He’ll bring some negative PR, but he’s the best coach on the market. People forget that he got his coaching start in the ACC as a grad assistant at Clemson.

The pick: Let’s go with Siddle. He checks all of the boxes and has the ties and the success. At 38 he’s still very much on the younger side, allowing him to come to Tallahassee for the long haul.

By Aidan Joly

It’s all of the sudden the last full month of the college basketball season.

Several teams across the country have begun to lock themselves into the field with their performances so far this season, some are not quite there yet but look good so far, and some more have some more work to do.

Let’s break it down. Heading into Monday’s games I have locked 25 teams into the field, have 12 teams designated as “should be in,” while I have put 19 teams in “work to do.”

The 25 locks are teams I feel like will for sure be in the tournament barring any extreme circumstances. “Should be in” encompasses teams that if the season ended today they would be in the field and have a chance to lock into the field over the next few weeks, but could also drop into the “work to do” category if they struggle.

The “work to do” category is pretty simple. It’s the bubble teams that can really go either way at this point. When you look at these teams, you can argue either way whether they should be in the field or not.

I did amend my formula slightly from last year to give teams the benefit of the doubt when it comes to moving up categories, but this is still not an exact science. Selection Sunday is still a month and a half away.

Using the format of going conference by conference, let’s get into it.

ACC

Locks: Duke, Louisville, Clemson

Should be in: Pitt

Work to do: North Carolina, SMU, Wake Forest

I’ve locked three teams from the ACC into the field so far. Duke is self-explanatory as a top-two team in the country and will surely be on the 1 seed line.

Louisville and Clemson have both had very good seasons and sit at the top of the ACC behind the Blue Devils. Louisville is 4-5 in Quad 1 games and only has one loss outside of Quad 1, and its schedule is fairly easy the rest of the way, with five of its remaining nine regular season games in Quad 3 or 4. Clemson’s schedule is a little tougher, but they have a better record than the Cardinals.

Pitt and North Carolina have interesting cases. Pitt has not looked good in the past few weeks and is only 1-6 in Quad 1 games, but is 13-1 in its other games, including a win over North Carolina that feels big in terms of tipping the scales in the Panthers’ direction. I have them in the field for now. UNC is a little more murky. It is 1-9 in Quad 1 games and does not have a signature win and just got blown out by Duke. It is also 45 in the NET, compared to Pitt’s 35. A 6-5 league record and 13-10 overall isn’t good on paper, either.

SMU and Wake Forest still have outside chances, so we’ll leave them on for now.

Big 12

Locks: Houston, Iowa State, Texas Tech, Kansas, Arizona

Should be in: BYU, Baylor, West Virginia

Work to do: UCF, Arizona State

I’ve locked in five teams so far from the second best league in college basketball. All of these teams will have good seeds, despite their varying levels of winning against each other.

I was close to locking BYU into the field, but I decided not to considering its three Quad 2 losses, one of which was to lowly Providence during the non-conference portion of the season. If it can win one of its next two or two of its next three, all Quad 1 games, I would feel much more comfortable doing it.

Baylor and West Virginia are under similar circumstances of being very close to locked in, but I’m not going to do it yet. West Virginia has struggled as of late, having lost five of eight. But it snapped a three-game losing streak on Sunday by beating Cincinnati.

The odds for UCF and Arizona State are low, but we’ll keep them on the board for now.

Big East

Locks: Marquette, St. John’s, Creighton

Should be in: UConn

Work to do: Xavier

The three locks will be in the tournament. Marquette and St. John’s both project as being seeded on the 4 line or better.

Creighton and UConn are probably more on similar lines when it comes to seeding, the 6 or 7 line, but I decided to give the edge to Creighton. Realistically, UConn will be in, but if it somehow takes a bunch of bad losses in the next few weeks things could get interesting. But as long as the Huskies take care of business, it will be in the lock category in short order.

Xavier is on the outside looking in here. The Musketeers are 1-7 in Quad 1 games and only have one more Quad 1 game the rest of the season, and it’s a road game against Villanova, so that’s not a second signature win. It does have one over Marquette though. Overall though, the wins are just not there.

We raised our eyebrows at Georgetown for a second, but they have fallen off the bubble.

Big Ten

Locks: Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan, Maryland, Wisconsin, Illinois, Oregon

Should be in: UCLA, Ohio State

Work to do: Indiana, Nebraska

This is a league that will have somewhere from 8-10 bids. The locks are the locks, and UCLA and Ohio State have both played well enough this year to probably put themselves in the field, but neither are locks just yet. Oregon is quietly second in the country with eight Quad 1 wins. Illinois, Purdue and Wisconsin all have six.

The two teams to really talk about here reside in the “work to do” category: Indiana and Nebraska. The Hoosiers have really struggled this year and feels like a team that has almost gotten worse as the year goes on.

Indiana is 14-8 overall and 5-6 in league play, but has lost five of its past six games, save for a one-point overtime win against Ohio State on Jan. 17. It still has a chance to turn things around but right now it feels like the Hoosiers are on the outside looking in.

Nebraska seemed dead in the water a few weeks ago as it lost seven in a row to start 2-7 in league play, but back to back big wins against Illinois and Oregon have put the Cornhuskers right back in contention. Some more big games loom. Nebraska will need some of them to stay in the conversation.

SEC

Locks: Auburn, Alabama, Missouri, Texas A&M, Florida, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Kentucky, Mississippi State

Should be in: Texas, Oklahoma

Work to do: Georgia, Vanderbilt, Arkansas

This league is why the bubble feels relatively small this year: because the SEC is going to get so many teams in.

It’s the consensus best league in the country. I’ve already locked nine teams into the field, and the league could have upwards of 13 teams in the league. It may not get there, but it could get very close.

Texas and Oklahoma look good to get in right now. There were some conversations about Texas in recent weeks, but winning four of its past six, including wins against Missouri and Texas A&M, have made it safe for now. Oklahoma, who has won three of four, is in a similar boat.

One team to discuss here is Vanderbilt. The Commodores were in decent shape before this weekend, but an ugly loss to Oklahoma on Saturday has put a ding in their hopes. At 4-4 in the league and 16-5 overall, it still has a shot. All but one of its remaining regular season games are Quad 1 opportunities, so it has a chance to really get its resume back up to where it needs to be.

Arkansas had a dreadful start but a road win against Kentucky on Saturday puts the Razorbacks back on the fringes of contention. It was their second Quad 1 win of the season.

It feels like seven league wins is the number to get to in order to get a bid out of this league. Auburn and Alabama are the only ones already there, but two others have six and three others have five.

Mountain West

Locks: none

Should be in: New Mexico

Work to do: Utah State, San Diego State, Boise State

After a banner year last season that saw it get six NCAA tournament bids, the Mountain West has fallen back to earth this season. At most, it’ll get four bids.

New Mexico has had a very good year, sitting at 10-1 in the league and 18-4 overall, owning a pair of Quad 1 wins and six Quad 2 wins. Most of the games between the top teams in that league are Quad 2.

Utah State, San Diego State and Boise State are the teams to discuss here. Utah State has the best chance of the group, but San Diego State is not far behind. Utah State is 9-2 in the league and 19-3 overall in Jerrod Calhoun’s first season, while SDSU sits at 8-3 in the league and 15-5 overall. San Diego State had a bad Quad 3 loss to UNLV, so that hurts it slightly.

Boise State is on the outside looking in, but still has a shot if it goes on a really good run in the last month of the season.

The rest

Locks: none

Should be in: Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, Memphis

Work to do: VCU, Drake, Dayton, Bradley

Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s and Memphis are all good teams that will all probably in the field, but they play in weak leagues that have the chance to produce some really bad losses.

Gonzaga has three losses in WCC play and much was made of the loss to Santa Clara, but at the end of the day it shouldn’t be the end of the world to the committee. Its other two losses were to Saint Mary’s and Oregon State. Saint Mary’s has taken care of business and is the best team in the WCC.

Memphis took a very bad loss to Arkansas State during the non-conference. Like Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s, Memphis plays in an AAC that has the ability to produce some ugly losses. However, winning the games they should win should make them OK.

VCU and Dayton come from the A10, which traditionally produces two bids but may be one this year. VCU has a better at-large chance than Dayton does, it feels like. George Mason feels like a team that can win the A10, despite the fact that they don’t really have a shot at an at-large bid. If it continues to win all these games, we may have to add them.

Drake’s back-to-back losses to Murray State and UIC really hurt them, but if those are the only games they lose and then lose to Bradley in the MVC final, a conversation is maybe had. Bradley also lost to UIC, as well as Northern Iowa.

By Aidan Joly

It was a very, very busy weekend in college hoops, highlighted by John Calipari returning to the building he spent 15 years coaching in, Duke blowing out North Carolina in the rivals’ first matchup of the season, and a massive road win for Texas Tech.

Let’s get into all of it.

Arkansas wins in Calipari’s return

In one of the most anticipated games of the season, John Calipari returned to Kentucky for the first time as an opposing head coach.

Calipari was booed when he came onto the floor, it was strong but not merciless, which was a big point of debate throughout the week.

Then, Calipari’s Arkansas Razorbacks, which have really struggled all season, played their best game of the season, beating Kentucky 89-79. It came behind a 21 point performance from Adou Thiero, who was also returning to Lexington as a player, 18 points from Johnell Davis and 17 from D.J. Wagner, who was also returning to Rupp Arena.

You could tell that this was a game that this program circled on the calendar and really wanted. It was subtle to see, but this has to be one of the most satisfying wins of Calipari’s coaching career, regardless of how the season is going.

Duke blows out North Carolina

The biggest rivalry in the sport somehow felt like an appetizer to Arkansas-Kentucky.

In the first of two meetings this season, Duke blew out North Carolina 87-70 at Cameron Indoor, and that game didn’t even feel that close. The Blue Devils led by 25-30 points for much of the contest.

The freshman duo of Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg combined for 43 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists and five steals in a game where they were both on. Tyrese Proctor had 17, and Sion James also played well.

UNC falls to 13-10 overall and 6-5 in the ACC with its tournament hopes slipping by the game it seems like. They are an overtime win against Boston College away from a five-game losing streak.

Duke is a true national title contender. It improves to 11-0 in the ACC and 19-2 overall and it’s beginning to feel like a perfect 20-0 ACC record is in play. We will see.

Texas Tech beats Houston after early adversity

Texas Tech grabbed one of the best wins of the day, beating Houston 82-81 in overtime to hand the Cougars their first Big 12 loss this season.

It was all the more impressive considering leading scorer JT Toppin was ejected on an awful Flagrant 2 call less than four minutes into the game, which also led to a subsequent ejection of coach Grant McCasland. It was a truly awful call that shouldn’t have even been a common foul, much less one that forced the Red Raiders to be without Toppin and their coach for 36 minutes.

Still, Texas Tech won the game. Chance McMillan stepped up in a huge way, scoring 23 points while Elijah Hawkins had 17. The Red Raiders shot 40% from three along the way.

Texas Tech is now 8-2 in Big 12 play and 17-4 overall. It’s a team that should be making a very deep run in March.

St. John’s takes over first in the Big East

The St. John’s Red Storm have taken over sole possession of first place in the Big East.

On Saturday the Johnnies held off Providence at Madison Square Garden, winning 68-66 to improve to 10-1 in league play and 19-3 overall. It got some good fortune later in the day with Marquette losing to UConn to drop the Golden Eagles to 9-2 in Big East play.

Rick Pitino’s squad has taken care of business all season. It has only lost one time since Thanksgiving and is on an eight-game winning streak. The three losses have been by a combined five points.

This is a team that has gotten better as the season. RJ Luis Jr., Zuby Ejiofor and Kadary Richmond have been a fantastic trio, maybe the best in the league. St. John’s has a chance in the next few weeks to be the favorite to win the Big East and make a deep run in the NCAA tournament. It has two big ones coming up, facing Marquette at home on Tuesday and going to play at UConn on Friday.

Short-handed Tennessee blows out Florida

Tennessee, without two starters in Zakai Ziegler and Igor Milicic Jr., beat Florida by 20 in Knoxville, 64-44.

It was a quintessential Vols performance. The defense stepped up in a huge way when it knew it didn’t have the scoring it needed and hung their hat on it. Florida went 24.5% from the field and only made 13 field goals the entire game and shot 14.8% from three.

Only one Gator was in double figures, and that was 10 from Walter Clayton. Alijah Martin had six on 2/12 from the field, and Alex Condon had four on 1/6 shooting.

It was a much-needed performance from the Vols, who had lost three of four coming into the day.

Arizona rivalry gets ugly

Arizona went on the road and beat Arizona State 81-72 in the in-state rivalry, and it got ugly at the end.

Arizona’s Caleb Love and ASU’s BJ Freeman were both ejected with 30 seconds remaining after Freeman head-butted Love. During that exchange, Arizona State coach Bobby Hurley sent his entire bench to the locker room. As the buzzer sounded Hurley waved his players off the floor and skipped the postgame handshake line, dismissively waving off Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd in the process.

He then had some choice words for Love in the press conference, insinuating that he won’t vote for him as an all-conference selection.

After a 4-5 start Arizona is now 15-6 on the season, 9-1 in Big 12 play, tied for first.

The two teams will meet again in Tucson on March 4.

Missouri’s blowout win

Missouri quietly had one of the most impressive wins of the day, going on the road and beating Mississippi State by 27, 88-61.

Caleb Grill was terrific for the Tigers in the win, scoring 20 points and making six shots from behind the three-point line. As a whole, Mizzou made 15 threes.

After a great first season two years ago and a dreadful year two last season, there was a lot of wondering about what Dennis Gates’ third season at the helm in Columbia would look like. With the Tigers in third place in the SEC at 6-2 as part of 17-4 overall, it is looking much more like the first.

Mizzou will go on the road to face Tennessee on Wednesday before seeing Texas A&M at home on Saturday.

Kansas State stuns Iowa State

Kansas State went into Saturday’s game against Iowa State as 14.5 point underdogs, but that didn’t matter at all.

The Wildcats stormed into Ames and beat the Cyclones by 19 in an 80-61 victory. Dug McDaniel had 20 points on 8/17 shooting, Coleman Hawkins had 17 on 5/10 and hit all three of his attempts from behind the arc, and Brendan Hausen had 15, nine of which came from the free throw line.

Kansas State has now won three in a row to improve to 4-6 in the Big 12 and 10-11 overall. It killed any hopes of a bid with a horrid first half of the season, but it has played well the past few weeks.

It has been one of the most disappointing teams in the country. But it has played well the past few weeks. Imagine what this team could have done had it played up to expectations up until the past few weeks.

Kansas’ collapse highlights issues

Kansas blew a 21-point lead and lost to Baylor 81-70 in Waco. The Jayhawks were out-scored 60-30 in the second half alone.

This latest performance continues to highlight the issues that Kansas has had this season. It seems like the epitome of a good but not great team. It stands at 6-4 in the Big 12 and 15-6 overall. Coming into the season it was a great roster on paper and an early championship frontrunner, but this is the result.

The main issue here seems to be a lack of leadership. When Baylor was climbing back into the game, nobody stepped up to prevent that from happening. You would think guys like DaJuan Harris and Hunter Dickinson, guys who were playing in their 161st and 150th college basketball game on Saturday, could be those guys. They weren’t. Zeke Mayo played in his 121st college basketball game on Saturday. Not him either.

This is a team that lacks in a lot of areas, but they are far too experienced to have these kinds of leadership issues. At this point, it needs to fall on Bill Self to make fixes over the next month.

Vanderbilt’s collapse against Oklahoma

Kansas didn’t have the only really bad collapse on Saturday.

After leading by as many as 13 in the first half Vanderbilt had a really bad second half performance, giving up a 23-0 run and getting out-scored 61-27 in the second half to lose 97-67 to Oklahoma.

Vanderbilt has had a very good year, one of the biggest surprises in the sport and a year that has put first-year coach Mark Byington in the UNC conversation should it move on from Hubert Davis. However, this was a stinker of a 20 minutes.

It hurt Vanderbilt’s tournament chances too. Before the game it had a 65% chance of making the NCAA tournament, per Team Rankings, and now that number is down to 45% on Sunday. Losing to another bubble team could really hurt.

USC upsets Michigan State

USC handed Michigan State its first Big Ten loss of the season, winning 70-64 at Galen Center.

USC is out of the tournament conversation, but it’s a nice feel-good win for Eric Musselman in year one for a team we haven’t talked much about this season. Desmond Claude had 19 in the win, while Wesley Yates III had 15.

Michigan State is still in first in the Big Ten but is now just a half-game ahead of Purdue.

Nebraska gets second straight ranked win

Nebraska got a 77-71 win against Oregon in Eugene on Sunday night, marking the Cornhuskers’ second straight ranked victory after a 1-8 start in Big Ten play.

It’s another feel good win for the Huskers, who had lost seven straight before the two wins. Brice Williams had 28 points on 10/18 from the field in Sunday’s win, while Juwan Gary had 23 on 6/10 shooting.

As for Oregon, the Ducks have now lost four of five as it continues to slide and hurt their NCAA tournament resume. The next chance of getting back on track will be on the road Wednesday against Michigan.

By Aidan Joly

We are squarely in the back half of the college basketball fan, and it’s time to take a quick look at the hot seat for coaches.

Some of these guys are squarely on the hot seat and need to do some big things to keep their jobs, while some others are just starting to feel their seats getting warm.

So, let’s take a look at it.

Kyle Neptune, Villanova

It’s still a tournament or bust situation for Kyle Neptune after he missed the tournament in each of his first two seasons. Heading into this season there were already calls for Neptune’s head and they didn’t get quieter after losses to Columbia and St. Joseph’s during the non-conference season.

Neptune did temporarily quiet the critics a little bit by rattling off eight wins in nine games between Nov. 27 and Jan. 8 as part of starting 4-1 in Big East play, but the Wildcats have since dropped four of five to fall to 5-5 in the league and 12-9 overall.

Unless things really turn around in the last month-plus of the season and Villanova finds a way to get into the tournament, it will be tough to justify bringing back Neptune for a fourth season.

Mike Woodson, Indiana

Usually making the tournament in your first two seasons and just missing the cut in year three would mark you as safe, but this is Indiana.

There were calls for Mike Woodson to lose his job at the end of last season, especially considering the availability of Dusty May, but Indiana decided to keep the alum around for another year.

Things have gotten ugly this season. Indiana does sit at 14-7 overall, which looks solid on paper, but a 5-5 mark in the Big Ten doesn’t look as nice. The Hoosiers have lost four of the past five to slip into the bottom half of the league. Those losses included back-to-back no-shows against Iowa, where they lost by 25 on Jan. 11, and then three days later against Illinois, losing by 25 again. It also suffered a 28-point drubbing against Louisville and lost by 16 to Gonzaga in the non-conference.

Indiana finished lower than it started in KenPom in each of Woodson’s first three seasons and is poised to do the same again this season. This one feels like it’s an inevitability.

Hubert Davis, North Carolina

A third big-name program on the list.

Hubert Davis has an interesting resume. North Carolina had a remarkable run to the national championship game as a No. 8 seed in Davis’ first year on the job in 2022, missed the tournament in 2023, won a regular season title and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament (it went to the Sweet 16) and now has the Tar Heels probably on the outside looking in for the tournament this season.

The Tar Heels have stumbled to a 13-9 record this year that includes 6-4 in the ACC after a road loss to fellow bubble team Pitt on Tuesday night. UNC is just 1-7 in Quad 1 games this season and has a Quad 2 loss, which came to Stanford. It needed overtime to beat lowly Boston College on Saturday. Five of its wins have come by three points or fewer, so things could be flipped badly for them right now.

I’m not overly convinced Davis would lose his job with a tournament miss, but we will see. On one hand, it’s difficult to fire a guy who has gone to a national title game and won a regular season championship in four seasons, but missing the tournament for a second time in three years is tough to tolerate at a place like UNC. I’d expect some uncomfortable conversations to be had if the Tar Heels miss.

Ben Johnson, Minnesota

It’s difficult to say whether Ben Johnson is truly on the hot seat in Minnesota, but it sure feels like this is a program that can do better.

Recent wins over the likes of Iowa, Michigan and Oregon may have given him a little bit more of a leash, but the fact of the matter is that the Golden Gophers will miss the tournament for a fourth straight season, not having gone since Johnson arrived in 2021.

The Golden Gophers are 11-10 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten. They have never finished with more than nine league wins in a single season during his tenure. Minnesota improved its standing in NIL, but the results are not even as good as they were last season, when the Gophers won 19 games and made the NIT.

You feel for Johnson, the issues are probably above him, but someone has to be a scapegoat.

Mike Young, Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech has gone to a pair of NCAA tournaments and even won an ACC title in 2022 during Young’s tenure.

The Hokies won 19 games in each of the past two seasons and went to the NIT. Had there been a similar team in Blacksburg this season Young probably avoids serious consideration, but this year’s squad has fallen off a cliff.

Virginia Tech is 8-12 overall and 3-6 in ACC play and has fallen all the way down to No. 175 in KenPom. It’s not as low as Boston College and Miami, but that’s little consolation. The Hokies barely beat Miami on Jan. 4, a Hurricanes team that hasn’t won an ACC game and is 4-16 overall.

An early disastrous loss to Jacksonville kind of sealed how this team would be. It’s easy to expect a change in Blacksburg in the coming weeks.

Bobby Hurley, Arizona State

This one is starting to feel like an annual tradition of whether this guy will keep his job or not.

Bobby Hurley has only gone to the NCAA tournament three times in nine tries at Arizona State and has been in one of the play-in games each time.

This season it feels unlikely that the Sun Devils will make the tournament, sitting at 3-6 in its first season in the Big 12 and 12-8 overall. Its struggles are even more heightened considering expectations went up after the additions of top prospects Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon.

For a few years it feels like Hurley has been dead in the water and keeps his job. Maybe this year will be more of the same, or maybe there will be a search in Tempe.

Matt McMahon, LSU

The SEC is the toughest league in the country this year, and McMahon is certainly feeling that in his third season in Baton Rouge.

The Tigers are 1-5 in SEC play and 12-7 overall, ranking as the second-worst team in the league in KenPom. Still, the Tigers are playing better than they did in McMahon’s first and second years. In the first year they went 2-16 in league play and upped it to 9-9 in year two.

I lean that McMahon gets a fourth year, but it would not be a massive surprise if they decide to move on.

Thad Matta, Butler

Matta’s second stint at Butler is certainly not going as well as his first.

After managing to bring back their legendary player, longtime assistant coach and one-time head coach, Butler has slogged to a 28-36 Big East record in the midst of his third season and the Bulldogs currently sit at 2-8 in league play.

Outside of a few the Bulldogs have avoided bad losses during his tenure, but just can’t get quality wins – it is 17-42 against KenPom top 100 teams (3-10 this year) since he took over in 2022.

Butler is struggling right now too – it has lost 10 of its past 12 and has only managed to beat the league’s two worst teams, Seton Hall and DePaul, in league play.

It feels like the Bulldogs will need to rally to some extent for Matta to keep his job, even if that does mean cutting things off after just three seasons. It was a hire I was skeptical about from the jump.

Retirement watch

Leonard Hamilton, Florida State: Hamilton is 76 and Florida State is likely to miss the NCAA tournament for a fourth straight season. The program has been mired in mediocre to poor play since 2021. He’s in the final season of his contract and saw his elder statesman contemporary Jim Larrañaga retire in December. He could be next.

Fran McCaffery, Iowa: Iowa made the NCAA tournament three years in a row from 2021-2023, but is likely to miss for a second year in a row. McCaffery has been in Iowa City for 15 years and is 65. The Hawkyes are 13-8 overall and 4-5 in the Big Ten.

Others to watch

Earl Grant, Boston College: Boston College played postseason basketball for the first time since 2018 last season but the Eagles have been dreadful this season, 1-8 in ACC play and 9-11 overall. That puts them out of the top 200 in KenPom. Grant is 58-64 overall and 24-45 in the ACC since he arrived in 2021.

Adrian Autry, Syracuse: It’s tough to see Syracuse making a move from Jim Boeheim’s right-hand man after just two seasons, but there’s a ton of discontent from the fanbase over the current state of the program. The Orange are 3-6 in the ACC and 9-11 overall after going 20-12 overall and 11-9 in the ACC last year. He might be someone who is squarely on the hot seat next year.

Craig Smith, Utah: Smith hasn’t done a bad job in four years at Utah. He is 62-58 overall, but is 27-42 in league play. In the program’s first season in the Big 12 the Utes have looked multiple steps behind the league’s top programs. They sit at 4-5 in league play and 12-8 overall. Utah has not made the tournament since 2016.

Interim tags

Ron Sanchez, Virginia: Sanchez took over for the retiring Tony Bennett in October, and the Cavaliers have looked really bad. I don’t expect Sanchez to be back in the full-time role.

Bill Courtney, Miami: Courtney took over on Dec. 26 upon the midseason retirement of Larrañaga. The Hurricanes have not won a game in eight tries since he took over.

By Aidan Joly

This writer attended both sides of the Backyard Brawl rivalry on Saturday.

On a busy day of hoops in the Allegheny Mountains, Clemson went on the road and held off Pitt in overtime after the Panthers mounted a comeback, with the Tigers winning 78-75. In the second game, West Virginia got a second signature win by beating No. 2 Iowa State 64-57 in Morgantown.

We’ll lead with the West Virginia upset.

The second game I saw on Saturday was one of the more physical games you’ll see. Iowa State usually benefits from these physical games and did hold lead for multiple parts of the second half after trailing by one at the break.

However, it was West Virginia’s Javon Small who took over. Small, who did not have Mountaineers second-leading scorer Tucker DeVries by his side, took over the final 90 seconds of the game. After Joseph Yesufu hit a layup to give the Mountaineers a 51-49 lead with 2:06 to go, West Virginia forced a stop, which led to a Small three-point play that put the Mountaineers up five.

He then made a pair of free throws with 1:19 to go after an Iowa State bucket. After another Iowa State score from Keshon Gilbert that cut it to five, Small hit a three with 42 seconds left that put the Mountaineers up eight and served as the dagger. A dunk with 21 seconds left was the exclamation point.

He ended up with 27 points, 20 of them in the second half and 10 in the final 1:39 of the game.

With the victory on Jerry West Day in Morgantown, West Virginia now has four ranked wins (the other three are Gonzaga, Arizona and Kansas), sits at 4-2 in the Big 12, with two of those wins coming against the best two of the best three teams in the league.

Under first year coach Darian DeVries, West Virginia is certainly among the top half of teams in the Big 12 and definitely sits on the right side of the NCAA tournament cut line after missing last season.

This team has a chance to stack some wins too. It will play Arizona State at home on Tuesday and then go on the road against Kansas State. That then sets up a potential ranked matchup between them and Houston on Jan. 29.

Now, moving on to the first game an hour and a half north on Saturday.

After surrendering a 14-point lead and the game going to overtime, Clemson made key shots in overtime to beat Pitt in overtime 78-75 as the Tigers improved to 7-1 in ACC play.

Clemson is having a very good year this year. It sits at 15-4 overall and has won six of seven. Chase Hunter made big shots, including the three to put Pitt away in overtime, as part of a 20 point performance. Ian Schieffelin had 15 points and 11 rebounds as well.

Clemson is starting to trend towards the 7-line. Its advanced stats probably leave a little more to be desired. It ranked No. 35 in the NET and No. 26 in KenPom coming into the day, both of which will certainly go up on Sunday. It only has one ranked win, that being against Kentucky on Dec. 3.

It currently only has one ranked game remaining on the schedule, that being Duke on Feb. 8. Clemson is certainly safe and will continue to be should the wheels not fall off. Whether it can get back to the second weekend certainly remains to be seen.

On the other side of this game, Pitt’s tournament hopes took a large ding. The Panthers are probably still in for now, but it is worth raising an eyebrow at. Pitt has now lost four games in a row and has dropped to 3-4 in the ACC after a 3-0 start. It got blown out at Duke, lost by 10 at home to Louisville, lost by 12 at Florida State and then Saturday’s OT loss.

There’s talent on this roster. Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett are both very good players, and Cameron Corhen and Damian Dunn are both very capable double digit scorers. Guillermo Diaz Graham is getting better year by year and had a good game on Saturday.

Albeit, Pitt still has a chance to get things back on track. It will have a week to sit on this loss before traveling to Syracuse next Saturday, then hosts North Carolina on Jan. 28, then goes on the road against Wake Forest on Feb. 1. Wins in at least two of those games would be a help for this group.

All in all, between an upset of No. 2 in the country and an overtime game, couldn’t have asked for a much better doubleheader.

By Aidan Joly

It’s an age-old tale in sports. Teams spend a lot of money to make themselves very good on paper, and sometimes it doesn’t translate to success on the court or field.

Now, with teams having great NIL situations and players getting million-plus dollar NIL deals, some teams in those situations are struggling.

The most notable ones here are at three programs: Indiana, Kansas State and Arkansas. The three are believed to all be in the top five in the country in NIL spending this past off-season, but the results are just not there. Combined, the teams are 5-11 in conference play. All had high expectations. Each have had several things go wrong.

Let’s start with Indiana. Things have become much more pronounced in the past two games as the Hoosiers took an 85-60 loss to Iowa on Saturday and followed it up with a 94-69 home loss against Illinois. Indiana failed to look competitive in either game as it fell to 4-3 in Big Ten play. It is seeing its NCAA tournament hopes slip away by the game.

Over the summer, Indiana brought in Oumar Ballo, Myles Rice and Kanaan Carlyle, all expected to be massive contributors to a lot of Hoosier wins. All got good NIL deals, with Ballo’s believed to be one of the best in the sport. Ballo has played well, but not to the extent the Hoosiers wanted. Rice has been about the same as he was at Washington State. Carlyle has taken a step back.

These struggles have thrust coach Mike Woodson squarely on the hot seat. There were plenty of rumors about a potential departure last spring, but athletic director Scott Dolson stuck with the alumni who dates back to the Bobby Knight days.

Look at what the football program did this season with the resources it had. A historically dreadful Indiana football went 11-2, was ranked in the top 10 in the country and made the College Football Playoff under first year coach Curt Cignetti. Look what can be done with resources!

Moving onto Kansas State. The Wildcats brought in what was a massive add in Coleman Hawkins for a deal believed to be in the $2 million range, making him the most expensive player in the sport.

What they have gotten from Hawkins is a step back as the Wildcats are 1-4 in Big 12 play and 7-9 overall and have eliminated themselves from the NCAA tournament conversation by this point in the season, if not did so a few weeks ago.

Coach Jerome Tang also brought in Michigan’s Dug McDaniel, Cal State Fullerton’s Max Jones, Kentucky’s Ugonna Onyenso and Samford’s Achor Achor. None have been what they wanted them to be. Achor was actually dismissed from the program on Dec. 11 after just seven games as a Wildcat.

Kansas State is another team believed to have one of the best NIL situations in the sport, but it has not shown. It is hard to believe that this is a program that was in the Elite Eight just two seasons ago in Tang’s first year at the helm.

The thing that is a little bit ironic that Tang likely could have had the Arkansas job last spring if he wanted it, which leads us to…

Arkansas. The Razorbacks made the biggest splash of the coaching carousel season by hiring future hall of famer John Calipari away from Kentucky after he spent well over a decade in Lexington.

The deal was rumored to have gotten done from donors who both paid Calipari handsomely as well as giving him what is believed to be the largest NIL budget in the country. With that budget he brought in an entirely new team, including multiple guys who played for him at Kentucky, former Florida Atlantic star Johnell Davis, and former Tennessee star Jonas Aidoo.

On paper, it looked like a seriously talented roster. What has it done?

The Razorbacks are 0-4 in SEC play, giving Calipari his first 0-4 start to SEC play in his career. This team is 2-6 against power conference teams, and one of those was against 4-13 Miami who just had a coaching change a few weeks ago.

Davis has perhaps been the most disappointing. Expected to be a major part of the team and blossom onto the power conference scene, he is not averaging double figures and only makes 41.3% of his shots after he made them at a 47.5% clip last season at FAU. Aidoo isn’t getting the minutes we expected him to get. Adou Thiero and Boogie Fland have both been good, but Arkansas needs more.

All in all, this is something that teams will need to grapple with when they look at their NIL budget and decide how they are going to use it. Because this season, the teams that spend the most certainly do not have the most success.

By Aidan Joly

Michigan and Louisville continuing their remarkable turnaround this season, teams getting big wins in the SEC, and another SEC team struggling highlighted this weekend in college basketball.

Let’s get into the headlines from the weekend.

Louisville keeps it rolling

Louisville has won six games in a row after going on the road Saturday and beating Pitt 82-78.

It’s a fantastic turnaround under first year coach Pat Kelsey. With 12 wins on the season, the Cardinals have matched their win total from the past two seasons combined.

Outside of Duke, Louisville has been playing as well as anybody in the ACC. A great group of four guys in Reyne Smith, Chucky Hepburn, Terrence Edwards and J’Vonne Hadley has been a dangerous group. All finished with 13 or more points in the win against Pitt.

After two of the worst seasons in program history, Kelsey is quickly turning this program around. As long as they don’t collapse in the next two months, Louisville will dance for the first time since 2019.

Cooper Flagg is a superstar

Duke’s amazing freshman had his best game of the season on Saturday in an 86-78 win against Notre Dame. Flagg finished with 42 points on 11-14 from the field and went 16-17 from the free throw line. Oh yeah, and he added six rebounds and seven assists.

The performance set an ACC freshman record for points in a single game. He also came one point shy of tying the program’s single game record. It was just the fifth 40+ point performance in program history.

Duke is the best team in the ACC right now and one of the best in the country. Flagg is easily the best player and will be in the conversation for national player of the year. Saturday’s performance showed why.

Auburn holds its breath

Auburn held on for a 66-63 win against South Carolina on Saturday.

However, it suffered a major loss in Johni Broome, its best player, who went down with an ankle injury during the game. It was diagnosed as an ankle sprain and he will be out at least a week, perhaps longer.

Thankfully for the Tigers, the injury was not as bad as it initially looked, but Broome will miss time. Hopefully, it is not too long. Auburn can’t afford to miss him for too many games, especially so as it debuted at No. 1 in the nation in Monday’s AP poll.

The Tigers play Mississippi State at home on Tuesday, followed by a road game against newly ranked Georgia on Saturday. Then, a battle with former No. 1 Tennessee on Jan. 25. Auburn will need him back by then.

Ranked Georgia!

Speaking of Georgia, the Bulldogs are in the AP poll for the first time since 2011, debuting on Monday as No. 23 in the nation.

The Bulldogs are certainly benefitting from the SEC being as good as it is, but Georgia is a good team. It is 14-2 on the season and has gotten off to a 2-1 start in SEC play, coming off back-t0-back wins against Kentucky and Oklahoma.

Freshman Asa Newell has been as advertised, while Dakota Leffew, Silas Demary Jr. and De’Shayne Montgomery have become a very good core for Mike White’s team.

It will have the program’s biggest game in recent memory on Saturday when it hosts the aforementioned Auburn, but that is not before a road game against Tennessee on Wednesday. A win in either of those games would be just massive for its hopes.

This is a program that has not reached the NCAA tournament since 2015 and has fallen on very hard times. That can change this year.

Elsewhere in the SEC, Alabama and Kentucky both got big road wins against Texas A&M and Mississippi State. Both are very good teams and will be contenders for the SEC title.

Arkansas’ struggles

One team in the SEC that has not done as well as the others is Arkansas.

In its first year under John Calipari, the Razorbacks has limped to an 0-3 start in SEC play. It has not won a game since a win against Oakland on Dec. 30 and is 2-5 against high major opponents, and one of them was against lowly Miami in the ACC-SEC challenge.

Highly touted transfer Johnell Davis has been a major disappointment and is beginning to see his minutes dwindle. He did not score in Saturday’s loss to Florida and went 0-8 from the field. Adou Thiero has been inconsistent. D.J. Wagner has struggled.

Arkansas is still probably on the right side of the bubble right now, but things could unravel quickly if it doesn’t start winning some games. It goes on the road for its next two, playing LSU on Wednesday and Missouri on Saturday. It needs a couple wins.

Utah State is 16-1

How about Jerrod Calhoun’s Utah State Aggies, who are 16-1 and 6-0 in the Mountain West after a home win against Boise State on Saturday.

Calhoun has done wonders with the program in year one. The duo of Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev is perhaps the best in the Mountain West. The team’s only loss was a two-point loss to UC San Diego on Dec. 17.

Through the past few years Utah State has quietly been one of the best programs in the country. On Monday the Aggies debuted at No. 22 in the nation.

This is a team that will win a ton of games over the next few months and will have a great chance to make a deep run in March.

The best Big Ten teams

The best teams in the Big Ten are certainly beginning to separate themselves. That was apparent on Sunday especially, when Purdue kicked Nebraska in the teeth in a 104-68 win, Michigan State beat Northwestern 78-68 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicated, and Michigan beat Washington 91-75. More on the Wolverines in a minute.

It feels like the top four group in the Big Ten right now is Purdue, Michigan State, Michigan and Illinois in whatever order you want to put them in. There is a fairly clear second tier too that is made up of Oregon, Wisconsin and Maryland.

It’s an interesting way to look at the new-look Big Ten, but that is what is happening so far.

Michigan is winning games

Speaking of the Wolverines, it has been a fantastic turnaround in year one under Dusty May.

Michigan is 5-0 in Big Ten play after the win against Washington, making them 13-3 overall. It is a very smart team that plays both offense and defense at a very high level, resembling May’s teams at Florida Atlantic.

The group of Vladislav Goldin, Danny Wolf, Tre Donaldson and Roddy Gayle has been great. The two big-man system with Goldin and Wolf has worked wonders.

Michigan is certainly on track to make the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2021. It will face Minnesota on Thursday in a game that should be a victory, followed by another winnable game against Northwestern on Sunday.

By Aidan Joly

We had a morning-after-Christmas surprise on Thursday morning, as it was announced that longtime Miami head coach Jim Larrañaga has stepped down and retired amid his 14th season with the team.

The time had clearly come for the 75-year-old Larrañaga. He made the Final Four with the Hurricanes in 2023 but struggled last season and has limped to a 4-8 record to start this season. It was clearly time for him to be done.

That slow last few years shouldn’t take away from his brilliant career. He went to the NCAA tournament 11 times, the second weekend of the tournament five times, two Final Four appearances – including one of the most improbable runs when he took George Mason to the national semifinal game in 2006 – and finished his career with 744 wins between Miami, George Mason, Bowling Green and American International. It’s a borderline Hall of Fame resume.

Taking a look at the Miami job. It’s a very good gig. The school has deep NIL pockets, a great brand recognition, it’s a very desirable place to live for both players and coaches, and the next coach will have an opportunity to win immediately.

That all being said, who are some early names? Let’s take a look.

Will Wade, McNeese head coach

Will Wade keeps pumping great teams out in McNeese, and for as long as he does so, his name will keep popping up with these types of jobs.

Since being fired at LSU for NCAA violations, Wade has been winning at the lower levels. He got McNeese to the NCAA tournament last season. The Cowboys are just 6-5 so far this season but have played a very difficult schedule and should run the table in league play.

Miami has very deep NIL pockets, something Wade would be able to thrive with. There’s baggage there – and he’s still under a show-cause penalty until June 2025 – but he may be an ideal candidate for the Hurricanes.

Richard Pitino, New Mexico head coach

Pitino, still only 42, has done a lot of great things as a head coach. He has South Florida connections; he got his first head coaching job at nearby FIU and spent time as an assistant under Billy Donovan at Florida.

After a lackluster tenure at Minnesota, he brought New Mexico to the NCAA tournament for the first time in a decade last March.

In 2023, Yahoo Sports reported that Pitino interviewed for the vacant job at South Florida and turned down an offer. Might he be interested in heading back to the Sunshine State? His dad loves it there too.

Anthony Grant, Dayton head coach

This is a name that was immediately thrown around as a potential replacement.

Grant, a Miami native, has done an amazing job at Dayton. He has won 159 games since he took over there in 2017 and had the Flyers as a national title contender in 2020 until you-know-what happened. He got Dayton to the second round of the tournament last year and has them on track to get back to the tournament this year.

Grant began his coaching career coaching high school ball in Miami and was a longtime assistant at Florida. Grant is a Dayton alumni, which might make things tough. Will this job entice him enough for him to come home?

Chris Caputo, George Washington head coach

Caputo doesn’t have a shiny win-loss record at George Washington (42-35), but he a direct member of the Larrañaga coaching tree and if Larrañaga has any sort of say in the search process, you would think Caputo’s name would come up.

He was an assistant with Larrañaga at George Mason from 2005-2011 and then followed him to Miami, where he remained until 2022 when he got the job at GW.

GW is off to an 11-2 start this season, but has a very, very low strength of schedule. He is admittedly in a lower tier than the three other guys mentioned, but if he can get to 10 or 12 wins in the Atlantic 10, he could play himself into contention.

Jim Crutchfield, Nova Southeastern head coach

Outside the box? Crutchfield is the head coach at Division II Nova Southeastern, just down the road from Miami.

Arriving in 2017, he has made Nova Southeastern into a Division II powerhouse with a 179-24 record since then, including winning the national title in 2023 with a spotless 36-0 record. The Sharks returned to the title game last spring but lost. As a head coach, he has a winning percentage of .864. Not bad.

It is certainly outside the box. But look at Ben McCollum and Drake. McCollum was a powerhouse Division II coach and has the Bulldogs at 11-0 in his first season in Division I (McCollum could be a candidate for this job as well but we will see).

Someone who has won at an extremely high level, and he’s right in your backyard. It’s at least worth a feeler.

Bill Courtney, interim head coach

It’s unlikely, but just about every time you have to throw the interim coach on the list.

Courtney will be the interim coach for the remainder of the season, it was announced Thursday. Courtney is a longtime Larrañaga assistant and came to Miami to work for him again in 2019.

Courtney has been a head coach before at Cornell from 2010 to 2016, but finished that tenure with a mark of 60-113, including an ugly 27-57 in the Ivy League.

Athletic director Dan Radakovic is expected to conduct a national search for a new coach. Courtney will be the first to audition for the job. Miami is 4-8 with losses to Charleston Southern and Mount St. Mary’s. If he can turn the season around then he should get a look for the full-time job, but that feels like a tall task.

Prediction: The allure of coming home is enough for Anthony Grant, and he lands the gig.

By Aidan Joly

Christmas week always provides a slow week on the college basketball schedule, giving a time to step back for a few days before conference play really ramps up.

Some of the contenders have separated themselves from the pretenders, while others have generated some good storylines so far this season.

With that being said, here are five teams I’m thinking about this holiday season.

Auburn

It’s a little cliché to be saying I’m thinking about the best team in the country, but the Tigers have separated themselves as head and shoulders above the field.

Auburn currently ranks N0. 1 in the country in KenPom, BPI, Bart Torvik, EvanMiya, strength of record, power index, NET and has the most Quad 1 wins (and somehow, AP has it at No. 2?).

Right now, the Tigers should be the favorite to not only win the SEC, but also win the national title. It feels like we are on a collision course to see Auburn cut down the nets in San Antonio.

Mississippi State

A second SEC team. Mississippi State is 11-1 on the season with its only loss coming to Butler, and is coming off of a nice win against Memphis on Saturday. Speaking of Memphis, I keep going back and forth on believing in them. Weird team.

Anyway, Chris Jans’ team is having a very good start, a start that has gotten them up to No. 19 in the country in both KenPom and the AP poll.

A great offense, led by Josh Hubbard and Keshawn Murphy, certainly has the pieces to compete in the top half of the SEC and be in the NCAA tournament.

It has one more non-conference game against Bethune-Cookman before starting league play on Jan. 4.

Georgetown

Do we believe in the Hoyas?

Georgetown has won its first two conference games for the first time since the 2015-16 season, part of a 10-2 start, the earliest the program has reached double digit wins since the 2013-14 season. Georgetown hasn’t even had a double digit win season since the 2020-21 season.

On the flip side, seven of the 10 wins have come against sub-200 KenPom teams, but it avoided the inexplicable loss to a low-major team that has plagued non-conference schedules for the past few years. The league wins came against a solid Creighton team and a bad Seton Hall team.

Jayden Epps has taken a much-needed step up, and Thomas Sorber has been fantastic as a freshman to the tune of 15.2 PPG. Micah Peavy has been a welcome addition.

Is Georgetown ready to take a step in year two of Ed Cooley at the helm? Maybe.

Maryland

It’s a somewhat similar story for Maryland. The Terrapins are off to a 10-2 start with its losses coming to Marquette and Purdue.

It is 1-1 in the Big Ten so far, with the win coming against Ohio State. It does have a win against Syracuse, but seven of its 10 wins have come against sub-200 teams.

However, these wins have the Terps all the way up to No. 11 in KenPom. Much-hyped freshman Deriq Queen has been as advertised, and Ja’Kobi Gillespie has played a big role.

Maryland missed the tournament last season, but has a shot at making its return this season.

Cincinnati

How about Wes Miller’s Cincinnati Bearcats?

Cincinnati is 10-1 on the season and has wins against Georgia Tech, Xavier and Dayton. The Dayton win last Friday was a huge one, since the Flyers are having a very, very good season.

Through its winning the Bearcats have quietly climbed up to No. 17 in the AP poll. It ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation a few weeks ago, the program’s highest ranking since the 2017-18 season.

Simas Lukosius has been the guy for the Bearcats. Jizzle James has taken a step up as a sophomore, and Dillon Mitchell has been a great add.

After back-to-back 22+ win seasons and trips to the NIT, it certainly seems like Cincinnati is taking the next step up in year three of Miller’s tenure.