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NCAAM Men's March Madness Jobs aren't on the line in the Sweet 16 — but legacies may be. Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images There’s been a creeping influence of “college football brain” on men’s college basketball of late, whether it’s expanding the NCAA Tournament (which no one asked for) or changes in the sport leading to fewer Cinderellas — and even some anti-underdog sentiment. But that football mindset hasn’t fully extended to coaching hot seats. There still tends to be more patience on the hoops side as far as hair-trigger firings or Lane Kiffin-style departures. North Carolina moved on from Hubert Davis after a first-round collapse, but it’s not quite the “championship or bust” pressure for Ryan Day at Ohio State in 2024, or the lingering uncertainty some fans have with Kalen De Boer at Alabama, even after the Crimson Tide won a game in the 12-team Playoff. Advertisement None of the men’s basketball coaches in this year’s Sweet 16 are on the hot seat. But there are still unique pressures. Some are linked to seed and program expectations. Others are tied to long, successful careers winding down. Jobs aren’t on the line — but legacies might be. Let’s apply a pressure gauge to the 16 remaining coaches in the NCAA Tournament, ranked from most pressure to least. (The North Carolina opening does add a dash of chaos to the carousel and opens the door for a few of these coaches to be candidates elsewhere, but for now, we’re focusing on the tournament at hand. ) Again, pressure is relative. Painter’s seat is ice cold. The Boilermakers just reached the national championship in 2024 and have made 11 straight NCAA Tournaments. But Purdue has made it past the Sweet 16 twice in Painter’s 21 seasons, with the lone Final Four. That’s despite a dozen finishes as a top-20 team, according to Ken Pom. Painter is one of the best coaches in the sport, but his teams have also been bounced by Fairleigh Dickinson, Saint Peter’s and North Texas in the past six years — two of those in the first round, and once as a No. 1 seed. A loss to No. 11 Texas and another failure to advance past the Sweet 16 would really sting. In his fifth season at Arizona after a two-decade apprenticeship at Gonzaga, Lloyd has seen his teams rank among the best in the country in terms of metrics and record (averaging better than 29 wins a season), and have now reached the second weekend four times. But Arizona has yet to advance beyond the Sweet 16 under Lloyd, and the Wildcats haven’t been to a Final Four since they were runners-up in 2001. Lloyd is one of the sport’s most promising coaches, and Arizona has been elite all season. Let’s see if that results in a Final Four run for a clear national title contender. Advertisement Another coach whose consistent potential and promise hasn’t necessarily translated to postseason results. Underwood has built Illinois into a legit Big Ten force over his nine seasons with the program, which includes an Elite Eight run in 2024. That was also the only other time Illinois reached the second weekend with Underwood at the helm. The Illini struck gold with freshman Keaton Wagler this year. Can they get to Indianapolis with Florida out of the equation in the South Regional? Scheyer has entered “anything short of a Final Four will be disappointing” territory. In Year 4 after taking over for Mike Krzyzewski, he coached a wildly talented team to the Final Four last season — and even that ended with a tinge of disappointment, when the Blue Devils blew a 14-point second-half lead to Houston. Part of it is the expectation that comes with coaching at Duke. Combined with the top overall seed this year, and the close call against Siena in round one, and with Cameron Boozer’s lone season, that pressure isn’t letting up. The outlook is sparkling under May, a home-run hire in Year 2 with the Wolverines who already has a Final Four to his name at Florida Atlantic. But like Duke and Arizona, the other metrics darlings this season, this Michigan squad has been so good that it raises the stakes in March. With a relatively favorable draw in the Midwest Regional, another win or two feels like a fair expectation. This is a different kind of pressure because they can start building the statue of Sampson on Houston’s campus yesterday. The Coogs have made seven straight Sweet 16s, with an Elite Eight and two Final Fours, including last year’s runners-up finish. But with Sampson now 70, the window to win a title — something he is clearly pining for, and came so close to doing a season ago — is closing fast. The head coach has fine-tuned the program in his image, and can hand it off to his son, Kellen, whenever he chooses. He’d love to do so in a blaze of championship glory. This, too, is about expectations and legacy, more about the most formidable opponent of all: Father Time. Barnes, 71, has been a Division I head coach for 39 seasons, currently in his 30th NCAA Tournament. He has more than 850 career wins. He built the Vols into a consistent winner, with four straight trips to the second weekend. Tennessee is also tied for first place with the most NCAA Tournament victories without a Final Four appearance. The team is a No. 6 seed, but it has the talent and depth to make a run the fan base is starving for. Advertisement Another statue legacy. The man has a national championship, along with eight Final Fours. The most recent was in 2019, making this the longest Izzo has gone between Final Four berths since taking over the Spartans in 1995. Though he did make it to the Elite Eight last season. Any pressure here is purely about Izzo, 71, getting to that ninth semifinal and having another crack at a second championship as his Hall of Fame career winds down. Let’s round out the old-timers section, respectfully, with Pitino, who is back in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015. Despite the Johnnies being underseeded, the man has fully resurrected St. John’s basketball and his own college coaching career in just his third season with the program. At 73, he’s the oldest of the bunch still chasing a title in this bracket, with a tough assignment against Duke in D. C. But he also has two titles (asterisks or not) and, despite his age, he seems to have plenty in the tank. It’s a third Sweet 16 for Otzelberger in five seasons, already matching the combined number of second-weekend trips by ISU’s last five coaches, dating to 1999. He’s elevated the standard in Ames, and may have been a tad higher on this list if not for the injury question mark on star Joshua Jefferson. Expectations will continue to climb for Iowa State, but for now, the vibes are good. Sometimes a change of scenery can really change the narrative. It still feels like this is the honeymoon phase for Cal at Arkansas, especially with Kentucky sitting back at home. He has his title and handful of Final Fours tucked away, and is still on the south side of 70 at age 67. He also notched his first SEC tournament title since 2018 thanks to the Darius Acuff Jr. turbo boost. An upset over No. 1 Arizona on top of that would be found money. The off-court issues continue under Oats, with plenty of murmurs about how the Alabama head coach has elected to handle some of them. Candidly, if this were a list of the most respected coaches in the Sweet 16, he’d probably be even lower. On the court? The track record is pretty unassailable, particularly at a Mount Rushmore football school. This is Oats’ fourth straight Sweet 16 and fifth in six years, coming off a Final Four in 2024 and Elite Eight last season. The only other Crimson Tide coach to reach the second weekend multiple times was Wimp Sanderson, and he never made an Elite Eight. The man has two national championships and is back in the Sweet 16 after last year’s second-round exit. This is the last ride for seniors Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. , so there is some pressure to maximize that experience as a No. 2 seed. But the Huskies are also in a brutal region and still a little banged up. The only pressure here is the standard and expectation Hurley has established for himself. In Year 1, as a No. 11 seed that barely reached the First Four play-in game, winning three straight to make the Sweet 16 is a solid debut for Miller on the Forty Acres. Especially after the Longhorns dropped five of six to limp into the postseason. Rallying from that to the second weekend — for just the second time since 2009 — justifies how aggressive the program was in going after Miller last offseason. Advertisement Nebrasketball! It was a proper scene in Oklahoma City last weekend, as Go Big Red celebrated its first-ever March Madness victory. And then a second, in dramatic fashion. What Hoiberg, a Lincoln native, has done this season is remarkable. The Huskers are pulling a reverse Indiana, a football school elevating to new heights on the court. Easy last-place choice on this list. Mc Collum is in his first year at Iowa, and just his second as a head coach at the Division I level. He just knocked off No. 1 seed Florida, the defending champs, to send the Hawkeyes to their first Sweet 16 since 1999. He could nap on the sideline Thursday against Nebraska and no one would mind. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Play today's puzzle Justin Williams covers college football and basketball for The Athletic. He was previously a beat reporter covering the Cincinnati Bearcats, and prior to that he worked as a senior editor for Cincinnati Magazine. Follow Justin on Twitter/X @williams_justin Follow Justin on Twitter @williams_justin