College basketball hot seat

With only a few weeks until conference tournaments, a number of teams are rounding out what can only be seen as disappointing seasons.

At the forefront of these teams are coaches who very well may be seeking employment by the offseason.

Bobby Hurley

With just a 3-12 conference record in the mediocre Big 12, Hurley and Arizona State have somehow sunk below their preseason expectations.

However, their problems lie beyond the team record. On four different occasions since January, the Sun Devils have had a player ejected in conference games.

All four have come from senior players Adam Miller and BJ. Freeman, showing an extreme lack of discipline from who should be team leaders.

Hurley and the Sun Devils also have a knack for not being able to close out close games. Of their last eight losses, five have been by single digits to conference foes.

While Hurley has had the most success of an Arizona State coach in quite some time, an offseason firing would not be out of the cards.

Micah Shrewsberry

Shrewsberry has made many media headlines for all the wrong reasons.

After a Feb. 16 loss to Louisville, a fiery postgame speech where he prophesied a program turnaround ended in a slammed microphone and Shrewsberry storming out of his press conference.

Since leaving Penn State to take the job with the Fighting Irish, Shrewsberry is just 24-34 in his short tenure with the team.

His 2025 squad enters the last stretch of conference play with an 11-14 overall record, sitting just above the cellar of the ACC.

The Fighting Irish are 0-5 in Quad 1 games this season and have yet to beat a ranked opponent. They will have a chance to break both of these streaks with an away matchup against Clemson on Feb. 26.

All signs are pointing towards a Shrewsberry firing unless he can “get this thing rolling” as he’s promised to do.

Steve Pikiell

While being loaded with NBA talent, Pikiell and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights have struggled mightily this season.

With a team led by future NBA lottery picks in Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, it is a wonder that they have just a 12-14 record and only five wins in Big Ten conference play.

The answer lies in their defense and lack of discipline. Rutgers allows 75.5 points per game, 255th in the country and second to last in their conference.

Bailey and Harper are offensive weapons who aren’t known for their defense, so with a scheme that lacks solid defenders around them, the team has suffered their fair share of shootout losses and straight-up blowouts.

When neither Bailey or Harper have stellar games, the Scarlet Knights falter. Unless a new culture is brought in by Pikiell with their NBA departures, he will surely be out the door with them.

Porter Moser

Despite what their 16-10 record may suggest, the Oklahoma Sooners have not been playing good basketball.

Moser and the Sooners are third to last in the historically dominant SEC, and the fringe tournament team hit a season low on Feb. 15.

Oklahoma lost a stunner to LSU after blowing a 13 point second-half lead and a five point lead in the final 30 seconds. This loss came to a Tigers team with only one conference win entering the game.

The toughest stretch for the Sooners is still in front of them. They close out the season with six of their final seven games against Top 25 opponents.

Moser is staring down a potential fourth straight season of missing the NCAA tournament in as many years coaching. This drought would be the longest in program history over the last 45 years.

Oklahoma’s unprecedented lack of success while Moser has been the coach can’t be chalked up to a coincidence. Their consistent underperforming compared to program expectations will surely paint a giant question mark on his future with the school.

Hubert Davis

If the coaching hot seat was more than a metaphor, the one for North Carolina’s head coach would be too scalding to touch.

Davis has had historical success with the Tar Heels, leading them to the tournament twice in his four years including a national championship appearance in his first season.

However, the team’s dropoff from their 29-8 finish last season has been immense. Davis’ squad is just 15-11 in the 2025 season and on the outside looking in for the NCAA tournament.

North Carolina’s team issues cannot be categorized in one phase of the game. They are ineffective from behind the arc, lack a true interior presence since the departure of Armando Bacot, and are a far cry from the top 10 defense that aided them last season.

The team turnover from a physical team led by Bacot to an undersized group forced to play scrappy has been rough. The lack of consistency amongst the Heels’ leading players has not boded well for the young team.

It isn’t necessarily fair that the leash is this short for Davis. North Carolina is a historic program known for consistent and prominent success, and anything less is considered underperforming.

From what we’ve seen from this North Carolina team, their ceiling is maybe a first round upset win. If they do overperform to this level, Davis could cling to his job for one more year. However, with the current trend they’re heading towards, Davis could become one of the shortest tenured Tar Heel coaches in the last century.

Brendan Kern is a first-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email bwk537@psu.edu.