NCAA Basketball: 5 coaches on the hot seat entering conference play

1) Steve Alford, UCLA

As mentioned previously, it will take a miracle for Alford to keep his job.

After nearly being fired following his third season in Westwood, which was a 15-17 campaign, Alford responded with a 31-5 season and the school’s third Sweet 16 appearance in four years (that group was led by Lonzo Ball, who ended up being the No. 2 overall pick in the draft).

However, the Bruins were never able to advance past the Sweet 16 – and success there is not measured by Sweet 16 appearances.

Questions about Alford’s future arose again last year when the Bruins lost at least 12 games for the third time in four years and they barely made the NCAA Tournament, losing in the First Four. And now, with their struggles this year, it’s a foregone conclusion that he will be gone.

The only question is when?

If Alford makes it through the full season – which is no guarantee given the way the Bruins are playing – he’d likely be fired the next day. That said, I would not be surprised if he were to be let go prior to the Pac-12 Tournament so that Alford would have no chance to save his job in a four-day tournament.

There are a number of quality candidates available for UCLA to pursue with former Chicago Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg and former Phoenix Suns coach Earl Watson, who also played for the Bruins, figuring to be at the top of their list.

No matter who they decide to go with, it really looks like it’s going to be someone other than Alford on the UCLA sidelines next year.