Which NCAA Basketball Coach Is on the Hottest Hot Seat?

It's January and it's not too early to think about which D-1 men's basketball coaches may be on the verge of losing their jobs after this season...or sooner.

Which NCAA basketball coaches are already feeling the heat of the Hot Seat?

Here are five coaches that are having no trouble keeping warm this winter...if you know what I mean.

Stats for this article provided by Statsheet.com

5. Bill Carmody (Northwestern)

Bill Carmody's cerebral approach to college hoops always seemed to fit at scholarly Northwestern University.

Having spent 18 years coaching at Princeton (13 as an assistant; five as head coach), Carmody is well-versed in their passing, cutting, back-dooring offense.

However, he has never been able to get over the hump in the Big 10 and at NU. After 12+ seasons, the Wildcats have never made it to the NCAA tournament in his tenure.

And, while he has taken them to the NIT the last four seasons, this year could be critical in whether or not he will be kept beyond the 2012-13 season.

4. Ben Braun (Rice)

Ben Braun has not had a good run as the Owls head coach.

His Rice record is a dismal 52-87.

Braun came to Houston having a considerable hoops resume that included taking Cal to some kind of post-season play eight of his 12 seasons in Berkeley

Even though Rice had their first winning season (17-15) last year under Braun, their 3-9 start to the 2012-13 season isn't exactly inspiring confidence in the future of the program.

3. Herb Sendek (Arizona State)

Herb Sendek is esteemed and admired as the Arizona Sun Devils' head basketball coach

ESPN.com's Andy Katz said, "Sendek always has been one of the most respected coaches in the business."

But, even Sendek may be at the end of his run in Tempe.

ASU has gone 22-40 over the last two years, only winning 10 Pac 10 (now Pac 12) games over the last two seasons.

Though the Sun Devils' have gone 12-2 so far this season, eight of those wins came against teams with a 200+ RPI.

Even in a so-so Pac 12, Sendek's squad may still struggle to get to 18 victories.

If so, ASU may be ready to start over with a new sideline leader.

2. Jeff Bzdelik (Wake Forest)

When your team finishes in 12th place in a 12-team league during your first two seasons on campus, your third year is pretty important. 

The Demon Deacons have gone 8-24 and 13-18 so far under Jeff Bzdelik. Ouch!

Bzdelik's predecessor, Dino Gaudio, got canned after three years, two of which saw WFU win at least 20 games and make it to the NCAA tournament.

On March 23, 2012, Collegebasketballtalk's Rob Dauster spoke of "the implosion of the Wake Forest program" under Bzdelik's watch:

For those scoring at home, in two years at the helm of the Demon Deacons, Jeff Bzdelik has won five ACC games and has seen eight players leave his program.

Jeff Bzdelik has had a tough first two seasons in Winston-Salem. The only way that he survives this season is to win at least 20 games and make it to some type of post-season play.

1. Kevin O'Neill (USC)

Kevin O'Neill's coaching career has been a bumpy ride.

Ups and downs at every campus, O'Neill has rarely been able to string together two consecutive quality seasons.

His three+ seasons at USC have been uneven, going 16-14 his first season, and 19-15 his second (with an NCAA appearance).

But last year, the bottom dropped out. Injuries piled up...and so did the losses.

The Trojans went 6-26 in the 2011-12 season, only winning one Pac-12 game, and finished dead last.

O'Neill's Hot Seat is so hot that, though he is still the USC head coach, ESPN Los Angeles.com's Pedro Moura reported this past summer that O'Neill has already moved to San Diego.

Interesting.