Coaches Under the Most Pressure to Go Far in the 2015 NCAA Tournament

This is not a hot-seat list. Repeat. Repeat. This is not a hot-seat list.

Because when you think about it, teams and coaches who feel pressure to go far in the Big Dance have already succeeded, to one degree or another. That doesn't mean they can't lose their jobs. But all in all, these guys are fairly safe.

But immune from pressure they are not. Here are the head coaches who need to really make a big splash and a deep run at the tournament.

These guys are here because expectations and stakes are high. Every situation is different, but the pressure to perform—on this, one of the highest stages in American sports—is immense, especially if you have a history of underachieving or you are looking to complete a big turnaround.

Each is ranked based on his track record as coach of his current institution, his historical performance in the Big Dance and his performance in the season to date. Only teams currently projected to earn or seriously compete for a spot in the tournament are eligible here.

Each coach's program is, as of Friday, projected to reach the tourney or be on the bubble by Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com.

7. Mark Turgeon, Maryland

Patrick Semansky/Associated Press

Record: 22-5 (10-4 Big Ten)

Projected tourney seed: 5

Mark Turgeon is rightly on a lot of short lists for Coach of the Year. In the Terps' first year in the Big Ten, and following several offseason transfers both expected and otherwise, all they've done is run out to second place in their new conference and jockey for a top dance seed.

But the fact remains: The Terps have never made the tourney in three-plus seasons under Turgeon. In total, reaching back to the Gary Williams era, the program is coming up on a five-year drought.

Reaching the tournament's second weekend would fully cement his outstanding turnaround and fully cool off his seat in College Park.

6. Dana Altman, Oregon

John Froschauer/Associated Press

Record: 19-8 (9-5 Pac-12)

Projected tourney seed: "First four out," per Lunardi

Oregon has one of the most prolific scorers in the country in Joseph Young. That's not a panacea for, you know, goodness, but it has to get you to the tourney.

Despite the troubling controversy (some NSFW language) earlier in the season, Dana Altman clearly has weapons in players like Young. A deep tourney run would show that he's capable of making good use of them.

5. Travis Ford, Oklahoma State

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

Record: 17-9 (7-7 Big 12)

Projected tourney seed: 6

When he had Marcus Smart, it didn't work. And now it's definitely not working.

Travis Ford probably has a big need to go deep in the tourney this year. Given Oklahoma State's uneven track record against top opponents, it'll probably make the tournament.

But after that? It's anyone's guess. Ford has to be hoping he guesses right.

4. Tom Crean, Indiana

AJ Mast/Associated Press

Record: 18-9 (8-6 Big Ten)

Projected tourney seed: 7

Wins over ranked opponents like Butler and regular-season splits with conference powerhouses Maryland and Ohio State have the Hoosiers in the thick of the bracketology and the Big Ten race.

It's a welcome development for Tom Crean, who has floundered on and off the court since taking over the big chair in Bloomington in 2008.

The Hoosiers missed the dance entirely last season, following two straight runs to the Sweet 16. A return to the tournament's second weekend would be a huge boon to Crean and his team.

And in the meantime, he has Yogi Ferrell, super frosh James Blackmon and the crew playing a high-scoring brand of ball. Even if they can't pull out a big postseason run, they sure are fun to watch. And that never hurts.

3. Jay Wright, Villanova

Matt Slocum/Associated Press

Record: 24-2 (11-2 Big East)

Projected tourney seed: 2

This has been another great regular season for the Villanova Wildcats. But fans, at this point, undoubtedly want more.

Take it from The Washington Post super-columnist John Feinstein, who chronicled the "March Sadness" that is the Wildcats under Wright:

"

Wright, 53, is in his 14th season at Villanova. He has won 432 games in 21 seasons as a college coach, first at Hofstra, now on the Main Line. This season will mark the 10th time in 11 seasons that Villanova has reached the NCAA tournament. From 2005 through their Final Four run in 2009, the Wildcats made at least the second weekend four times. Since then, four appearances (the one dry non-tournament season was 2012) and a first-weekend exit each time, including a loss to eventual national champion Connecticut in the round of 32 last year.

"

Villanova has reached a point where regular-season success is almost meaningless. That's not fair to an excellent coach in Wright, but that's the world we live in. And that makes the pressure intense in Philadelphia, whether anyone likes it or not.

2. John Calipari, Kentucky

USA TODAY Sports

Record: 26-0 (13-0 SEC)

Projected tourney seed: 1

Think about it: At this point, in this season, would anything other than a national title satisfy and/or placate all the various Kentucky stakeholders and observers? The answer is a resounding "nah."

So yeah, I'd call that pressure.

Calipari knows he has to deliver, of course, and seems to be working hard to find healthy ways of keeping the kettle from boiling over. But it can be hard for a perfectionist such as Calipari, who finds himself screaming at players even in the best of times.

From a recent interview transcript from The (Louisville) Courier-Journal: 

"

I'm trying hard not to do that here, to do my job, to correct them, to be tough on them, to not worry about score and coach them, but it's hard. And they're looking at me like, 'We're up 25 and haven't lost and you're losing your mind.' My point being if I allow it now then I've got to allow it in March. If in March I allow it and it costs us a game, that's on me. That's not on these kids. So I'm trying really hard to just stay focused on what's at hand, don't put my head in the sand. If there's issues I bring them out. If there's issues within the team that I'm not liking what I feel, I bring them out. Even if I'm wrong I bring them out. 'Let's talk about this.' 'But coach man, you're just dreaming. What were you doing? You reading a book and things popping in your mind? We're fine.' So, that's the kind of stuff that we do and what I'm continuing to do.

"

Anyone can get caught. And it's not like Calipari is in any job danger whatsoever. But anything short of winning the season's final game will be a major disappointment, most prominently for the man himself.

1. Rick Barnes, Texas

Eric Gay/Associated Press

Record: 17-9 (6-7 Big 12)

Projected tourney seed: 7

Probably not the return on investment Texas fans have been hoping for from the eighth-highest-paid college basketball coach in the land.

Behind talented players such as Isaiah Taylor and Myles Turner, among others, the Longhorns stormed out to a 12-2 start. They gave Kentucky all they could handle before coming up short. But then they lost by 21 at home to Oklahoma. Then they lost to Oklahoma State. A four-game losing streak followed soon after, and the deja vu started to creep over the ground in Austin.

Rick Barnes hasn't had a very good run of late, particularly in the postseason. Last season, his Longhorns were bounced from the tourney in only their second game. Before that, they lost to Houston in the opening round of the freaking CBI. And in 2011-12, they lost to Cincinnati in their first game of the tournament.

This is despite the fact they usually have pretty loaded rosters—this season being no exception.

Are the Longhorns going to spit the bit once again? It could be a long summer for Barnes if they do, and I'm not sure there are many people outside the Lone Star State who would bet against that outcome.

"Why would I worry?" Barnes said recently, according to The Dallas Morning News. "I don’t know if I’m going to live tomorrow."

I mean, I know what he's going for there. But still, that doesn't exactly fill me with confidence.

All record and other statistical information courtesy of ESPN.com and accurate as of Feb. 20.