College Basketball Coaches Facing the Most Pressure in 2016-17

There are 351 Division I college basketball programs, and 50 of them are breaking in new coaches for the 2016-17 season. Another 42 have coaches entering their second year on the job, the same number that are in year three at their school.

Job security doesn't exist for most coaches. A bad year or two can lead to the seat getting warm and cause the axe to come close to falling. Or just make for some stressful times.

This isn't a list of coaches who could get fired during or after the coming season, however. One or more might not be in their current job a year from now, depending on how the 2016-17 season goes. But most of them will spend the next few months dealing with heavy scrutiny and criticism over every move they make.

Steve Alford, UCLA

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Planes flying over the school and an online petition calling for your firing do not make for the best of working conditions.

Head coach Steve Alford faces a make-or-break season at UCLA. It's not necessarily one that will lead to firing if he doesn't have successful. But it will go a long way toward determining whether he's the right guy to run college basketball's most storied program.

The Bruins were 15-17 a year ago, finishing 6-12 in the Pac-12. They'd made the Sweet 16 the previous two seasons, though that was mostly with holdovers from previous coach Ben Howland. So the drop didn't look good for Alford and his ability to attract players to UCLA. Then he went and landed a top-five recruiting class that features one of the most dynamic freshmen in the country in point guard Lonzo Ball.

Expectations have soared once again.

UCLA begins this season ranked 16th in the preseason Associated Press poll. It is the only team in the initial rankings that didn't have a winning record a year ago. Anything short of getting to the second week of the NCAA tournament won't sit well with the fanbase. That could turn Alford into a lame-duck coach.

Mike Anderson, Arkansas

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When Arkansas reached the NCAA tournament in 2014-15, it marked the first time the Razorbacks had been in the field since 2008. It was the longest drought they'd had since the 1970s. Head coach Mike Anderson's rebuilding project had finally produced results in his fourth season. The turnaround, however, was brief as Arkansas dipped to 16-16 last year.

A massive roster turnover contributed to that backslide, and he's dealing with more of the same for 2016-17. Only two starters (seniors Dusty Hannahs and Moses Kingsley) are back while the rest of his rotation is filled with freshmen and transfers. But the SEC is wide open after favorite Kentucky. Arkansas could be in line for some success if this latest roster can fit well with Anderson's pressure-based system.

Winning outside of Fayetteville would help, too, as Anderson's reputation of struggling on the road has been present throughout his coaching career. Yahoo! Sports' Pat Forde dubbed the coach "Homecourt Mike" because Arkansas is 21-53 in road and neutral-site games under Anderson. That includes a 15-39 mark in true road games, compared to 81-11 at Bud Walton Arena.

Brad Brownell, Clemson

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Clemson scored a major win in May when star forward Jaron Blossomgame opted to return to school for his senior year. Without him, head coach Brad Brownell would have been hard-pressed to navigate the nation's toughest conference and win enough to get the Tigers into the NCAA tournament.

They haven't danced since 2011.

It won't be a cakewalk just because the 6'7” Blossomgame is back. But another NCAA-less season could spell the end of Brownell's tenure.

He's had two 20-win seasons with the Tigers—that NCAA team in 2011 and in 2013-14. Last year's team went 17-14 but was 5-1 in the ACC at one point. Clemson then fell apart and finished in seventh place in the league.

Blossomgame is Clemson's centerpiece, but he should have a strong supporting cast around him, thanks to the arrival of three transfers. Guards Shelton Mitchell and Marcquise Reed come from Vanderbilt and Robert Morris, respectively. And 6'9” forward Elijah Thomas (Texas A&M) becomes eligible at midseason. There's enough talent to finish in the middle of the pack in the ACC, which would be good enough to get an NCAA bid.

John Groce, Illinois

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John Groce was one of the hot young coaches in college basketball when, after leading Ohio to the Sweet 16 in 2012, he left for Illinois. He had instant success, getting the Fighting Illini to the third round of the NCAA tournament that first year. Previous coach Bruce Weber failed to make the field in two of his final three seasons.

Since then, it's been a steady decline for Groce and the Illini—from 23 wins that first year to a 15-19 mark in 2015-16. In Big Ten play he's gone 29-43, winning just five league games last season (and four of those were against Minnesota and Rutgers).

Last year's team was so ravaged by injuries that it was amazing Illinois won any games. Many of those unavailable players are healthy again and ready to contribute. Leading scorer Malcolm Hill is back after averaging 18.1 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.3 assists as a junior.

Athletic director Mike Thomas, who hired Groce, is out of a job. New AD Josh Whitman took over in February and not long after replaced the school's football coach. So an unimpressive 2016-17 could be Groce's last in Champaign.

Frank Martin, South Carolina

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South Carolina last made the NCAA tournament in 2004, a streak that seemed like it was going to end last season after the Gamecocks opened 15-0. They were 21-3 in early February and still looking good to get a bid. Then five losses in the next eight games (including to Georgia in the opening round of the SEC tournament) kept them out.

Adding to the misery was a text the school received from the NCAA on Selection Sunday that was meant to go to every team that made the tournament field. Instead, South Carolina ended up in the NIT and bowed out in the second round.

Frank Martin won 25 games last season—tied for the most in school history—after going 45-54 in his first three seasons. He returns two starters as well as rising sophomore guard P.J. Dozier. South Carolina faces a tough non-league schedule this season with games Clemson, Memphis, Michigan, Seton Hall and Syracuse. Those foes should help with the strength-of-schedule issue that hurt the Gamecocks in 2015-16.

Martin isn't in jeopardy of losing his job anytime soon, but missing out on the NCAA tournament again won't help his cause.

Bruce Pearl, Auburn

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There's no denying Bruce Pearl has made Auburn basketball relevant. His hiring in March 2014 put a program that hasn't been to the NCAA tournament since 2003 in the spotlight and kept it there.

The school doesn't have much to show for it yet on the court.

The Tigers have gone 26-40 under Pearl with a 9-27 mark in the SEC. That's not much different than the marks of 49-75 and 18-50 that predecessor Tony Barbee had. Barbee generated far less fanfare than what Pearl has brought to the program.

Stellar recruiting has been Pearl's most notable achievement, landing several 4- and 5-star prospects, including incoming freshman guard Mustapha Heron. That's helped give him some rope early on, but it won't last if he continues to fail to produce results.

"I have no excuses," Pearl said at SEC Media Day, per AL.com. If I don't win in the next couple of years it's on me.

"... I've only had two losing seasons in my career, and they have both been at Auburn. It has been difficult."

Richard Pitino, Minnesota

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Family lineage can only take you so far. Whether Minnesota hired head coach Richard Pitino three years ago because he's the son of Hall of Famer Rick Pitino is unknown. It probably didn't hurt.

But it's not going to keep him employed if he doesn't show some improvement this season.

The Golden Gophers were abysmal in 2015-16, going 8-23 overall and 2-16 in the Big Ten. Adding to the situation were off-the-court issues, including a tweeted sex tape that led to three players getting suspended.

Pitino's first Minnesota team won 25 games and the NIT championship. That had a lot to do with the players he inherited from previous coach Tubby Smith. Pitino has won only 26 games since then.

Lorenzo Romar, Washington

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Last year's Washington team featured two players—Marquese Chriss and Dejounte Murray—who would end up being first-round NBA draft picks. The current Huskies squad includes freshman guard Markelle Fultz, whom DraftExpress has tabbed as the No. 1 choice in 2017.

If Fultz helps pilot Washington into the NCAA tournament—which is no guarantee—it would be the program's first trip since 2011. Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller has the Huskies as the last team into the field in his preseason bracket projection.

This will be head coach Lorenzo Romar's 15th season at Washington, tied for the 20th-longest active tenure in Division I. Seven coaches have been at power-conference schools as long as him, but of that group only Florida State's Leonard Hamilton (also hired in 2002) hasn't made an NCAA tourney in the past two seasons.

The school fanbase and administration both love Romar. With a commitment from top-five 2017 prospect Michael Porter Jr., his job is safe. That doesn't mean he won't face some heat if he ends up missing the postseason yet again.

Bruce Weber, Kansas State

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Much as it was at Illinois, Bruce Weber's tenure at Kansas State started out strong but has struggled to match that early success. He hung on for a long time at his previous job, thanks to the goodwill that came with going 37-2 and reaching the NCAA title game in 2005.

But a pair of KSU first-round exits in his first two years with the Wildcats doesn't provide as much leeway when followed by a combined 32-33 mark.

K-State was 17-16 overall and 5-13 in the Big 12 last season, but Weber returns five of his top six scorers. That won't be enough to challenge for the upper tier in the conference, and the Wildcats will still play second fiddle to Kansas within their own state. Doing better than eighth place is likely despite being picked to finish ninth by the league's coaches.

"This seems like the season Weber gets things back on track," Kansas.com's Kellis Robinett wrote. "If not, it’s hard to see him returning for a sixth season."

All statistics courtesy of Sports-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted. All recruiting information courtesy of Scout.com, unless otherwise noted.

Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.